A growing visual record

The Field Gallery

Wildlife, flora, seasonal change, and the evidence of lives encountered through the patient work of returning and looking closely.

Collection 01

Emily and the Orb Weaver

Green River railroad crossing · Late July 2026

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Close view of a spotted orb-weaver's dorsal markings — Dorsal markingsSpotted orb-weaver · Araneidae

Spotted orb-weaver hanging beneath a steel bridge cable — Between cablesGreen River railroad crossing

Spotted orb-weaver beside a steel cable — Returning to the cableLate July · dusk

Side view of a spotted orb-weaver — The evening's workSanta Ana River watershed

Collection 02

The Summer of Spiders

Santa Ana River watershed · July–August 2026

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Recurring spotted orb-weaver on a bridge support — Constant companionSpotted orb-weaver · Green River bridge

Crevice weaver tucked inside a concrete seam — Briefly encounteredCrevice weaver · Filistatidae

Funnel web beneath a fallen cottonwood log — An address in silkFallen cottonwood · leaf litter

Funnel weaver deep within its retreat — Waiting withinFunnel weaver · Agelenidae

Funnel weaver fully emerged onto its web — The steadfast residentSame individual · return visit

Close portrait of the recurring funnel weaver — At the thresholdSame individual · return visit

Black widow beside a large pale egg sac — A single glimpseBlack widow · Latrodectus sp.

European garden spider beside a dried seed head — The spider summer comes homeEuropean garden spider · Argiope bruennichi

Collection 03

Where the Wild Things Are

Santa Ana River watershed · August 2026

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Young coyote walking across the railroad bridge — The bridge crossingJuvenile coyote · dusk

Young coyote looking back on the railroad bridge — A moment of reconsiderationSame encounter · Green River

Recurring spotted orb-weaver resting on a steel cable — Before her absenceSpotted orb-weaver · Araneidae

Western black widow holding prey in her web — A meal securedWestern black widow · Latrodectus hesperus

Tarantula hawk wasp with orange wings on a handrail — Sloane's discoveryTarantula hawk · Pompilidae

Collection 04

For Years, I Had Been Walking Over the Answer

Green River · May–August 2026

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Solitary brown bat hanging from a bridge support — A solitary cluePossible Mexican free-tailed bat · May 2026

Large stream of bats flying above trees at dusk — The answer revealedGreen River entry bridge · August 2026

Collection 05

The Ones Who Wait

Green River · August 2026

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Santa Ana River channel and cottonwoods at dusk — Downriver at duskPredator, prey, and observer wait for darkness

Collection 06

The Inverted Calendar

Santa Ana River watershed · September 2026

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Sycamore beneath a pink and gold evening sky — Deep summer in the canopyCalifornia sycamore

Thick leathery leaves on a coast live oak — Built for droughtCoast live oak

White California buckwheat flowers — Before the rustCalifornia buckwheat

California buckwheat flowers faded to rust — The season turnsCalifornia buckwheat · late summer

Early yellow leaves in a Fremont cottonwood — A first signalFremont cottonwood

Freight train crossing above the Santa Ana River — Two rivers of movementGreen River crossing

Collection 07

Before the Next Wonder

Santa Ana River watershed · September 6, 2026

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Santa Ana River after a rare summer rain — The river after rainA measurable September storm

Western black widow in her web — A familiar neighborWestern black widow

Two children watching the river from a bridge — Waiting for batsThe bridge at evening

Rainbow appearing above the watershed — A random beautiful rainbowWhile we waited for bats

Collection 08

The Vertical Calendar

San Bernardino Mountains · September 5–6, 2026

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Big Bear Lake beneath gathering clouds — At the topBig Bear Lake · 6,844 feet

Yellow-green wolf lichen on western juniper — Wolf lichenCougar Crest Trail

Rubber rabbitbrush covered in yellow flowers — Captured sunDeep-summer montane forest

Mist moving through conifer forest — Below Snow Summit7,146 feet

Mosses and lichens in rain-darkened granite — Stone softenedArrowbear · 6,132 feet

Buckwheat and whitethorn above mixed mountain vegetation — A mixed communityLong Point · 5,090 feet

Plants returning on a rocky burned slope — After fireLower Long Point · 4,790 feet

California fuchsia and chaparral with conifers behind — OverlapCity Creek · 2,592 feet

Late-summer vegetation beneath a cloud-wrapped mountain — One watershed, many summersCity Creek

Collection 09

Meet the Cottonwoods

Santa Ana River · Fall Equinox 2026

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Broad multi-trunked Fremont cottonwood beside the service road — The CommonsCW02 · four living trunks

The Greeter's tall crown against a blue sky — The GreeterCW01 · portrait

Child and dog beside the Greeter at dusk — A familiar landmarkCW01 · scale and setting

Deep fissures in Fremont cottonwood bark — Vertical highwaysCW01 · bark detail

The Commons beside a narrow path — A gatheringCW02 · portrait

Mounded base and multiple trunks of the Commons — Four trunksCW02 · architecture

Decomposing cottonwood bough in evening light — A second communityCW02 · fallen bough

Ole Miss illuminated beside the golf green — Ole MissCW03 · dangerous beauty

Child standing at Ole Miss with mistletoe above — Under the mistletoeCW03 · scale and canopy

Man standing beside the Sentinel's immense trunk — The SentinelCW04 · 163-inch circumference

The Sentinel above the floodplain — Standing guardCW04 · floodplain ridge

Young multi-trunked cottonwood below a footbridge — The NewcomerCW05 · riverbank

Rounded green galls swelling from cottonwood leaf petioles — A chamber in the leaf stemCW05 · petiole galls

Opened cottonwood gall revealing aphids — The lives withinCW05 · gall aphids

The record continues

The archive will grow by season, species, place, and year—one observation at a time.