Mojave Light Musing

Washes. My favorite places to wander in. Interesting artifacts can be found there, especially after a rain. Old tortoise shells. Pottery shards. Remnants of animal bones. And, if you are lucky, hints of gold.  Then, you have the treat of rock sculptures from eons of extreme weather chiseling away the patina of the boulders. Or find metate-like dimples from years of grinding acorns on flatter parts of the granite surfaces. I try to imagine the activity at those locations - which are scattered around the park - almost always near a source of scrub oaks by a wash that could have supplied more constant water way back then. What kinds of things would the women be discussing as they ground away to make flour for their meals? The quiet is calming. Smaller animals skitter from creosote to juniper to cats claw. The tracks they leave are interesting patterns to peruse along the trail. The air is heavy with the scent of sage and creosote and juniper...even more so after a rain. When it has be...

Today's post is simple photo from today's 9+ mile hike through the boulders and canyon washes of Joshua Tree National Park.  There were tons of these red barrel cacti scattered about the granite and quartz faces of the rocks. Not in sand. Not in rich soil. Growing out of a rock. Solid rock. Is that survival or thriving.....? Such intricate beauty rises out of what our human eye sees as nothing. This little one could fit in the palm of my hand with room to spare. My walks in the wilder lands of this desert I call home show me many examples of living things inching out an existence among seemingly lifeless terrain. Oh, not so.... This hardy landscape is teeming with thriving flora and fauna, skilled at adapting to our ever changing drought conditions. You can learn a lot about the health of our environment and how the natural world cooperates so that 'everyone' gets what 'they' need. All you need to do is get down on your hands and knees, quiet your busy mind, and...