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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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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: Nature
Santa Barbara County Morels
Morel growing under a coast live oak tree with California poppies. (April 2025) Related Post: March is For Morels
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Foraging, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Morels, Mushrooms, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
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3 Comments
Hollyleaf Cherries Golden Morph
Tafoni on a slab of exposed bedrock beside the golden cherry bush. It recalls the mind warp rock n’ roll nightmare of local band, Rich Kids on LSD, and the bubbles on their Reactivate album cover. “Of all our native … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Chumash, Hiking, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
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Barefoot Prints In Volcanic Ash, Hawaii (1790)
Western slope of Mauna Loa (13,100′). The old trail of footprints lies somewhere beneath the cloud cover. A few months after arriving in Hawai‘i, Perkins was in the Kona area of the Big Island collecting on the western slopes on … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, Anthropology, Artifacts, Deserts, Hawaii, Hiking, Mauna Loa, National Parks, Nature, Volcano, Volcanoes National Park
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1 Comment
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
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Hiking, Horny Toad, Lizards, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
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1 Comment
Mandalas Through the Looking Glass
I lay simmering in a scalding hot puddle beneath a gurgling pipe, heart fluttering, riding a rocket of euphoria fueled by endorphins, winter’s slanted morning light illuminating Condor National Forest in an apricot radiance. Beads of stinky spring water on … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Chumash, Hiking, Hiking (2), Los Padres National Forest, Mandalas, Native American, Nature, Pictographs, Rock Art, Santa Barbara, Wilderness
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Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 