I have frequently admired the blue-green iridescence of the male Mallards’ heads, so it was a nice surprise yesterday to get a glimpse of royal purple on these relatively drab females. I was sitting in my car in Lucerne, on the shore of Clear Lake, when a small group of Mallards settled down very nearby. I think we were all […]
Back in May 2010 we spent a quiet week with my in-laws at Clear Lake, fishing and relaxing at a relatively small motel on Soda Bay known then as the Ferndale Resort. It was nothing fancy but was a nice, comfortable place, with a string of guest rooms and one or two single-wide mobile homes available for those who didn’t […]
I started going through some photos of Rodman Slough County Park (on the north end of Clear Lake) shot over the past three years and was surprised to see how many I had never blogged before. The trail there is short, but it takes you to the top of a ridge and back down again. Spend a few minutes exploring […]
Whenever a trip to Clear Lake has us staying in Nice (same pronunciation as the city in France!) one of the first things I like to do is take a stroll along Lakeshore Boulevard with my camera, preferably in the morning. Despite its rather grand name, this street is a narrow side lane without markings or sidewalk; I normally see […]
It was a bit chilly when I started my hike from the parking area at Anderson Marsh SHP (Lower Lake) a bit after 10 AM, but as the afternoon wore on, staying warm was no problem at all. In fact, I was grateful for any shade I could find and wishing I had brought along just a bit more drinking […]
I normally have a very difficult time getting close enough to photograph the local quail; they’re extremely shy and are usually fleeing long before I even notice their presence. Many times when I do manage to shoot them, they’re hiding in the bushes so I don’t exactly have a clear view. It’s all rather frustrating to me — mostly because […]
Ever since I saw an old black-and-white photo on a brochure promoting historic sites around Lake County, I’d been eager to go in search of the lost gem that was the Lucerne Hotel — sometimes referred to as “The Castle.” I’d actually built it up in my mind, certain that it was hidden away at the top of a steep, […]
As I strolled along Lakeshore Boulevard in Nice, looking out over Clear Lake, I couldn’t help but notice that someone seemed to have forgotten to bring in their seating arrangement from the launch ramp area. Nobody but me seemed the least bit interested in this chair; it seemed the most natural thing in the world for it to be standing […]
I’ve been back to visit the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park in Lower Lake a few times now since my first visit in 2019 — probably making up for all the times in earlier years I drove right past and never even knew it was there. In fact, although I know there are loads of other great places to explore […]