Wow, while searching for flowering plants in the Southern California deserts can be tough at times there sure are incredibly beautiful plants! I explore and share stories of our recently found charming and unique shaped plants.
Spurge is the word . . . around these parts.
The deserts of Southern California have some incredibly interesting plants with unique structures and beautiful colors. In this post I explore the spurges and their cousins that I’ve found recently! Super neat plants!
Questions for a Cactus
The charismatic plant of the desert that cant be avoided visually, but intentionally avoided physically is of course the cactus! After hiking around Joshua Tree NP for weeks I had some questions for these funky fun plants.
iNatting Sheba Ridge in the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park, BC
The South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park is a truly wonderful place to explore, botanize, and connect with nature. On this first backpacking trip in the park of 2020 we found oodles of flower, insect and mammal life lucky to call this place home. Can’t wait to return!
Moth Madness! Reflections from a Year of Mothing
Ever been curious about moths? Why do they congregate around my porch light? After a year or so of mothing I look into the science, and share our set up of how we attract moths to US!
Mushrooming and Mothing in Mendocino County, One Month in Gualala, CA
Mushrooming, mothing, beach combing, hiking, tidepooling, star gazing Mendocino County in California is a spot for endless adventuring! We spent one month in Gualala and absolutely loved it!
Bugs on Ice, A Quest To Find Insects in the Upper Lillooet Provincial Park
Looking for bugs on an snowfield? What an odd activity. Well we spent three days in a remote area of Southwest BC searching for insects trapped in the snow. What an adventure it was!
Fantastic Fruits of the Forest Floor
At this time of year in California mushrooms are popping out of the ground like mad! Their bright and various colors inspired me to take a look into why they are so colorful!
Unbe-LEAF-able Leaves
Sometimes little moments in nature just force you to put on the brakes and admire what you almost stepped over. This happens a lot to me, and today I wanted to share my little collection of beautiful and unique fallen leaves.
The Beetles of Bark, Beaches, and Brooks
When the fall slowly turns into winter in Central California it can get tough as a naturalist to find new intriguing species. Well I suggest you go for a beetle hunt! These are some beetles I found in perhaps some unexpected places.
One month in Lagunitas, CA. What this Naturalist got up to.
Cozy and cute Lagunitas, CA was our home base for one month this winter. Here’s some highlights of where we explored and what nature we observed.
Exploring and iNatting the Bridge River Delta Provincial Park
This summer Trevor and I explored some remote provincial parks in British Columbia for a project between BC parks and iNaturalist. The Bridge River Delta Provincial Park was our first iNatting trip, which included blood, sweat, and tears.
The Marvelous Millipedes of Marin County
Rummaging around in the dirt and flipping logs can reveal many natural wonders. Millipedes are often found scurrying around, so here’s a little description and photos of the common ones I’m finding while living in Marin County, CA in November of 2020.
You’ll Never Guess What This Yellow Fluff Ball is! Ft. Asterocolax gardneri
Tidepools are truly a place of endless entertainment and wonder. Once again I was stumped what this yellow succulent fluff ball was. I never thought it would be a parasite!
My New Nudes, aka my Newest Nudibranch Lifers from the November 2020 King Tide
November 2020 king tides brought great conditions to find marine invertebrates here in California. Read about my newest nudibranch lifers found amongst the rocks and algae along California’s central coast.
Chloe Van Loon's Nature Blog 