Purple sage (
Salvia leucophylla) on the Rice Canyon Trail, February 2021.
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Springtime in Rice Canyon
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Join me Saturday, March 13, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon for a nature hike in Rice Canyon on the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Ventura River Preserve. We’ll meet a diverse group of plants representing the Coastal Sage Scrub, Chaparral, and Riparian Woodland plant communities of Southern California.
Other than a short boulder hop across the river, this is an easy-to-moderate hike of 2 miles round-trip with sections of mild elevation gain and a few short hills to climb. We’ll stop often to identify edible, medicinal and otherwise useful plants.
Read about COVID-19 protocol and other details at this link. |
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With spring upon us, now is the time to add this one-of-a-kind plant guide to your library. Click on the book cover image to see the book and add it to your shopping cart. Then use coupon code v34cmxky for free shipping! |
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Looking south in late summer from the medicine wheel at Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve.
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We're going back to Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve!
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Now that Mother Nature has had three winters worth of rain to recover from the December 2017 fire, we’re going back to this amazing private property in the mountains above Lake Casitas west of Ojai. Join us on Saturday, March 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a COVID-safe hike. Some of the plants we’ll meet and identify on the Nature Preserve include manzanita, purple sage, woolly blue curls, tule, cattail, and coastal sagebrush.
In the middle of our hike, we’ll celebrate the Spring Equinox on a medicine wheel with a spectacular 360 degree view. Afterwards, you can take a self-guided tour of the world renowned Taft Gardens where you’ll see an unparalleled collection of Australian and South African plants.
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See what's new in the Herb Walks Shop
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My newly designed Herb Walks Shop has books, gift certificates, and a CD of original songs. You can check out the music at this link or visit the shop at this one.
Check out the book cover image elsewhere in this newsletter with the coupon code for free shipping of Milt McAuley's
Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains. The coupon is offered here only to you, my loyal readers.
And look for the other image of me playing Captain Hook in Illusions Theatre's production of
Peter Pan in 1981. You can listen to the sea shanty from my album free at that link. |
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Ojai's famous pink moment just before the February moonrise.
Photo: Enrique Villaseñor |
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Do the herbal moonwalk in March
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On Saturday evening, March 27, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., I’ll lead a March Supermoon Sunset Nature Hike above the Ojai Valley where we can watch the simultaneous moonrise and sunset. The full supermoon will rise above the Topa Topa Bluffs at about 6:50 p.m., and the sun will set in the west at about 7:00 p.m., giving us a perfect window of time to take it all in.
There's a reason, or more than one, why these hikes are so popular. Sign up or read more at this link, including why we're going Saturday night when the calendar says the full moon is on Sunday. |
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Click on the USFS logo above to visit the Ojai Ranger District webpage for the latest info on trails, campgrounds, winter road closures and more. Reduced campfire restrictions are still in place but who knows for how long unless we get some more rain.
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Come aboard, mates, and hear my sea shanty tribute to Captain Hook! That's me wearing a different hat in 1981. Hear the song from my 2004 album
The High Road at this link. |
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Outdoors with small groups, masks, safe distancing, screening and temperature checks. That's how we're staying safe.
Photo: Enrique Villaseñor
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