Outdoors
The Annual Green-to-Golden Transition of San Diego’s wild grasslands normally takes place in late March or early April, but another year of late and heavy precipitation has again delayed the dry-out phase. These rains also …
Rabbit and Rodent Populations are peaking in the canyons and hillsides of coastal San Diego County. In many neighborhoods, car headlights illuminate the rear ends of scampering cottontail rabbits, interrupted while making raids on succulent …
Land Bird Migration is in Full Swing This Month in San Diego County, with warblers and flycatchers among those most commonly seen. Warblers crawl along tree limbs and branches to dine on their favorite insects, …
With More Sunshine And Warmer Temperatures Lately, sycamore, liquidambar, and other decorative deciduous trees around San Diego have responded with tender bright-green foliage. Cruise down 163 through Balboa Park to appreciate the vernal splendor of …
Mustard, a Non-Native Plant More Like a Weed than a wildflower, will soon be blooming profusely on grassy slopes all along the coastline of San Diego County. An old story, probably apocryphal, tells of the …
Wild Lilac (Ceanothus) Has Been Springing Its Way Eastward, reaching all the way to the Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Laguna mountains. This season’s staggered rains have led to hills painted blue and purple. Blooming lilac also …
March Is the Proverbial Windy Month here in San Diego, as in most places. From midday to late afternoon, sun-warmed air expands and rises over the county’s interior, drawing in an influx of cool air …
India Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepsis indica) is one of the most common flowering shrubs used in landscaping as hedges and dividers in San Diego. It is blooming best right now, with blossoms ranging in hue from pinkish …
Ornamental Peach Trees, with radiant white and pink blossoms, are lighting up the manicured landscape in Balboa Park’s west side. These and other “stone-fruit” trees, with and without edible fruits, belong to the genus Prunus. …
Mexican Coral Trees or “naked corals” are showing their stuff this season by bearing and baring scarlet, flamelike flowers on the tips of their twisting, leafless branches. Commonly planted as park and freeway landscaping, they …
The Pleasantly Pungent Odor Of Sage is filling the air wherever native vegetation grows on the county’s coastal and lower-foothill slopes. Most common are the black sage, with its tight clusters of small, white flowers; the …