Thanksgiving Snow
There’s a stillness in nature that I only experience when it snows. Witnessing the Earth move water to where it’s needed fills me with gratitude. A perfect Thanksgiving snow.
The Living Desert
So the first big storm of the winter was about to hit Idyllwild and I decided to head down the hill to The Living Desert for the day. What fun!!!
Hibiscus 
Tree-climbing coyote 
Buckwheat 
Egret
Dinner with a Hummer
I so love these joyful little creatures! Tonight was dinner on the deck with the usual suspects – the jay and woodpecker families working toward emancipating their teenagers, a young flicker out on his own, nuthatches working the trees upside down, and the hummer. His territory was in the light and his head feathers turned from green to flashes of ruby red as he moved about. Magical summer evening in Idyllwild.
Acorn Woodpecker Teen
Love how devoted bird parents are to their teens! This mom (bottom) is delivering a tasty morsel to her teenager. Soon he will be eating on his own and taking his place in the colony. (You can tell the difference between adult males and females by looking at the feathers on their heads. Females have a band of black feathers between the white and red feathers.)
Young Bluebird
Welcome to your new home on the mountain, Little One!
Mom and Dad have just guided this Little One from the safety of the nest to his home in the great outdoors. It took him a little while to get accustomed to the brightness of his world, and he spent quite a while with his eyes closed. He finally hopped to a space in the shade and was finally able to take it all in. Welcome!
Independence Day
This is the season I look forward to each year. (Full disclosure: I say that about all the seasons.) This is the season where young birds leave the nests and are cared for by their doting parents until they can fly and feed themselves. The next generation of wild things make their homes on this beautiful mountain. And the mountain always provides for them.
This handsome teen has been waiting for his mom and dad to bring him some food, in the way he has always known. But it’s nature’s way to teach independence to all things, and this young one is no different. He will only be fed now when he flies after mom and dad, strengthening his wings and discovering his true place in the world – in the air, soaring above us all.
Lunch with a Ground Squirrel
I love deck days. I bring my laptop and my dog outside and we enjoy the day before it’s time for her walk and dog park time. Bella has a LONG leash and explores the yard, identifying every visitor within her territory.
I don’t “landscape” my yard. What grows naturally, grows. I haven’t planted a single thing. And I don’t kill things that eat the things that grow naturally. I figure they were there before me, and hopefully this will be their home forever.
Today I witnessed something I have never seen. I watched as a ground squirrel discovered a big patch of penstemon that is about ready to bloom. The buds were irresistible! The ground squirrel stood on its hind legs, grabbed the stalk of buds and even figured out how to bring them close enough to munch! A beautiful example of how the abundance of the earth provides for us all. Magical.
Wildflower Super Bloom – Diamond Valley Lake, California
You have already written this about news traveling fast.
Wildflower Super Bloom – Anza, California
Some people hate detours.
After a deluge of rain in mid-February, March brought a “wildflower super bloom” to parts of Southern California. Two of the three roads off our mountain were washed out, and a detour took us along a rural road as we made our way around the mountain to the town down below.
What have brought destruction to our roads and bridges had blessed the hillside with exactly wheat the wildflowers needed to bloom. And the miracle of the “super bloom” occurred during an amazing butterfly migration.
This magnificient bloom occurred in a protected habitat conservation area.
Desert Wildflower Super Bloom
We had a lot of rain. Now there are a lot of flowers. We had a lot of rain. Now there are a lot of flowers.We had a lot of rain. Now there are a lot of flowers.We had a lot of rain. Now there are a lot of flowers.We had a lot of rain. Now there are a lot of flowers.We had a lot of rain. Now there are a lot of flowers.We had a lot of rain. Now there are a lot of flowers.We had a lot of rain. Now there are a lot of flowers.
