Mesquite leafed out in April 2011.
Old timers were able to predict the weather pretty accurately without all the gadgets twenty-first century weathermen and women use. They were accustomed to watching trees and the sky and habits of animals. Two such signs are the Easter cold snap and mesquite trees. Both are pretty good indications of the arrival of spring weather.
Don’t set out tomatoes or other tender plants until after the Easter cold snap is heard along the length of the Red River every year. Since Easter Sunday can fluctuate from the end of March until the last week in April, one would assume that the variables are too great for this old adage to work. But work it does.
This year, 2013, we had one of the earliest Easter dates possible, the 31st of March. Towards the end of the month, skies started to cloud up and some brief rains came. We are in a drought period so we had no torrential rains. Then the first week in April was like a return of Old Man Winter. On the morning of April fifth, the condensation on the windshield froze when I left my car outside overnight. By the next afternoon the sun was out and temperatures reached into the 70s. No wonder there is a saying in Texas that if you don’t like the current weather, wait a few hours and it will change drastically.
As I write this, the temperatures are still pleasantly moderate but skies hold hope for rain. We need it badly and maybe, just maybe, we will get a good soaking rain soon.
Mesquite tree with few leaves on April 3, 2013. Is it still winter in North Texas?
As for mesquite trees, these arboreal weeds are good for predicting spring and that’s about all. It is one of the last trees to bud out in spring. When the mesquite starts to leaf out, it is a sign that spring is really here. In the attached photos, the top photograph was taken in early April 2011. The tree was full of leaves, the grass was turning green, and prickly pear was blooming. This picture was taken less than a year after devastating wild fires in Young County, Texas. It was an encouraging sign that we might get rain and a return to normal weather. Sadly, such was not the case. Little rain came but high temperatures did last through that summer.
But the lower photograph was taken on April 3, 2013 near the 2011 picture. What a difference. The weather has not been conducive for the mesquites to bud out. It’s still cloudy and cool. And that may be a good thing, after all. Keep your fingers crossed for all of us in Texas. We desperately need rain.