According to this LA County Sheriff Dept. website, “Black Bears were introduced into the San Gabriel Mountains in 1933. They are all descendants of 11 bears deported from Yosemite National Park for being troublemakers.”

In order to get a driver’s license in the state of California, you must have a visual acuity (keenness of vision) of 20/40. By those standards, rats would not be able to drive.

Last week I led a wildflower hike along Wiley Canyon, part of the Towsley Canyon View Loop Trail.  The Wild California Lilac (Ceanothus) was in full bloom, so much so that at times it seemed as though we were walking through a bluish-purple haze.  And if you looked closely at the blossoms, you could see that the bees were hard at work, gathering nectar and pollen.

 A peaceful Sunday afternoon - the perfect time to sit on the front porch.  From my rocking chair, I can see the hummingbirds as they refuel at our hummingbird feeder.  An agile bird, at times almost twitchy, I watch as one approachs the feeder.  The hummer gives it a brief look, followed by a dart forward, a quick drink, and a backwards retreat.  This cycle may be repeated several times until suddenly, in a blink of the eye, the hummer’s gone.  Gone until the next visit, that is.