S3E11: Desert Stories

One of the stories in this week’s episode has to do with coyotes.

Hey friends!

We have a new episode up as of today. Given that we all have enough doomscrolling in our lives, this one veers away momentarily from hard news having to do with why we need to protect the desert, and instead features a few stories about why we want to protect the desert. More or less.

It’s a great spring in the Mojave this year, as the combination of unusual west Coast hurricanes and subsequent atmospheric river storms have dumped more than a couple average years’ worth of precip on the desert, and so we’re awash in an uneven but mostly thrilling carpet of flowers.

Bell Vista Road near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, last week.

The Amargosa Basin is especially nice right now, and I’m headed back there this weekend for a party at Ash Meadows to celebrate the Refuge’s 40th birthday. Maybe I’ll see you there.

While we’re on the topic of milestones, the next episode of 90 Miles from Needles will be our 50th since we launched in January 2022. If you have brilliant ideas for 50-related desert celebration topics, send ‘em our way.

90 Miles from Needles is now listenable on YouTube, which we set up as Google Podcasts is going the way of Google Plus, and LiveJournal, and Usenet. Google suggests using YouTube as a substitute, and it occurred to us to follow suit because it will make it easier for listeners to share episodes they like on social media such as Facebook. Or emails, like so:

Feel free to share widely.

In closing, here are a couple more flower shots from last week in the Amargosa!

Opuntia basilaris

Desert five-spot, Eremalche rotundifolia

Thanks, and keep loving those deserts!

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90 Miles from Needles needs your help. Financial support from listeners like you pays our bills and allows us to keep putting out the good news about desert protection. You can make a one-time or recurring donation here at our Givebutter site, here at our Patreon site, or by texting “Needles” to 53-555.

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This newsletter is a project of the nonprofit Desert Advocacy Media Network. D.A.M.N. also produces the 90 Miles from Needles desert protection podcast and Letters From the Desert, an email newsletter by desert writer Chris Clarke.