{"id":83432,"date":"2021-09-28T05:55:35","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T12:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=83432"},"modified":"2021-09-28T05:55:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T12:55:35","slug":"mixing-it-up-in-the-mojave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=83432","title":{"rendered":"Mixing It Up in the Mojave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This month has been a wonderful combo of field work, greenhouse prep, and a holiday weekend road trip! I\u2019ve been working to get our project to the point of starting another round of Joshua Tree seedlings to replace the ones we lost over the past year, which requires quite a lot of surprisingly time-intensive steps. I have also started really being independent in my field work, going to all the sites on my own to assess and water the plants. Finally, I\u2019ve gotten to see even more of the southwest, continuing to explore around Vegas, and travelling a bit further afield to northern Arizona and the beautiful Kaibab National Forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View from Bristlecone Trail in the Spring Mountains NRA outside Las Vegas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First, here’s a quick update with field work. Everything has been going very well in the routine assessment and watering trips. I have begun working solo, which has not really been an issue, simply because I have been well prepped by my bosses. I have noticed on my California overnight trips, the forest fires from very far away can have smoke blow all the way over to me in the desert. I have actually woken up smelling like a campfire! Also, last week was our final time watering the seedlings. These unusually extreme conditions had us giving the little fellas extra hydration during the summer months, but now that things are cooling down, these desert-adapted plants should be fine without getting an extra drink from us. I am going to miss using the fireman’s hose, and getting to work a hydrant to fill our tank at one of our sites. I’ll still be going out for field work, but only to assess the plants and possibly trap for rodents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n