Category: the birds and the trees

These posts describe encounters with the natural world

A secret garden

February 14, 2020 a good book musings out and about the birds and the trees
Somewhere in the woods not far away, a minor path leads off a well-traveled trail to a vernal pool. There, more than two decades ago, someone planted narcissus. Once established, the plants spread into thick clumps around the perimeter of the pool, and a few brave clusters still hide in…

The Bay and beyond

January 31, 2020 out and about the birds and the trees
The San Francisco Bay Area is blessed with many splendid open spaces, including state, regional and national parks, as well as numerous local watersheds accessible by permit. But a significant loss for us this past year was the closing of the Buckeye Creek Trail in the Oakland hills, where Craig has…

Around the Bay

January 23, 2020 out and about the birds and the trees this and that
One of the true luxuries of no longer having a job is being able to go hiking on weekdays, when few others are on the trails. Not to mention just having more time to spend out of doors, whether we’re exploring on foot, by bicycle, or from the air.  This…

Hiking the Drakensberg

November 14, 2019 a-roving out and about the birds and the trees
The eland, explained Sipelele, our young Zulu guide, was sacred to the nomadic San and Khoekhoe peoples who were once the main inhabitants and stewards of the Drakensberg region of South Africa. These indigenous artists created paintings on sandstone — in caves and on sheltered rock faces — that reflected…

Miracles, minor and mundane

January 5, 2019 a good book musings the birds and the trees
One of my personal maxims is “Begin as you mean to continue,” and in keeping with this intention, I proposed to Craig that we start off the New Year with our favorite local hike in Chabot Regional Park, up in the Oakland Hills. Craig has been hiking the Goldenrod and…

All things bright and beautiful

August 7, 2018 a good book the birds and the trees
In the same week, Krista Tippett and Maria Popova both discussed Michael McCarthy’s memoir cum manifesto, The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy. Or perhaps I just happened on these two conversations in the same week? I’m not sure — and it doesn’t matter, of course, except that the dual mention felt like a…

A contrary bird is the pelican!

July 31, 2018 a good book the birds and the trees
Having grown up near the California coast, I am most familiar with our seafaring brown pelicans, so it’s always a special thrill to see the white pelicans who are only seasonal visitors. I was lucky enough to espy this fellow paddling on Oakland’s Lake Merritt and to snap a few…

Rambles along rivers

July 6, 2018 a-roving the birds and the trees
It had been months since Craig and I had gotten out in the camper, not since we blew out its transmission coming back from Death Valley on New Year’s Eve. Though the camper had long since been repaired, we still had not managed to get away — and Craig was…