Raven Jake’s Observations

Rosalia funebris

Once again, What's that Bug? came to the rescue when I wondered what sorta critter was crawlin' on my house. Here's what the experts said "In our humble opinion, the Banded Alder Borer, or Laurel Borer, Rosalia funebris, is one of the most beautiful and elegant North American beetles." I think so too. If you need help identifying the bugs in your life, What's that Bug? is an invaluable resource.

I have to give credit to Richard Miramontes for shootin' the best photo from Cabot's birthday bash. (the rest I took, but he really caught the moment) We're familiar with Tomas Garcilazo from the Indio County Fair and Date Festival and if you ever get a chance to see one of his performances, do not miss it. His horsemanship and rope skills are truly amazing. His young son's really coming along in the ways of the charro too - it's a family act. http://www.tomasgarcilazo.com/

3rd_Annual_Cabot's_Birthday_BBQ_Bash_Tomas_Garcilazo

http://ravenjake.vox.com/library/post/bull-o-rama-5.html 

Standing on saddle

Sitting horse

Tomas Garcilazo lasso

Tomas Garcilazo's son

Whispering Giants

Cabot's bbq bash 2009

Once again, a great time was had at Cabot's Pueblo Museum on June 6. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, Cabot's is one of the desert's treasures, and their annual fundraiser is always a great time for a great cause. Getting your picture taken with a cute burro, in this case miniature donkey Romeo - and the disembodied hand of Galena, Don Reed in the Hawaiian shirt, Jane Pojawa with the big smile, and native ceramicist Tony Soares in the back row with yours truly - is just one of the many perks. It has been just great to see Cabot's Pueblo Museum become the center of Desert Hot Springs over just the past couple o' years and we certainly wish them all the best in the future.

Whispering Giants

Whispering Giant of Hawaii

Folks, you know I'm a huge fan of woodcarver Peter Toth. Toth has traveled to every single state to carve a giant head that is representative of the indigenous people in that area.

I've been covering our local "Indian Monument," Waokiye pretty extensively in previous posts. Waokiye just got some much-needed restoration work done in February and I'm going to be releasing the video of that work in a couple o' weeks.

Now, as I said before, I'm a big fan of the Whispering Giants, but that is nothing compared to Bonnie and David Schumaker; they literally plan their trips around going to see the Giants, and have "bagged" most of them. Dave has set up a beautiful website with photos and stories about all the Giants they've collected. The Schumakers planned a trip to Hawaii to get one of the last ones on their list.

When this message from Dave came across my digital desk, I just about fell out of my chair! This

Hawaii

Giant needs some help fast - people of Hawaii, you need to do something about this horrible situation! "The second day, armed with pre-researched location directions, we drove to find the statue," he said. "Asking a local, we found, to our dismay, that the statue and the house it was in front of, had been demolished. I talked with a person that lived across the street and he told me to talk with the man who lived next door to the statue. Finding and talking with that man revealed to me that just maybe the contractor had secretly saved the statue!

We drove to a small northern island town and asked around. A man directed us to a man who carved small statues for sale.

Yes, he had seen it and he told us how to get there. His directions were confusing and we ended seven miles away before we asked again. A man who was at this place finally said, “follow me”, and he drove us back to where we started. He pulled over at the site and got out and came over and said, “I can’t believe it is gone!” He thought maybe they had laid the statue flat on the ground, so we walked across a field looking for it. We came to a dirt road and followed it about a block. We spotted the back of the log and when we arrived at the front of it, there he was, in all his glory. Standing in the middle of a compost pile! We called the contractor for more information concerning the fate of the statue, and as of this writing have not heard back from him.

- Dave & Bonnie"

Maui Pohaku Loa, we're wishing you the best. Hang in there - it ain't over til it's over.

Dave Schumaker 

Whispering Giants

Cabot_Warhol

My girl, Jane, is giving a little talk up at the Hi-Desert Museum the first Wednesday in June, if y'all like History, you won't want to miss it:

Cabot Yerxa: True Confessions of a Research Addict

Does reading 19th century census records make your heart beat faster? Do yellowed newspaper clippings give you an adrenalin rush? Have you ever screamed while reading and old letter – exchanged between two people you’ve never met? This is the sordid, secret life of a research addict, and it is an incurable condition. Fortunately, there are others who share your passion, and you need not experience the euphoria and disappointment alone.

Jane Pojawa is the archivist/historian for Cabot’s Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs. Her extensive research into the extraordinary life of Cabot Yerxa has made for some fascinating discoveries about one of the Coachella Valley’s earliest pioneers. The greatest challenge of this quest has been to separate legend from fact, and the most effective tool for the job is primary source documents.

In this First Wednesday’s presentation, Pojawa will give an overview of the fascinating life of Cabot Yerxa before addressing some of the stories that surround Cabot Yerxa and his Pueblo, including:

The Eskimo Dictionary
Cabot and the Cabots
Merry Xmas, the super-burro
The Murder Room
Giant Rock and the Flying Saucers

This program will shed light on some little-known aspects of Yerxa’s life and legend, while giving research tips and encouragement to our local historians. The truth is out there – and it might be much stranger than you think!

