Desert Bighorn Sheep, mule deer, burros and all kinds of other desert dwellers come to this natural water tank for a drink. We hiked back to it and it was about a mile up off of the Painted Desert hiking trail here on the refuge. It hasn't rained here in a month and then it was less than an inch. The rain water runs down the hills here and into this rock pothole. The water doesn't absorb into the soil in these desert areas it just runs and collects in rock depressions. The animals appreciate this water otherwise they have to travel all the way to the river which is quite a trek.
Some desert blooms have started. We are seeing some pretty yellow flowers on the brittlebush. This shrub with the red flowers is called a chuparosa. It will bloom whenever it gets a little water. The beavertail cactus and the ocotillo will be blooming soon. We never stay long enough into April to see the desert all in bloom. Its hard to say how good the bloom will be this year. We had some good rain but its just hard to tell if it was enough to make everything bloom.
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