Progress

The intense heat is slowing growth, but there is some progress to report. One of the hackberry trees that I watered a couple of times during the drought, and was sure was dead, is actually putting on some leaves.

I got suspicious that it might not be totally dead when I saw those oily wet spots on the trunk. That made me think there was something going on. The light green leaves below are the new growth. Beebrush is the darker green stuff.

But I'm still certain the hackberries that got no water during the drought are dead. 

Around June 19, I installed some agave stalks and already a Ladder-backed Woodpecker is nesting in one. Here is a photo of it taken on the 19th.

And here it is today....

That's progress! The volunteer Soapberry thicket that I'm so fond of is greening up slowly, too. It's down in the arroyo and gets flooded for a week after a rain due to the dam a short ways downstream. So it should be a happy camper. Just now drying out. I'm so eager to see what it'll look like in a couple of years.