u/DanoPinyon

Recently I was at the edge of an oak woodland in California's Diablo Range taking astrophotos; I set up a camera to take star trails, and this is one of the images from that session. In this image you can see the ~violet stars of the Big Dipper in the upper left, and the varied star colors of constellations including Cepheus and Cassiopeia on the right.

This location is adjacent to an ephemeral stream and the image is looking towards a valley. In the ~middle distance below this framing are low mountains peppered with surprising intrusions of igneous rock, perhaps giving rise to its early European name Quien Sabe. This subject tree may mark the edge of the extent of the groundwater from the ephemeral stream, as just beyond there are only scattered trees on the valley floor.

The oak savannas in the area historically were maintained by purposeful application of fire by indigenous groups such as the Amah Mutsun/Ohlone peoples (before their removal to the Spaniards' monasteries), so they could have easier access to acorns, encourage growth of deergrass and sedge for basketry, and to clear vegetation for harvesting of alliums and soaproot. My other camera was set up next to a patch of deergrass, waist high, seedheads not ripe yet.

Throughout the evening I could hear the sporadic calling of the last of the tree frogs, insects advertising their location, coyotes calling and a distant farm dog howling in return, screech owls, deer walking amongst fallen oak branches, and early in the evening the screeching of young wild pigs - sometimes too close for comfort. After the moon rose, I packed up my gear as the insects and other animals quieted down as the moonlight brightened the landscape.

Canon 600D: 18mm f/3.5 ISO 800 205 x 30 seconds, StarStaX, Lightroom, light painting.

Image: Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

After years of fierce debate, a large-scale Southern California development project seems to have finally moved past its tallest hurdle: protecting one of the world’s oldest trees. Jurupa Valley, the Riverside County city of more than 100,000, in the sprawling Inland Empire east of Los Angeles, has been bitterly divided for years over the fate of a specific Palmer’s oak that rests in a rocky wash of (currently) open land. The tree, thought to be at least 13,000 years old, is not only historic; it’s also considered culturally vital to the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians’ Kizh Nation.

https://www.sfgate.com/california/article/oldest-oak-protection-22255349.php

Thinking of voting for Mayor Matt? Think no longer. All decent people are against anything this MAGA propagandist is for.

We watched this helicopter - to the right of center, dropping the white plume of water - practice water drops today for about 15 minutes while on our way to the Ohlone Wilderness. Over and over they picked up water from the reservoir, flew to different terrain, dropped the load, returned for more water, chose a different terrain for the next drop, then back for more water.

The tree in the foreground is an oak burned in the SCU Complex fire in 2020, ~390,000 acres (~158,000 ha). This image was taken from the northernmost extent of this fire, and the damage here is not as severe as it is a few miles the south, where in many places this composition would show most of these trees burned or dead, the oaks sprouting from the stumps on mostly bare hillsides, but would also show the 'fire following' vegetation returning.

This same fire threatened Lick Observatory ~15 miles (~24 km) to the south, and only heroic efforts by firefighters saved that great landmark - maybe these firefighters practicing today were up there saving the still-important telescopes from the flames.

As fires continue to get larger in ecosystems stressed by a changing climate, how much longer will firefighters work and practice to save structures in wildlands, and which structures will continue to be saved? Some areas are beginning to plan now for this eventuality - implementing new rules to protect structures or limit building in some areas, such as changing what and where can rebuild after disaster. It's the same with our trees in built environments - not all of our trees will survive the coming climate, and we must begin now to prepare for a new climate with some new tree species. When we plant trees, we must consider whether they will survive in a world that will be much warmer in their lifetimes.

I returned recently to this spot to capture the Milky Way over this blue oak (Quercus douglasii). Hopefully this edit is viewable in Reddit, best on a large screen. Click to embiggen.

The distant lights of Fresno are to the left, about 135 km (80 mi) away, and the tree is partially backlit by the city of Coalinga, ~105 km (65 mi) away. The central bulge of the Milky Way is clearly visible, as well as many dust lanes obscuring the stars beyond. The dark, vaguely animal shape in the galactic bulge is known by various names, most commonly a dark horse in modern times, but peoples such as the Inca or Quechua who lived without horses saw a llama; the aboriginal peoples in Australia saw this area as the bottom of the wings and tail of a great emu. To the right of the oak, on the horizon, are the tops of two oaks in a draw in the near distance.

5-panel mosaic: Canon 80D, 24mm f/3.2 ISO 3200 - each panel 10 x 10 sec, Sequator, Lightroom.

Up and down this beach as far as the eye could see, many thousands still in the water. San Mateo County.