The Robin’s Nest – How to Identify Bird Nests: When we hike in nature, we only see the things we consider important. When I was studying to be a naturalist, each week’s guest lecturer would take us out … Continue Reading →
Alligator Lizard Reprise
If Godzilla can have 31 movies, alligator lizards can have two posts. My previous alligator lizard post showed pictures of a Southern California Alligator Lizard. Despite its name, we found … Continue Reading →
Stinging Nettle – Yum!
This article contains affiliate links. Despite its fearsome name, Stinging nettle is your friend. It’s a wild edible with character! Nettle is attractive, has an element of danger, … Continue Reading →
Fallkniven F1 Knife Review
I’m often asked about the knife I carry. So I thought I’d share a little about it. My general purpose knife is the Fallkniven F1. Fallkniven is a … Continue Reading →
Alligator Lizard
I was hiking with a group this weekend through a coastal savanna (also called coastal prairie). A savanna is a grassland ecosystem where the trees are spaced so widely … Continue Reading →
The Naturalist is an Endangered Species
Did you know that biology students can graduate from college without a single course in identifying organisms? Molecular biology, genetics, computational biology and bioinformatics flourish in today’s universities. But … Continue Reading →
Bedrock Mortars
I want to share a hike I did along the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California. I chose a route through what was once dense oak … Continue Reading →
Horsetail (Equisetum sp.)
Horsetail (Equisetum sp.) is a living fossil. The plant’s history traces back to the Paleozoic era, where it dominated the forest understory. The strangely tubular stem is surrounded by … Continue Reading →
Kule Loklo
I spent a weekend at Point Reyes National Seashore, a vastly underrated national park in California north of San Francisco. I planned to spend Saturday taking classes and … Continue Reading →
Animal Tracking Joke
Here’s the only animal tracking joke I know. When I worked for a large corporation we told a joke about two middle-managers who went hiking… They came upon some … Continue Reading →
Tick Aware – Get a Free Tick Identification Card
Viewing wildlife is invigorating – unless it’s a tick crawling up your arm! This post provides some basic information about ticks you are likely to encounter. There is a … Continue Reading →