“Young adult Western literature” is where I read about aspen trees for the first time. As I grew up in Paris, France, I had never seen an aspen in real life, but I was an avid reader – and those books took me to new territories beyond my own borders. I was entertained by the endless conflicts...

We have many regularly scheduled hikes at Placerita Canyon State Park. The idea of a hike is well understood by the public at large: You go from point A to point B as fast as possible; the rewards will be that your health will improve, your muscles will get some exercise, and you might even lose some...

The foliage is starting to change colors and along with that, the fall migrations have started. It is a topic I have always found fascinating, and in this day and age when Google can give you all of the answers, this is still a topic that has scientists baffled. We do not have all the answers to the...

The first time I went to Maui, I remember the soft ocean wind perfumed with plumeria blossoms blowing through the open walkway in the airport. That was the first welcome. Then, walking outside to pick up our suitcases, we came to a sudden stop, transfixed. Completely covering the small patch of grass...

We are so familiar with most of the animals at Placerita Canyon that we acknowledge them with a simple nod of recognition as they pass along: ground squirrels, hawks, woodpeckers, scrub jays. We get excited and the cameras come out when a coyote or bobcat is spotted. Those sightings are written on the...

We tend to forget that 30 minutes from the Valencia mall, we have areas of wilderness where it’s possible to encounter a bear. Towsley Canyon borders East Canyon, and the two add up to a large piece of safe territory for a bear to survive. While a bear is mostly content eating berries, roots, foliage,...

Most of us are actually wonderful bird watchers. We have vast knowledge and don’t even realize it. “How is that possible? I have never gone bird watching with a group, and I do not even own a pair of binoculars,” you ask. I will issue a challenge: You can already recognize many birds without...

With these first warm days of early summer, cicadas have started their loud song, and suddenly people wonder where this noise is coming from. California has about 65 species of cicadas. They are not locusts; they are more closely related to leafhoppers and spittlebugs, and we have them every year. They...

You have probably never seen it, but you know its habitat. You might not even be totally sure what it looks like. Does it have a long tail or a short one? But you know for sure what its house looks like. When it digs a tunnel, it leaves at the entrance a specific little mound. If you own a golf course...

Would you like to adopt some wildlife? I sure hope you have no problem slicing into a dead rat, if you want a raptor. Also, their enclosures need to be constructed according to Fish and Wildlife recommendations, and yes, they are large, so that is going to take a good portion of your backyard. They need...