Joshua Trees Are Only Found Here
Survival Is Hard Everywhere
Deserts have been on my mind during the devilishly hot temperatures around the globe during the summer north of the equator.
Temperatures in Phoenix for 31 days from late June to the end of July reached 110 F/43c each day.
Palm Springs, Death Valley, and Joshua Tree National Park were like a pizza oven to the nth degree.
The Joshua Trees are suffering and young ones and the entire ecosystem of this sun-baked part of our planet is under a great deal of stress.
Precipitation has dropped 39% between 1895 and 2016 and average temperatures have risen 3 degrees.
It’s not just the trees. It’s the entire ecosystem in this beautiful desert.
You may think, who cares, it is just a desert?
Unfortunately, this is just another link in the chain of destruction that has been unleashed on our planet due to climate change caused by the 2-legged creatures with big brains.
There are other beings that live amongst the Joshua Trees. Their ability to survive and thrive is being denigrated year after year.
My visits to the Joshua Tree National Park and the surrounding desert have always touched me in a spiritual way. Native Americans believe it is one of the most powerful and energetic places on the planet.
Joshua Tree is filled with spiritual vortices they say.
The tree itself is a symbol of love, hope, and faith and that beauty and life can thrive and survive in the most challenging environment and the most difficult times.
The Mojave and Colorado Deserts meet here.
You can only find the Joshua Trees here.
Since I was in Southern California in 2022, I had to make my third pilgrimage to Joshua Tree.
The Gram Parsons pilgrimage had drawn me there for the first time.
Now it is simply the energy I feel from the boulders, the trees, and the desert.
The Joshua tree is a keystone species whose demise threatens a host of animals that rely on it for food, moisture, and shelter.
Today, there is a chance of flash flooding which will bring water to the parched landscape, but it is hard to know if this will be helpful or painful to the survival of the Joshua Trees.
Hurricane Hilary will do what it will do.
We don’t tend to think of a desert suffering as we travel through our path of global climate pain.
But of course, every part of our planet is going through environmental changes that we have never been seen before.
Get out in nature. Connect to your kin. We are all one.
Hug a tree.
Kiss a flower.
Just don’t cuddle up to close to a cactus, but feel free to admire its strength and beauty.
Below are some pictures from Garth’s Boulder Garden and pictures of the Cosmic Castle where I spent some time in 2022.
Vortex City!
