Bird Watching photo by Rick Freeman On the weekend of February 13-16, my bird-watching friend and I will be down at the river with our binoculars and field lists. Along with hundreds of thousands of other bird enthusiasts around the world, we will be participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count.   The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual event where citizen scientists count birds in their local areas and submit their sightings to a global database. It was initiat

Tall Psathyrella December 4, 2025. One killed, twenty hospitalized in Monterey County, officials say.   With a headline like that these days, we expect a shooting or extreme weather event. The reality is a bit more prosaic. The death, another person in need of a liver transplant, and the rest in the hospital, were all caused by wild mushroom poisoning. With the early rains and warm temperatures, we're seeing an explosion of mushrooms this year. Many people, especially young c

Pinus sabiniana They're really more like Charlie Brown trees, but every once in a while, we bring in a pine tree for the holidays. Our local pine, Pinus sabiniana, or gray pine, is a drought-tolerant native that typically reaches heights of 80 feet. Mature trees often have multiple, twining trunks, but when young, they maintain a pyramidal shape. With a bit of pruning, they provide a respectable tree for decorating.   The botanical name sabiniana honors Joseph Sabine, a 19th-

Gray fox and kit by Brenda Ouwerkerk Chances are, you will never see a "skulk" of animals. Why? Because skulk is the term used for a group of foxes, and foxes are solitary animals. Though the expression fits the stereotype of the fox as a trickster, I prefer to think of them as clever and adaptive creatures.   Our local fox, the gray fox, ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) is ashen silver in color, with reddish patches on legs and neck. A distinctive black stripe down the tail endi

"Merriam's Chipmunk" by Channel City Camera Club If Bryson had characteristic animals like the Chinese calendar, this would be the year...

Crown-sprouting 20130817-FS-UNK-0083 by USDAgov There are few things that inspire more anxiety than the sight of smoke plumes billowing...

Wildflower covered hill overlooking Soda Lake on the Carrizo Plain As I sit writing, the Carrizo Plain is burning. This National Monument...

Image Credit: Cobwebby Thistle by Eric Hunt on Creative Commons Many of us have fought an ongoing battle trying to eradicate yellow star...

photo by Ryan Hodnett on Creative Commons Pepe Le Pew came calling last night. For those of you who didn't grow up on Saturday morning...

photo credit: Western Sycamore Achene Balls by Eugene Zelenko on creative commons Winter's flood stage on the Nacimiento River has calmed...

I'm once again trapped at home, behind miles of impassible mud and a running stream at the bottom of the drive. As much as I should be...

Image by Ruby Feng Many people know that crows are intelligent creatures and that a flock of crows is called a murder. But what's the...

A hummingbird huddles on my fence in the rain scowling resentfully. I'm probably anthropomorphizing but he sure looks miserable. He's in...

Maidenhair Fern Just as our deciduous oaks are turning the hillsides golden brown in preparation for dropping their warm-weather...

Photo Credit: Robin Freeman These were the words of our real estate agent as a flock of turkeys crossed the property we were interested...

December 2024 Photo Credit: "Raccoon2" by Darkone     Having recently returned from Seattle, where thieves stole my son's entire U-Haul...

Photo Credit: Paramanu Sarkar               In the growing darkness, a tiny shape swoops down, barely missing my hair, and scoops up a...

On my way down to the Lockwood Produce Exchange on a fall evening, I watched in wonder as thousands of starlings gathered. Like something...

In the middle of a record heat wave, our evaporative cooler died. When husband John pulled it apart to find the problem, he discovered a...

As I'm driving at dusk, a small creature darts across my path, not an uncommon occurrence. Its size and shape suggest a domesticated cat...