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A desert melon patch of native Coyote Melons, Cucurbita palmata!. Usually arising in spring from an underground tuber, the easy-to-identify palmate leaves and trailing stems can be seen now, stimulated by the rain in September and October. Look for this interesting member of the gourd family in sandy areas along wash margins and roadsides. 

Large yellow flowers are produced along the vine-like stem, followed by fruits that ripen from dark green to pale yellow with white stripes, growing to four inches in diameter. The fruit is distasteful and not edible for humans, however the flat, watermelon-like seeds are often found in coyote scat.



Top photo by Fred Melgert; bottom photo by Marcy Yates

ABDNHA still has wonderful books & treasures left from Saturday's Attic & Book Sale, so we decided to continue this sale for one more day...

all at 50% off of original sale prices!

Get 50% off books & treasures from the Attic Sale,

SUNDAY, Oct. 30 only!

ABDNHA's Attic & Book Sale

Sunday, Oct 30, 10 am - 1 pm

in the ABDNHA Activity Room, next to Carlee's at 652 Palm Canyon Dr.

Here's a heartfelt THANK YOU to every one of our generous donors, our wonderful volunteers, and the bargain hunters who helped make ABDNHA's Attic & Book Sale a huge success!

Fall Plant Sale on Sat, Nov 12!

Pick up some beautiful desert plants at our Fall Plant Sale!

Fairy Duster, Apricot Mallow, Milkweed,

Yellow Bells and many others.

This is planting time in the desert.

Many one- gallon size and some five-gallon size. 

Saturday, November 12, 9 am - 12 noon

ABDNHA's Birds & Blooms Garden Shop, 652 Palm Canyon Drive, next to Carlee's

Do you like to...

• Plan events?
• Make chili?
• Bake cookies or corn bread?
• Garden Tour docent?
• Work with customers?
• Assist with mailings?
• Lead hikes, flower walks or 4WD tours?
• Help with repairs or maintenance?

We need volunteers for these and other tasks! If you are interested, please come to ABDNHA to fill out a volunteer application and attend our volunteer orientation session.

We hope to see all our new and returning volunteers at the meeting!

Volunteer Orientation

Wed, Nov 16, 10 am - 12 noon

ABDNHA Library

Reminder!

Registration opens Nov. 1

Registration for the 2023 Iceland trip opens on

Tues, Nov 1 at 8:00 am PDT

at

www.geotours.us/tour/abdnha-iceland-2023. 

First Desert Lecture Series of the season is a webinar!

Geology of the San Ysidro Mountains

Sat, Nov 5, 6:30 pm

Geologist Don Barrie

Join ABDNHA Board Member and Geology Professor Don Barrie for deep dive into the San Ysidro Mountains that border the Borrego Valley to the west. The origin and evolution of the San Ysidros is intimately tied to that of the Peninsular Ranges Batholith, which stretches from the southern tip of Baja, CA, to the Palm Springs area. Don will take us along a west-to-east transect of this fascinating range, exploring its rocks, faults, and folds.

Sat, Nov 5, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Zoom Webinar

Nonmembers $10, Members Free

First stargazing program of the season!

Explore the worlds of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and time willing, Mars. Our current knowledge of these worlds and their moons could fill an encyclopedia. While we can’t explore these worlds in that kind of detail, we can at least get some idea of what these worlds and their moons are like, and then go out to the telescope to view these planets. Time permitting, we can also look at some distant star clusters that fill the autumn sky and maybe get a look at some galaxies. In-person at the ABDNHA library.

Sat, Nov 12, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

ABDNHA Library, 652 Palm Canyon Drive, next to Carlee's

Nonmembers $12, Members $10, Volunteers $8, Lifetime Members Free

The globe has warmed by nearly 2-degrees F over the past century, with continued warming in the pipeline for the foreseeable future. In this talk, Dr. John Abotzoglou will synthesize the latest science on climate change and discuss how climate change may play out in the deserts of southeastern California. He will also highlight potential climate impacts to society and the environment, as well as adaptation approaches. In-person at the ABDNHA library.

Sat, Nov 19, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

ABDNHA Library, 652 Palm Canyon Drive, next to Carlee's

Nonmembers $12, Members $10, Volunteers $8, Lifetime Members Free

Tonight, we will concentrate on our neighboring galaxies: The Andromeda galaxy and the Triangulum galaxy. We’ll cover some of the history of these galaxies and their importance to our comprehension of the structure of the universe. We’ll then go outside to see these galaxies in a wide-field refractor telescope, and then in exquisite detail with a telescope using a brand new design — the Evscope 2. In-person at the ABDNHA library.

Sat, Nov 26, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

ABDNHA Library, 652 Palm Canyon Drive, next to Carlee's

Nonmembers $12, Members $10, Volunteers $8, Lifetime Members Free

With advances in technology, the newer iPhones are an excellent piece of photo equipment. Whether you want photos of family or friends, landscapes, your travels, or nature, this four-part course is intended to give you the training to get the very best photos from your iPhone. This Zoom-based class is focused on iPhones only.

Classes will be recorded and available to those registered for

30 days after end of class.



Classes presented online as a Zoom Webinar

Tues, Nov 29, 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm

Tues, Dec 6, 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm

Tues, Dec 13, 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm

Tues, Dec 20, 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm

Nonmembers $70, ABDNHA Members $50

ABDNHA DESERT LECTURE SERIES

Geology of the San Ysidro Mountains

Sat, Nov 5, 6:30 pm

(Webinar only)

Stargazing: Planets!

