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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
- Slippery Rock Stagecoach Road (19th Century)
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- Mono Narrows Camp
- Fish Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains
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- The Storied Life of Davy Brown (Davy Brown Campground, Santa Barbara County)
- Don Victor Valley and Pine Canyon
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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: Mushrooms
Wild Oyster Mushrooms and Reading the Nuances of Nature
Oysters on a standing dead cottonwood tree in the Santa Ynez Mountains. You can see where the deceased tree’s canopy had filled in the now empty sky above, the other trees wrapping around it. “The hunter-gatherer lives on what is … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Mushrooms, Nature, Oyster Mushrooms, Wild Edibles, Wildcraft, Wilderness, Writing
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11 Comments
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
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
Oyster Mushrooms
Harvesting oyster mushrooms in the mountains of Santa Barbara County. I’m just some lunatic macaroni mushroom, is that it? —Joe Pesci With recent rains having finally fallen after the usual long dry period in these parts, and the winter transformation … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara County
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Tagged Foraging, Hiking, Mushrooms, Nature, Oyster Mushrooms, Photos, Pics, Wild Edibles
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9 Comments













