The chirping of crickets tells us the warmer weather of summer is well on its way. Their plaintive pleadings for mates are heard wherever bits of semi-natural scenery cut across the urban tapestry of San Diego. Try the Spruce Street …

The blooming of desert annuals is over, but not so for the stolid desert willows and smoke trees. Rooted to the beds of dry washes throughout Anza-Borrego's lower valleys, both plants gather enough energy this time of year to put …

SPRING WILDFLOWERS have largely dried up in many areas of San Diego County, but in the cooler coastal enclaves such as Cabrillo National Monument and Torrey Pines State Reserve, several kinds remain. Look for paintbrush, purple nightshade, coreopsis, sea fig, …

The highest tide this month, measuring +6.6 feet, occurs on Sunday, May 24, at 9:31 p.m. Lowest tide levels for the month, measuring -1.6 feet, occur on Monday, May 25 at 4:44 a.m., and on Tuesday, May 26, 5:34 a.m. …

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 trees limbs and branches to dine on their favorite insects, while flycatchers, as the name …

The generally dreary, overcast, late spring weather along San Diego's coastline, has already begun and could intensify next month. Occasionally, the low clouds will stick around for several days. This is usually triggered by a "Catalina eddy," in which moist …

Now in the second month of its 9-month-long morning-sky apparition, Venus continues blazing brightly in the eastern sky during early-morning twilight. On the morning of Thursday, May 21, the waning crescent moon hovers several degrees to the left of pinpoint …

Agaves, or century plants (Agave americana), have been sending up their asparagus-like flower stalks all over the metro San Diego area lately. In warm weather, the tips can rise as much as a foot a day. During summer big clusters …

Mule deer by the dozens continue to roam through the 25,000-acre Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, where the smoldering landscape of October 2003 has given way to thriving shrubbery and some saplings of pine and oak amid the blackened tree trunks. …

Wildflowers of San Diego County's highest mountains are in bloom this month. Take a walk along any trail above 4500 feet in the Laguna, Cuyamaca, or Palomar mountains and enjoy a palette of colors ranging from crimson red to indigo …

The silk oak tree, a fast-growing import from Australia, comes into short-lived glory this month. Golden flower clusters decorate the silvery-green branches, an effect that is particularly stunning when seen in contrast to the blue-blossoming jacaranda trees often planted nearby. …

Wild Lilac (ceanothus) is currently blooming mostly at elevations higher than 4000 feet in San Diego County. Blossom colors range from pure white to various shades of blue or lavender. Some fine examples may be seen along the upper Noble …

Two of the most common native flowering plants in San Diego County's sage-scrub and chaparral plant communities — chamise and buckwheat — are in flower this month through June. Chamise, also known as greasewood, readily sprouts from root crowns after …

A middle-of-the-road wildflower display due to slightly-less-than-normal winter rainfall -- is not entirely over. Meticulous searches on slopes facing north (away from the sun) or in shady canyon bottoms (where runoff may have lingered) should reveal native red monkeyflower, blue-eyed …