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, especially now that I live in this way-too-urban, way too hot and way too crowded environment.
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 experience, 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 in 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 an early age. He taught me a healthy respect for, but never a fear of, all things wild. By introducing me to and teaching me about even the creepy-crawlies, I grew up discovering the fascinating beauty of a world most people never care to learn about: spiders, snakes, insects of all kinds, and other arthropods.
I love all the cute and furry creatures, too, don't get me wrong! There's just so much fascinating information and science behind all these little creatures that people tend to ignore. So much of our every-day science comes from these little insect-engineers and architects. And then there's the ones that just blow your mind, like the bombardier beetle that uses a chemical reaction as a defense, in effect, spraying an intensely hot acid. Or, better yet, the Cyclosa spider, which is an artist of sorts. It creates a decoy spider out of debris attaching it to the web to look like a much larger spider lives there! How can you not love these crazy-cool creatures?
I continue to discover the world around me each minute of every day. Sharing this passion for the world we live in is my way of giving back, honoring the legacy of my father, 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.
I truly believe there is so much beauty that fills this world around us. All you have to do is stop and take the time to look.
