2007 Nov 7 (Wed) Written by hand in letter format to my sister. Mostly copied here.
Two thoughts for tonight:
- “I love my communte,” said Adam
- Politics permeates everything and doesn’t wait for the rain.
Washington (DC) has given a lot ($12 million) to the rehabilitation effort out here in the form of a 3-year grant that started 3 years ago. The Mojave, as the driest desert in North America, hasn’t gotten enough rain for seeds planted in the beginning of the grant to germinate. From January to September 2007, the USGS rainguage totaled 0.6″. They (the USGS) are really excited about the plants we’re putting out because they have been grown in by their partners since 2005 and they (the USGS) will actually have some results to show in the desert ground, other than just that the seeds haven’t germinated yet.
Adam (my supe) made the comment about the commute on the way to our last plot of the day as we were bouncing all over in 4-low gear. I also love the ride. I laugh.
I saw my first scorpion today — about half as long as my thumb and just as wide. He came out with a pile of dirt that I pulled from a hole with my bare hand. Eeek! Then when walking to the next plot, I did not know that I had a huge ant with a stinger contraption inside my shirt, and got bitten three times as it tried to escape getting smushed by my backpack. The first time it bit me, when I first slung on my pack, I thought I had gotten a cactus spine stuck somewhere. I didn’t realize I had a bug in my shirt until I got to the next plot and was investigating why the supposed spine traveled up my spine.
I think it is rather unfortunate that I don’t like hot dry weather, because desert ecology is so fascinating. More specifically, Mojave Desert ecology is fascinating. Something like 40% of the species that live here are endemic, meaning that they are ONLY here and nowhere else.
I remember thinking I’d write five more pages tonight, but I’m tired. We worked the Fork and Tramp burn areas today.