WIND WOLVES PRESERVE SPRING NATURE FESTIVAL 2023

Yes, I visited Wind Wolves Preserve once again, as I have done frequently over the last several weeks.  Again, on this visit, new varieties of flowers were starting to bloom.

It’s always a good day at Wind Wolves Preserve.

This weekend (18-19 March 2023) is an especially good one to go visit.  It is the Preserve’s annual Spring Nature Festival.  I stick to the main drives and take photos from the car.  But you can browse the visitor center, learn from the rangers, take hikes, even camp—or better yet participate in various programs.  Go visit!

Here are my photos from my visit on Friday, 17 March. 

The fields are lush and green, populated with a growing array of wildflowers. 

The yellow Fiddleneck are still evident, but they are starting to wane a bit.

The Blue Dicks are still blooming as well.

I even enjoy the grasses!

Close to the road are some little pinkish purple flowers.  I think they are some sort of Wood Sorrel. They seem to just be starting to bloom.

These dainty yellow blossoms are showing up too, but I don’t know what they are. Any help would be appreciated.

The birds were pretty active—in the fields. A few stayed visible enough for photos.  The meadowlark with its yellow breast and delightful melody is one of my favorites. Even the scrawny teenagers learning to sing.

On the road toward a parking area for some hiking trails, the hills are now turning a bright yellow,

On one scenic tour years ago, the tour guide said with confidence that these yellow flowers are officially called, “Freeway Flowers!”  I have also heard them called Goldfields as well as the stuffy sounding Molonopia.

Grape Soda Lupines are some of my favorites!

Way out in a field, I thought I saw a different color—orange not golden yellow—and I finally spotted this one little glump of California Poppies. I bet there will be more on my next visit!

Definitely put a visit to the Wind Wolves Preserve on your list of things to do this spring–even this weekend!

You’ll enjoy it!

AN AFTERNOON OF CONTRASTS

I did not get out into Nature much in 2022 because I had some minor health issues that impacted my independence and mobility.  But I am now getting back to a more active routine.

It’s been a long dry year.  Until recently.

In 2023, it has been raining and raining, helping to undermine the ongoing drought being felt across California.  The hope is that a great wildflower bloom will erupt any time now.  In some places down south, flowers are already showing. 

I decided to take a little drive, just needing help from a friend to actually get in the car.  I can do everything else:  pick up lunch at a drive thru, maneuver into decent parking places to get some photos, wait patiently while enjoying the beautiful scenes, even getting myself and walker out of the car once home.  It was a good afternoon.

Being a long weekend, there were some other folks out and about, enjoying the Wind Wolves Preserve. But I was mostly alone and could ignore the others and simply enjoy the solitude.

I was hoping for the start of a growing display of wildflowers, but very few were evident.  Little pops of yellow were all I could find.

But the hills were delightfully green and the skies were blue.

I avoided people but enjoyed the company of some prairie dogs and a few birds.  Most of the birds—including meadowlarks—were heard but not seen. The meadowlark photo is from here in an earlier year. I have never yet seen a Kit Fox or Tarantula, but maybe I will get lucky on future trips.

Overall, it felt like a nice early spring day.  But the drive home reminded me that winter was still lurking.  As I crested the road into the mountains, the temperatures dropped, the vistas were dusted in a bit of snow, and the sun was muted behind some clouds.

 But I also drove right by some almond orchards as they are starting to blossom. Gorgeous!

Overall, it was a great afternoon of contrasts.  I hope to make more drives over the next several weeks to see more and more blossoms as they dance across the hills.  

A Little Glimpse of Spring

“The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created Spring.”  Bern Williams

 “Where flowers bloom so does hope.”   Lady Bird Johnson

It has been a long hard winter. In California, that means we have had a lot more cold and rain than usual.  Other parts of the country have been hit even harder with extensive storms and floods—and resulting tragedies.

