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.

Where the wind howls and the big winter storms keep rolling in, we are in about storm five of twelve.

The tourists have fled.

We've got flooding and blizzards

and all kinds of excitement.

Driving back down the 395 yesterday the phone kept screeching with those emergency alerts

an avalanche at south lake Tahoe maybe go the other way.

I was somewhere around Lone Pine at the time.

The desert and winter in this new year.

Which used to be represented as a baby.

For much of the previous century, a baby wearing a top hat, usually.

Now and then, they would show the old year too as a very old man about to die but there's no longer a consensus symbol for the new year there's no automatic holiday character like the Easter bunny.

No single emoji.

I guess nobody cares that much about the new year.

But if you want to send some happy new year emojis a week late, here are some

combinations said to be popular at that time of year.

You can do the champagne flutes clicking.

Then the face with a party hat and party horn.

And then the champagne bottle.

And the party favor or party popper emoji, the one that looks like a gold party hat, sideways.

The various other celebratory or dancing related emojis, like those eerie cat ear dancing twins very over the hotel in winter.

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