OK, time to close out the blog series centered around my amazing visit to Monterrey, Mexico. Let’s go out with a bang. Well, a bang if you love cactus, that is. After four very busy days touring around much of the state of Nuevo León, I accumulated a few thousand photos. It took me days to weed through…
The battle between prey and predator has been going on since the beginning of time. In the animal kingdom, prey evolved defenses like camouflage, aposematism and mimicry to protect themselves from becoming a meal. Much study has been done in the animal kingdom on the use of camouflage as a defense mechanism. In the plant world, it was a seldom…
The gypsum outcrops that are found around the state of Nuevo León in Mexico are famous for the many unique plants which are endemic to them. Gypsum soils occupy large areas of Nuevo León and host a lot of biological diversity. It seems that each year some new species is being described that can only be found on these gypsum…
The cultivation of plants brings endless smiles to the fields of the initiated. As a lover of flora, being able to grow plants in your garden or greenhouse is truly a joyous pastime. One in which I proudly devote far too much time. However, for me there is a level above this. That level is being…
I didn’t know it before my visit to Oaxaca, Mexico, but this state is the location of the widest tree trunk in the world. Once I found this out, it of course became a must-see stop. Sadly, my traveling companions were not as excited. After a very long day touring the ruins of Monte Albán and sightseeing around…
So unless you have been living without the Internet the last month, it would have been impossible for someone living in Southern California not to have heard about the “wildflower super bloom” happening out in the Anza-Borrego Desert. It has been all over the news and social media since February. The “wildflower super bloom” wasn’t just making…
It doesn’t get any better than being able to see the plants that you cultivate in their native habitat. Why? Because no matter how hard you try, you can never fully recreate in your garden what Mother Nature does on her own. Or do you really believe you can do in a few short years what evolution has…
Some readers may have taken note that the last few posts I have uploaded have been posts in which I am catching up on my Madagascar trip. That trip is almost a year and a half old now. Work, kids, life, etc., all got in the way of me finishing those posts back then. I can…