It was early January, and the toyon sapling I’d planted the week before wasn’t nearly old enough to produce fruit. So I asked a friend if I could collect a handful of berries from a plant on their ...

It’s chilly at dawn in the desert, even though blazing heat will arrive before midday. To the east, stark outlines of cactus and thorny trees stand against the growing light. And on all sides, the air ...

Spotting a Mojave Desert tortoise is increasingly difficult in the American Southwest. The tortoises, with their unmistakable domed patterned shells, live in California, parts of Nevada, Arizona and ...