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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
- The Slot at Devil's Playground
- Mugwort: A Natural Poison Oak Preventive
- Sea Anemone
- Santa Barbara Shore Whaling (1870-93)
- Dinosaur Footprints, Isle of Skye, Scotland
- Ancient Artifact: Eccentric Chipped Stone Crescent
- Fish Falls, Santa Ynez Mountains
- Condor Petroglyphs, Death Valley National Park
- Old Mission Santa Barbara
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Latest Dispatches
- Old Mission Sycamore Whacked Again
- 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
Lunar Phase
Tag Archives: Wildlife
The Extraordinary Rains of August 2023
The organic curves of chaparral-cloaked Condor National Forest. I’m growing like a seedRain’s been falling on me — KT Tunstall, Feel It All “I’m wondering if we won’t see August thunderstorms.” I wrote that in June, a freak premonition. The … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Hiking, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Sespe Wilderness, Wilderness, wildflowers, Wildlife
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3 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
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Tagged Adventure, Cold Moon, Coyotes, Full Moon, Hiking, Hiking (2), Nature, Open Spaces, San Marcos Foothills Preserve, Santa Barbara, Wildlife
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The Twelve-Inch Experience, Baron Ranch Corridor
Humboldt lily seed pod. “Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath the rhododendrons, to find … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Arroyo Quemado, Baron Ranch, Gaviota Coast, Hiking, Microplastic, Nature, Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Wilderness, Wildlife
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1 Comment
Figueroa Mountain Bug Bloom
Along the road to bugville in autumn. Springtime wildflower blooms on Figueroa Mountain capture all the attention. But I’ve long marveled, too, at the winter ladybug blooms of the mountain. December 2023 I hold onto a childhood memory of ladybugs … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Adventure, backcountry, Figueroa Mountain, Hiking, Ladybugs, Landscapes, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Santa Barbara, Wilderness, Wildlife
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7 Comments
Spring Potrero Mutilated, San Marcos Foothills Preserve
Restoration travesty (January 2023) “Paths are human; they are the traces of our relationships.” —Robert Macfarlane Channel Islands Restoration, her purported protector, deflowered the virgin. A screaming outrage. A grotesque violation. This was not restoration. This was mutilation. I met … Continue reading →
Posted in Santa Barbara
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Tagged Grasslands, Hiking, Landscapes, Nature, Outdoors, San Marcos Foothills Preserve, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Mountains, Walking, wildflowers, Wildlife
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7 Comments
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 