Coming down MacDougal Ridge, looping back towards the Babad Do'ag Trail, I curse at the brown and white in the grass sure it is cardboard trash - but closer the shapes and textures come into focus, I stop and my mind slowly puts the puzzle together - not trash, remains, probably of a desert tortoise.

I hadn't ever thought about what remains behind after a Desert Tortoise dies - I suppose in retrospect it is obvious that the shell would remain - maybe I have seen a shell in an exhibit at some point? Regardless seeing the shattered pieces bleaching in the sun was slightly shocking, oddly fascinating, poignant. I hope every year to see one - not the ideal first sighting of the year...

It has been a mild May - we had clouds in the sky and a few minutes of hail for this hike - the weather is making some of the trails I would normally start to avoid this time of year quite a bit more attractive!