Big Bend National Park to Van Horn, Texas: After a side trip up into the Chisos basin, we drove north and west up to the interstate. One pie cherry seen in bloom in Alpine, and a pear or pie cherry in bloom here at the camp site. Occasional yuccas flowering along the increasingly dry and flat roadsides, but no wildflowers seen at all.

Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas: Hike along the path to the Rio Grande with afternoon temperatures in the high 70s. Yesterday’s hard wind has calmed down, and the sky is perfect robin’s-egg blue. Several deciduous trees leafing out around the campground. Creosote bush sported dark berries and bright yellow flowers.

Kerrville, Texas to Big Bend National Park along the Rio Grande: Another redbud seen in bloom, this one along I-10. From the Hill Country, we entered the bare approach down from the freeway, and then the mountains of the park appeared in the south. Along the road, several large yuccas in bloom, Joshua trees or yucca brevifolia. Yellow fruit noticed on segmented cactus, probably tasajillo cactus.

Kerrville, Texas: Walking along the Guadeloupe River in downtown Kerrville, temperature in the high 80s, the ground so dry it crinkled under foot, we saw a full-blooming redbud tree, and all the tall trees that lined the water were budded.

Driving across Texas, deep drought throughout the area. Some greening of a few short, thin shrub, but the maple seeds have disappeared, and the land is dominated by scrub evergreens. Even the cacti have turned brown from lack of water. By the motel, one small white cress plant with palmate basal leaves and shepherd’s purse-type seeds in bloom. In Kerrville for repairs.

Morganza, Louisiana to Columbus, Texas: Roadside fleabane, sow thistles and tall ragwort, some red maples with large leaf-like seed clusters. Across the scrub bayou land of western Louisiana into the dry windy flats of eastern Texas. High in the 70s today, but the landscape is still brown and winter-like.

Dauphin Island to north of Baton Rouge, Morganza, LA: White clover, tall ragwort, sow thistles common along the roadside, trees budding – many maples with large red seed clusters. Cattails were at least waist high. Full redbud seen above Baton Rouge, and then at the Rosedown Plantation, we found camellias in full bloom, full rhododendrons, tulips, daffodils, late azaleas.

Dauphin Island, Alabama: Walked the bird sanctuary under sunny skies, a cool wind from the Gulf, high in the middle 50s.

Birmingham to Mobile and Dauphin Island. Blue jays courting, doves and cardinals calling at early morning in the campsite. The drive south was relatively uneventful, the road straight and lined with cut-over scrub pine forest. Buzzards common, as they were yesterday. Cress noticed near Montgomery, had been in bloom for some time.

Louisville, KY to Pelham, south of Birmingham, AL. A very gradual greening of the landscape, especially below Bowling Green. Clumps of daffodils noticed below Nashville, about 370 miles southwest of Yellow Springs, then bright, low wheat fields glowing near the Alabama-Tennessee border. A few dandelions and many gil-over-ground at the Alabama welcome center.