"wow that must be so terrible" "deserts are so ugly" "I would never want to live in a wasteland like that" "it's just empty nothingness"

wishing 10,000 exploding hammers upon you

behold New Mexico

[ID 1: tall, snowcapped rocky mountains rising above a plain filled with desert scrub

ID 2: brightly colored banded cliff walls of several mesas climbing their way into mountains

ID 3: a desert prairie

ID 4: colorful hoodoos against a twilight sky

ID 5: white sand dunes as far as the eye can see

ID 6: a collection of hoodoos against a stormy sky at sunset

ID 7: a juniper tree standing with a cliff wall in the background

right now the trump administration is attacking the public lands in the Southwestern US. most recently (July 2026), in Utah the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments have been cut by over 90% to allow for mining. these lands are sacred to multiple Native nations in the area and contain irreplaceable archeological sites. additionally, the commission of Native representatives who aided in management of these lands has been dissolved leaving Native people without a voice in caring for the remaining land. (read more here)

here in New Mexico, the 10 mile buffer zone surrounding Chaco Canyon preventing oil and gas drilling is under attack. Chaco Canyon contains incredibly old and incredibly fragile archeological sites sacred to Pueblo people. these sites are threatened by mining and drilling. (read more here)

you can't appreciate the desert and also erase the fact that these places are under attack.

and I'd even say it's downright racist. this isn't "just" the desert, these are sacred locations to multiple Native nations and they are under attack because they are sacred to many Native people. the least you can do is reblog to raise awareness to the attacks on these lands. there is no going back from mining and drilling. there is no way to repair these ancient archeological sites when the vibrations in the ground topple them and when they are bulldozed.

Hieroglyphic Flat (Odina hieroglyphica ortina), family Hesperiidae, Singapore

Equisetum xylochaetum

It looks like it hangs out in some canyon stream beds, which makes sense as that's where I would expect to find the most water in such an arid environment. Thinking about how things are in Arizona, groundwater fed springs can often crop up in canyons, and rivers can be fed by them in addition to snow runoff or other precipitation from farther afield. Even if it's dry most of the time, that's where the water is all going to flow to.

They must get plenty of water where they are, because these guys also get Really big. 4 meters high is insane. Really calling back to their ancestors in the Carboniferous there that were some of the first trees.

According to the paper I found, they also have some interesting interactions with fungi and bacteria in transferring nutrients into and out of the soil.

Hkakabo Razi Tube-nosed Bat Murina hkakaboraziensis

It is found only in Myanmar. Also known colloquially as the Lance Bass bat, the bat earned its nickname due to its spiky blonde pelage, which reminded people of Lance Bass, a member of the boy band NSYNC.

Comic Bats (Yatsuatari dōke kōmori), Utagawa Kuniyoshi, c. 1846.

Japanese, Edo period ukiyo-e.

Polychrome woodblock print (nishiki-e), chūban format

In the early 1840s, the Tokugawa shogunate enacted strict laws known as the Tenpō Reforms to curb luxury spending across society. These reforms deprived ukiyo-e artists of one of their most lucrative subjects: kabuki theater actors. Depicting actors was strictly outlawed, and the woodblocks of anyone who violated the decree were destroyed. Kuniyoshi found a solution through humor. He began illustrating the banned actors as cats, frogs, and bats; the citizens of Edo, meanwhile, instantly recognized their favorite stars from the specific garments and textile patterns these animals wore. This print is a parody of Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura, one of the most celebrated kabuki plays of the era. The cherry blossoms in the background serve as a direct nod to the phrase "Edo Cherry Blossoms" in the play's title. On the left, the dark bat sporting a purple headband portrays the protagonist, Sukeroku. On the right, the white-bearded figure assumes the role of the story's primary antagonist, the elderly samurai Ikyū

unauthorized fucking thing!!!!!!

(warning: loud chirping throughout)

Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), gettin sasssy, family Canidae, Eastern U.S.

Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), family Phrynosomatidae, Palo Duro Canyon State Parky, West TX, USA

Horned lizards are the group of lizards that can squirt blood from the corners of their eyes, btw.

They eat mainly ants.

Blue-banded Pitta (Erythropitta arquata), family Pittidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to Borneo

Rainbow-bearded Thornbill (Chalcostigma herrani), male, family Trochilidae, order Apodiformes, Colombia