From my point of view, Mother Nature dropped the ball this spring. I’m talking rain! The Saguaro National Park West is so dry, brown and dull. It‘s been this way since February.

Every year, the hills in the park just explode with yellow-blossomed Palo Verde trees. Not this year. The wildflower showing was abysmal. The Mexican poppies and several other common flowers were pretty much a no show.

Oddly enough, the Ironwood trees with their delicate lavender blossoms are out-blooming the Palo Verde trees.

It is typical for the desert to look a bit taxed a month or so before the monsoon. Winter and spring rains give the desert a chance to soak up water before the blinding, moisture-sucking heat sets in.

Considering all of this … I find it intriguing that this year I’ve seen more wildlife offspring than ever.

Really. We have a nest in the crook of the Eucalyptus tree outside our bathroom window. The same dove or different doves have occupied the nest almost continuously since mid-March. I haven’t seen any baby birds in the nest but I have seen eggs.

Last week, Ed had the first sighting ever of baby rabbits on our property. One of the exit/entrance holes to the burrow is underneath our front stairs. I saw the rabbits myself several days later.

The other morning, I saw a quail run across my driveway. Following close behind were a line of fuzzy, tiny babies.