PhotoInterest – Interacting with our Wildlife

Our Desert Critters - in and around Joshua Tree

The desert is home to numerous varieties of wildlife from the tiniest of insects to big horn sheep, coyotes and Bobcats, and yes, lizards too.

 

This is a 7-inch Desert Gecko sitting atop the kitchen counter with a pair of US 25 cent coins.

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t very difficult capturing the little critter. I set ‘em in a plastic box for about 30 minutes, allowing it to settle down while I fiddled with camera settings.

 

 

These guys are a bit delicate. If you hold onto its tail, you very likely will see the critter scampering away from you while you’re still holding onto it’s wiggling severed tail.

 

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Posted in Birds, Local Miscellaneous Topics, Misc Topics, Our Desert's Wild Critters, Reptiles, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region, Visitor/Tourist Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Made in America… but which one?

Over the past couple decades or so I have attempted to elicit answers to the ever growing question: Who, in our western hemisphere, is an American and who are not Americans? Suffice it to say that no one seems to want to answer the question, from the U.S. President all the way down to the person sleeping under the local bridge.

Today, I raise the same question. It seems that the “news media” and politicians are hell bent on pushing the “Made in America” notion. I ask then, “which America?” What ever happened to the most accurate statement: “Made in USA”? Politicians declare “… we are Americans, as if to suggest that the rest of the population of the western hemisphere are not Americans. You see, we have North AMERICA, Central AMERICA, and South AMERICA. What about Columbian Americans (South America), Mexican Americans (North America) or how about folks born and raised in Newfoundland — Canadian Americans, or Costa Ricans (Central America). Was dictator Chavez, president of Venezuela, an American? Sure was. Venezuelan American (South America). This list could fill several pages but I dare not bore you with so much trivia.

Everyone born, raised or who took up citizenship anywhere in our entire Western Hemisphere are fully “AMERICANS” regardless of which country, from the South Pole to the North Pole, they live in. Keep in mind there are THREE AMERICAS. North, Central and South America.

I think it is ethnically immoral to label ourselves (those of us in the United States) as AMERICANS exclusive to all others and promote the notion by stripping the non-U.S. citizen of the title “American”. Let me ask, are Canadians NOT American?

Just for the hell-of-it I decided to look for samples of LOGOS, CLIPART and other symbols that declare MADE IN AMERICA. I found one that has (clipart) of a “rubber stamp” image that reads Made in America. After examining the first 60 sample images I decided to just let you folks go to their web site and see for yourself. With the exception of 2 or 3 designs of Made in America, all others declare Made In U.S.A. along with a sprinkling of a few other countries. Wanna see it? Click HERE.

I think you get the message. I first proposed this same issue in October 2011 but got no replies or comments. Take a look at the western hemisphere map provided by the United States CIA. Click HERE.

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Posted in Misc Topics | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A Musical History Of The World

JOSHUA TREE PHILHARMONIC’s “History Of The World” in 2013
Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday – May 16, 17, 18 & 19.
Times are 7 p.m. and the Sunday show starts at 2:00 p.m.
The amazing Joshua Tree Philharmonic (JPHIL) returns to delight audiences with “History Of The World”  -  an eclectic and artistic blend of musical selections including “Jurassic Park”, “2001:A Space Odyssey”, “Titantic”, “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves”, “Braveheart”, “Fanfare For The Common Man”, “Some Nights” and more…
Under the direction of Maestro Jarrod Radnich, at Joshua Tree’s BLAK-BOX theater, the JPHIL will take audiences on a sonic journey through timeless masterpieces that the whole family are sure to enjoy! Must be at least five years of age to attend.
Tickets are available at JPHIL’s ticket agent, or telephone local ticket services 760-366-3777.
View our map to BlakBox theater in Joshua Tree

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Posted in Local Community Happenings, Local Culture & Music Forum, Local Miscellaneous Topics, Local Public Messages & Announcements, Local Senior Citizen Forum, Misc Topics, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region, Visitor/Tourist Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

JT Nat’l Park officials close popular Park sites

 

Graffiti forces closure of popular Joshua Tree Nat’l Park sites

The Associated Press Posted:   04/13/2013 08:12:22 PM PDT
April 14, 2013 3:48 AM GMT  –  Updated:   04/13/2013 08:48:25 PM PDT

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, Calif.  -  Acts of graffiti have become so pervasive at Joshua Tree National Park’s most popular hiking spots that officials have had to close them to the public, and they blame the big bump in vandalism displays on Internet social media, such as Facebook and others.

