Shell Creek Wildflowers

There’s a street famous in these parts for its bounty of wildflowers. Shell Creek Road is off Highway 58 between Paso Robles and Carrizo Plain National Monument.
Read the rest of this entry »Hummingbirds

This spring was the first I had noticed some unusual hummingbirds at my yard feeders.

Unlike the mostly iridescent green-backed Anna’s hummers that are year-round residents, these sported a lot of rusty coloration.
Read the rest of this entry »Vineyards

During this time of quarantine, it’s nice to go on a “road trip” to the place you live.

Especially since we are told not to venture too far from home anyway. Since I live in wine country, my housemate and I explored the countryside in its Spring finery.
Read the rest of this entry »Love of Carrizo Plain in the Time of COVID-19
I have visited Carrizo Plain National Monument about a dozen times and this is the first time I saw pronghorns. I guess it helped that it was not a people-frenzied super bloom year, as last year was, and it was also in the midst of the Safe-at-Home era of the COVID-19 pandemic, so running across them was more likely.