Desert Lady Diaries

Raised as one of five girls in a suburb of Boston, MA, Mimi had never seen a desert until her plane landed in Palm Springs in the late 70's. Mimi was coming to southern California to see about jobs with the Riverside and San Bernardino school districts - her real goal was to eventually get to San Francisco to live and work. After being shown around by the school district, Mimi went back to Atlanta, thinking the desert wasn't going to be her next move. Shortly after her return, the school district called back, aware of a job opening in the Morongo Valley. Mimi came back and in the course of being interviewed, met a man in a local Joshua Tree restaurant who wrote for the local paper and was also from the Boston area - he would eventually become her husband. Mimi took the job. When Mimi started the job, she traveled to various schools in the district - picking up stray dogs along the way. During our conversation, Mimi indicates the problem of dog dumping was much worse at that time. She was thrilled when the Morongo Basin Humane Society opened in the 80's. Though not a no-kill shelter at the outset, Mimi was happy to have a place to take the strays she was encountering. Eventually, Mimi was asked to be on the Board, the shelter had gone to no-kill status and the rest is history. Mimi has been the Board President of and on (more 'on' in the last several years) of the Morongo Basin Humane Society for many years. If you have an interest in animals and would like to make a donation to the shelter, you can do that here. If you'd like to volunteer your time, go to the shelter on Sundays and walk a dog! In this episode, Mimi also recounts a 15 month overseas trip with a friend. They covered Wales, Switzerland, Spain, Morocco and many other places along the way. Mimi says she loved her old desert neighborhood, in the Highlands of Joshua Tree, but it changed over the years, with neighbors moving or most dying off. She's moved from that area and still has a place in the desert and also a place in Oregon now, where she likes to go in the summertime. Mimi isn't sure whether the desert will continue to have a hold on her or not, but she does know she'd like to step away from the responsibility of the shelter and enjoy her retirement. http://www.mbhumanesociety.com/donations.html

Kit's family moved to the desert in the early 60's from Duarte, California. Kit was youngest of four kids, spread out over a number of years, so two of her siblings had already left home by the time the family made the move to the Mojave. Kit spent time riding horses barefoot and bareback and made a few bucks to spend on school clothes sweeping and washing curlers at Barbara's Beauty Salon (now known as 'that blue building' next to Ink & Steel in downtown Joshua Tree. After being voted 'Queen of Landers', Kit married at 17, had a child and moved to a local reservation with her husband with what by today's standards would be considered an early form of 'pre-fab housing'. Living for several years without running water or electricity still gives Kit an appreciation of the flip of a light switch. In this episode, Kit also talks about her appreciation for the Native American culture and what life on the reservation was like for her. Kit is a 'doer' and has had many jobs over her lifetime. Among other things, Kit has cleaned houses, been a firefighter, an ambulance driver, a meat cutter and a medical supplies driver. That last one, was the job that paved the way to her meeting renown environmental sculptor, Noah Purifoy and ultimately, apprenticing with him for many of his later years. It was Kit who encouraged Huell Howser of California Gold fame to come out and interview Noah for the program. With a home in 29Palms, Huell was also a lover of the desert. Kit is featured in the episode with Noah - watch it here. Kit has always been creative, but because she did not train in the 'fine art' of it, never really felt as if her work from found objects in the desert was truly art. It wasn't until stumbling upon Noah's place in north Joshua Tree that Kit really felt she was on to something with her found object, recycled material work and later, black-smithing. Though moving to the desert as a kid was a bit of a culture shock, Kit says she and her family immediately adapted and totally fell in love with the desert - she's been here going on 40 years. https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/2001/10/24/noah-purifoy-visiting-939/

