I am still in the process of catching up on and posting videos from the spring–or what I hoped to be spring, but which brought little life to the landscape. Some of these are generating many views, due to the relevance of the topic to many millions of people in the southwestern United States.
During one of these excursions, I encountered the largest herd of desert bighorns I have ever met (only some seen here):
Although I have been delving more and more deeply into Mojave and Great Basin work in recent times, investigations into worldwide starworts are continuous and occasionally result in published reports:
https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajb2.1650
Spring did not really come this year to the Mojave, unless you happened to occupy a deeper wash with slightly superior moisture levels to the rest of the landscape. Before it became too hot in the lower deserts, and as many plants struggled to develop even just their leaves this year in the face of severe drought and concomitantly severe herbivory, I was able to complete a stunningly beautiful walk across a significant portion of the Lake Mead northshore region. To better botany ahead in the North. I’m already finding amazing things at the Mojave-Great Basin transition.
During July of 2020, I likely became the first person to accomplish a yo-yo traverse of the Snake Range of east-central Nevada. The expedition is documented in five parts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-9kkYWfA8A
The incredible drought of the past year has been mitigated with recent storms. Snow swept the lower deserts in a recent event:
From Colorado to Utah, to across Nevada and Arizona, everywhere I’ve been in the second half of summer has been covered in some degree of wildfire haze. It is the same story for many, and here in the Mojave Desert a record number of days without any precipitation is to be imminently set. Emeralds of the desert still persist through the drought:
The one year anniversary of the start of writing a new “Flora of Nevada” recently passed and I am happy to report that the working document is over 200 pages in length. The northern and high mountain flora is quite dry and crispy this year, but field work and jittery videos are still proceeding well in concert with the writing.
A toasty McCullough Range traverse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZF7k-RiLFU
The Snake Range merely threatening rain in July 2020:
As the Mojave Desert senesced into summer heat as May set in, my car (often field vehicle and base camp, sometimes home) of seven years made its last stand. But now I am out collecting plants again with sights set into northern Nevada and the southern Rocky Mountains. Give a shout if you’re in either region this summer!
A snapshot of car death: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu6IapffXKk
