Dipper Ranch

Chorro Creek bog thistle on a reserve on the Cal Poly-SLO campus.    2019 UPDATE:  I've now moved to San Luis Obispo (SLO) County fa...

A rainstorm at the Mindego Gateway parking lot    There's a new kid in the neighborhood. Mindego Gateway is a new trailhead and par...

Just another photo of California poppy. First poppy blooming this year at Dipper gate. Does that look like a February sky? Eschscholz...

California slender salamander. Tiny but if you look, they are ubiquitous in even the smallest of damp locations. Robert Stebbins found tha...

Blue oaks ( Quercus douglasii ) have large gaps in their canopy through which you can see the stars. Growing only here, blue oaks are Cali...

Santa Teresa County Park featuring California poppy and gypsum spring beauty Santa Teresa County Park is in the Santa Teresa Hills of s...

These are all photos I took while camping in Yellowstone and Tetons National Parks in September. Wildlife abounds. I took a journey to Y...

Large tracks on Windy Hill Open Space Preserve (no longer sure whether these are mountain lion or not, see comments) The San Francisco ...

You look into the Djerassi forest and there is a sprite looking back at you. Or is this your forest reflection? Faeries: Friend or Foe s...

Brandt's cormorant and nestlings on Guillemot Island at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Both male and female parents tend the nest....

Male Brandt's cormorant in breeding display - head tipped back over back, distinct bright blue gular pouch inflated, wings fluttering,...

Go now. Go anywhere in the Santa Cruz Mountains now to hike in the fresh air and catch the spring wildflower bloom because it is moving f...

I found this minute flower on Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve last week.  I have never seen this flower before, so I was excited.  By ...

Discover trails - Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve The winter season was on the dry side this year, so the wildflowers are blooming sev...

Western leatherwood ( Dirca occidentalis ), a rare native California shrub, has distinct sprays of bright yellow flowers in the late winte...

Flowers, rocks and sea life at the edge of the continent. When the hills and valleys of the Santa Cruz Mountains get summer dry and the ...

Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve - Woods Trail and Barlow Road Above the town of Los Gatos, my favorite trails in the 17,600-acre Sierra A...

Almaden Quicksilver County Park Almaden Quicksilver County Park  is located in south San Jose around the former mining town of New Almade...

Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve, Redwood City, California Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve  balances on the edge of San Francisco...

As you travel on Highway 101 between San Jose and Morgan Hill, you may have noticed bright patches of spring color on the hills to the east...