The men and women who built St John’s Catholic Church and worshipped there, who now lie buried in the adjoining cemetery, most likely were never famous. Although their names may never be found in the history books, they created a community in the town of Coloma — and in their own ways, quietly helped shape the course of the events […]
It’s kind of a fun challenge to try and photograph turtles sunning themselves on logs; they are extremely wary and tend to disappear into the water at the least sign of movement on the bank. Unfortunately, most of the turtles I see in my area are Red-eared Sliders, an invasive species that crowds out the native Western Pond Turtles.
I’m not absolutely sure of the ID on the small birds I spotted this morning near Lake Natoma, but it looks very much to me like a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. If so, I’m only sorry I didn’t get to see the bright red color; it’s visible on adult males when the bird is excited.
The temperature was perfect for hiking this morning, as I joined a few fellow nature lovers from FOLFAN (Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma) on a trek to Avery’s Pond and Miners Ravine on the North Fork of the American River. We were led by the group’s vice-president Linda McDonald. Even though I’ve done this hike a number of times […]
Between fires, drought, and various other indignities, our local trees have been having a rough time over the past few years.
When I visited Sacramento Bar one morning last week, I was hoping to see some beavers the Big Guy had reported seeing several times along the river. Unfortunately, the beavers were nowhere to be found, so instead I went looking for birds. I heard a lot more of them than I actually managed to spot; and I’m still trying to […]
It’s been about 30 years since I last hiked the Auburn end of the American River Canyon. There are so many trails shooting off in different directions, it’s easy to get disoriented if you’re not familiar with the area. Today we explored the Robie Point Fire Break trail, searching for river access and a good fishing spot for the Big […]
Normally on our coastal trips, we opt to stay in a mid-priced motel. But this time we decided to splurge a bit and try something different — we rented a house! Aside from a few minor issues (it took us a few tries to open the lockbox holding the key to the front door), the place was very cool, and […]
