Petey gets a Pleistocene moment in some man made wetlands near his home.
Sandhill Cranes have only been wintering over in the Sulphur Springs Valley for around 60 years, so we won’t be finding any million year old fossil remains as found in Nebraska near the Platte.
Ironically, the cranes winter over in the valley because of the intense agriculture giving them fields to glean during the day. Also, it helps to have the White Water Draw wetlands and the Willcox Playa giving them shallow water for loafing and roosting. Otherwise, they would certainly fly on by to another more exotic location.
The flat agricultural lands of the Sulphur Springs Valley hardly qualify as exotic, but those Sandhill cranes make them look quite beautiful.
Berberis fremontii is in the Barberry family or Berberidaceae. If you look up barberry plants in a field guide, a flora or on line,...
“What is that leafy weed I’m seeing everywhere?” was the question of the summer and Petey finally figures it out with help from a...
False Solomon’s seal was formerly in the family Liliaceae, but is now in Asparagaceae. There are 2 subspecies of Maianthemum racemosum. The subspecies out...
