Going Naturalist

After our adventure in the Santa Monica Mountains, I became tired of taking pictures of plants and animals and not knowing what they were. On that particular trip, on our way off the trail, we stopped at the cultural center and I used the library of Peterson’s Field Guides to help me identify my pictures. I really dug having those as a reference. However, they were all $20 – $25 a piece and there was one for each topic – trees, mammals, birds, reptiles… So if I wanted the library, I was going to really have to invest.

However, with a little research on the internet, I found this super sweet book that combines all the topics, but cuts everything down to stuff that is relevant to California. And since that will be my primary stomping ground, I figured that was a good place to start and I can collect the other books as I go. And super bonus, The Audubon Society donates a portion of their profits to environmental causes, whereas the Peterson people seem to just be money-grubbin’ turds. (I may be wrong.) So, now in the gallaries (of which there is one new one and two on the way – get ’em while their hot!), you will find a lot more identification as far as plants an animals go. We can learn together, my little friends.

I am like a little John Muir. But with a pre-written field guide rather than compiling my own field guide for the betterment of mankind. So I am kind of a coat-tail riding little John Muir….kind of Johnny Muir.