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 […]
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.
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
We’ve traveled along Interstate 40 through Southern California and Arizona enough times now that most of the rest areas have become familiar stopping places. Some of the amenities we find are less than impressive — although we sincerely appreciate that they exist at all. There is nothing quite like the disappointment and anguish of the long-distance road tripper who finds […]
Back in mid March I was spending a lot of time enjoying the back porch as I nursed an injured foot at our small farmhouse in Keller, Texas. While newer houses had sprung up all around us, there remained enough open space to easily recall when this area north of Fort Worth still consisted primarily of wide open fields and […]