Poppies

It's been about five years since we had a good crop of poppies here, but 2008 is a good year. Here's a vid (no sound, 472kb) from my visit to the reserve today.

Hiking in Sespe Wilderness

Had a foursome for hiking this weekend in Sespe Wilderness near Ojai. First time there, and it's quite a scenic place, with lots of open space and running water. It's the home of the endangered California Condor, AND as it turns out, the endangered Arroyo Toad. Geez. Seems like, out here you can't even swing a dead sea otter around your head without hitting some endangered species. Anyway, it's a good thing for both animals that we don't protect endangered species based on good looks. (Disclaimer: no toads were harmed in the making of this blog entry.)
Check out Mark's awesome pano stitch here.