Ghosts of Mississippi Bar

I’ve hiked past this spot many, many times without even glancing at the three parallel lines of concrete marking the site of some long-gone outbuilding. Whatever it was, the structure most likely dated from the era when the land belonged to Teichert Aggregates, rather than the 1849 gold rush era. Still, there’s something a bit haunting about the spot — […]

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Blush of dawn

My challenge every morning is to get myself out of bed and then out the front door at just the right time — that is, early enough that the sun isn’t up yet but not so early that I might run into any grumpy nocturnal creatures. I think it’s going to take awhile for me to settle on the perfect […]

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Morning mallards

Mallards are a common sight at Lake Natoma, but I always enjoy spotting the busy females — especially in the morning when there aren’t so many people about. At that peaceful time of day, a duck might take a break from her search for food near the Negro Bar launch ramp and won’t get too bothered by a kayak or […]

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