Spring flashback
Winter has barely begun, and I’m already looking forward to spring! I shot these photos in 2017 and 2019.
Down to the river
I’ve hiked the Gerle Loop Trail off Highway 49 a few times this year, including this visit two weeks ago. It feels so close to home, even though it takes me about an hour to get there, winding along Salmon Falls Road up to Pilot Hill. I like that it seems just a little way upstream from my house — […]
All birds
A eclectic collection of birds seen in the past couple of months.
Getting closer
Now that the weather is taking a definite turn toward cooler temperatures, we’re seeing more signs of the annual deer rutting season. Yesterday I went back to the Rossmoor Bar area with the Big Guy, arriving before sunrise — let me tell you, it was surprisingly cold, even after the sun came up! We saw at least 30 deer as […]
Just curious
We went looking for deer along the American River bike trail in Rancho Cordova yesterday morning. Not surprisingly, we managed to spot more females than males; the bucks are especially camera shy. These deer do their best to avoid humans, but they feel quite safe hiding among the dredger tailings and are used to seeing bicycle traffic. They did seem […]
On the South Fork
Western Tiger Swallowtail
It took me quite a few tries and several trips to the river before I finally managed to capture one of these gorgeous butterflies with my camera. It seemed like the Western Tiger Swallowtails were happily taunting me, always turning up after I had put my camera away, hovering around just out of reach as I fumbled to get my […]
As old as time
One cool thing about living near the course of the American River is that it doesn’t take too much searching to find bedrock mortar sites. I’ve come across Indian grinding holes along both sides of Lake Natoma, on the shores of Folsom Lake, and on the banks of the South Fork of the American River. It never fails to thrill […]
Riding dinosaurs
One of the cool things for kids (of all ages) at the Dave Moore Nature Area trail is hunting for toy dinosaurs along the one-mile loop. If you find one of these critters, you’re encouraged to relocate it for someone else to discover. On my first visit, I enjoyed exploring the trail but didn’t notice any dinosaurs. This time I […]