The first hummingbirds...

arrived yesterday and they’re already zooming the feeders. This one is taking a rest after doing the aerial sexy dance for a while, displaying for a female at one of the feeders.

Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri)

The greening of Castle Valley...

is occurring right now, with more wildflowers showing off their colors, despite the low soil moisture.

View northward from near Round Mountain. Click on image to expandify.

Utah penstemon (Penstemon utahensis).

Narrow leaf yucca (Yucca angustissima).

Munching on a locust seed pod...

out in the open, this squirrel is clearly mocking me. This is Number Four, having deported three others so far this season to other locations during the ongoing varmint war. They’re very cute but they can be very destructive.

Rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus). Click on image to enlarginate.

FOLLOWING DAY UPDATE: Number Four is going for a ride. Couldn’t resist the grapes and peanut butter in the live trap.

Both lovely and toxic...

at the same time, do not consume the bulb of this tiny beauty with a threatening name. Blossoming right on time in mid-April at the Round Mountain annex to the Castle Valley Botanical Gardens.

Panicled death-camas (Toxicoscordion paniculatum).

On the lookout...

from atop its underground bunker, this squirrel’s days of freedom are numbered as the live traps are set in the ongoing varmint war.

Rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus).

The shadow cast by Castleton Tower...

at sunset will slowly creep westward across the lower slopes of Adobe Mesa through the coming months, arriving at its prominent prow at the time of the summer solstice. It’s a slow motion countdown to the longest day of the year.

The Tower’s sharp shadow will translate towards the right in this image of the face of Adobe Mesa during the next two months..

Forty model rocket launches...

so far this year ties me with SpaceX, where they have launched an equal number of Falcon 9 rockets into orbit, on just the 93rd day of the calendar year.

The Semroc Arcas model rocket soared to 507 feet (155 m) on a C6-5 engine and soft-landed under parachute 20 feet away on a 48 second-long flight on a gorgeous morning in Castle Valley.