Monthly Archives: February 2023

Mountain Lion Standoff, Santa Ynez Mountains

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Jack Elliott

What I saw when I first turned to continue my walkabout. A beautiful disaster.  “Lions often stalk their prey and attack by leaping on their shoulders and back, biting the top of the neck or head. Their jaws are strong … Continue reading →

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Forest Service Welcomes Hikers To Falling Trees, Flash Floods and Debris Flows

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Jack Elliott

How much worse do conditions get?  (Those are actually fantastic conditions! The worse the better.)  And yet in the face of such natural horrors, the likes of which only Danny Hillman might venture risking limb and life to vanquish, they … Continue reading →

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Firefighters Save the Old Oak, San Marcos Preserve

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Jack Elliott

“It had stood there for hundreds of years, and he thought it would always stand there. Its roots clutched the hill like a fist with fingers sunk into the soil, and he thought that if a giant were to seize … Continue reading →

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Wild Iris Bloom, Santa Ynez Mountains

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Jack Elliott

The wild iris are abloom now in the Santa Ynez Mountains. This particular flush shown may be the best bloom in many years, coming after the Thomas Fire of 2017 cleared the way, and a month after the torrential record-setting … Continue reading →

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Claw Marks In the Tiny Tank

Posted on February 11, 2023 by Jack Elliott

I went for a walk to a tiny tank high on the mountain. The rain had fallen for days, for hours non-stop, in amounts not common around this neck of the woods. Records were set. And so we have to … Continue reading →

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