Karin has been an artist her whole life, from drawing as a child to, more recently, creating an eight foot tall work combing aspens and redwoods with a women with a fractured face. Her solo show opens at Joshua Tree Art Gallery (JTAG) on February 9, 2019. She's been creating art for 44 years. In this episode Karin talks about living in Detroit and Canada and moving to California in the 1970's. Her art career started with drawings of fashion, some of which still informs her art today. Karin worked as an art instructor at Riverside City College and at Norco (CA) for twenty years and at some points got involved in the nitty-gritty of administration and the politics of academia, which didn't leave much room for her to do her own work. Her initial impressions of the desert were not flattering and left her wondering who would want to live here. Later, a trip to the national park with her beau Robert, proved to be a game-changer, "there was just this feeling that this was an important place for me to be" Karin says. Karin and her husband, Robert, a musician, collaborated on a performance piece in 2003 call 'Scrubscapes' - sort of an ode to the desert - combining Karin's art pieces, some video installations with music and spoken word. Karin admits it was a bit of a stretch for her. While lecturing on art history to a room of students came easy, live performance, especially singing, was a different story. The collaboration yielded four successful performances. Her upcoming exhibition was inspired in part by "The Overstory" a book of interlocking stories, centered on trees, by Richard Powers. With a studio in Joshua Tree, Karin has 'office hours' for herself and her art, but stays creative at home in Yucca Valley making jewelry in her spare time. www.karenskiba.com www.joshuatreeartgallery.com

Amritakripa was introduced to the desert by her partner, Robbie and was immediately taken with the place on her first trip, feeling like she'd landed on a new planet. Subsequent trips brought thoughts of buying property as an investment and after nearly a year of weekend trips looking at properties, they came to a decision to just leave Malibu and reside in the desert. As with most stories of desert moves, there were no impediments and the move was both rapid and smooth. Kripa believes the veil between the visible and invisible and much thinner here. The landscape, the space, the quiet allows one to easily slip between the two, if one so chooses, to tap into the creative, artistic and the spiritual. In this episode, Kripa offers her own creative journey into painting as an example. Having never painted in her life and doubting her abilities, she picked up a brush after serendipitous nudges from the universe and a dear friend. She's been painting ever since, always starting with a color, channeling the final product through faith and trust. Her work is beautiful - check it out at the link below. A student of Bhakti yoga, Amritakripa's band, also called Amritakripa, creates beautiful music combining kirtan chants and trance-like melodies, bringing people to their feet to dance and chant, creating a vortex of love energy where ever they play. Photo: Elise Kost Find Kripa's music here: http://www.robbirobb.com/amritakripa/index.html Find Kripa's art here: https://amritakripa.com/ And the band on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amritakripamusic/

Joshua Tree has long been known as a place that accepts all comers. Seekers, hippies and the generally eccentric are welcome to come and be... well, themselves. It is a community of people, particularly the artistic community, who will accept you as you are. A late transitioning transwoman, Jenelle Weisskopf has found acceptance here - and reasonable rent. A former member of the Air Force, Jenelle is a software engineer mainly working from home. Jenelle first came to the desert presenting as a man and lived in Yucca Valley - her life was very different then. Work and life took her away from the desert to San Diego where, in the last few years, housing was becoming more and more expensive and some unpleasant incidents surrounding her gender identity were happening. Two years ago, after a conversation with a desert friend, Jenelle left San Diego, returning to the desert. In this episode Jenelle talks about how overhearing a conversation while standing in line at a local convenience store, she found a local group playing Dungeons and Dragons, inspiring her to create her own similar game, using Joshua Tree as it's backdrop. Jenelle also is finding time to return to playing the guitar and has many other varied interests, including home-brewing beer and has fun creating costumes for attending the annual Gaslight Steampunk Expo in San Diego, reuniting with friends she has met there in previous years. We also talk about the distinct differences she has experienced, particularly on the job, having presented as both a man and a woman. Jenelle ended our podcast conversation with a beautiful statement, bringing us both to tears. If we are here to do anything, it is to love one another and help each other become the absolute best people we can be. If you're a local interested in joining the local D&D game or Jenelle's game, find her on Instagram @mistressofcheese. Below are a few links I mention at the end of this episode. Thanks again for your support and here's to another year of stories from the fantastic women making this desert their home. To suggest Desert Lady Diaries to Buzzfeed as a podcast people should listen to in 2019 - do it by January 18, 2019: 1. Click HERE to go to their site and mention Desert Lady Diaries in the comment and WHY you recommend it OR 2. Email: [email protected] ,put PODCAST in the 'Subject' and tell him why you recommend it. EVER GRATEFUL! Interview with Ed Ryan of Podcast Business Journal 'This Desert Life' by Matthew Cabe, Victorville Daily Press

