Blue Wind School of Botanical Studies

So sexy...that i'm beginning to have romantic fantasies about this particular species :)

Echinocereus rigidissimus ssp. rigidissimus (Arizona rainbow cactus)

Tumacacori Highlands, AZ

my happy place (or at least one of them)…

tumacacori highlands, arizona

MAJOR fire conditions today with extreme dry/gusty winds. scope the AZ news later…i’ll bet you see reports of numerous wildfire outbreaks. i’m just hoping my remote ridge-line van camp stays safe!

greetings from the ajo mts of southern arizona!

stoked to be able to take advantage of the unusually cool weather for some last minute floristic explorations of the sonoran desert. won’t be long before the 6 month inferno sets in! -tellur fenner

Yet another "from this to this" post :)

Soaked up a little moisture and fungal fun during my recent (albeit brief) trip to Northern California. Needed to drop by my Sacramento area storage space to switch up my van gear in preparation for the upcoming spring. Still had all the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain books in my library from my teaching tour last summer/fall. After that I rolled through Nevada City, Mendocino County, and the San Francisco Bay Area in pursuit of shrooms and to visit some friends. Now I'm en route to AZ where I plan to spend the next few months in the Sonoran & Mojave Deserts...followed by the Colorado Plateau.

I've been meaning to mention this but it looks like 2025 is going to be a sabbatical year for Blue Wind. Meaning: I don't have any in-person teaching tour dates scheduled...just some online sessions. I need some focused & sustained alone time to dedicate to book research...coupled with a copious amount of class-free field study. Running dozens of classes (with thousands of students) throughout the Western U.S. every year takes its toll! Although I CAN be extroverted...I'm an introvert at heart. That said, by 2026 I'll no doubt have some well honed novel juicy tid bits to share. Oh, and I'll also be checking back in soon regarding a host of new tech oriented work trade offers as well. My business is due for a revamp so that'll be another project to work on during the downtime. -Tellur Fenner

The Danger Zone...

A teddy bear cholla forest is NOT the place to day dream while hiking. In fact, I firmly believe that this is THE MOST dangerous plant environment to navigate in the continental U.S....for a number of reasons. First, Cylindropuntia bigelovii (teddy bear cholla) is no doubt our meanest cholla. Densely spiny (with easily detached stem segments)...each spine with a barbed tip that easily pe*****tes and grabs onto shoes, clothes, and flesh alike. The stem segments litter the ground around the plants and adhere to a shoe with the lightest touch. From there all you need to do is take a step and often times you'll end up stabbing the segment into your lower calf or ankle. All chollas are mean...but this is the meanest (at least in our area).

Teddy bears grow in dense stands on the upper alluvial fans that surround desert mountains...in rock rubble that can be quite resistant to footholds. And depending on the time of year you can add to that oppressive heat and copious numbers of venomous reptiles (think rattlesnakes). Just imagine hiking in 100F heat while being a bit flustered...trying not to trip...trying not to brush up against a plant nor step on one of the countless dislodged segments... all the while trying to avoid hidden rattlers. This is high stakes people! I usually carry two plastic combs (for removing the segments) and a Leatherman with needle-nose pliers (for removing the individual spines) on any cross country desert trek...just in case.

I once saw someone slip and backhand a teddy bear full force while trying to regain their balance. It was absolutely brutal. Minor shock and bleeding ensued...but I think the psychological terror they experienced while having to hike back down through the same dense forest was worse. For they knew just how easy it would be to slip up again. And yanking those spines out with pliers is rough!

I took a pic after gently touching one of the spines today as a demo for this post (it's interesting to see just how firmly those barbs pull on your flesh). And as often happens the segment broke off and lodged into my thumb in multiple places :) This happens pretty much every time I do a photo demo like this...as they are THAT pernicious. No biggie though...as I'm quite experienced with removing them. For anyone lacking such experience you can easily enter a demonic world of hurt...cuz these things are not easy to remove and can easily pe*****te other body parts while extracting. -Tellur Fenner

One of the spiniest hillsides you'll ever encounter!

After spending 3.5 months in the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas it feels damn good to be back in the Sonoran Desert of SoCal. WAY more public land around these parts...which makes logistics a breeze in comparison. AND the cacti are much bigger around here (the Chihuahuan is the land of almost imperceptible micro cacti). Nice to be back amongst some sizable familiar faces.

And speaking of size: pictured here is the largest cholla native to CA. The rare Cylindropunita munzii (Munz's cholla) maxes out at around 12-13' tall...even thought the floristic authorities state it is "supposed" to stand at 8' tall or shorter. Just gotta know where to look. An impressive specimen to be sure! Munz's cholla forms the upper "canopy" on this hillside with Cylindropuntia bigelovi (teddy bear cholla) forming the lower canopy. And forming a bit of a ground cover at 2-4" tall are the dried up skeletons of the pseudo cactus Chorizanthe rigida (devil's spineflower)...which is actually in the Polygonaceae (buckwheat family). All quite formidable penetrators of human flesh. In other words: NOT the kind of place you'd what to strip down and roll around on the ground! That said, harsh and unforgiving landscapes like this are my home for 1/2 of the year and are some of my favorite places to spend days, weeks, and even months. The peace and solitude you can experience at places like this are unmatched. -Tellur Fenner

After 3.5 months in the drought stricken Chihuahuan Desert the Sonoran Desert outside Tucson is feeling like a verdant jungle in comparison…especially after yesterday’s soaking rain. One of the finest fragrances imaginable! Southern AZ will always have a special place in my heart. -tellur fenner

Soaking up the magic of yet another sunrise here in the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas.

Day 112 and counting. Man, what an unexpected (and sustained) adventure this has been! Just three more days before I FINALLY begin migrating back to one of my other favorite bioregions: the Sonoran Desert (which is going to seem like a lush verdant jungle compared to this drought stricken landscape). -Tellur Fenner

Frosty Legumes...

After an unusually warm fall/winter here in the Chihuahuan Desert we finally got a legit cold snap this morning (27F). Normally nighttime temps like this would have kicked in weeks ago in this interior, relatively high elevation bioregion. The Chihuahuan Desert is home to a number of different Fabaceae (pea family) shrubs/trees...most with notable edible/medicinal/utilitarian uses. Some can be quite hazardous too...due to sharp flesh damaging spines/prickles. Differentiating the various species during dormancy (without flowers/fruits) can be challenging...but not impossible if you got the skills.

Shirtless on the Solstice...

THAT'S where it's at my friends :) Currently on day 78 in the Trans-Pecos. Unusually warm temps for this time of year...70's and 80's during the day...and virtually no wind. Bizarre. The Chihuahuan is a relatively high elevation desert and it can get pretty damn cold around here this time of year. I'm not complaining though! What's more: due to the latitude (and the region's placement in the imaginary time zone matrix) the sun doesn't set until 6pm. Latest winter sunset in the country as far as I know. I'm one of many prone to holiday/seasonal depression so this environment suits me just fine this time of year.

Due to my extended stay I wrapped up my prioritized project plant pursuits awhile back...so I've been tightening up my geological game in the meantime. Big Bend's 500 million year geological history is a doozy. Second pic is me freezing my ass off in Wyoming's Teton Mountains at the same time last year.