I had a picnic at Folsom Lake on Sunday. Who would believe we’re still having sunny days to enjoy our beautiful lake. We walked in at the levee entrance at Sophia Parkway and GreenValley Road in El Dorado Hills and found we weren’t the only ones with the same idea. Boaters, families, individuals with dogs, Whipperwils, Seagulls, Geese and a lone Loon populated the lake. Hikers, Cyclists, Equestrians, and nature enthusiasts alike enjoy the many trails. One of the popular trails leads to Brown’s Ravine in Folsom Lake State Recreation Area that is home to the Folsom Lake Yacht Club and Folsom lake Marina, also located on Green Valley Road in El Dorado Hills. Although only the brave would g

Maybe it comes from having folks that lived off the land, but I have always had affection for dirt. I remember making mud pies in the backyard of my L.A. home. I was three and there was just something about getting my hands dirty that felt good. In case you were wondering, yes, I did try a bite or two. Even the taste didn’t turn me off to playing in the dirt. It makes me now ponder how children seem to know that dirt is associated with food. My connection to dirt didn’t stop with that good L.A. mud. I found another connection to dirt in the backwoods of Oklahoma. It was where my daddy grew up. The air smells different in Oklahoma. There’s a sweetness to it along with a humidity you canno

Sacramento rolled up its sleeves and filled trash bags Saturday for the 16th annual Great American River Clean Up led by the American River Parkway Foundation. More than 2,000 people volunteered their time to clear 11,361 pounds of trash and 7,002 pounds of recyclables from 22 waterfront sites. About 47 miles of waterfront were cleaned, including high-traffic sites such as River Bend Park and Discovery Park. The cleanup coincided with California Coastal Cleanup Day, an annual statewide effort led by the California Coastal Commission that has about 80,000 volunteers annually. Sacramento’s participation has nearly doubled since last year. At William B. Pond Park in Carmichael, about 180 vo

On Sunday, August 29th, 2010 at 6:20 p.m., the western sky held an unusual sight. A sheet of cloud was illuminated, with a dazzling refraction on either side of the setting sun. High up in the sky above this display, there was an upside-down rainbow. These photos show the brilliant refraction of the sections of "ring" around the sun, made visible on the cloud sheet.  The rainbow was opposite the sun ring, far above the sun and cloud sheet, with the full spectrum of colors visible. And upside down.

Sacramento has been called “The City of Trees,” a city with more trees per capita than Paris, a place known for its romantic, tree-lined walkways and thoroughfares. Each tree in Sacramento has a story to tell. This is the theme of “Living With Trees,” a new art exhibit that opened in City Hall Aug. 4 featuring 17 historical photographs selected from the Center for Sacramento History’s archives, each telling a small piece of the decades-old romance Sacramento has had with its trees. There are images of automobiles smashed by broad tree trunks flung down in the windstorm of 1950, costumed children playacting in a shaded grove and an ordinary Sacramento man sweeping a front yard enveloped b

Things will get a little batty in Old Sacramento Saturday when Trail Mix and a wildlife rescue group team up to educate people about bats. Corky Quirk, founder of Northern California Bats, will bring live, wild bats to help dispel some of the myths about these nocturnal creatures. She will also teach people about the benefits and habits of the mysterious winged mammals in a presentation from 1-3 p.m. at Trail Mix, a store selling outdoor merchandise for kids and parents at 116B I St., across from the California State Railroad Museum. Thousands of bats roost in the nooks and crannies of the city. In summer, a colony of 150,000 to 200,000 bats live under the Yolo Causeway and may be seen f

[A note on the text: This is a little essay I submitted to another publication at the beginning of spring.  It was never published, but I stubbornly persist on liking it and wanting others to read it.  As gray skies have robbed of us this year of our little window of SoCal weather, I suppose reflections on the nature of spring are not very much in demand, but since this essay was written in the mood of Stravinsky much more than Vivaldi maybe it is fitting after all.]   The coming of spring always reminds me of the things that make the Sacramento region important. There are many things that do, but somehow they get overlooked in favor of sports teams, parking lots and human beings -- in ot

 Starting last year and continuing into this year, tree vandalism in Midtown has been rampant. The vandalism most often occurs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights/early mornings. This fiscal year we have had 29 tree vandalized (26 in the central city). Victim trees are located outside, near to or within a block of bars and nightclubs. The damage consists of twisting, cutting them in half or breaking off at any point newly planted trees of all species, ripping out the stakes and battering the trees and trying to break a tree by bending it over so far that it damaged the root system so much it could not stand straight without city arborists’ attention and help. Imagine a vandal’s courage

While on a scouting mission for an adventure race I was planning, I discovered a lovely Sacramento gem. Just north of downtown, I found myself walking the gangplank of what I’ve named the “USS Sacramento Dragonfly”. The “ship”, better known by its very ordinary name, the “Sacramento River Water Intake Facility” offers some of the area’s best river views, nature-inspired art and architecture all in one place and all for free. Longtime area resident, Merry Walle, said she knew there was an intake facility, but “had no idea that was so beautiful!” She also noted being “amazed at the wide and impressive causeway connecting it to the land”. Completed in 2004, the facility is moored by 300 st

