A Weekend Camping in the Desert Wilderness

The weather's perfect right now for a camping trip in the desert, a smidgen North of Joshua Tree.

A Trip Through the Heated Southwest

One of the most astounding road trips I've ever taken. I won't go much into the personal details, except that my wonderful wife makes the most perfect travel companion. We went together on every leg of the trip, down every path and through every wonderful snack.

DiscOasis at SCBG

DiscOasis. It's an oasis of disco in an otherwise disco-less land. Open until Labor Day at South Coast Botanic Garden.

Walking Under the Sun’s Fury

It is 1pm and 110F-ish. I'm hiding in the shade of a rock lip in Vasquez Park. I missed the desert. This post written before I cooked under the heat of the sun.

City Nature Challenge Wrap-up

The City Nature Challenge is over! I can't wait until next year, to check up on how these plants are doing. And to add a few more to my collection. Congratulations to everyone who took part! I'm always so happy when a big number of people turn out for nature.

Palos Verdes – City Nature Challenge

Get your portable phones and cool cameras ready for a five-day bioblitz style event! From April 30th to May 3rd, be on the lookout to log and identify all the plants and animals you can possibly find in the Palos Verdes area.

DRECP – Renewable Energy in SoCal’s Deserts

The powers-that-be want to streamline a process where desert land can be handed over to energy developers who want to invest in clean energy infrastructure. They've written a plan - the DRECP (Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan) - to delineate what is allowed to go where.

Searching for Snow near LA

If you've been watching the San Gabriel Mountains north of LA, you've seen the snow. I wanted to see the snow up close, and not just through a few dozen miles of pollution. The environment changes completely at 5000 feet altitude, only a few miles off the 210. Find out about the Icehouse Canyon Trail and plan out a trip while there's still snow!

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Roundup – January’s End

A look back at what's happened in January, both in the wider environment and in my own garden. Most notably - the LA smog is back, my garden has new LED grow lights, and South Coast Botanic Garden's GLOW event is over.

Climate Since Covid

Only time will tell what the final effects of the COVID shutdowns are on the environment. During the height of the lockdown, air quality improved almost immediately. NO2 and CO2 (from fossil fuels) both decreased. This effect was noticed most heavily in major cities, though arguably the whole world benefitted. Fine particulate matter, PM2.5, similarly dropped.