Photo tour of oasis

I figure with the ground wet the place is looking as good as it's going to get this year, so I took some photos of it. When I made my previous post today it was still dark outside. Here's the expanding puddle in the big tank. Keep in mind that I had pumped out a lot of what was there yesterday. I debated whether to pump it out now, or chance evaporation and pump it to the trees later this week when they'll need it worse. It's at least 1,000 gallons. I opted to wait.

And if we get more rain things might green up more than I expect. Below is a photo of where I removed the gravel and rock-edged walkway and put mulch. That big center bush is a Mountain Laurel. To the right of it is a small mesquite that came up on its own. In a few years it'll be big and fill that area with wonderful habitat that I won't have to worry about watering. That's the plan anyway.

Next, the arroyo that delivers the water to my tanks with a quick half inch of rain or more. This stand of young soapberry trees grew here because of the diversion dam downstream backing water into this area. They look pretty dead but remain supple, so I'm optimistic. Oasis is on the left of this arroyo.

One big surprise is the apricot tree. It has weathered the cold, drought, heat, and deer much better than expected. I watered it less than I did the mulberry trees. Note the new mulch around its periphery.

And here are the pitiful mulberry trees for comparison. But at least they're still alive.

And last, the two cottonwood trees. This first is the Eastern cottonwood, sparse, but what leaves there are on it, are green.

This last one is the worst looking tree in the oasis, but parts of it have tiny greenish leaves. I think it's alive. This is just how it adapts to drought conditions. The Chinese Pistachio (right foreground) is doing good, all things considered.