Desert Destination: Kane Spring

Out in the desert, between two roads, is a solitary Russian olive tree. Russian olive trees only grow where there is water, so I knew there had to be some water there. I even learned the name of the spring that was supporting the tree, but it took many years to finally go visit it. And then last week, I did.

The first thing I saw when we got out of the truck was the sign reading Kane Spr and the old watering trough, now empty. This didn't look too promising. Was the spring still around?

I started circling around the tree and eventually came to a wet area with lots of watercress. Being an ecologist, I pulled up a handful and began examining the roots to see what little critters I could find.

After just a moment searching, I found what I was hoping to find, a tiny springsnail. The water in this spring had been flowing for thousands of years, because this little snail certainly couldn't have crawled from the nearest spring, which was probably at least five miles away.

The spring channel led to this little pond. I was amazed that I hadn't seen it in the first place! The vegetation around it grows so tall that you can't see it from where we parked. 

A large bird flew by, letting us know that the spring wasn't home just for springsnails. It looked like an owl, and I started searching for sign. See the background of the photo? There isn't a single tree in sight.

Up in the tree was a large nest, but I couldn't see anything in it.

The owl came back and landed on a tree branch. I could see that it was a long-eared owl. Wow! This desert spring was definitely worth the stop.

Desert Boy Helps Irrigate

The meadow near our house was extremely dry, so the other day my good husband went out to irrigate it. Of course Desert Boy had to tag along to see what was going on. If it involves water, he's there. 

Desert Boy and Henry both seem to be carefully examining the irrigation ditch. It was a new ditch and quite nice, but I'm not sure what it was that caught their attention.

Apparently Desert Boy decided he needed a closer look and climbed over the dirt berm. And if Desert Boy is going in the water, Henry had to go in too. He's a nice loyal dog.

It doesn't take long for Desert Boy to get some mud on his leg. He doesn't fuss about this at all.

Instead, he takes care of the dirt by sitting down for a mud bath. I love my son, he will be a brilliant problem-solver someday.

Henry gets distracted and runs off. So much for being a loyal dog. We'll still keep him though.

When I look back to Desert Boy, I notice he has his back to me and his hands in the dirt. That can only mean one thing. You've guessed it, he's eating dirt again. Holy canoli. This kid is going to end up having a full complement of soil bacteria in his gut. Hopefully that will be good for something someday.

Fortunately he finds a distraction, a large dirt wad that would be fun to roll into the ditch. After all, if he can fill in the nice, new ditch that Daddy just made, he would have accomplished something. 

And success, the big dirt wad is in the ditch, getting eroded away. I scoop it out and we repeat the process. And then Desert Boy starts throwing rocks into the ditch until I haul him off to wash him down with the garden hose. I'm sure Daddy appreciated all the help. 

Henry Gets His Shots

Here's one of the reasons I love living in a rural area. We might be an hour from the nearest grocery store, two hours from the nearest Wal-mart, and three hours from the nearest shopping mall, but there are some amenities that just harken back to an older time.

For example, Henry is getting big fast, and it was time for him to get his second round of shots in July. So late one morning, my sweet husband called the vet that lives in the next town over. His wife answered and said that the vet was coming over that afternoon to give Henry's sister her shots and it would be no trouble to give Henry his shots too.

So a few hours later the vet and his wife pull up in our driveway. We said hello, caught up on some local news, and the vet gave Henry his shots. Henry didn't yelp or make any noise, and got up immediately afterward and went back to annoying Desert Boy. We talked a little more with the vet and his wife and then they left. I bet there aren't too many places left in the U.S. where you can get a house call for routine dog shots just a few hours after calling!

How Much Does a Wet Diaper Weigh?

This post really has nothing to do with the desert except that it's been hot and we've been playing in water a lot, but give me some slack, my mind is droopy. No, I meant to say the diaper is droopy. You see, I didn't bother putting a swim diaper on Desert Boy  and before I knew it he was sitting in the little kiddie pool and his regular diaper was bulging. And not a little bulging, but major bulging, so much so that my jaw dropped and I muttered something like "Holy Canoli." Then the sight got even better. Desert Boy lifted himself and his new bulging appendage and heaved all that extra weight out of the pool and proceeded to play with more water. Such dedication! Such strength! In fact, Desert Boy could become the new face, no I mean cheeks, of diaper companies.  

p.s. Check back later today for a (slightly) more relevant post.

A Walk in the Desert

Last weekend my husband wanted to go wandering around the desert looking for mines. There are certainly lots of old mines around, and I can just imagine those prospectors in the early days on their mules searching up and down every canyon trying to find the right piece of rock that would make them rich. Some got rich, but most only got rich for a couple days and then they were back to searching for more mineral-laden rock. 

I wasn't too interested in the mines, but because my husband had been so nice accompanying me to the cave and watching Desert Boy the previous weekend, I agreed to go. I had my camera and wandered around the desert looking for interesting things. As you can see in the photo above, wandering is fairly easy, with large gaps between the shadscale and four-winged saltbush. Once in awhile I would find a flower or some scat.

This little hole caught my eye, with the rim of little gravel around it. I think it's an ant hole, but as I didn't see any ants it's possible that some other insect made it.

I saw exactly two cacti in my hour of wandering. Here's one, with particularly long spines.

Desert Boy and Henry also enjoyed wandering around and seeing what they could find. It was rough terrain for Desert Boy to navigate, but I figure his balance should be improving a lot. 

The Hawaiian outfit doesn't quite go with the desert landscape, but obviously he doesn't care. The cloud cover made for cool temperatures and a perfect day to enjoy the subtle beauties of the desert.

Did my husband find a gold mine? I've been sworn to secrecy!