I revisited a wash on the Tonto NF that I visited pre- and post-Mountain fire last summer. The plan was to remove the fountain grass that I'd spotted on previous visits. Brought along a small pick for the job. Turns out I only needed it for two plants along the bank. The mid-wash plants were gone, along with many other mid-wash plants. The area received quite a bit of rainfall last week - 2.99 inches at Horeshoe Lake down the road. Given the loss of vegetation due to the fire, the wash - a fairly steep one - flowed high and fast. At some of the narrow points in the canyon the water ran at least head-high. There were quite a few changes. Areas that had been deeply cut in previous flows were filled, and other areas cut deeper. It was quite a bit easier to navigate the wash than last summer, too. Deep in, there is a riparian area; cottonwood-willow, grape vines, carrizo, etc. A number of willows had been knocked down and the bark stripped by the flow.
One unfortunate result was the loss of the largest of the four Abutilon parishii plants I found earlier. This one. It survived the fire only to be lost in the ensuing flood.
On a positive note, there were seedlings galore sprouting in the burned areas. More flowering than I expected as well. Even found a flowering Mexican poppy.
Unpleasant aroma
Dirt deposited by recent flooding
Removed. A few large populations in the area and scattered individuals.
Removed. A few large populations in the area and scattered individuals.
P. ramosissima or P. distans
Very large specimen
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How was the condition of the logs? Starting to rot yet?
Not yet - the flood was last week; last rain before that was two months ago. Lots of dead wood from the fire and trees knocked down by the flood, though. Won't be long.
Such a unique opportunity to observe the changing landscape. Great to hear recovery is already happening.
Cool maybe I'll come down and check it out after this next storm. Always looking for wood slices for my xylarium
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