Rangers said they’ve found graffiti spray painted on 17 sites, including the famous rock formations and historic Native American sites, at the Southern California park’s Rattlesnake Canyon. They put historic Barker Dam off limits after vandals carved their names into the cement of the Old West landmark. Continue reading

Posted in A guide to Joshua Tree Nat'l Park, Local Miscellaneous Topics, Local Senior Citizen Forum, Misc Topics, Our Deserts Wild Scenery, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region, Visitor/Tourist Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BOBCAT Assembly Bill AB-1213

Trapped BOBCATS rise 51% during 2012-2013 trapping season.

This priceless photo is from Annica Kreuters photo collection of a bobcat mother and her two cubs within close proximity of her Joshua Tree back yard and home. Kreuters has tracked the growth and behavior of visiting bobcats for years. In the last few months of 2012, Ms Kreuters has seen seven of eight of bobcats disappear. Kreuters fears trappers are responsible for their disappearance. PHOTO CREDIT: Annica Kreuters – Joshua Tree.

AB 1213 is a response to the discovery of bobcat traps on the boundaries of Joshua Tree National Park. It would make it illegal to trap, import, export or sell any bobcat part or product.

By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times

March 4, 2013, 10:02 p.m.

Environmental groups and wildlife lovers near Joshua Tree National Park on Monday applauded a proposed state law that would ban trapping of bobcats for commercial purposes.

Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) introduced AB 1213 in response to the fury of Continue reading

Posted in Cats 'n Coyotes, Local Community Happenings, Local Government Issues, Local Miscellaneous Topics, Local Public Messages & Announcements, Local Senior Citizen Forum, Misc Topics, Our Desert's Wild Critters, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region | Leave a comment

Dan “O” & BirthDays

Hey there Dan-O !!

Cactus-Thorns has it you just got older. Listen, if yer having difficulty in judging if yer “old” or not, you’ll know yer gittin’ old when ya plop down in that rockin’ chair and can’t git the damn thing going. Have another Tequila/Lime hotdog an’ try again. HAPPY B-DAY ANYWAY

Sadie Kadiddlehopper 

 

Posted in Misc Topics | 2 Comments

GOIN’ POSTAL ain’t “gone”

Is Yucca Valley’s “Goin’ Postal” Gone?  Ans: Absolutely NOT !!

 
 Yucca Valley business “Goin’ Postal” is presumed “gone.”
Friday Sept 30, 2011………… (view the original short article HERE)

Today, Monday February 25, 2013, I received a “comment” regarding Lisa Thompson’s thriving and quite active business. Here’s her comment:

Submitted on 2013/02/25 at 2:02 PM

Hi Bill,

I was searching the internet for Goin’ Postal Yucca Valley to find out which search engines we have listings on when I came across an article in The Joshua Tree Star about “Is Yucca Valley’s Goin’ Postal Gone?”

I would like to clarify that Goin’ Postal Yucca Valley is NOT gone. Continue reading

Posted in Misc Topics | 1 Comment

NO TRESPASSING signs – Calif law

No Trespassing – Hunting, Trapping

This article is in response to the discovery of the BobCat trap on Tom O’Key’s private Joshua Tree property (click for orig story) and adjoining the northern boundary line of the Joshua Tree National Park. While advocates for a total and complete ban on trapping BobCats anywhere in California is underway, it will be months and more likely years before any meaningful legislation with teeth in it will be passed and implemented. In the meantime, property owners are left to their own devices when it comes to curbing trespassers upon their private property. Law enforcement cannot do anything if appropriate notices are not posted on the property.
While “trapping” bobcats is legal during the trapping portion of the hunting season in California, trappers are taking advantage of the Bobcat not being able to read. The wild critters pass through the invisible junction of the boundary lines of both private and government owned real estate properties and have no clue they just passed from the safety of the Park into a kill zone. That is, the law allows the animals to be killed right up to the fence (or invisible property line) of the Joshua Tree National Park. Hunting, trapping, etc., is prohibited “inside” the Park… so, the trappers hide their cage style traps outside the National Park fence which may well put the trap inside private property or even inside the National Park. The wildlife continues to travel from the safety of the National Park into the killing zone of BLM and private properties. Continue reading
Posted in Misc Topics | 6 Comments

