Transmitting from the Mojave Wilderness in Joshua Tree, California, now is the time for Desert Oracle Radio, the voice of the desert.

Night has fallen on the desert, and everything has been singing to me lately from outside.

The house benches in the morning having returned, the coyotes by night.

Here's something to think about.

Next time you see some desert wildlife on the trail or on the road.

Most of what we consider desert wildlife is just North American wildlife. Bobcats, rattlesnakes, red-tailed hawks, the cougars we call

mountain lions, all North American wildlife. Mule deer and big horn sheep are common western

North American species.

Somewhere along the way as we carved up and paved over and intensively farmed and fracked the country, the desert wilderness became a refuge, a last refuge.

Especially from the viewpoint of people living in the big suburbs and cities of the West. You go out to the desert, you might see some living creatures besides people and pigeons.

Of course, we have some unique creatures here in the deserts.

And the Mojave, we've got our own special double toxin pit viper, the Mojave Green Rattlesnake, for one.

And we have the immortal 90-year-old golf champions of Palm Desert, the Thunderbird Country Club,

who lives solely off rare steaks and cocktails.

It's incredible.

And let's not forget the Little Love Instant Rednecks,

as Ed Abby used to call them.

Straight from San Diego or Seattle, fully costumed in vintage cowboy boots.

Vintage blue jeans.

A vintage straw hat.

The nine or ten faded bandanas, the natural attire provided by Etsy or Deepop or some such online shop.

There was a funny bit of wildlife research in the news a few weeks back it shows up in the news every year or two

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