Often during the night I wake to hear the distinctive sound of my neighborhood’s Great Horned Owl calling out. It’s a lovely deep call that sounds like, “hoo-HOO-hoo-hoo” and while I’ve heard it often, I only first laid eyes on the bird last week. I rose early for a predawn run and once outside my … Continue reading
Typically, cones mature on the redwood branches in autumn. They turn slightly yellow as the cone scales separate, exposing the seeds hidden within to the elements. Rain then washes away tannic crystals that hold the seeds inside the cones and releases the seeds to fall down onto the forest floor. This year, something else is happening and … Continue reading
Tonight on KQED, the California Legacy Project presents Becoming California, a inspiring look at our relationship with nature in our ever-changing state. It is a two-hour documentary, narrated by Jane Fonda, that explores both the urban and wild environment. The film includes spectacular footage of the redwoods and shows a window into my fern research on … Continue reading
This week, we learned from scientists at the University of Buffalo that caffeine evolved independently in coffee plants, meaning it didn’t likely share a caffeine-producing common ancestor with tea or chocolate plants. A miracle like caffeine evolving more than once, how’d we get so lucky?! Researchers mapped the genome of Coffee canephora and found that genes … Continue reading
Several weeks ago, a wily Steller’s jay outsmarted me while I cooked breakfast under the redwoods in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I was about to sit down and eat my scrambled eggs, but decide to first fetch the boiling water off my camp stove to make tea. I turned my back for a second and then to my … Continue reading
Over the Memorial Day weekend I took my first backcountry trip through the eastern side of the Southern Sierra. Over three days and 32 triumphant miles, I zig-zagged through the tree line on granite passes in the Golden Trout Wilderness. This trip was full of “firsts” for me, from my first 22-mile day hike above 10,000 … Continue reading
I’m so thrilled to report that at least one of the poachers who stole burls from Redwood National and State Park last year has been arrested! Law enforcement identified the large 8×8′ burl in a local shop and traced it back to the magnificent coast redwood that still stands today despite its deep cuts. Thank you to … Continue reading
