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...

Tonight at sunset, April 17, 2016 Eight years of pulling yellow starthistle. Eight years of seasonal grazing. Spring rain with moder...

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...

Five-petaled nodding flowers of the white-veined wintergreen.    Coast redwood trees get lots of attention and adoration. Yes, redwood t...

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

Goodnight Mindego Hill. Goodnight land of San Francisco gartersnakes. Goodnight slowly diminishing hillsides of purple starthistle.   Th...

This way or that way? As a large mammal, mountain lions have choices on where they can go but they are still blocked by roads and human co...

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

Full moon through California buckeye tree at the Dipper Ranch, February 25, 2013 Late February's full moon is the Snow Moon .  In ce...

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...

Welcome back.  Ash-throated flycatchers fly up to the Western US to nest in cavities, often in manmade structures like fenceposts and tel...

Three reasons to slow down on Page Mill Road - sharp curves, bicyclists on the road, and wildflowers. There is a curve on Page Mill Road...

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...