SACRAMENTO – More than 10,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their friends will descend on parks throughout the Sacramento region Saturday, May 8, to perform necessary work from clean-up and general maintenance to painting, planting trees and even construction jobs. Under the banner of Mormon Helping Hands, an international program of the Church that has provided manpower in distressed communities and organized relief efforts after natural disasters, the volunteers have chosen parks in their own communities to perform work in state, regional and city parks that have been hit hard by the recent downturn in the economy. The Sacramento effort is part of a stat

Springtime will soon be in the air and you and your family are invited to get take a break from the 9 to 5 and city life to experience the awakening of life. The Center For Land-Based Learning at the Farm on Putah Creek is hosting Welcome Back Springtime at the Farm on Putah Creek Sunday March 28, 2010 from 10:00am – 4:00pm. The Center For Land-Based Learning is a non-profit whose stated mission is to “engage youth in learning experiences on the land that foster respect for the critical interplay of agriculture, nature and society.” Under the leadership of Mary Kimball, Executive Director, the Center uses a network of farms, ranches, and natural ecosystems as educational laboratories for

The following true stories suggest that we do not give our animal friends sufficient credit as to their intelligence, loyalty and devotion. Some scoff at animals having or showing emotion. I believe that they do have feelings and often very deep, including love for each other and humans that are special to them. Apparently they can connect with us in ways that are yet unknown. I felt these true stories were particularly appropriate for Valentine’s Day. A long time friend emailed the first story to me; the second is a personal story. Freedom and Jeff Freedom, a Bald Eagle and a man named Jeff have been together 11 years this past summer. Freedom came into the animal rescue center as a bab

Local environmental and conservation organizations are bringing the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival On Tour to Sacramento for the first time Thursday. Save Our Sandhill Cranes and the Environmental Council of Sacramento have chosen 11 films for the three-hour festival being held at the Crest Theatre — a sampling of the annual film fest held last month in Nevada City. Moviegoers will watch adventure films about a team kayaking in Papua New Guinea, Oregon tree climbers in search of the biggest Sitka spruces and surfing in Wyoming. Other films document life in the Anza Borrego desert, the rising acidity of the ocean and Kenya's environmental and social justice movement. With more

Flocks of snow geese are seen as they winter over in rice paddies south of Yuba City. They probably flew here from Alaska. Snow geese breeding populations reside in California’s central valleys, the lower Colorado River, south/central New Mexico’s Rio Grande wetlands, Mexico’s northern Chihuahuan desert river basins and playa wetlands, and Mexico’s Gulf of California shorelines. In early spring they'll head back to their nesting areas. The 11th Annual Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway happens January 28-31, 2010. For information, (530) 345-1865. SacPress Photo | Kati Garner

Even though autumn had its official start three weeks ago, I had my first foray into fall on Saturday's tree tour through my own neighborhood Arden Park, hosted by the Sacramento Tree Foundation. The tree tours were started over five years ago by longtime Sacramento Tree Foundation member Fran Clarke. It was Clarke's goal to make the community aware of the many spectacular trees found in Sacramento. Eighteen resident citizens, from 2 years age to retired, gathered at La Sierra Park for an informational walk-about with Sacramento Tree Foundation stewardship coordinator Luanne Leineke. "The trees are not only beautiful, they play important roles in our community," Leineke said. "They help

I was driving west on Baseline Rd, almost to Hwy 99, when I noticed lighting brightening the sky around 8:45pm.  I pulled off the road at the intersection of Elverta and 99, as did other travelers and captured the show for about an hour. Photos | Kati Garner    

The equinox happens twice a year: once in the spring and once in the fall. Due to the tilt of the earth as it orbits the sun, the relative length of daylight expands and contracts throughout the year. At the equinox, the length of the day is exactly equal to the length of the night. Actually, according to National Geographic News, "The true days of day-night equality always fall before the vernal equinox and after the autumnal, or fall, equinox." Traditionally, the equinoxes mark the beginning of spring and fall, whereas the solstices mark summer and winter.  Photos taken on the American River Parkway, near Sunrise Blvd.  

These photos were taken at a pond near the American River at Sunrise Blvd.  Birds, who have spent all day feeding in the river,  flock to the pond at sun down to spend the night.  There are turtles, too.  But turtles are much more camera shy than birds.

Besides hayfever, what do weeks of rain followed by blue skies and balmy weather bring to Sacramento? Wildflowers, of course. There are preserves in the area where you can see rare, native wildflowers.  But for people who are taking a walk along the American River Parkway or just poking around in the backyard,  here are four wildflowers you are almost sure to enoucounter.  (The common name of the flowers are linked to hi-res photos) 1.  Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)  This pretty weed is a great wildflower to point out to children.  It's unmistakable seedpod appearently looks like a shepherd's purse, but to our modern eyes it looks like a valentine's heart.  The child will

 "The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful." — E.E. Cummings Photos taken ARP/Sunrise Bridge.