Natural History Journal

Autumn might just be my favorite season in the Sierra Nevada. Maybe. Gone are summer's long, lazy days of exploring creeks in cutoffs and swimming in mountain lakes. But I'll make the exchange, for golden leaves swirling on the breeze and crunching underfoot, chilly nights with starry skies, cozy flannel shirts and woolly mittens holding warm beverages around the campfire... We spent last weekend on the Eastern side of the Sierra, taking in the sights and reveling in the beauty of the season. And I can safely say, fall is in full swing: now is the time to get out and see the fall colors! California is known as the golden state for the obvious reason: gold was discovered here, triggering a booming gold rush during the mid-to-late 1800's. But I'd like to add a few more of my own reasons for the nickname. In spring, golden carpets of wildflowers spread across hills and valleys in varying hues: California poppies, goldfields, tidytips and their yellow compo...

Occasionally, we tend to forget that nature is all around us, that the urban greenspaces, suburban backyards and even small farms we encounter in our everyday lives may be considered mini-ecosystems in their own right.  Sometimes we don't need to drive to the mountains or coast, or plan an epic week-long camping trip; sometimes we just need a reminder that the neighborhood in which our home now sits was once a balanced natural ecosystem, and perhaps all we need to do is rediscover it. Charismatic and dazzlingly blue, California scrub-jays ( Aphelocoma californica ) are common backyard residents in these parts, as well as characteristic denizens of the surrounding oak woodlands. My house sits on the fertile soil (Tujunga loamy sand, to be exact, derived from ancient alluvial fans) of California's Great Central Valley, in an upland region between two major rivers, the Tuolumne to the north and the Merced to the south.  The San Joaquin River lies twelve or fifteen m...