Learning to See the Beauty of Nature in Our Gardens
An Amtrak train announces its arrival at Grand Avenue Station. The familiar whistle tells us it is 7:10 am. At the same time, I can hear the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing in. I take a walk on the Boardwalk.. it is early… fog is drifting in from the Ocean in large sweeps. Silver [...]
Walking along a trail with my camera, I was hoping to come upon some wildlife to photograph, when I felt eyes upon me. I looked up and there, right in front of me, were the warm, gentle eyes of a deer! I couldn’t believe how close I was to him! I thought, “Please don’t move; [...]
I discovered that I miss lizards. The other day I was visiting the Top of Topanga Overlook, a park owned by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. This was my first step back in Topanga since I set out travelling the Central Coast of CA some 4 mos ago! I walked through the small native garden [...]
After leaving the Dunes, my head still full of endless drifts of sand and the sound of waves pounding relentlessly, I yearned for a place with more plant life to explore. Less than a mile away, I found the perfect spot: Pismo Beach State Park, Oceano Campground, home to a nature center with an Interpretive [...]
It’s coming up on the 4 o’clock hour, and the sunlight falls soft and golden on the meadow. I walk through the long grass here, admiring how it has formed natural sways, left to its own devices. Tiny wildflowers pop thru the grass. I get down on hands & knees to admire them. I am [...]
As I walk up the road with my old dog, on a journey so familiar to us both, I pass under the Cottonwoods and notice they are already turning yellow-brown and.. dropping their leaves! In mid-August? This is unheard of in So California. But there it is: big piles of already fallen leaves wind-swept [...]
One of the prominent players in the Southwest Native Garden is the Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia littoralis). One of many different kinds of cactus seen throughout the Chaparral, it is a valuable part of the wildlife garden, offering both food and refuge to wildlife. Bees enjoy the bright yellow cactus blossoms, as do hummingbirds. Birds [...]
Lizard looks up at me from his perch underneath the Buckwheat. He is waiting for a tasty insect to come along. He is curious about this lady with her camera poking into the Buckwheat. The lizards have been very bold this year. Instead of running from me like usual, they are staying and regarding me, [...]
“When it comes to supplying food for other animals, no group of insects surpasses the moths and butterflies….. If we were forced to care for only one group of insects in our restored suburban landscape, we would do well to choose Lepidoptera” Doug Tallamy It’s June in Southern California, and Monkeyflowers cover the hillsides, [...]
Trails. They take us on a journey from here to there, from beginning to end, from past to future.. Trails are the way we are able to observe wildlands. Whether they are trails made by rangers through Parklands or National Forest, they weave through the countryside inviting us to come along. Trails are not static, [...]
Ah, the sweet scent of Sage in the Canyon~ Nothing says Topanga like the hillsides covered in the fragrant Sages. I let my dog run through the Sage bushes, knowing he will come back smelling so good! Right now, I am smelling Sage coming from my neighbor Marcie’s house. Is she burning incense? [...]
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