acrylic on illustration board 7” x 12” As summer reaches its most intense, the surface of the Mojave Desert hits lethal temperatures daily. In the hottest months, normally diurnal creatures like the Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides) have no option but to forage at night, when the threat of being cooked is replaced by the less certain danger posed by such better adapted nocturnal predators as the Northern Cacomistle (Bassariscus astutus), a relative of the Raccoon. In the background, a Jimsonweed (Datura wrightii) displays its nocturnal, moth-pollinated flowers. |
