"Both photography and art open my eyes to the infinite beauty of nature in her every detail."
~ Kim Moore
Sights of May 2025 - Local, Yard, EASTERN SIERRA!
June 04, 2025
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May always starts with good bird migration, and then tapers off with only the hopes of finding a late vagrant. A Black Swift was migrating over my house. Indeed it was a great find, especially for a 'yard' bird. I have a bad photo, but enough for positive identification. I caught the the usual complement of birds migrating through, such as the flyc...
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Sights of April 2025 - Spring again
April 30, 2025
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April each year might just be my busiest month as a naturalist, and this year is no different. Add to that, tax season and home repairs, and I am ready for a rest. April ramps up for bird migration season, my garden blooms, insects start to come out, and animal courtship is in full swing. One needs to get out often to see it all, particularly at th...
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Sights of March 2025 - Furry and Feathered Fun...and Flowers
April 01, 2025
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March whizzed by with rain, blustery wind, and ending with spring flowers, just as it should. I had local excursions and time in my yard. I particularly enjoyed watching the plants in my yard started to leaf-out, and buds turned to blooms. Blue-eyed grass was the first to bloom, but the Ceonothus, and Coral Bells filled in quickly. Finally, by the...
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Sights of February 2025 - Running Hot and Cold
February 28, 2025
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February is a rollercoaster of weather with hot days, cold days, sunshine, rain, misty mornings, and clear skies. This also reflects my moods. I try to hold on to the sunshine, but the rain of the news keeps coming back. I always look to nature to brighten my spirit, but this month, a dear friend was birding in a popular birding hotspot when he was...
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Sights of January 2025 - The Pursuit of Happiness in Troubling Times
January 31, 2025
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I started this blog post earlier in the month, but after my first few paragraphs were too depressing. I was addressing the California wildfires, the political changes, the state of the environment, and now the plane crash and it's politicization. My own moods have been stressed and depressed this month. I decided to erase it and start over. I seek...
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Sights of December 2024 - The End of a Year
December 31, 2024
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As our calendar year comes to a close, it is always a time to look back and reflect upon the year. Sometimes it is hard to remember all that happened. This was the first year of my mother living with me, and three months of foot recovery. It is easy to think of these events that have taken a large part of my year on a different trajectory. However,...
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Bird Migration Timing Through Coastal Southern California
December 30, 2024
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Roughly 40% of birds migrate. Not all species migrate the same distance, direction, nor at the same time. Migration is far more complex than I am stating here, but some birds migrate long distances, some short distances, some to different latitudes, and some to different altitudes. In some cases, males, females, and young migrate at different times...
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Seasonal Events of Coastal Southern California
December 28, 2024
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Seasons and the Calendar (download pdf)
The seasons are determined by the Earth’s orbit around the sun. Because the Earth’s axis is tilted at 23 ½ degrees relative to the plane of the orbit, daylight and nighttime lengths vary with the seasons. In the northern hemisphere, on the winter solstice, the north pole is in darkness the full 24 hours. T...
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Zane Grey at Avalon for an Art Retreat
December 07, 2024
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I needed a vacation. Although I had my share of staycations enjoying my backyard, it had been a full year since I had a proper getaway. After being at home with a broken foot and ankle, I needed a change of scene. Although my mobility was somewhat limited, I found the perfect getaway. My friend and I decided to make our own 3-day art retreat on Cat...
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Sights of November 2024 - Patience, Young Grasshopper
December 01, 2024
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Patience is a virtue, and I may not always be virtuous. Probably like many, I have great patience with some things and am very impatient with others. I have been impatient with speed of recovery (or lack there of) of my bones to mend in my foot, but I am very grateful for my backyard. I suppose the pace is normal, but I am impatient.
Some people t...
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Sights of October 2024 - Rear Window
October 31, 2024
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My foot is finally healing after my tripping accident at the end of last month. The first two weeks of the month were marked by very limited mobility, but at the end of the month I could walk with a boot. This of course limited my adventures greatly. Yet I was able to sit at my back door with my camera watching the bird and squirrel activity. It wa...
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Sights of September 2024 - Fall
October 01, 2024
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The return of fall can be a great time for nature watching, particularly as political discourse is heating up, hurricanes are raging, and there is trouble around the world. I can't seem to solve the world's problems, so a little escapism is what I am left with.
Fall brings better weather and returning birds. Butterflies and spiders are abundant. T...
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Sights of August 2024 - Michael Bublé, a Bordered Mantis, and a Little Blue Heron
September 01, 2024
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What do Michael Bublé, a Bordered Mantis, and a Little Blue Heron have in common? Sway. I love that song.
This month I had a Bordered Mantis in my yard and watched it for a long time. It hung upside down in the shade under the flowers, not moving, except for an occasional swaying motion.
" Like a flower bending in the breeze
Bend with me, sway w...
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Sights of July 2024 - COVID round 2 (a forced staycation)
July 31, 2024
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Well here we go again. At the beginning of the month, I caught COVID for the second time, followed by a bout of vertigo. Fortunately, I am well vaccinated, symptoms were mild, and I am recovered. However, I am extra cautious now that my mother is living with me, which meant I insisted on a lengthy isolation period until tests conclusively said nega...
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Sights of June 2024 - Backyarding
June 30, 2024
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To quote biologist /geologist Louis Agassiz: "I spent the summer traveling; I got halfway across my back yard."
June is typically slow for birding, unless you go up to the mountains, which I did not. Instead I focused primarily on my own yard. I stocked my feeders with sugar-water for the hummers, and jelly for the Hooded Orioles, which was also...
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All images © Kim Moore (contact for use)