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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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Recently Read
- Eating Poison Oak
- John Haines On Pool Rock
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- Swordfish Cave, Earliest Chumash Rock Art On California's Central Coast
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- A Treasure Hunt For Chumash Pictographs and the Vicious Protector
- Native Steelhead of Yore
- Mark of Conquest: Benchmark and Mortar
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Latest Dispatches
- Bald Eagle, Manzana Creek, San Rafael Wilderness
- When Rains Fall, Will USFS Close Our Forest? The Coming El Nino
- Language of Forest Closure; Assault on an Ancient Right
- March of the Mustard; The Spread of Noxious Weeds
- Mark of Conquest II: Benchmark and Mortar
- 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)
Lunar Phase

Tag Archives: Foraging
Hericium Hunt: Days Late and Feet Short
A hericium or “Lion’s Mane” mushroom growing on an oak tree, circled in red. With the first rain of the season some weeks ago the countdown had begun until the opening harvest of mushroom season. One week passed. It may … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Foraging, Fungus, Hericium, Hiking, Lion's Mane, Los Padres National Forest, Mushrooms, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wild Edibles, Wildcrafting
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2 Comments
Mussel Harvest At Low Tide: Modern Man, Ancient Practice
It’s been 80 degrees the last few days; winter in Santa Barbara. The negative low tides of winter offer a great chance to get the kids out on the beach exploring tide pools and instill in them a curiosity and … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Beach, Chumash, Foraging, History, Indians, iPhoneography, Mussels, Nature, Ocean, Seafood, Wildcrafting, Writing
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4 Comments
Oyster Mushrooms
Wind carved tunnel through soft sandstone. We spent yesterday morning wambling our way through the brush, up a shady wet canyon and back down the canyon, up an adjacent exposed sunny ridge over and down again the same canyon. Over … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Foraging, Hiking, Mushrooms, Nature, Oyster Mushrooms, Wildcrafting
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1 Comment
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Afternoon reflections on a deep pool, which would be a lot deeper, as the mineral stain on the rock shows, were it not for the current droughty conditions. Hericium mushrooms are one of the subtle signs of annual change in … Continue reading →
Posted in Flora, Santa Barbara
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Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Foraging, Hericiums, Hiking, iPhoneography, Mushrooms, Nature, Photos, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wildcraft
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4 Comments
Blue Elderberry Wildcraft
Clusters of wild blue elderberries. “Delectable dishes made from elderberry are a leftover from old time housekeeping, when table luxuries were not so varied and abundant as they are now.” New-York Tribune, September 11, 1921 Wild elderberry trees are abloom … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Elderberries, Flora, Foraging, Hiking, History, Nature, Photos, Pics, Traditional Knowledge, Wildcraft
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2 Comments













