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The High Desert Ledger

Field notes on water, land, weather and work across the American Southwest

WL 3 records · Latest record

Work and community

The working life of small Southwestern towns: ranches, trades, off grid power, working dogs, volunteer seasons and the institutions that keep a place going.

WL-003WL-002WL-001

A long folding table in a church fellowship hall at dusk, stacks of worn choral octavos, a dented metal cash box, and a paper cup of pencils under fluorescent light.
Plate WL-003 Worn octavos, a dented cash box, and pencils: a season's whole budget on one table.

The tally of the slice

3The rack
  1. A long folding table in a church fellowship hall at dusk, stacks of worn choral octavos, a dented metal cash box, and a paper cup of pencils under fluorescent light.
    WL-003

    A Chorus Season Built in a Kitchen

    How small Southwest towns build a choral season from amateur voices: auditions, programming, dues, boards, and summers that empty the room.

    Particulars
    Work and community · 1040 words · 1 source
    Caveat
    this record cites only arts.gov

  2. A stock dog resting in the shade of a pickup truck at a ranch gate near dusk, pads dusty, water bucket at the bumper, long shadows across caliche.
    WL-002

    Working Dogs on Southwest Ranches, and the End

    What ranch dogs do, how they are kept sound through a hot season, and what happens when a working dog can no longer work.

    Particulars
    Work and community · 1429 words · 1 source
    Caveat
    this record cites only ucanr.edu

  3. A diesel standby generator in a shaded metal lean-to beside a desert well house, intake vents open, a clipboard with a handwritten load list resting on the fuel tank, late afternoon light and dust in the air.
    WL-001

    Off Grid Power Is a Load List, Not a Battery Box

    Off grid power in the desert Southwest is a load list, a fuel plan and a maintenance calendar read against the seasons. What a household or small town keeps

    Particulars
    Work and community · 1269 words · 1 source
    Caveat
    this record cites only energy.gov