I have two books on my shelf about desert bighorns. The Desert Bighorn, It’s Life History, Ecology and Management. Edited by Gale Monson and Lowell Sumner, U of A Press 1980. A fascinating read on the ancient and modern history of the critters, coupled with wildlife management stories and reports. The other book is Counting Sheep, 20 Ways of Seeing Desert Bighorn, edited by Gary Nabhan, U of A Press 1993. The “20 Ways” are 20 different authors writing about desert bighorns. I suspect you’ll recognize many of the writers.
The photos are from trips into the Galiuro Mountains. What great rugged country to see desert bighorns. The magnificent long cliff face in the bottom photo is called the Galiuro Escarpment. I’ve hiked up to the base of it many times. It’s awesome!
Growing plants and being involved in horticulture since 1980 meant knowing the USDA’s plant hardiness zones so I could jabber to folks knowingly (Ha!)...
Doing an episode about desert broom (Baccharis sarothroides) is a November tradition. And, so is singing a verse of an old hymn that I...
House finches are pretty darned cute and that’s why pet stores back in New York City in 1939 were selling them as “Hollywood Finches”....