Field Guide Gods and Desert Wildflowers (52)

"Does anyone still need to buy the textbook?" I asked. And then my insides squiggled with both an eek and a thrill when one of my classmate's said, "Yes." I was acting on impulse, the words leaping from my throat. I'd already debated this and had decided I would just keep the book, would perhaps use it to look up extra information about the flowers. But I was taking a chance letting go of it that evening. I'd already copied down all the scientific family names, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find all the flowers online to study for the final exam the next week. I didn't want to keep the book, though, didn't want to have spent $30 on something I wasn't likely to use again. Another classmate had shown me her little wildflower guide the week before, and I was sending up prayers they might have it at the Joshua Tree visitor center where we'd be stopping on Saturday.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but finding the guide in their little store was the highlight of the field trip for me. Does that make be grasping and bent on acquisitions, mercenary, blind to the glory of the desert in March? Maybe. But I was so happy my hunch, my impulsive leap of faith paid off, so grateful the field guide gods had granted me this gift. And it was only $21.70, to boot. I got to use it right away to identify the one new flower I happened to notice that day amidst all the others being pointed out to us. It looked like the Desert Chicory but it had some yellow at its center and a dab of rose. I used my new book to look up chicory, and there it was on a nearby page: Ghost Gravel. It reached above my waist, delicate and wispy. And it was my first "find." Maybe I would have relished it more, even recognized it as the highlight of the day for me if my instructor hadn't brushed off my questions about it in annoyance. Ah, well. I know I can be annoying at times, though I'm not sure what I'd done that afternoon to warrant his impatience. It may have been a cumulative thing. But still, it is the pleasure of finding the field guide that comes back to me. Even now, I love just holding the little book in my hands.

[Editor's note: I thought I may as well go out with a bang here and show you several of my favorite shots from the day. For those of you who may be curious, from top to bottom these are Wild Heliotrope, Bigelow Monkey Flower, Rock Daisies, Canterbury-bells and a mix of wildflowers in a Box Canyon wash that include Gold Poppies, Chias and Arizona Lupine---possibly more. All the images were taken at the southeast end of Joshua Tree or in Box Canyon, BLM land nearby.]