Texas Mesquite Trees Reveal When Spring Is Coming

Living in Texas long enough teaches you something about the weather. You don’t always need a meteorologist, fancy forecast, or a high-tech weather app. Sometimes all you need to do is watch the trees. My wife Donna has always told me what her grandparents used to say: “When the mesquite trees start budding, winter is over, and spring is here.”

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That’s been the old Texas rule of thumb for generations. But here we are in March of 2026, and something feels a little different this year. Donna and I were sitting on the front porch after church this past weekend, enjoying the quiet, when I asked her the question I ask every year: “Have you seen any mesquite buds yet?”

West Texans Watch the Mesquite Trees

She took a walk around the back acreage of our property, checking the trees the way Texans have done for decades. When she came back, she had the answer: "Nope! No buds yet."

Not even on Old Faithful, the mesquite tree in the middle of our front yard that looks like it’s been standing there for about 75 years. It’s got mistletoe hanging from its branches, but not a single mesquite bud yet. That tells us one thing, we probably have a little more winter still to come.

Even the Birds Seem to Know

Normally, by now I’d be seeing some of my feathered friends again. There’s a dove that likes to sit outside our bedroom window early in the morning. I call him Romeo because he coos like he’s serenading the sunrise. But I haven’t heard from him lately.

The same goes for some of the usual spring visitors, blue jays, cardinals, and scissortail flycatchers that normally start showing up when the seasons begin to shift.

Birds, animals, and trees seem to have a closer connection to nature than we do. They know when it’s time to wake up and come out of hiding.

Right now, many of them are still waiting.

Spring Is Coming, Texas Just Needs Rain

The other thing we desperately need across West Texas right now is rain. Burn bans are popping up across the region, and dry conditions have many communities on edge. A good soaking rain would help the land, the lakes, and maybe even give those mesquite trees the signal they’ve been waiting for.

Because once those buds appear, Texans know what comes next.

Spring.

And when the mesquite trees finally say it’s time,  you’d better get the lawnmower ready.

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