historical accounts of watersheds across the arid chihuahuan desert landscape indicate many had more perennial streams and were lined with gallery forests of cottonwood and willow. today, summer thunderstorms result in runoff that is no longer absorbed by the riparian forests and adjacent uplands, resulting in less recharge to aquifers, greater erosion and downcutting of stream bottoms, and less desirable vegetation communities. these stream channels are often disconnected from the floodplains.
well-developed and vegetated floodplains can absorb and store annual flood flows, resulting in wetter watersheds, and healthier riparian and wetland communities for wildlife.
the precision of flowering time is set in the genes. ocotillo blooms at the time hummingbirds migrate north through the chihuahuan desert. while flowering time of many desert plants is brought forth by rains, ocotillo blooms by the calendar to coincide with the presence of hummingbirds. the high, colorful clusters of ocotillo flowers, visible from long distances, attract hummingbirds to the abundant nectar. as the birds probe the flowers they are dusted with pollen on the bill or fore-crown feathers. The timing of blooming and migration is critical. unless the flowers are open when birds pass through on their annual migration, they will not be pollinated and the birds will have no food - a guide to northern chihuahuan plants.
Currently there are no laws that protect archaeological sites on private property unless the landowner voluntarily chooses to have a specific site designated as a Texas State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) or the site is protected by a conservation easement.
love notes >
bless this space
🩶🪽
u already kno
the divine web of life flourishes under the soil connecting us all to
the pressure the volcano
feels as it waits
until it cannot contain itself
like a star dying in space
ash giving birth to new life forms
that exist in a strange harmony
in this loud but quiet cosmic orchestra
ordering wildflower seeds + katates like a true revolutionary
glow up ✨
