Outdoors with Don Q: Springtime in Western Nevada

While it starts at 3:45 p.m. today, Saturday, March 21, will be the first full day of spring in Western Nevada. But springtime in Western Nevada is definitely in the eyes of the beholder. As someone who was born and raised in Carson City, Spring weather can be very nice or very not-so-nice.

Currently, our weather is awesome: It is unusually warm both day and night, and we have been enjoying our afternoon cocktails out on the front porch, which is highly unusual for late February to early March. Flowers and vegetables are poking out of the ground, plants are growing, bushes are flourishing, apple, cherry, peach and pear trees have blossoms, and the other trees are budding out. It's almost Spring, but beware, Old Man Winter may not be done yet.

A sucker bet:
As an example of what I mean, for many years I made a sucker bet with novice newcomers to Carson City that I won 80 percent of the time. That sucker bet said that it would snow in Carson City the week of my birthday, which is on May 8.

Those fools would bet and I would win an average of 8 out of 10 years. However, since our prolonged drought has settled into our area with warmer temps and a serious lack of snowstorms, that bet is no longer a cinch. I might be ugly but I'm not dumb!

Late season frost and snow:
It has been said the unofficial last day of frost for our part of the world is usually about mid-May. That is a long way from March 21, so beware! If you are one of those naive souls busy, right now, planting annual flowers and all kinds of vegetables, there could be a nasty surprise waiting for you.

When you least expect it, a big storm system will roar down from the Arctic region, the wind will howl, the temperature will drastically drop and then guess what happens: It snows in late March or in April or in early May.
All of your hard work and planting is wiped out by the frost and snow.

It's Springtime in Nevada! We have learned to wait until almost Memorial Day to plant our annual flowers (Carnations, Geraniums, Pansies, etc.), plus squash and tomato plants to reduce the odds of them being killed by a late Spring frost. Old Man Winter does not give up easy in this part of the country.

As an example of that, at our vacation cabin (which is located on a steep hillside at an elevation of 6,000 feet) between Portola and Davis Lake, California (about 78 miles from Carson City), our big apple tree has had apples only twice in the last 12 years. The warm weather starts the budding process and then wham: A killing frost arrives and we are left with yet another year of no apples. Sad but true.

Mule Deer:
Another problem to contend with in the Springtime in our area is the deer. There are more and more, ever-increasing herds of "urbanized" mule deer (bucks, does and fawns) who have made the west side of Carson City their permanent year-around home.

Due to the extended drought and its adverse effect on their food and water supplies in the mountains, the deer have moved to where they are also safe from their natural predators (bears, bobcats, coyotes and mountain lions).
They causally wander up and down the streets and on the sidewalks, across front and back yards and contently lie down on lawns.
One time, we counted 24 deer, one block from the Governor's Mansion. When the flowers, plants, bushes and trees are flourishing, the hungry deer have a feast and decimate just about anything that is green and tasty.

Last year, we replaced our front lawn and installed five brand new flower beds, complete with all kinds of colorful flowers.

They were our pride and joy, then the mule deer arrived with a vengeance. They devoured almost all of the flowers in the five beds and then to add insult to injury, they pooped and tinkled on our new grass.

Elaine was not a happy camper. This year, some of those darn deer have already developed a taste for Elaine's early flowers and vegetables. Last weekend, she planted two large flowers in one of our front flower beds, and was confident that the deer would not eat them, as the flowers were advertised as "Deer Resistant."
I snickered and said, "How in the heck can a flower be deer resistant?"

Low and behold, the deer discovered the two new flowers and ate them almost down to the ground. So much for being "Deer Resistant."'

As a result of that raid, we have put netting around the vegetable beds (next to the house) to protect them. That'll show those darn critters who's boss!

Finally:
Our gas powered lawnmower has had its blades sharpened, and its oil and spark plug changed. Bushes and trees have been neatly pruned. Last year's decorative bark has been removed from the flower beds. Leaves have been raked from the front lawn, back lawn and flower beds.

Table and chairs have been taken out of the shed and are on the back patio. Little ceramic Gnomes have been placed in the flower beds. Dead solar decorative lights have been replaced. Water hoses have been connected to the faucets. Wind chime has been placed, high up, in our backyard tree. We are as ready for Spring as we can be.
But we have not yet put the snow shovel away...not yet.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't tell you the most deer we have seen in our immediate neighborhood this year.
If he grins and says, "It was the day when nine deer laid for hours on the lawn directly across the street," he could be one of our neighbors.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. Don's wife, Elaine, is the Outdoor photographer. They live in Carson City and can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com