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I left my winter wonderland of a home in\u00a0Minnesota\u00a0for the desert Southwest in California about three months ago to begin my new\u00a0Seeds of Success\u00a0internship. What was to come was uncertain, and I knew I was in for an extreme learning experience in a brand\u00a0new…everything. And I was right. Almost. My work prior to my CLM\u00a0Internship was in the prairies and oak savannas of Minnesota.\u00a0It was daunting to think of all the new plant species, and even new plant families,\u00a0I would need to learn in the California Desert in order to appropriately monitor sites for seed collections.\u00a0However,\u00a0while working\u00a0in the field,\u00a0surrounded by an overwhelmingly new landscape,\u00a0that I realized I knew more than I had thought about the desert plants. I actually recognized plants (!!!), even\u00a0if just to the genus.\u00a0Once you think about it, it only makes sense that there would be some parallels between prairie and desert plants. But it was such a great feeling to have familiarity in the unfamiliar. And now, after three months of desert adventures and daily pop quizes in desert botany (most of which I pass), I feel almost at home in this new landscape. Almost.<\/p>\n\n\t\t