Well, we're all over the news here in Joshua Tree - government shutdown - COMMUNITY SPIRIT! In this abbreviated episode, I talk about the impact of the park being closed and what local residents are doing about it and how you can help. I also talk about a new segment of the podcast and how your support helps keep it going. Guest interviews will return beginning next week - Happy New Year! Read about recent impacts to the park that are causing it's closure: https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2019-01-08/joshua-tree-national-park-to-close-due-to-damage-in-government-shutdown Donate to Joshua Tree volunteer community efforts: www.friendsofjosh.org

MELANIE BUCK, In Memorium Photo credit: Freequency Media LATE NOVEMBER, 2017 ~ FURSTWURLD, Joshua Tree, CA On this beautiful fall day, a group of loving, talented Morongo Basin locals met at a local community gathering place to talk to Janelle from Freequency Media and be part of her new project. Melanie is second from the back, with the short brown hair. After a bit of conversation about what brought some of us to Joshua Tree and the spiritual allure of this place, Janelle and her production team set up a meditation area, Melanie sat behind me and Gabriella Nagy led us in a deep, heart-centered yoga and meditation. As we proceeded through the meditation, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something so very special about this moment. Intuition was telling me to remember it, implant it in my brain. The sunshine, the mountains, the feel of the desert earth under me and each individual beautiful soul that was there on that rug - all of us vibrating together. The scene was incredibly alive, as you see in the photo above. It was warm under the shining fall day, our hearts were aglow with Gabriella lovingly guiding us through the chanting and yoga. The love people have for one another here was so very evident and I felt it. When the session was over and everyone was gathering their things, Janelle asked me to stay for a brief interview. While waiting for her crew to come around, still holding on to that feeling, I burst into tears. Janelle asked why I was crying and I explained the feeling I had, that there was something extremely special about this moment that I was being called to hold on to it. We continued to talk, then helped pack things up and everyone went their own ways. It was the last time I saw Melanie. That was Friday ~ on Monday, over morning coffee, I opened my laptop, logged on to Facebook, confronted with messages I never expected to see. Something happened to Melanie Buck on Sunday. There were messages with words like 'tragic loss'. You see, six weeks ago, Melanie and her husband, Paul, had just welcomed their son, Joe Claude into the world - he was six weeks old. Tragic indeed. I reached out to Faith Chinnock, since hers was one of the first messages I saw. We spoke briefly and cried together in our astonishment and sadness. A few moments later my phone rang. It was Carly Valentine, "What happened to Melanie?" More brief discussion, crying, and 'i love yous'. Tragic indeed. Everyone who met Melanie loved her immediately. She led with exuberance, humor, and a constant smile. Her love for her life and this desert was evident. I fielded a phone call from someone locally who I'd never met, who had just met Melanie a few weeks earlier, who was hoping to get to know her better. Tragic. So, to honor Melanie and her kind, loving soul, I wanted to bring her episode to the forefront again. She left us on December 3, 2017, at a time of the year when, perhaps, we yearn and hope for more connection, remembering those who have taken their light into another room and look hope in the candles glow and the gatherings of friends or family. For those who haven't heard the interview, listen to the great love in her voice for absolutely everything in her life. She was filled with gratitude. For those who have heard it, I hope you'll listen again and let her voice seep into your soul and leave you smiling. We miss our friend - I know. And please listen through to the message from her parents, Gay and David Whitman - they ache for the daughter daily.

A San Francisco Bay area native, Danielle Wall's introduction to the desert came at a young age with visits to her Grandpa's house in Yucca Valley. Fast forward to 2015, with a week to go on her lease in San Fran, she called her Grandpa and said she was moving to Yucca Valley in a week. Danielle didn't know anyone but her Grandpa when she moved here, but spent a year working for herself, catching odd jobs like pet-sitting or secretarial work, which helped her get the lay of the land and it's people. Danielle is now a General Manager at Rimrock Ranch, where the Joshua Trees meet the pines in Pioneertown. Thought she did have snakes as pets, Danielle didn't start out being a snake lover, having been an entomology major in college. She's since trained in snake handling and biology - dissecting them and working with live, but venom-less, rattlesnakes. Danielle says, "It's a thrill and it's cool to be around such a powerful creature." That thrill has turned into a free catch and release service Danielle offers in the Mojave with any donations she receives going to Animal Authority Rescue Team. In this episode, Danielle gives some tips on how to live in harmony with snakes and what you can do to keep them at a safe distance from your desert home. She also advises on what to do if you have a snake on your property and she can't get to you immediately, the consequences of trying to handle snakes yourself and what NOT to do if you get a snake bite. When she's not managing at the ranch or on a snake call, Danielle is a lingerie model. An admitted band nerd, Danielle says it's the last thing she ever expected to be doing. After gifting a boudoir photo of herself to her then husband, she started getting inquiries to come and model and it's just taken off from there. We also talk about the appeal of the tattooing process and how much work has gone into the Mojave Green tattoo around her neck. If you need reptile relocation, contact Danielle here: https://www.facebook.com/highdesertreptilerelocation/

