“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”– Vincent van Gogh Looking for the shapes of hearts while out in nature has been a very healing and grounding experience. This is the second blog I’ve created of photos of hearts in nature, and won’t be the last. The first blog was much more...

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In early May of 2024, we drove and bushwacked into the depths of one area around Shasta Lake in search of the Minnesota Mountain Onion, a rare high-elevation, ridge-top dwelling onion described in 2022. The Northeast area of Shasta Lake takes patience to explore, especially with a non-4×4 vehicle, but it’s totally doable. We’ve been...

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We didn’t set out this spring to document as many snails as possible, but that’s essentially what happened. During the winter of ’23-24, we were based in one of our favorite spots, the remote community of Fernbrook, in San Diego County. Normally, the winter is full of mushrooming and tidepooling, but this year, we ended...

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What nudibranchs can you find in the winter? The answer is a lot! We decided to live in San Diego for the 2023-2024 winter in part because we can tidepool and not feel like our hands, toes, and noses are going to fall off from the cold. While there were a few days where a...

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Thanksgiving this year was spent road-tripping through Baja California, with botany on the brain. What’s new? Two plants really stuck out, dotting the landscape along most of our route. Looking back at photos, they really felt like buddies, plant buddies of the Baja. Who are they? The Boojum and ever present cacti! Starting from Tecate, and...

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In this week’s edition of Floral Friday, I explore an incredibly beautiful but shy and elusive flower from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It’s not news that California has an exceptionally rich array of flora, including some exceptionally rare and unique plant species. If you’ve read some of my other posts, I enjoy highlighting...

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If you know a little bit about plants and have heard of Verbena plants, then you’d probably be imagining a coastal dune vibe or a desert ecosystem. Well, this verbena can ONLY be found in two meadows in the alpine of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. Whhaaaaat? Nestled in California’s Tulare County, the elusive Abronia alpina...

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Flat tire. Car towed. Rental Car. Four new tires. Thai food. Car camping at the trailhead. Starting the trail one day late. All these were unexpected happenings at the start of our adventure to find this species and other fascinating and “new to us” plants over two days in the Owens Peak Wilderness. Life gave...

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The news of California’s superbloom has probably reached your newsfeeds, or at least one of them. Blazing bright orange poppies, tall purple stalks of lupines, and endless patches of bright yellow dots have been covering hillsides through central and southern California. Of course, shades of deep pink, bright white, lush green, golden hues and everything...

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Ever put much thought into the most southeast corner of California? Most people when thinking about California think about the towering redwood forests of Northern CA or think of the dynamic beaches and cliffs of the central coast. Perhaps you’re thinking of the mighty Sierra mountains, the vast expanses of the central valley, or the...

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