At the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, we regularly welcome school groups coming for a tour. One of the first questions the docents get from the children is, “Are we going to see bears?” or, “What animals are on the trails?” We try gently to explain that many animals hide when a group of 10 grade-schoolers...

As I was preparing to write this article, I decided to do a little informal survey of my family and friends, to gauge their reaction. I started by asking my grandchildren what color they would use to draw a fox. I handed them a box of crayons. The situation became impossible when both started fighting...

All of the bird books say the hooded oriole comes back to California from Mexico in late March. They spend the winter on the Southwestern coast of Mexico and are permanent residents in Baja, the Mexican east coast and Belize. Very rare are the ones that winter in Southern California. I am always fascinated...

[PCNCA] – RuthAnne Murthy has been named 2017 Volunteer of the Year by the Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates board of directors. RuthAnne was a third-grade teacher in the Castaic Union School District, and we knew we had found a rare pearl when she started her docent training at Placerita...

If you come into a crowded room and start loudly expressing your political views, you can expect the tone of the conversation will go up, arguments will be coming from all directions, faces are going to get red … it could turn ugly. If you enter the room and throw a few religious statements in the...

Sometimes the change in nature around you is subtle, and you have to pay close attention to notice anything at all … a tree is in bloom for just a week and you will have to wait until next year if you miss it. You might get only a quick glimpse of the Western tanager right now in your backyard; it...

Let’s imagine you have a new neighbor. He is middle-aged, very reserved, and you wave at each other only when you pull out the garbage cans for the weekly pickup. One evening you notice three black cars in his driveway. They stay for about an hour, and you never see your neighbor again. There was obviously...

We are just recovering from the Lucifer storm, and 4 inches of rain have soaked the Newhall area. Many branches were flying in the air, and many trees tumbled down with the storm. My husband was surprised to see so many birds at our bird feeders in spite of the elements being out of control around us....

“I was somewhat delayed in getting to work because there was a dead bear on the side of the freeway,” my husband said about 30 years ago, just after we moved here from New York City. I think this is the sentence that allowed me to fall in love with California. Let me back up a bit so you can...

The holidays are upon us, and we all run from one activity to the next: parties, shopping, baking. Writing all those cards has become less of a chore since we send many more via the internet. But there are always those friends who send you a card in the last week, and you try to respond in a timely manner...