Archive for the Nature Category

Spring – The white wildflowers with this calf are called spectacle pods. They get their name from their little green seed pods that look like old-fashioned eyeglasses. Spectacle pods never fail to bloom each year – even in drought. Sometimes they are so thick it feels like

Ring-necked Pheasant – The ring-necked pheasant is striking, but when surrounded with snow something magical happens.  Their shiny green neck and bit of red around their eye, makes them seem like a snow god rather than just a bird.  They don’t fit in…and yet they do. Pheasants

Hunting Sunrise – It goes like this.  A dark blanket with little specks of white light covers the sky.  The eastern horizon glows purple, then red.  With a little cloud cover, God really goes wild with the pinks and blues.  As birds start to sing, the sun

Bobcat – It’s rare to see a bobcat in the wild, but they are everywhere.  They are stealthy and camouflaged and so are seldom observed by the average hiker or hunter. Bobcats, somewhat like lazy-bones domestic cats, are diurnal. They prefer to hunt around sunrise and sunset,

Tarantula – It’s easy to be scared of tarantulas.  They’re big and nasty and they have a killer name.  People like to say they are harmless, but rain on that.  They give me the heebie-jeebies.  I let one crawl on my hands in science class one time

Tomato Hornworm – Hornworm is a great name.  If you’re going to be a worm, might as well be an awesome one.  They are huge, perfectly camouflaged, and if you touch one they start slapping their big bodies around to try and bite you.  These guys are