I want to share some of the fascinating things, flora (plants) and fauna (animals), that my friends and I have discovered during our explorations outside in nature. These are a few....

This is a male Monarch butterfly. Look for the two very small black spots opposite one another on its lower wings.

This is a Western Fence lizard, commonly known as a Blue Belly lizard, and a favorite of many children I know who like to catch and release them.

This is one of the best trees for climbing and sheltering under. There are usually rope swings attached that are a lot of fun to use. It is a Eucalyptus tree that grows in the shape of a Coast Live Oak tree so it is sometimes called the "Oakalyptus" and is found at Lake Los Carneros on the east side of the nature preserve.

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The video is of a Great Blue Heron at Santa Barbara Charter School. It is standing next to a Weeping Mulberry tree in the garden/orchard.

We were at Lake Los Carneros in a field with an amazing 360 degree view all around us. The tall wild oats were inviting and provided the perfect hiding place. This was in the late winter and early spring.

This is an Acorn woodpecker granary. If you look closely at this old, dead tree you will see hundreds and maybe even thousands of small holes in which the woodpeckers store their acorns. Also, you can see a few slightly larger holes that are the woodpecker nest cavities. Acorn woodpeckers live communally in family groups. They all help raise the young woodpeckers and share the granary. Acorn woodpeckers live primarily in or near Oak woodlands. You can tell the difference between a male and a female by looking at the color pattern on their heads. The male has more red on the crown of its head, all the way to the white forehead, while the female has a band of black between the red crown and the white forehead.

Can you find the two males and one female? What is in the granary holes? You guessed it, acorns!