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 →
An Earth Day Message
We celebrate Earth Day annually on April 22. Millions of people across the world gather together to appreciate our planet. It is an exciting day if you are a … 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 →