Spring Update in Moab
Spring got a small setback here when the nighttime temps dropped to near freezing one night, and daytime temps were only in the 50’s-60’s. This slowed the cacti down somewhat in their blossoming. I had found several good Claret Cup cacti which had started to bloom, but have stopped putting out any more blossoms until the temps stay in the 70’s for a few days. The yellow Prince’s Plumes are starting to blossom all over on the rocky slopes, and the really pretty scorpion weed (pretty flower, not so pretty name) is abundant on south-facing slopes. The Indian Paintbrush is getting even better than it was last week. The Utah Serviceberry shrubs are covered with white blossoms, and the Fendlerbushes are in full bloom with large, white cross-shaped flowers. The bright orange-flowered Globemallow is also starting to bloom. We had a good rainstorm last week which should boost the spring flower bloom even more as it warms back up. Today’s forecast high is 66, with the temps back in the 70’s starting tomorrow. Great springtime photo weather. My new carbon fiber levelling tripod just arrived from Gitzo and it is great! It makes levelling the camera for panoramics much quicker and easier, and is much lighter than my old workhorse Gitzo 320. For those of you who like to shoot panoramics, consider investing in either a levelling tripod, or a levelling base for your tripod. Makes life much easier — a least the panoramic photography part.