Author Archives: Jack Elliott

Western Fence Lizard (blue-belly)

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A blue-belly lizard on a fallen log atop Pine Mountain in the Sespe Wilderness. Blue-belly lizards always interested me as a boy. Sort of like a cat attracted to movement, they naturally captured my attention when they scurried around on … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

SPAM, Backcountry Delicacy Par Excellence

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Jack Elliott

“. . . the mouthwatering taste of SPAM® Classic seasoned with black pepper. It’s a delicious dream come true.” In a previous entry I dubbed the Santa Barbara County original, Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, “a nutritionist’s nightmare, a glutton’s godsend.” Well, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ventura County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Rain Beetle

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A drop of rainwater suspended in a spider web stuck to the underside of a boulder. Prior to the recent few downpours last month in late February and early this March, it hadn’t rained in a long time. Just a … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Swordfish Cave, Earliest Chumash Rock Art On California’s Central Coast

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Jack Elliott

“The people venerated the swordfish because they sometimes chased whales ashore and thus the people had a lot of meat.” —Luisa Ygnacio (c. 1835-1922) “All, whatever there is in the ocean is just like everything that is here on this … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Point Conception, the Cape Horn of the Pacific

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A mural of Point Conception lighthouse painted on the exterior of a building in Lompoc, California, Santa Barbara County. An accompanying reader board describes the surrounding coastline as “the mariner’s stretch of nightmare coast known as ‘the graveyard of ships.’” … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments