I first climbed Mt. Konocti in March 2020. My lofty plans on that occasion fell short thanks to problems with my knee which made every step up the mountain painful. I failed to reach any of the three peaks, but I did manage to explore Mary Downen’s cabin. So in the back of my mind ever since I’ve had the […]
As summer draws closer and the weather warms up, it’s important to stay hydrated. With that in mind, I’m sharing some small pieces from San Francisco’s Legion of Honor art museum (and one from my favorite hotel) to help remind you. These beautiful creations from Europe and the Mediterranean date from as far back as 300 A.D. to the modern […]
These days I often go for months without ever even thinking about my Canon Powershot, let alone pulling it out and using it. It has no viewfinder, only an LCD screen on the back (non-articulating), and for a long time after I began using this camera, I was convinced that for me, viewfinders were absolutely useless. So much so that […]
Today I’m looking back at September 28, 2022, during another of our trips to the Sonoma and Mendocino coast. We were staying in a beautiful little house in Sea Ranch, up on Timber Ridge Road — no ocean view from there, but we were in the middle of a wonderful coastal redwood forest. And there were hiking trails that took […]
Today (April 21) is Earth Day, and I’ve been thinking a lot about dandelions lately. That’s partly because I recently finished reading Hannah Holmes’ Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn (Bloomsbury, 2005). I was attracted by the cute squirrel on the book’s cover, but as I read I also learned terms like “Freedom Lawn,” and “grass-farming” — I haven’t […]
As I wandered around an abandoned and overgrown portion of Spanish Flat Campground at Lake Berryessa, I found an oak woodland covered in foxtails and invasive vetch as well as a surprising variety of flowers growing wild alongside forgotten pieces of roadway and cement pads. I can only guess at what this hilltop headland looked like in its prime; these […]
Spring is an excellent time to explore around the shores of Lake Berryessa, as we recently did on our day trip during the first week of April. I discovered this unobtrusive trail near the Lupine Shores campground — guarded by a rather suspicious ground squirrel — which took me around the headland in a wide loop. I found the peace […]
When I made this year’s first trip to Phoenix Park last week I was hoping to see a lot of wildflowers after all the rain storms we’ve had. I was a little surprised that the various pools didn’t seem to be overflowing, although I know that only the earliest flowers are blooming right now. All in all, it was a […]
Here is the last of my batch of photos from late July 2006, when the Big Guy took me along on his quest for a good bow hunting spot. I had never stopped to explore this area, not far from Interstate 80, and I honestly didn’t see a whole lot of it even on this day. But there was quite […]