You can feel winter changing into spring
1941-2021
Spring doesn’t officially start until March 20, but there are already signs that the seasons will be changing soon in the Tehachapi Mountains.
For one thing, the days have started to get noticeably longer. Back on Dec. 21, the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year, the sun rose at 6:51 a.m. and set at 4:46 p.m., and the days were only about 10 hours long. Now the sun rises earlier, at about 6:30 a.m. and sets about a full hour later at 5:44 p.m. So the days are lengthening.
Wildlife is starting to react as well — I have seen different species of birds, from House Sparrows to Ravens, carrying nesting materials on the warmer sunny days. This activity seems to stop abruptly when we have cold days (the high on Saturday, Feb. 20 was only 39 degrees Fahrenheit), but it shows that birds are already preparing for the spring onset of nesting season.
With some added recent moisture, green grass is finally beginning to emerge and become visible. We are way behind in precipitation so far, with only a little over three inches of our average total of 11 to 12 inches, but recent rain and some snow have started to awaken the plant kingdom.
We sure could use a March Miracle, as some have referred to rainy March months in past years, since we’re running out of time: the majority of our rain and snow comes in December, January, February and March, so March is typically the last month to provide significant moisture. Occasional storms arrive in April and May, and this is a year when we could certainly use that.
With cold temperatures, what little snowfall we have received this winter has lasted longer in the higher mountains, which is a plus. I took a photo near Tehachapi Mountain Park showing the melting effect that Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) leaves can have when they are laying on top of snow.
While white snow reflects sunlight and stays cooler, the dark leaves absorb more sunlight and become warmer. The result is little shallow depressions or dimples of melted snow beneath the oak leaves.
Out in Sand Canyon, I took a photo of a Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris) nestled in snow. While cactus species are more associated with hot, dry weather, most of them in the West grow in areas that experience wide temperature swings, since they lack the moderating effect of a nearby ocean.
As a result, although they can and do tolerate high heat and little moisture, but
they must also survive very cold winter temperatures. The cactus in Sand Canyon was unharmed by snow, and no doubt benefited from the slow-release moisture that snow provides.
Cattle and other grazing animals are finally beginning to have access to some fresh feed since the grass is starting to grow. Parts of the ranchland surrounding Highway 58 on the drive to Bakersfield has been looking like a lunar landscape, since the feed had long since been grazed off and no new grass had taken its place. The palette of color had been limited to brown, gray and tan, but now there is starting to be the welcome flush of green in places.
We’re approaching the most volatile months of the year, in terms of our weather — late March and April can easily vary from balmy warm days to freezing cold and snow. And then back again in a few days’ time.
Hopefully things don’t warm up too fast and cause fruit blossoms to open and then get hit with a late April killing frost, which is what happened last year.
The seasons are getting ready to change again in the Tehachapi Mountains.
Goodbye winter, hello spring.
But winter, can you please give us some more snow or at least rain before you
leave? The plants, animals and people of this area would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
Have a good week.
Friends and family members are mourning the loss of Nuwä (Kawaiisu or Southern Paiute) elder Ralph Luther Girado, 79, who passed away on Feb. 7 in Bakersfield.
He was born on March 26, 1941 in Twin Oaks, Calif., the son of Rafael and Gladys Leon Girado. Dad was very proud to tell you that when he was born, his father was the delivery man. He had a close-knit family, and he helped with chores every day from the time he was a little boy. He loved to spend time with his friends as a kid, riding their bikes and fishing in Caliente Creek after it was stocked with fish following the 1952 earthquake.
As a teenager, he loved driving a car his father gave him, which he and his cousins cut down to make into a hotrod. Luther and his friends would race them up and down Caliente Creek Road.
He had a band in high school called the Fables. They played all of the dances at high school in Bakersfield, and the dances at Ed Oakley Hall in Twin Oaks. After attending Twin Oaks School, he went to high school in Bakersfield, but had to drop out his senior year at Bakersfield High School after his father died, in order to work fulltime to take care of his mother and sisters.
Luther was married for 36 years to Vivian Diane Queen Girado, formerly of Bakersfield. Luther worked for many years as a pipefitter with West Valley Construction of Bakersfield, and was a member of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 460 Union. Luther lived in Walker Basin at the time of his passing, and he spent his entire life living in Caliente and Walker Basin.
Luther enjoyed playing his guitar, including practicing at 3 a.m. when he got up, teaching his ancestral Nuwä language, watching sports on TV, and going to
Native gatherings where he had many friends.
His favorite food was steak — he always told his son-inlaw David he wanted steak for lunch. Classic country music was his favorite to listen to and play, and he enjoyed watching football, wrestling and Nascar. He loved to hunt and explore in the Piute Mountains and Walker Basin, and he appreciated their quietness and beauty. He daily enjoyed observing the wildlife roam around his home, and he put out food and water for them. He watched quail, rabbits, bobcats, raccoons, black bear, and more. Until he got sick at the very end of his life, he took care of livestock every day at the neighboring Cielo Azul Ranch, and he had a tractor that he used for doing road work for neighbors in the Basin. He cherished playing his guitar and singing with his band the Piute Mountain Boys.
Luther was always joking around, laughing, enjoy working with language documentation and teaching language with his family. He was happy playing in his band, the Piute Mountain Boys, at local events. He was proud to share his Native American language and culture with everyone. Among his yearly highlights was meeting all of the many Native American language speakers from all over California and becoming fast friends with them.
Luther was predeceased by his wife of 36 years, Vivian Diane Queen Girado, his parents Rafael and Gladys Leon Girado, and his siblings Viola Girado, Stanley Girado and Catherine Betty
Hernandez Girado.
He is survived by his sister Lucille Girado Hicks, and his children Julie and her husband David Turner, daughter Joy Girado and her partner Galen Golden, and son Brian Girado. Also by his grandchildren: Loreen Park Carothers, Bud and Patricia Turner, Cody and Britany Park, Alexandra Girado and Echo Girado. In addition his great-grandchildren: Chase and Kailyn Turner, Jacob, Eli and Lane Carothers, Duane and Braxton Park, Cybille Girado-Jobin, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
There will be a private family graveside and memorial service, invitation only, at a later date and time. He will be interred on Indian allotment land in the Walker Basin/Rancheria area.