Smile-O-Byte

I stand on a river bank, the swirling waters beckon. A bright yellow circle, two eyes, a mouth, no nose, rushes by. The original, the prototype, the progenitor, the first smile. More neon flavors follow, faces slicing the virtual current. What symbol is my avatar, my vessel, my surrogate? Shall I posit myself in a… Continue reading Smile-O-Byte

Published
Categorized as Poetry

Coast Live Oak and Toyon

In December of 2018, a little more than a month after the Woolsey Fire burned through much of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Conejo Open Space, a friend and I headed out for a hike starting from the Albertson Motorway trailhead. The well-groomed, exotic greenery and cultivated lawns of the adjacent Lang… Continue reading Coast Live Oak and Toyon

Swallowtails

Papilio eurymedon, a Pale Swallowtail foraging on Encelia farinosa or Brittlebush

As I learn more about the behaviors of butterflies, I am getting a little better at photographing them. Swallowtail butterflies, like many other Lepidopterans are fast moving. At this stage in my education, I can usually observe a butterfly in flight and determine within a minute or two whether, with the requisite patience, I have… Continue reading Swallowtails

iNaturalist Observations

Fire Poppy on the Etz Meloy/Backbone trail, Santa Monica Mountains, April 2019

I am spending much of my time in the field and just outside my door taking photographs of plants, flowers and insects with the occasional bird, reptile and mammal included when our paths intersect. Doing this kind of work requires patience and focus. I find that I must slow down and concentrate on my subject.… Continue reading iNaturalist Observations