Sat, Nov 12, 6:30 pm

(In-person lecture & telescope viewing)

California Climate Projections

Sat, Nov 19, 6:30 pm

(In-person lecture)

Stargazing: Galaxies!

Sat, Nov 26, 6:30 pm

(In-person lecture & telescope viewing)

iPhone Photography

Tues, Nov 29, 6:30 pm

(4 webinar sessions:

every Tuesday through Dec 20)

ABDNHA TRAVEL SERIES

Friendly Albania

Sat, Dec 10, 6:30 pm

(In-person lecture)

Full Moon Walk: South Palm Wash

Tues, Nov 8, 6:30 pm

Cool Canyon Hike

Thurs, Nov 10, 8:00 am

Culp Valley/Pena Springs Loop Hike

Sat, Nov 19, 8:00 am

Plum Canyon Hike

Sat, Nov 26, 8:00 am

Moonlight Canyon Hike

Sat, Dec 3, 8:00 am

Full Moon Walk: South Palm Wash

Wed, Dec 7, 6:30 pm

Vista del Malpais Hike

Thurs, Dec 8, 8:00 am

Pam's Ambles

Fri, Dec 9, 9:30 am

Ghost Mountain Hike

Sat, Dec 10, 8:00 am

Borrego Springs Resort Birding Walk

Thurs, Nov 24, 8:00 am

Tamarisk Grove Birding Walk

Thurs, Dec 1, 8:00 am

Salton Sea Vendel Road Birding Walk

Thurs, Dec 8, 8:00 am

Agua Caliente Birding Walk

Thurs, Dec 15, 8:00 am

Friendly Friday Bike Rides

Every Friday, 10:00 am

ABDNHA Fall Plant Sale

Sat, Nov 12, 9:00 am

Nature Journaling with Pat & Pam

Tues, Nov 15, 9:00 am

Fonts Point & Vista del Malpais to Ocotillo Wells 4WD Tour

Sat, Nov 19 9:00 am

ABDNHA Volunteer Orientation

Learn about ABDNHA & volunteer opportunities!

New & returning volunteers welcome.

Wed, Nov 16, 10:00 am - 12:00 noon

ABDNHA Membership Shopping Day

We appreciate our members!

20% off in the Nature Center and Birds & Blooms all day!

Sat, Nov 19, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

ABDNHA's Famous Chili Fest

Choose your homemade chili, cornbread & cookies for takeout!

Plus 20% off in the Nature Center during the event!

Sat, Dec 3, 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Taurids Meteor Shower

Fri, Nov 4 through Sat, Nov 5

This shower produces 5-10 meteors per hour and peaks during the evening of Nov 4 and early morning hours of Nov 5. Best viewing is after midnight.

Total Lunar Eclipse

Tues, Nov 8, early morning hours

The moon will pass through the Earth’s dark shadow and turn a blood red color!

Partial eclipse starts 1:09 am PST

Total eclipse 2:16 am - 3:41 am PST

Partial eclipse ends 4:49 am PST 

Don't forget to check our Borrego Events community calendar to see all of the events that are happening in Borrego Springs! Click the button below.

It's not too early to start your holiday shopping!

Click on items below to shop

ABDNHA Members receive 15% off purchases!

Borrego Desert Nature Center

652 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs, CA

760-767-3098

Just west of Carlee's

Hours: Mon-Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4

Your purchases support ABDNHA's programs & services throughout the year. Thank you for your support!

Shop at home and pick up in the Nature Center to save on shipping!

As part of our fourth-quarter membership campaign, new members will receive a copy of our popular "Weekender's Guide to Anza-Borrego" as free gift when joining!

New members will also be entered into a drawing for ABDNHA gift certificates each month! Join in the next two days for the October drawing. 

Join ABDNHA and support an award-winning non-profit 501(c)3 nature educational organization dedicated to interpreting and preserving the Anza-Borrego Desert.

As a member, you can enjoy all of the great benefits below:

• Stay informed about the desert and activities
• The Sand Paper Newsletter - 5 per year
• 15% discount at Nature Center and Birds & Blooms Garden Shop!
• Special member appreciation events
• Calendar of activities & reduced price on lectures, hikes, & field trips
• Friendship & camaraderie with other desert lovers, and have a great time
• Support of nature education & desert conservation

Join or give a gift membership anytime throughout the year!

Membership is for 12 months from the month you join.

Join ABDNHA and make the desert a part of your life!

The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to ABDNHA at no additional cost to you.

Press the AmazonSmile link below

and select Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association as your charity.

Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association (ABDNHA, pronounced

"AB-NA") is an award-winning, community based, educational non-profit 501c3 organization, founded in 1971.

We invite you to join ABDNHA 

and make the desert a part of your life!

ABDNHA offers information to visitors and programs to enrich the lives of those who live in and visit the community of Borrego Springs. We sponsor approximately 150 hikes, lectures, tours, special events, and educational programs each year, and we lead conservation and citizen-science programs, including the Borrego Dark Sky Coalition and the Borrego Valley Hawk Watch.

Photo: Paula Brents and Jennie Edwards at ABDNHA's booth at Borrego Days 2022