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“He may be just a tramp, a guy that likes to roam about this great country without any special aim, just to thank the Lord for these beautiful mountains.”
-B. Traven, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
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“. . .here, where there are still the silences and the loneliness of the earth before man, . . .”
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- Condor Petroglyphs, Death Valley National Park
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- Save Old Mission Sycamore ... __ __ __ ...
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Latest Dispatches
- Save Old Mission Sycamore … __ __ __ …
- Raking the Forest: Anderson, Trump, Kuyper
- Initials of J.D. Reyes (1907)
- Last California Grizzlies Seen In Santa Barbara National Forest? (1926)
- Eccentric Artifact, San Marcos Foothills Preserve
- Fog Drip Morels
- Naming Santa Barbara’s Modoc Road
- Mark of Conquest; Benchmark and Mortar
- Hat Tip to the Selfless Samaritans In Service to Others
- The Intelligence of Coyote Tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata)
- The Journey of a Root (1907) and Plant Intelligence
- Santa Barbara County Morels
- Hollyleaf Cherries Golden Morph
- Barefoot Prints In Volcanic Ash, Hawaii (1790)
- Skinny-Dipper Detained, Cuffed and Cited at Montecito Hot Springs
Lunar Phase
Tag Archives: Nature
Save Old Mission Sycamore … __ __ __ …
The sycamore sprout on the tree that refuses to give up. For years I’ve watched from the window of my passing vehicle the historic sycamore stump adjacent Santa Barbara’s Old Mission resprout, and get whacked. Every time the tree pops … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Santa Barbara, History, Wildlife, Nature, Trees, Symbiosis, Travel, Landscapes, Old Mission Santa Barbara, Sycamore, Historic Landmarks
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2 Comments
Raking the Forest: Anderson, Trump, Kuyper
Yellow lupine on Pine Mountain, Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County (May 2025) I came across the first quote below back in 2019 when reading M. Kat Anderson’s extraordinary book, Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of … Continue reading →
Last California Grizzlies Seen In Santa Barbara National Forest? (1926)
“As a result of his 1903 visit to California, Roosevelt was to create the Santa Barbara National Forest out of the Pine Mountain and Zaca Lake Forest Reserves. This was the land that McKinley had set aside on March 2, … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Backpacking, Grizzly, Grizzly Bears, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Natural History, Nature, Santa Barbara, Wilderness, Wildlife
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4 Comments
Fog Drip Morels
Sans soil. Every day, for weeks now, a marine layer swamps the coast so far this spring, cool and sometimes spritzing. I wake to the rhythmic tap of fog drip falling through the rain gutters. May 5 morels. Measurable precipitation … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Camping, Fieldcraft, Foraging, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Mushrooms, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wild Foods, Wildlife
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The Intelligence of Coyote Tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata)
Wild tobacco growing in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Santa Barbara County. (Fall 2024) If we define intelligence as an ability to perceive, understand and respond effectively to environmental stimuli, then we might attribute to plants what is normally considered … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Science, Wilderness, wildflowers, Wildlife
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Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 