Tehachapi spring: our last few weeks before summer starts
Tehachapi spring: our last few weeks before summer starts
By: Jon Hammond
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Posted by editor Wed Jun 7, 2006 18:31:06 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Our weather during this late spring has been classic Tehachapi: warm enough to lull you into thinking summer is definitely imminent, and then suddenly cool enough to make you shiver and reach for a light coat. Which is why the signs by the freeway should read: “Welcome to Tehachapi! Keep a jacket in your car.”
Despite some welcome rain and snow in March that brought our precipitation totals up to normal, 2006 didn’t turn out to be very stellar in terms of wildflowers. Individual species made attractive showing here and there, but there weren’t any record-setting displays.
The Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia) has begun to spread a pinkish mantle on slopes and ridges in the area, enlivening the yellow grasses that have already faded in the May sunshine. Reliable sightings of Farewell-to-Spring can be found south of Highway 58 between here and the Caliente turnoff, and on the hills that surround Cummings Valley.
Reptiles are also very active now, though their presence will diminish when hot summer weather arrives. I’ve seen a number of gopher snakes, several rattlers, a red racer, a California striped racer and a kingsnake. Lizards too are everywhere, with countless western fence lizards (bluebellies), side-blotch lizards (also called “Utas” from their latin name Uta stansburiana), western whiptails and horned lizards.
Birds continue to nest even as the earliest broods have already fledged. I startled a female horned lark while hiking the other day and she flew up from the ground. I carefully noted the area from which she arose and after a few minutes of diligent searching, I located her well-concealed nest. Three brown-speckled eggs sat tidily in her grass cup nest, tucked just below ground level next to a wild mustard plant that served to help hide the mother as she incubated her eggs.
As ground nesters, horned lark eggs are especially vulnerable to predators that include snakes, ravens, skunks, and even ground squirrels, so the eggs’ survival is dependent on the parent lark’s ability to conceal the nest.
Even the slower trees have finally produced their new crop of leaves and the California buckeyes look like they’re covered with white candles right now. These long tapering white blossoms point upwards and attract a host of nectar-loving insects, including many different butterfly species. The vibrant little buckeye trees with their verdant green leaves and white blossoms currently enliven the drive to Bakersfield.
Springtime in Tehachapi is the ficklest season in an area known for variable and unpredictable weather. It’s also a beautiful time to be living in the mountains of California.
Have a good week.
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