Grass management at the ranch.
Riding through the valley.
The present day Big Valley and Clear Lake are extensions of one another,
the valley occupying the historic footprint of the formerly much larger lake.
Feeder creeks, lined with cottonwoods and Valley Oaks, snake across the valley forming tule sloughs and willow deltas at the lake.
At this time of year the black-crowned night heron rookery in Library Park, Lakeport, is a symphony of squawks and croaks.
From Library Park.
A turkey vulture glides over the riparian zone.
Kelsey Creek still flows lightly in June. For its thousands of polliwogs and fish fry, it is a race against the relentless clock of subsidence of the surface water into the gravel bed.
Beneath the Valley Oak canopy at the ranch.
Ten months into the aftermath of the Valley Fire, plants and trees are doing their utmost to shoot forth new growth. A charred Valley Oak sapling puts oomph into it.
Hummingbird - a vibrant candle burned out.
