Ofwaterfallsandtrails is a nature enthusiast and wildlife photography website and blog. Writing about and photographing wildlife is not just a hobby, but a true passion. It is my therapy, my outlet, my balance.

Ofwaterfallsandtrails.com is more of a nature themed photography website and photo gallery, while its sister site, Ofwaterfallsandtrails.net is more of a nature blog, with short articles covering an array of subjects. Articles may be educational, personal experiences, memoirs, or even prose and creative writing. Check both sites often as photography and articles will be updated routinely.

My passion for science, nature and wildlife touches everything I do. My childhood, in my mind, was like a storybook fairy tale. I grew up in the beauty of the giant redwoods of California. I remember wandering down pathways and trails in the forest, past giant fern valleys, finding my way to  fallen moss-covered logs in the middle of old growth forests. I would listen silently to the sounds of nature, watching the world come alive around me.

My dad was an engineer, a physics enthusiast, and science fiend. I grew up playing baseball with my dad, discovering nests in the trees around me, watching baby birds grow up and learning to identify birds by flight pattern by the time I was seven years old.  I would blow gently on doodle bug shallows, revealing the incredible mandibles of those fierce ant lions, and watch as they devoured their prey.  My dad would spend hours teaching me about the science of the nature that surrounds us every day.

We would make and adjust the elevators and rudders on paper airplanes as he taught me about aerodynamics. We would go to the nearby stream bed and he would teach me how to identify animal tracks and read the stories they left behind. He drove me to the rocky coastlines and we would traverse the rainbow kaleidoscope of the colorful tidal pools of the Pacific. We would have our own private touch pool, gently meeting the animals that resided there:  starfish, anemones, and crustaceans, among others. We would shoot off bottle rockets in the backyard as he would teach me the fascinating subjects of astrophysics and rocket science.

My father instilled a love of nature and science in me at a very early age.  He taught me a healthy respect for, but never a fear of, all things wild. I grew up discovering the fascinating beauty of a world most people never choose to see.  I love even all those creepy crawlies: spiders, snakes, insects, and other arthropods.

I continue to discover the world around me every minute of every day. Sharing the passion for this world we live in is my way of giving back, sharing the legacy of my father, honoring my childhood and hopefully inspiring others to take a second look at the world around us.

A wise person once told me that the eyes are the window to the soul. I choose to look for the good in everything, to fill my eyes with as much beauty as they can behold each and every day.

There is so much beauty in the world around us. All you have to do is look.