BOBCAT ATROCITY Discovered by local JT resident

Local resident, Tom O’Key, discovers a hidden Bobcat live-trap on his private property, set to capture a Bobcat (disregarding size, age, gender) solely for stripping the skin and fur off the animal to be sold to a buyer in a foreign country for up to $600 US dollars.

 
Photo Credit: Feb 2009 by “Martha”, a resident of the south eastern portion of Joshua Tree, at her “pond”. While Bobcats get thirsty for fresh water from time to time, they will depart from their otherwise nocturnal habit and venture out of their night-time comfort zone to partake in a hand-out of raw chicken, during daylight. This gal would appear 2, maybe 3 times a week.
 
 
A Los Angeles Times article – By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times – February 11, 2013
 
JOSHUA TREE —  Annica Kreuter’s backyard on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park has been a perfect place to chronicle the adventures of eight bobcats.
Over the last decade she has watched a young bobcat chased up a tree by a coyote; an alpha male surveying the landscape from the hood of her car; a kitten sauntering into the yard as she gardens; a matron sniffing the back of Kreuter’s neck as she napped on a hammock.
Lately, seven of the eight have vanished. “At sunrise, I hear the one that is still here crying for his family,” Kreuter said.
She and others in this high desert community of about 8,000 say bobcats have been disappearing lately, killed for the value of their pelts by trappers who often trespass on private property.
The trappers come armed with wire cages, squirt bottles of potent scent and bobcat lures: battery-powered vibrating pet toys festooned with feathers to resemble dying birds. Continue reading
Posted in Local Government Issues, Our Desert's Wild Critters, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Joshua Tree Philharmonic Spring/Summer Season

 

Joshua Tree
Philharmonic Spring Season

PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 02/07/13
JOSHUA TREE, CA – After December’s sold-out concert series featuring the music of Mannheim Steamroller, and sponsored by Chip Davis himself, musicians from the Morongo Basin, Coachella Valley, and Inland Empire regions are returning to the Hi-Desert Cultural Center in Joshua Tree to prepare for this new season of music that will boast selections including “2001: A Space Odyssey”, “Fanfare for the Common Man”, “Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves” and more.  Under the direction of Maestro Jarrod Radnich, the all volunteer Joshua Tree Philharmonic, or “JPHIL,” welcomes new members to join the orchestra for the launch of its 10th Spring/Summer Season that will culminate in a spectacular concert series in May of this year.
The JPHIL accepts members with a wide range of musical skills….. Continue reading
Posted in Local Community Happenings, Local Culture & Music Forum, Local Miscellaneous Topics, Local Public Messages & Announcements, Local Senior Citizen Forum, Misc Topics, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region, Visitor/Tourist Resources | Leave a comment

POSTAL SERVICE STOPS SATURDAY MAIL DELIVERY

Delivery of common “mail” on Saturdays to stop in one of the most significant steps taken by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to cut $2-billion costs at the struggling U.S. Congress controlled agency.
 

Packages (parcels) will continue to be delivered on Saturdays. Delivery of common “mail” to POST OFFICE BOXES will continue on Saturdays. Continue reading

Posted in Local Government Issues, Local Miscellaneous Topics, Local Public Messages & Announcements, Local Senior Citizen Forum, Misc Topics, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region, Visitor/Tourist Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CASINO TO BREAK 29-PALMS GROUND

The following is a direct copy of the PRESS RELEASE excluding the graphic.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Therese Everett-Kerley / Lisa Herman
760-834-8599 / PR@CordMedia.com

TWENTY-NINE PALMS
BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
TO BREAK GROUND
ON NEW CASINO
Project Will Bring Eagerly Awaited Jobs and Increase Tourism to Area

Coachella, California – January 28, 2013

The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians located in Southern California will break ground on a new, boutique casino just outside Palm Springs in Twentynine Palms.

