Desert Nature Study

Hello all! Nature study is a bit different for us as we live in the high Mojave desert of California. The temperatures are extreme (110 in summer to 30 or lower in winter) and we don’t have as much life, it would seem, as indicated in all the CM nature study resources, which are aimed at more of the forested, lush areas of the country. So, while I do read the SCM suggested books for nature study and science, I find that we need a bit more of focused book for our area.

One book that I found to be excellent is America’s Deserts: A guide to plants and animals by Marianne D. Wallace. It’s a great overview of plants and animals for all of the major deserts in the U.S. My boys poured over it before our walks and chose something to look for so when we got back they could draw it for their nature notebooks.

Besides this book, I found a public domain book recently on Google Books titled Denizens of the Desert by Edmund Carroll Jaeger. While it is not a literary piece like People of the Forest or any of the Burgess’ books, it is an interesting narrative of one man’s observations of desert life. The written descriptions are detailed and rich.

Anyway, I just thought that I’d share that bit of information with you, just in case you either a) live in the desert, or b) want to learn more about U.S. deserts.

If you live in Australia, there is an interesting book titled Voices of the Desert which I believe is in the public domain, too, and found through Google Books that might interest you.

Cheers,

April