At the Hi-Desert Nature Museum $5 Donation
Hi-Desert Nature Museum
57090 29 Palms Highway
Yucca Valley, CA 92284

My, my where does the time go? I've heard that my favorite bellydance fusion event, Punk Raqs, the annual gathering where Raqs Sharqi and Punk/Goth rock collide, is going to be held this this year on Sunday, June 28th  at Cal State San Bernardino. 5500 University Drive. 2pm - 6pm Cost: FREE http://www.myspace.com/mecdaie

http://ravenjake.vox.com/library/post/punk-raqs-in-san-berdoo-recap.html 

last years' post

Bellydance

Raven Jake in Tecopa

As shameful as it is to admit this, I'm a latecomer to Death Valley. But better late than never! And Death Valley has some of the most amazing land features in the world. I was up in Shoshone to film a geology seminar offered by the Shoshone Museum (more on this later) and decided to make a side trip to Tecopa Hot Springs. Here's an interesting fact, folks: the desert isn't always dry.

Case in point: Tecopa: it's a marsh. It also has some first-rate hot springs. Great place to soak. It's about 50 miles north of Baker (if you're driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, you know where that is) and home to some fantastic desert scenery.

I was displeased with our hotel for a number of reasons, so they don't get the Raven Jake endorsement, but I can tell you that the baths are incredible: they don't chlorinate, they replace the water, so you're soaking in nutrients, not poison.

Recurvirostra americana

Get outta town a little bit (1000 yards ought to do it), and you can hear the frogs croaking, the dragonflies buzzing, and see critters like this American Avocet out fishin'. It's a peaceful, wonderful spot and a great jumping-off place for more adventure. For more history on the area, be sure to check out the Shoshone Museum about five miles up the road.

Tecopa Marshlands

Raven Jake by Mud Flats

Tecopa Spring

Tecopa Family

Chief Tecopa in full regalia

The eastern California desert was home to several related tribes of the Shoshonean-language groups, notably the Southern Paiutes, the Chemehuevi and the Cahuilla. Chief Tecopa (c.1815 – 1904 or 1906) was a Native American leader. His name means wildcat, in the Ni-Wi dialect, and at one time he really was one. Tecopa was a leader of the Southern Nevada tribe of the Paiute in the Ash Meadows and Pahrump areas.

In the 1840s, Tecopa and his warriors engaged the expedition of Kit Carson and John C. Fremont in a three day battle at Resting Springs, but later in life observed that direct confrontation with white settlers would not be a productive way to resolve the inevitable conflict. According to Touring Nevada, Tecopa usually wore a bright red band suit with gold braid and a silk top hat. Whenever these clothes wore out they were replaced by the local white miners out of gratitude for Tecopa's help in maintaining peaceful relations with the Paiute. Although this strains credulity, there is at least one photo that shows him wearing this rather outlandish outfit.

The village of Tecopa, California was named after Chief Tecopa by J. B. Osbourne, who owned the local Gunsight and Noonday Mines.

Tecopa is buried with his son and grandson at the Chief Tecopa Cemetery in Pahrump Valley, Nevada. In November 1971 Nevada Governor Mike O'Callaghan called Chief Tecopa “a leader of vision and courage,” and dedicated a state memorial to him at the Chief's gravesite. 15 acres of land were deeded to Nye County and became Tecopa Park.

I found myself out in Death Valley for a special geology seminar sponsored by the Shoshone Museum (more on that later) and I'm pleased to report that the spring wildflower show is still going strong. From top to bottom, we have: Calochortus flexuosus, the winding mariposa; Eschscholzia glyptosperma, the desert poppy; and Opuntia basilaris, the beavertail cactus. This is a fantastic site for thorough wildflower identification, unfortunately it is organized alphabetically by Latin name and it is almost impossible to find your flower without clicking on each one:

Desert Wildflower Identification

Blister Beetle

This just in from What's that Bug?: Every year in the spring, we get numerous inquiries about Blister Beetles, especially from the desert areas of the Southwest. When Blister Beetles appear, it is often in prodigious numbers, and then suddenly, they vanish. This is a Master Blister Beetle, Lytta magister. It is well represented on BugGuide. This is one of the largest of the Blister Beetles. The adults eat foliage, flowers, pollen and fruit, and according the BugGuide: “Larvae live in bee nests.” Some species of Blister Beetles feed on grasshopper eggs. The beetles in the family Meloidae are known as Blister Beetles because they secrete hemolymph (blood) from their joints when handled, and the hemolymph contains cantharidin which can cause blisters. A European relative is the infamous Spanish Fly.

I found this dude chewing on a plant in Death Valley last weekend. Big shout out to What's That Bug? for answering the obvious question.

What's That Bug? Official site