Another spring like the last one, with late germinating rains (December), but good following rains. Primary production is high; the numbers and size of plants are high. Spring temperatures have been cool; some flowering times have been affected. Brittlebush is usually an early-flowering shrub, but in the preserve and surrounds the bloom is only just beginning. Second wet spring in a row means the spring ephemeral seed bank will likely be substantially restocked this season.

Between the increasing number of iNaturalist users and the good spring wildflower season the number of observations in the preserve has exploded this year. As of today (14 April) there are 2,859 observations posted for the calendar year. These additions are very helpful to the city and the conservancy in increasing the knowledge of where and when organisms are found, information about their phenology, among numerous other uses.

This happy situation has led to a bit of pressure on the project's curators who can only enter observations into the project one at a time. But there are several relatively painless ways that you can help:

1) When entering an observation using the app, note the Projects menu option on the Details page. If you are a member of the project, you can tap that option and select "Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve" from your project list.

2) When entering bulk observations through the web site, check off all the observations you want to add and select the "Add to project" option. Then select "Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve" from the list presented.

3) You can become a project curator. If you do, a list of Project Curator Tools is open to you on the main project page. From that list, select "Find Suitable Observations". A list of observations opens from which you can assess likely candidates.

If you wish to try your hand a curating, leave a comment below or send a message to @stevejones through iNaturalist and I will add your name to the exclusive list alongside other esteemed members such as...uh, well, right now it's only me. There is a short list of instruction project curators should follow:

-Add no observation entered before the date you become a curator. There's a list of past unsuitable observations numbering about 350 at the moment.
-Add only complete observations - those lacking a photo or accurate date should be excluded.

You do not need to identify the organism, you can add it to the project whether you know what it is or not. If you're feeling especially ambitious you can tick off some Annotations at the right as well. Those should be fairly self-explanatory.

Those who know the Granite Mountain trails for their wildflower displays and who have been disappointed in the display earlier this year should try to visit the area again. Flowering has come late to two species in the area that usually put on good shows (due perhaps to the cool spring?), brittlebush and chuparosa. Both often begin flowering as early as December and January but were substantially delayed this year. They are both in full flower now, as are many of the usual suspects - poppies and lupines are still putting on a good show, as are owl's clover and hedgehog cacti. Many little surprises await for wildflower aficionados. Wonderful show from the banana yuccas as well, especially between Granite and Cholla Mountains.