State park gold

Golden poppies and beautiful vistas at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park at the south end of Clear Lake. This is one of my favorite spots to visit in the springtime. I only wish I lived closer so I could take part in some of the park’s guided nature walks and tours of the Ranch House.

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Still living, still learning

I don’t like to make excuses for my photographic failures — most of the time I understand that the fault lies with me. But sometimes no matter how hard you try, it just doesn’t happen. Take for example the red larkspur I found near the Joe Riley Day Use Area on Lake Mendocino’s southwest shore. I was the only person […]

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Western waterfowl

There are so many different types of waterfowl to be seen around the Sacramento area and in various places up and down the valley. I still hope to make it up to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge to see Snow geese in the winter, and I keep meaning to spend some quality time in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. In […]

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A day at the lake

We spent a day exploring portions of the western shoreline of Lake Berryessa on a breezy day in May. The water level is still very high, and some public areas are still closed. But there are always beautiful views and the peaceful sounds of the California oak woodlands in spring.

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Boggs Lake Preserve

I’ve visited Clear Lake quite a number of times in the past several years, and I find myself gravitating to the familiar spots — especially Anderson Marsh State Historic Park at the south end of the lake and Rodman Slough in the north. So on this trip I tried to discover something new to me; and that led me to […]

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Hello, blackbird

Red-wing blackbirds are one of my favorites, probably stemming from childhood memories of seeing and hearing them as I traversed the marshes between Sacramento and San Francisco. I’ve recently found them quite close to home at Sailor Bar’s Turtle Pond in Fair Oaks, but I always love spotting them around Clear Lake, especially in the spring. On this particular trip, […]

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Mendocino shores

Lake Mendocino is just a short drive away from Clear Lake, and spring is a great time to explore this Northern California reservoir. I didn’t get to hike as much as I would have liked, but I did see some really beauitiful wildflowers and a number of birds. The green hillsides and trails look so inviting — but watch out […]

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