An independent study project at a local high school fueled Jennifer's passion for photography. Frequent trips to protest and social justice meetings in NYC with her older sister had her snapping photos of the likes of Abbie Hoffman. A gifted musician, Jennifer put her camera down, picked up the alto sax and flute and was playing alongside jazz greats in NYC. While at Leonard Davis Center for Performing Arts, Jennifer met her husband, also a musician. They moved out to Los Angeles, initially staying with family. In this episode, Jennifer describes they racism they faced as a mixed raced couple in search of housing. Eventually, they had three children and Jennifer needed to step away from the music career and rekindled her love of photography. It was something creative she could still do while raising the kids. Sometime in the 1990's, while the kids were in school, Jennifer, a single mom of three, took a day trip out to Joshua Tree. She describes it as a spiritual awakening as she gazed at the beauty and reveled in the silence. She continued to visit, each time a little bit longer, staying at the 29 Palms Inn, among other places. During an Art Tour weekend, Jennifer found herself in Wonder Valley, eventually purchasing a cabin that would be her go-to get-away from LA for nearly 12 years. With the kids out of school and on their own, Jennifer made the decision to move to the desert full-time. Through the connections she made during those 12 years as a part time resident, she is now very involved in the hi-desert art scene, curating shows for the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council, 'Art in Public Places' and the 29 Palms Inn. She is currently putting together a show called 'Deconstruct/Reconstruct' that will open in April 2019 at Gallery 62 in Joshua Tree. Photo: Jennifer Ruggiero - Self Portrait Take a look at some of Jennifer's work on her website or follow one or both of her Instagram accounts: https://jenniferruggiero.zenfolio.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_ruggiero_photography/ https://www.instagram.com/wonder_valley_museum_of_art/

Susan Rukeyser describes herself as 'difficult company at the cookie swap'. She's aware that she doesn't like the things your supposed to like and talks about the things you're not supposed to talk about. Which is why, after growing up in Connecticut, it was so hard to find her people living in places like Georgia and Texas. About eight years ago, visiting family in Los Angeles, Susan decided to see what was east of the city and drove to Desert Hot Springs. She found out there was 'some kind of park' in a place called Joshua Tree and took a drive up. In this episode, she describes getting high as a kite on the sunshine and the place just feeling like 'home'. But, with a son in a good school in Georgia, it would be eight years before Susan could make the leap to make it her home. In the meantime, she'd make short trips out, basking in that sunshine, living like a local and re-opening her creativity. When she did finally move, the first day she drove up to her new home, a chuckwala greeted her, but, was never to be seen again. Moving here knowing no one - like more of us than you might think - Susan was grateful to find a poetry reading event at a local bookstore on Facebook. She showed up that evening and left feeling she had met her people. The idea for her book, 'Feckless Cunt: A Feminist Anthology' was borne of Samatha Bee using the term to insult the sitting president's daughter. Susan felt she had lots of feelings, but no words, around the state of our nation and put a call out to her network of writer friends to contribute. That was June, 2018. The months after that were full of choosing the works and formatting for self-publishing. In September 2018, Susan was arranging for open readings of the book in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, here at home in Joshua Tree and in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York - very near where Susan had operated a used bookstore in nearby Kingston years before. It felt like she'd come full circle. Susan is also the author of 'Not on File, Only Dying' and a chapbook, produced by local Joshua Tree Space Cowboy Books, called 'Swap/Meet'. http://susanrukeyser.com/feckless-cunt-a-feminist-anthology/