The earliest spring flowers are like firstborn kids: they pose for photos:
I appreciate spring this year. I didn’t in 2009. Our California sod is parched from recent drought — and the whimsy of a winter that flitted through last year felt like hope lost. Where’s the rain? It hurts to go into another dry season
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I realize it’s still autumn. But does this look like December 5? Our trees are still crimson, gold and amber — attributed to minimal rain and a mild autumn. We’re bracing for a storm next week which might send these leaves tumbling. But for now, fall lingers just outside my door.
These photos were taken
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Invasive plants and motivational seminars collide in my world.
If you’ve ever attended a goal-generating seminar, you’ve probably heard the term Reticular Activating System (RAS) tossed around. It’s used in motivational circles to describe our physiological capacity to pay attention. The RAS is part of a large network in our nervous systems, controlling consciousness, sensory input
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The Bay Area has a thistle problem, but goldfinches weren’t complaining on our hike yesterday.
As stated in this sign, there are earnest efforts to limit the spread of wild artichoke thistle which tends to push out native plants and grasslands. Invasive thistles are aggressive, using up water resources and messing with habitat for wildlife and
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It never fails that fennel is the best medium for my bee photography — even if it does render consistently yellow backdrops for my bee images…

I was filling up the compost pail and decided the items on my fridge deserved a photographic tribute for the good works they do.

Bull Kelp – Nereocystis luetkeana
I never appreciated kelp until, 1) I first saw this particular monster of a kelp, and 2) I saw close-ups of kelp shot by better nature photographers than I — capturing the golden palette of this gargantuan plant.
Here’s what I know about bull kelp:
It’s the ocean’s mammoth seaweed — an annual
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