

-
Join 946 other subscribers
-
“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

-
“. . .here, where there are still the silences and the loneliness of the earth before man, . . .”

Search Jack’s Blog


Recently Read
- Eating Poison Oak
- Slippery Rock Stagecoach Road (19th Century)
- The Bandit of Ballarat
- Oil and Animals in the Santa Barbara Channel
- The Storied Life of Davy Brown (Davy Brown Campground, Santa Barbara County)
- Don Victor Valley and Pine Canyon
- Manzana Creek Schoolhouse (1893)
- Native American Rock Art (Kern County)
- Ticks, Lizards and Lyme Disease
- Beachcombing Venice, Italy
Photos from the blog
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
-
Latest Dispatches
- 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
- Red Horny Toad
Lunar Phase

Tag Archives: Adventure
Red Horny Toad
Out for a walk with Larrold. An unremarkable lesser ridge among the rumpled hills. Chapparal, pine, gravel and grit. Then a flash of tiny red life running cumbersome from the fringe of the trail. Startling in its ochre hue and … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Hiking, Horny Toad, Lizards, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
|
1 Comment
The Economy of Direction and Sharing of Secret Places
Clouds over the Santa Ynez Mountains, December 14, 2024. Akin to the asperitas clouds of November, 2023. “Rumours circulate about entry points which might give access to unseen spaces. Secrets are jealously guarded, closely shared. The subculture has its subcultures. … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, Anthropology, backcountry, Chumash, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Pictographs, Rock Art, Santa Barbara, Wilderness
|
10 Comments
Sea Cave Sanctuary
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, Beach, Caves, iPhoneography, Landscapes, Native Americans, Nature, Ocean, Outdoors, Rocks, Santa Barbara
|
Leave a comment
California Name Origins: Joseph Wood Krutch, The Forgotten Peninsula (1961)
Detail of Nicholas de Fer’s map from 1705 showing Santa Barbara Channel. An excerpt from The Forgotten Peninsula: A Naturalist in Baja California (1961) by Joseph Wood Krutch detailing the suspected origins of the name California: Most of the place … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, Baja, California, California Island, History, Joseph Wood Krutch, Santa Barbara
|
2 Comments
Howling Coyote, San Marcos Foothills Preserve
A howling coyote and one at the den barking. They didn’t seem to sense the presence of a human right off, but were suddenly startled to see or smell me and that’s when the one began barking. The howler happened … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
|
Tagged Adventure, Cold Moon, Coyotes, Full Moon, Hiking, Hiking (2), Nature, Open Spaces, San Marcos Foothills Preserve, Santa Barbara, Wildlife
|
Leave a comment













