Lean into Big Bend National Park: Desert Horseback Riding

Arriving at camp, time slows to a trickle. I sit in the desert waiting for the sun to lower and cool the air. Dog snapping at flies, the sound of my horse munching on hay –a Sergio Leone western comes to mind. Views of the Chisos and Dead Horse Mountains frame Hannold Draw. Pens withContinue reading "Lean into Big Bend National Park: Desert Horseback Riding"

Art of the Desert

Chihuahuan Desert Views travel beyond imagination.  Studies have shown that most people look at artwork in a museum for somewhere between 15-30 seconds. I invite you into my world.  To wander.  Visually explore every curve, texture, and color.  Stare.  Listen. Engage in the dialogue.  And mostly, to surrender. Watercolors of sunrise reflect on the mountainsContinue reading "Art of the Desert"

Myths and Facts about Wild Horses and Burros

Article from: https://awionline.org/content/myths-and-facts-about-wild-horses-and-burros Myth: There are too many wild horses and burros on public lands and their numbers must be reduced. Fact: The opposite is true—there are too few wild horses and burros on our public lands, and unless their numbers grow, the survival of these special animals is in jeopardy. During the 1800’s, it is estimatedContinue reading "Myths and Facts about Wild Horses and Burros"

Desert Beauty: Living Rock Cactus

Look closely at her secrets.  Buffers of creosote between thorny arms of mesquite and the spines of ocotillo.  Plants intertwine but like an iceberg, there is much more beneath the surface.  There is beauty here.  In the fall, glimpses of fuscia mark my path.  Gone as quickly as they appear.  A flower appears from rock. Continue reading "Desert Beauty: Living Rock Cactus"

Desert Treasure

Caballo Lake State Park, Caballo Mountains, New Mexico The land here in southern New Mexico is harsh and gentle at the same time. You see this most clearly if you follow the Rio Grande north from Texas. A ribbon of green snaking along the valley, flanked by desert mountains. Mountains which look soft from aContinue reading "Desert Treasure"

The Return: Great news for the Bolson Tortoise

The Turner Endangered Species Fund with the help from partners including the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens recently made conservation history by releasing captive-born Bolson Tortoises in the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands of New Mexico. Thirty years ago, I was very fortunate to join a team of scientists and National Park managers on a trip toContinue reading "The Return: Great news for the Bolson Tortoise"

A Different Kind of Beauty

Terlingua, Texas Backroads.  The Big Bend of Texas.  Chihuahuan Desert. Standing tall in defiance through shades of red and black, rocks surround.  Watching my every move.  Silhouettes of Ocotillo stretch across the sky, thorns hidden in their softness. Riding Terlingua backroads, a yucca stands sentinel along the way.  Wind dips down from the mesa andContinue reading "A Different Kind of Beauty"

Biosphere Region and Reinhabitation

In the 1970s, a counterculture group called Planet Drum Foundation was formed in California to discuss ideas about people in connection to the planet. They pursued research and produced educative information on the relationships between human culture and the natural processes of the planetary biosphere. Today when confronting environmental crisis and conservation, we use termsContinue reading "Biosphere Region and Reinhabitation"

Word for the Day: Sky Island

Sometimes I lock the gate. Sometimes I leave it locked. Protecting the space in which I see and hear myself most clearly. Validation coming only from within.  My thoughts an island.  Madera Canyon Overlook Not the only “island” in west Texas, however, there are others.  Three others in fact: the Guadalupe, Chisos, and Davis Mountains. Continue reading "Word for the Day: Sky Island"