Sandstorm over Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley, California. April 1976.

Scanned from a 35mm Kodachrome slide. #OldPhotos #Kodachrome #DeathValley #California #MojaveDesert

The #MojaveDesert bird bath cam:

https://youtu.be/T0V2W882dYc

So, about the new round of #USGS #Mendehall #Postdoc #Fellowship opportunities…

The #MojaveDesert has a long history of #mining (see, for example, http://www.desertsymposium.org/publications/2023_Mines_of_the_Mojave.pdf). From 19th century mule teams hauling boron, to the uranium boom of the 1950’s, to modern mining operations like the Mountain Pass #RareEarthElements #mine, the #Mojave has been in the middle. If you’ve ever dreamed of being a part of that history then do we have the opportunity for you!

The need for #CriticalMinerals, like #lithium or #RareEarth #minerals for use in gadgets and as part of the transition to clean energy has never been greater. Mendenhall Opportunity 22-13, “Constraining the geologic and tectonic conditions of critical element mineralization in the Mojave Desert, California” (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/mendenhall-research-fellowship-program/22-13-constraining-geologic-and-tectonic-conditions), seeks a #postdoc to apply #GeologicMapping, #geochemistry, and #geochronology to better characterize critical minerals systems in the Mojave. The application window opens 1 September and closes on 1 November.

Three years ago, more than a million #Joshua #trees burnt in #MojaveDesert in #California. A wildfire in a desert is a very unusual event.

Today...

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-31/york-fire-in-mojave-desert-grows-to-77000-acres

#cawx #caweather

Climate change and development -- especially the construction of large solar farms in the high desert -- has put the genetically distinct western population of Joshua trees under extreme pressure. Despite this, the federal government has not yet given them protection under the Endangered Species Act. However, a new California law will give these iconic plants some breathing room.

#JoshuaTrees #California #botany #EndangeredSpecies #MojaveDesert

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/28/california-protect-joshua-trees-conservation?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

As we celebrate this, the most lively, longest day of the year, I bring some updates:
We've been extremely busy these last couple of months, getting some of the new plantings established and also just with other *life* things.
We've learned some valuable lessons and I'm extremely pleased to be able to share that everything we're growing at the Ranch is absolutely thriving!
Thriving, despite the water that is literally the quality of brackish seawater, we found out (we have filters for our whole house and for our drinking water, but learned that the whole house filter isn't cutting it AND that the hose spigots aren't going through the whole house filter since they were poorly set up).
Thriving, despite that the topsoil is literally just sand and gravel. For instance, on a whim I planted some sweet potatoes in sand in a spot where a hose spigot leaks, and they're sprouting, having only been given sand and the drip from the hose. My guess is they're able to thrive on the nutrients in the tuber itself, so we'll see what happens when those are used up. For now, though, it's extremely exciting to see things take root in such an apparently hostile environment.

There's also grass shooting up anywhere it can, anywhere there's water and a little shade. It's a good reminder that this is not a true desert, that this is just arid land and it is only desertified through human behavior. And especially as we read "Tending the Wild", on resource management by California's Indigenous peoples, it's inspiring to realize that we can reverse this state through careful stewarding of the land, as well.

With blooming sage and rosemary, mesquite and palo verde, date palms and oleander, prickly pear and beavertail, agave and aloe, there is an abundance of insect activity and wildlife. Crickets, grasshoppers, all kinds of bees, fascinating spiders, desert iguanas and really large lizards, ground squirrels and many more types of birds than we saw last year in the summer, all are flocking to the green, the wet, and the shade.

Birds are taking pomegranate seeds and depositing them around the desert, one of our mesquite trees is sprouting a small child next to it, our date palms are propagating themselves with little frond shoots and one is even growing teeny green dates despite the fact that we were told we'd have to hand pollinate them to make that happen.

We're celebrating abundance and giving offerings and thanks to this land all day today, culminating with a ritual this evening to charge a solar tattoo I'll be doing outside.

