Share/Bookmark This past week’s heat wave put most of my afternoon outdoor activities on hold. After my morning outings, it was so hot I retreated indoors to sit by a fan or to a shady spot, hoping for a little breeze to come up and cool me down. In California, they call hot, dry days [...]
Share/BookmarkThis week I have made several trips to various Hill locales blessed with wild flowers. I visited the following sites: Lake Fulmor (twice), County Park (thrice), Inspiration Point, Dark Canyon, Marion Mountain, and Highway 243 near Cedar Glen. I also stopped by Lily Rock Native Gardens and generally kept my eyes peeled for anything interesting [...]
Share/BookmarkMay has been a very interesting month for sure. May saw the annual Pacific Crest Trail migration, the Idyllwild Earth Fair, the wildflower show at the Nature Center, the return of Dr. Michael Hamilton for a visit, Memorial Day weekend yard sales and many other art and cultural events. May also saw a trip to [...]
Share/BookmarkThe 24th annual Idyllwild Earth Fair is 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18. I would use the term “comes to town” but that is more in tune with a traveling circus than a homegrown event like the Idyllwild Earth Fair. No event could be more grassroots than our very own celebration of our [...]
Share/BookmarkIt is Monday morning as I write this column and the sounds of rain are all around me. The unmistakable sounds of cars driving on the wet pavement were a happy wake-up call. I feel like a farmer whose crops of wildflowers are now safe from drought. Southern California is now safe from wildfires, at [...]
Share/BookmarkApril was a good month for outdoor adventures. I would have liked to have seen more rain, which would benefit the wildflower season. Of course, when it comes to weather, you take what you get. It does not look like we will have a similar profusion of wildflowers as we had last year. But late [...]
Share/BookmarkSpring is the time for wildflowers and Pacific Crest Trail thru hikers to start popping up all over Idyllwild. It starts in March, when a few early bird hikers begin their long trek and the willows start to bloom. A spring snow does not deter either the willows or the PCTers from beginning their spring [...]
Share/BookmarkThis past week I took another trip out to Joshua Tree. On the Hill, I saw the first lilac flowers of the season and took a trip to Garner Valley. It was a great week with warm days and not too cool mornings, which all seemed to come to an end Sunday afternoon when thick [...]
Share/BookmarkIt has been three weeks and a day since I sprained my ankle and I still am not fully recovered. After limping around and using a trekking pole as a cane for a few days, I made the mistake of walking on the ankle which only worsened the situation. Several days after the injury, I [...]
Share/BookmarkAt 3 p.m. Saturday, Les and Cheri Walker, along with the pups Koda and Boulder, and yours truly all piled into the FJ Cruiser and headed to Joshua Tree. Our mission was to catch the late afternoon light and, hopefully, some cloud cover during the golden hour shooting. This would be the first time that [...]
