Greetings from your neighborhood wildlife technician! This week I'm sharing some of the more unusual faces of the Antelope Valley. Of all the areas of the ranch, this windy corner may be my favorite to explore take pictures. Nowhere else are the extremes of an unforgiving landscape met with such vivid counterbalances of color, delicacy and secret life. It is this alluring dualism that has kept the people of this region mesmerized for millennia and keeps me coming back for more despite the sunburn and sand in my boots...
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| Sunrise on the contour road. |
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The gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer) is the longest snake in California. It was all I could do to keep from running this fella over as he decided to catch some rays stretching almost the entire width of White Oak road.
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| Beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris) blooming in the Cayon del Gato Montes. |
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| Pronghorn Antelope (Antilocapra Americana) may be the fastest animal in the Western hemisphere, but can't jump worth a darn. In pastoral areas these animals rely on fencing high enough off of the ground for them to squeeze underneath. This buck(right) is looking for such a gap in order to rejoin his heard. |
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| Moonrise over the Pacific Wind Project farm. For scale, each individual turbine blade is over 100ft long. |