#SummerSolstice #Solstice #RanchoDeLaLiberta #Permaculture #RegenerativeAgriculture #MojaveDesert #Eco #Sustainability #Desert #LandWorship

Love me some blue skies & wispy clouds in the desert, hope to be able to see these views every year

#Photography #Hiking #MojaveDesert #DeathValley #California

Was able to hike up the trail to Wildrose Peak last month in Death Valley, it's a spectacular view and worth the effort to get there. Thankful it was one of the few days the wind wasn't howling!

#Photography #Hiking #MojaveDesert #DeathValley #California

Was fortunate to see some of the wild burros wandering around the southwestern side of Death Valley National Park, it's always fun to see them doing their thing in such a relatively austere environment. These were taken at about 4,000' near Wildrose.

#Photography #Hiking #MojaveDesert #DeathValley #California #Burro

More wildflowers and views of my recent time in Death Valley National Park. I love that place and it was awesome to see so much color there!

#Photography #Hiking #MojaveDesert #DeathValley #California #Wildflowers

#ThickTrunkThursday from Joshua Tree National Park, California.
#ProtectOurParks
#DesertScene
#MojaveDesert

I’ll tell you a secret: I was once a regular at Roy’s Cafe in Amboy. #mojavedesert #mojavesecrets

Blooming wildflowers in Death Valley National Park, from between 1,000-2,000' elevation. All the winter rains have really greened up areas of the park that sure were a lot more barren in the spring of 2022. It's beautiful to see!

I need to find a wildflower book to try to identify some of these.

#Photography #Hiking #MojaveDesert #DeathValley #California #Wildflowers

Just wrapped up another visit to Death Valley National Park. A little crazy weather, nice clouds, lots of sunshine, and some great hikes. Wildflowers are out at certain elevations but no cactus blooms yet that I saw, hopefully soon!

#Photography #Hiking #MojaveDesert #DeathValley #California

Just wrapped up another visit to Death Valley National Park. A little crazy weather, nice clouds, lots of sunshine, and some great hikes. Wildflowers are out at certain elevations but no cactus blooms yet that I saw, hopefully soon!

#Photography #Hiking #MojaveDesert #DeathValley #California

The skeleton of a cholla cactus looks lacy & delicate but feels as hard as iron. #desert #desertPlants #NativePlants #MojaveDesert #California

Joshua Tree, 2023
#joshuatree #joshuatreenationalpark #mojavedesert #desert #oasis #california #roadtrip #landscape #twentyninepalms #Mojave #oasisofmara

This is an outstanding aerial view from a helicopter somewhere over the #MojaveDesert near Lake Mead #Nevada #USA. Stunning red rock formations with plateaus, #mountains and canyons are a delight to view from above and the deep colors of this scenic vista are just mesmerizing!
Mojave Desert Red Rock here
https://debbie-oppermann.pixels.com/featured/mojave-desert-red-rock-debbie-oppermann.html
#desert #landscape #LandscapePhotography #SpringIntoArt #nature #NatureLover #aerial #redrock #geology #PhotographersOnMastodon #MastoArt #art #BuyIntoArt #ArtBooster

A fantastic couple of days on the southeast side of Death Valley National Park. Can't wait to come back next month.

#Photography #Hiking #MojaveDesert #DeathValley #AmargosaRiver #California

Also we've decided to open this up a bit more publicly (for fun) if you're local to Southern California or more generally the American Southwest or West Coast & want to travel all this way DM me for details
Early afternoon will be casual, the first DJ set starts at 3, the second goes till 3am
If you don't RSVP in time but want to come you're still welcome to, DM me, but bring your own sustenance, we're in the middle of nowhere
.
Deadline to RSVP is tomorrow evening Pacific time
.
#SouthernCalifornia #Homestead #RanchoDeLaLibertad #MojaveDesert