The project is expected to infuse the local High-Desert economy with a welcome boost in construction, retail, and gaming employment, as well as an increase in tourism to this quaint desert enclave.

The new tribal gaming venue called Tortoise Rock Casino  Continue reading

Posted in Local Community Happenings, Local Government Issues, Local Miscellaneous Topics, Local Public Messages & Announcements, Misc Topics, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region, Visitor/Tourist Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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Posted in Local Miscellaneous Topics, Local Public Messages & Announcements, Local Senior Citizen Forum, Local Sports Forum, Misc Topics, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region, Visitor/Tourist Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Julius Ceasar Casting Call

JOSHUA TREE, CA – In the Cultural Center’s second casting call this month in support of its almost fifty-year tradition of staging the Desert’s best in live theatre, the Hi-Desert Cultural Center in association with The Yucca Valley Shakespeare Guild is pleased to announce that auditions for JULIUS CAESAR will be held Saturday, January 19th, 2013.  This Shakespearean classic will play at the Center’s state-of-the-art Blak Box Theater March 14-17, 2013.  The Yucca Valley Shakespeare Guild’s Artistic Director and Founder, Eric Quander (aka Q), will conduct the auditions beginning at 4:30 pm.

Julius Caesar is Shakespeare’s classic political thriller of conspiracy, assassination, and… what comes next.  Set in the political climate of another dimension of space and time, the piece explores what happens when opinions differ on how to rule the people.  Consisting of some of Shakespeare’s most memorable speeches and quotes, the production will be fast, “bloody” and funny.  Julius Caesar will be directed by Eric Quander, a renowned Shakespearean actor, director, and educator.  An ensemble production, the auditions seek to cast approximately 20 actors to play 45 roles, and all roles will be open to gender (the roles of Portia and Antony have already been cast).  Most actors will fill the parts of several characters. Continue reading

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Local Entertainment News

 

Hi-Desert Cultural Center announces Casting Call for “The Dining Room”

JOSHUA TREE, CA – Continuing its almost fifty-year tradition of staging the Desert’s best in live theatre, the Hi-Desert Cultural Center announces a superb opportunity for area actors and actresses this Sunday, January 6th, 2013.  The popular local director, Wendy Cohen, will hold a casting call and auditions for the Center’s upcoming theatrical production, The Dining Room.  This acclaimed “comedy of manners” will play at the Center’s state-of-the-art Blak Box Theater running three weekends from February 15 through March 2, 2013.  Cohen, whose acting and directing has garnered her many awards and honors from the Desert Theatre League, encourages all actors and actresses sixteen years of age and older to audition.
 
The play is set in a single dining room where 18 scenes from different households overlap and intertwine—with each story focused on a different family during different time periods who have in their possession the same dining room furniture set. The action is a mosaic of interrelated scenes—some funny, some touching, and some rueful.  The actors may play a wide range of roles, personalities, and ages as they portray a variety of characters, from younger boys to stern grandfathers, and from giggling teenage girls to Irish housemaids. Dovetailing swiftly and smoothly, the varied scenes mesh into a theatrical experience of exceptional range, compassionate humor, and abundant humanity. Continue reading
Posted in Local Community Happenings, Local Culture & Music Forum, Local Miscellaneous Topics, Local Public Messages & Announcements, Local Senior Citizen Forum, Misc Topics, The Local Things, Tourism in our Morongo Basin region, Visitor/Tourist Resources | 2 Comments

Leonid Meteor Shower

Leonid Meteor Shower Peaked Monday
November 19, 2012

 Local professional photographer, David McChesney, captures unusual “double” celestial event Monday night.

David writes: “Hi -  I Facebooked this but wanted to share with you this fortunate capture last night.  It was the shower’s second peak and certainly not observed by many as it was after the weekend and the first peak left a lot to be desired.  Hope you enjoy.  You can always “friend” me at David McChesney. My best… David”

Thanks for your contribution and thoughtfulness David.


The best view for this year’s Leonid meteor shower was hours before dawn on November 19. However, the Moon and “city light pollution” likely washed out all but the brightest meteors – look to the left of the obvious near vertical “comet” line for the second display. Continue reading

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