We have a new backyard visitor… a young, nimble, ravenous squirrel. Since this one arrived, we haven’t seen our resident three-legged squirrel. This one appears to have taken over the territory. Even worse? This one is light and agile enough to jump from our barbecue onto the bird feeder! We’ve moved things around and stumped … Continue reading »
Three photos of my son from our walk through the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley last week. Can you spot the pattern? Yep! No matter where we go, he’s playing in the dirt. Photos taken May 5th, 2013 *** Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern Continue reading »
Over the past several years, I’ve tried running at just about every park in the Pleasanton through Danville area, searching for ones with trails both long enough for a nice-length run and shady enough to provide protection from our blaring summer heat. I’ve decided my favorite is Osage Station Park in Danville. The trail looping … Continue reading »
Photo taken May 8th, 2013 Osage Station Park, Danville Stay tuned! More roses tomorrow! Continue reading »
Photos taken May 5th, 2013 UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley In celebration of National Public Gardens Day Related articles Gorgeous! Cactus Flowers (anaturemom.com) This Friday! National Public Gardens Day (anaturemom.com) Continue reading »
Are you a grandparent who would like to help connect your grandchild(ren) with the natural world? Check out these great tips from Richard Louv… Grand Ideas! 21 Great Ways Grandparents and Grandfriends Can Connect Kids to Nature. What wonderful ways to bond! My dad and my son, then three, gardening together (Tip #9: Create a … Continue reading »
The cacti in the the New World Desert Collection of the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley are in stunning bloom. How have I missed this in past years? The flowers are gorgeous! All these photos were taken during my visit on Sunday, May 5th, 2013. If you live in the San Francisco area, I recommend … Continue reading »
This Friday, May 10th, is National Public Gardens Day. To celebrate the event, Better Homes and Gardens magazine is offering readers a free admission coupon for two to visit participating public gardens, arboretums, and green spaces on this day. Head on over to the Better Homes and Gardens National Public Gardens Day page… http://www.bhg.com/gardening/arboretums/celebrate-national-public-gardens-day/ … … Continue reading »
Photo taken April 12th, 2013 Continue reading »
Photos taken April 12th, 2013 You may also enjoy: The Bee in the Zucchini Continue reading »
It this actually a caterpillar crawling up the stem of a milkweed I planted in our backyard? It’s only about a half a centimeter long. But is it a butterfly or a moth? We planted the milkweeds to attract butterflies…. Photos taken April 11th, 2013 Continue reading »
Weekly Photo Challenge: Color. Take two… this time with a focus on purple. Photos taken April 5th, 2013, Blake Garden, Kensington, California Related articles Play! Blake Garden (anaturemom.com) Weekly Photo Challenge: Color (anaturemom.com) Silent Saturday: Blake Garden (anaturemom.com) Continue reading »
Blake Garden in Kensington may be the best botanic garden in the Bay Area for nature play. A favorite feature for my son is the Create-with-Nature Zone, which is stocked with sticks, rocks, flowers, and other nature items for kids to play and build with. The second best feature here is the bamboo tunnel sculpture. … Continue reading »
Photos taken April 5th, 2013 Blake Garden, Kensington, California *** WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Color Continue reading »
Photos taken April 5th, 2013 Blake Garden, Kensington, California Continue reading »
Photo taken March 22nd, 2013 Continue reading »
Lawrence Hall of Science Photos taken March 7th, 2013 Continue reading »
Fascinating flowers… Parking lot of the Hayward Japanese Garden Photo taken February 24th, 2013 Continue reading »
I consider the Japanese Garden in Hayward to be a bit of a hidden gem, as so few people seem to know about it. Whenever I mention it, the response is usually, “There’s a Japanese garden in Hayward?!?” Yes, there is, and a lovely one at that. Interested in going? The garden is free, open … Continue reading »
A great place to see turtles! Japanese Garden, Hayward Photos taken February 24th, 2013 Continue reading »
I often wonder what happened to his leg… I first noticed it missing a few weeks ago. Photos taken February 14th, 2013 Continue reading »
We love to visit The Living Roof whenever we visit the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. This paragraph from the Academy webpage states it best… “An open-air observation terrace enables visitors to get a close-up look at the roof’s lush canopy of plants. The view encompasses the densest concentration of native wildflowers in … Continue reading »
Photo taken January 21st, 2013 Regional Parks Botanic Garden Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, CA Continue reading »
Wishing you all the best in 2013! Looking for color on a winter day. Photos taken December 30th, 2012 UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley Continue reading »
Another place we love to visit in Tilden Regional Park is the Botanic Garden. I enjoy experiencing the seasonal changes of this garden throughout the year. These images are from our visit on Sunday, November 18th, 2012, on a quiet morning after two days of rain. Interested in going? The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is … Continue reading »
We now have both juvenile White-crowned Sparrows and juvenile Golden-crowned Sparrows visiting our yard. Now that I can see both, frequently side-by-side, I can clearly see the difference. The one I thought last week was a Golden-crowned Sparrow is definitely a White-crowned one. Here are a few photos of the fist-year Golden-crowned Sparrows who visited … Continue reading »
One of my favorite places to walk with my son… the Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley. He leads. I follow. Interested in what we saw on this visit to the gardens? Check out these posts… Flowers (October) Garden (Fence) The Newts are Back Weekly Photo Challenge: Big Continue reading »
I hope everyone has been enjoying the rain this week! Continue reading »
Photos taken Sunday, October 21st, 2012 UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley Continue reading »
Photos taken Sunday, October 21st, 2012 Crops of the World, UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley Continue reading »
