The Unheralded Hulet Hornbeck
Until this week, I didn’t know how much gratitude I owed Mr. Hulet Hornbeck. The sign below marks the head of a commemorative trail at Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline — a park in the vast and...
View ArticleAhimsa at the Tidepools
I swear, if I have to ask one more kid to stop throwing rocks at animals . . . It was an imperfect plan to begin with: super-low tide on a Sunday at the gorgeous but hardly-secret Fitzgerald Marine...
View ArticleThese Aren’t Sleeper Waves . . . But They Could Be
It's the deceptive nature of sleeper waves, sneaker waves, rogue waves -- all names for the same phenomenon -- that people unfamiliar with the California coast are lulled into a false sense of...
View ArticleStormy Beach People
I’m a perfect fit with Northern California, loving the storm-whipped ocean as I do. From the shoreline, that is. Keeping my eye on that 7th wave. Wrapped in layers. Wishing I could still operate my...
View ArticleThe Great Newt Commute
The Great Newt Commute is what happens on the way to the Great Newt Party. From the first winter rains through early spring, California Newts migrate from their summer homes to their winter breeding...
View ArticleParrot City
I haven't visited my parrot people in recent weeks. The last time I saw them was on a mission for Parrot Patrol, checking up on them, making sure people were behaving around San Francisco's finest....
View ArticleMudbath
I’m keen to see eyes peering out of mudflats . . . the creatures from the bog, the foraging carp, the bullfrog in camo, a Pacific chorus frog in a dewdrop. I shot this photo at Blake Garden, just north...
View ArticleThe Penultimate Waxwing
Every Cedar Waxwing is the penultimate waxwing. Even though I think each image I snap in March or April will be the last of the season, invariably, another flock of waxwings descends for a photo op....
View ArticleCity On (and Behind) Hills
"I don't know of any other city where you can walk through so many culturally diverse neighborhoods, and you're never out of sight of the wild hills. Nature is very close here." ~ Gary Snyder (poet)...
View ArticleAll Right, Mr. DeMille . . .
This umbrella was left behind in a park where some of San Francisco's wild parrot flock was foraging for dropped fruit in the grass. [see full-size image ...]
View ArticleOne Tree, Many Lives
Every spring, the wood chipper shows up. One morning, Fargo-like, it just appears . . . always while I'm in my bathrobe, never after I've quaffed my caffeine . . . [read the full post ...]
View ArticleNever Underestimate a Cattail
Today, I watched a Marsh Wren collect soft fibers from the head of a cattail -- and dive into the abyss of cattail leaves to build up a hidden nest. [read full post ...]
View ArticlePhases of Fennel
The fragrance of fennel always takes me to Southern California . . . to the untamed hillside of my parents' home . . . years ago now . . . where she and my dad landed after a lifetime of soaking up...
View ArticleOf Towhees, Tripods and Trust
I'm extra cautious out there as a photographing fool. I feel I owe the animals my respect when they allow me into their inner sanctum to photograph them ... [read the full post ...]
View Article59 Minutes with the Raynox
That means 59 minutes of lunch hour when I could have been eating, drinking, working, napping but was instead, roaming a garden with my FZ50 and Raynox in hand.
View ArticleThe Peregrine Nest Cam is Back
Last year was a bitch for San Francisco's Peregrine parents. None of their three fledglings survived life in the city.
View ArticleA Jumper
This Red-Backed Jumping Spider was in "I'm outta here" mode before my lens even moved in.
View ArticleSimple Things Do Help Wildlife
In Jain texts, the term ahimsa denotes the principle of least harm: “Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture or kill any creature or living being.” Jain monks take great care...
View ArticleThe Saucy Sailor Boy
I have a weakness for bad lyrics, and 18th century sea chanties like The Saucy Sailor Boy probably take the prize. If you live here in San Francisco, you can take the kids (or just your own self) to...
View ArticleDragonfly or Damselfly? A Few Clues
Re-posted from last year — in tribute to burgeoning life on the springtime pond. In this melee of global strife and catastrophe, there’s at least one thing you can know for sure: dragonfly or...
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