Tomorrow is the official first day of Spring.  Finally. I expect we are all ready for the promise and hope of the season. Of course, just because it is the Spring Equinox does not mean the storms of winter will just stop. In fact, in my area, a late storm is expected that day.

But eventually spring will be here in full bloom.  Maybe not tomorrow, but soon.  Already glimpses of spring are popping up all over.

In fact, these fruit-tree blossoms are already waning, as foliage takes over.

Blue skies are gorgeous along the hills near Gorman, California.

These flowers are starting to emerge around my apartment.

The other day I took a lovely drive through The Wind Wolves Preserve.  The hills were green, the breezes were blowing, and a few wildflowers were hiding out in the fields.  It was a delightful afternoon.

“No matter how chaotic it is, wildflowers will still spring up in the middle of nowhere.”  Sheryl Crow

“Springtime is the land awakening.  The March winds are the morning yawn.”   Lewis Grizzard

This Road Runner was, not unexpectedly, running along the road!

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THE HOPE OF SPRING

 “It is spring again.  The Earth is like a child that knows poems.”   Rainer Maria Rilke

“Come with me into the woods.  Where spring is advancing, as it does, no matter what, not being singular or particular, but one of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.”   Mary Oliver

“You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming.”   Pablo Neruda

“If people did not love one another, I really don’t see what use there would be in having any spring.”   Victor Hugo

“Always it’s spring and everyone’s in love and flowers pick themselves.”   e. e. cummings

“If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”   Percy Bysshe Shelley

“The promise of spring’s arrival is enough to get anyone through the bitter winter.”  Jen Slelinsky

“No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn.”  Hal Borland

“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!”  Robin Williams

“Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.”   Gustav Mahler

 “Blossom by blossom the spring begins.”  Algernon Charles Swinburne

“I suppose the best kind of spring morning is the best weather God has to offer.”   Dodie Smith

“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.” Laura Ingalls Wilder

“A kind word is like a spring day.”   Russian Proverb

 “Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.”  Theodore Roethke

A LITTLE BIT OF SPRING

Last year, the Super Bloom was gorgeous, especially in areas such as the Carizzo Plain National Monument and the Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

This year, given the rains were not very extensive at the end of last year, Spring was a bit slow in coming to my area. But some color did pop up along various hills, roads and neighborhoods.

Here is some color from local neighborhoods:

I enjoyed a nice afternoon drive on Highway 138, heading out towards Arvin:

Late in March, I took a lovely drive through the Wind Wolves Preserve. The drive was as calm and peaceful as always, but the wildflowers were not fully evident.  The hills showed only a few splashes of yellow, but the grasses were green and graceful in the breeze.

I waved hello to a park ranger but saw very few other people out and about.  Still, I did have some company on this delightful little afternoon drive.

SEARCHING FOR SPRING, PART 2: Wind Wolves Preserve

 

By mid-March, I was looking for specific destinations as part of my search for spring wildflowers.  I noticed a local newspaper article beckoning visitors to the Wind Wolves Preserve.  This preserve is one of twelve maintained by the Wildlands Conservancy.

Wind Wolves Preserve was established in 1996 and is comprised of 93,000 acres, offering a visitors center, hiking trails, and a campground.  What is most surprising to me is that it is situated nearby off the Maricopa Highway—and I had not noticed it before.

I took the 45 minute drive and had a delightful excursion, seeing definite signs of spring everywhere I looked.  Perhaps not a Super Bloom, but a wondrous day nonetheless.  I took a friend out on another day—and although the hills were a bit more muted in color, a few new flowers were in bloom alongside the road.  And we just stayed on the scenic drive.  Just imagine what wonders would be discovered on the hiking trails!

This Meadowlark gave a nice little serenade.

The hills offered delightful vistas and some vibrant colors.

The fields were full of blooms and even some wildlife.

The Wind Wolves Preserve is a great place for a family to come to experience nature in a calm, beautiful setting.  If you have not yet discovered this place, add it to your must-visit list.  A good place to start would be the Wind Wolves Preserve Facebook page.

GO BE AMAZED!