TARANTULA

(tarantula, Joshua Tree National Park, 2004)

When you come across a tarantula in the desert, the huge, hairy arachnid can look menacing. Brown or black, with 2-3 inch bodies and 4 inch legs, tarantulas are actually shy. They will only bite a human as a last resort and their venom is no stronger than a bee's.

Tarantulas chase their prey--beetles, small lizards and mice--rather than catch them in webs. The sensitive hairs that cover their bodies allow them to detect a potential victim. When cornered by a predator a tarantula will rub its hinds legs over its abdomen and brush hairs into the predator's eyes.

The solitary, prolific spiders, who live one to a burrow, mate in the fall with a litter of 500-1,000! While females may live for 20 years or longer, males may be eaten during mating.

In Joshua Tree National Park you might see a tarantula at the Oasis of Mara, Split Rock, or Wilson Canyon. We saw this particular tarantula off the JTNP road near the 29 Palms entrance. We watched for cars and made sure the spider made it safely across.

literature of the desert

(Ruth & Allison, October 4, 2008)

There's a lot lot going on in the desert in terms of writing and literature. The Riverside Public Library hosts the Inlandia Institute that offers writing workshops, readings, and author discussions.

Inlandia is the name coined for Southern California's Inland Empire (the "IE," gateway to our local deserts). In 2006, Berkeley-based Heyday Books published an anthology of work by writers from the area called Inlandia: A Literary Journey through California's Inland Empire. In 2010 Heyday Books will publish an anthology of desert writings.

At the library on Saturday, I attended a celebration launch of Phantom Seed issue #2, a literary journal of the desert edited by my friend Ruth Nolan, associate writing professor at College of the Desert in Palm Desert. Phantom Seed is a wonderful compilation of writings from desert poets and writers. And it's growing in size. Can't wait to see issue #3!

Ten or more writers, mostly poets, read their pieces from the journal. I read part of my interview with Donna Charpied, a desert conservationist/activist who for 21 years with her husband Larry has fought the creation of the world's largest garbage dump on the border of Joshua Tree National Park. The two-part interview appeared on my blog last February.

After the reading, a panel of desert writers discussed whether a sub-genre of desert writing called "desert noir" exists. We all agreed that there is a "desert noir" as the desert with its size and sometimes less-than-welcoming environment is host to all kinds of odd characters and events. I heard the phrase: "That could only happen in the desert."

Our community of desert writers is growing. Rumor has it that next year the Riverside Public Library may host a desert writers conference or large scale event. Stay tuned!

For more information about upcoming events at the Inlandia Institute, click here.

Phantom Seed reading/Discussion of Desert Noir

Saturday, October 4, 2008
1:00 PM: readings by contributors to Phantom Seed
2:30 PM: discussion: Is there a "desert noir" in California desert literature?

Riverside Public Library
3581 Mission Inn Avenue
Riverside, CA 92501
(909) 826-5213

My friend Ruth Nolan, associate English professor at College of the Desert, is hosting the release celebration of the literary journal Phantom Seed (issue #2) that she edits. Ruth is also editing an anthology of poetry of the desert to be released by Heyday Books in 2010.

Contributors to Phantom Seed (including me) will read excerpts. For more information check here. Hope to see you there!

Desert Institute Fall Classes

(Joshua Tree National Park, November, 2000)

The Desert Institute, sponsored by the nonprofit Joshua Tree National Park Association, offers a variety of classes and hands-on workshops this fall. The classes are held in and around the park at the several Visitors Centers. Here is a sampling:

September 27: Discover the Milky Way

October 4 & 12: Native American Pottery

October 12: Night Photography

October 18 & 19: Native Californian Basket Weaving

October 25-26: Edible Plants of the Desert

For more information or to sign up for a class, click here.

Arch Rock

(Arch Rock, 2000)

(Arch Rock, 2002, Joshua Tree National Park)


A cool rock formation and hiking spot close to Ryan Mountain and White Tank Campground near the center of Joshua Tree National Park.

Jazzy

(Jazzy, 2008)



Our cat Jazzy is always hanging around my office--prowling on my desk, climbing into a cubbyhole on top of a pile of papers, sitting on my printer looking out the window at birds, making that weird clicking sound with her teeth when she spots one.

And nesting in an empty paper wrapper...

Preserving our deserts

(Washington, D.C, July 2008)

(Grand Canyon, July, 2005)

(Joshua Tree National Park, November, 2000)

Last July my family and I visited Washington, D.C.. One morning, as we strolled the halls of the United States Capitol, this quote by Theodore Roosevelt caught my eye.

Roosevelt was called "the conservation president" and signed legislation that established five national parks including Crater Lake, four national monuments including Petrified Forest, and many game and bird preserves. In 1908 he also set aside a large portion of the Grand Canyon as a national monument.

What an amazing legacy!