memorable places inscribed in California history and literature

Category Fiction

California’s “Machine in the Garden”

Spring in the Central Valley. Just northeast of Los Banos, the Coast Ranges not far distant to the west, fragile looking cotton seedlings push through grayish brown soil, their fibrous product eventually to be harvested in fall. Between this place… Continue Reading →

John Steinbeck’s To a God Unknown

Last February, I posted a piece about George R. Stewart’s landmark ecological novel, Storm, which cataloged the impact of a monster Pacific storm on California. Stewart christened the disturbance “Maria.” In that post, I referenced the heavy rains and Sierra… Continue Reading →

Some Literary Raptors of California

We live in Northern Monterey County, near California’s Central Coast region. Our back yard perches on the edge of a steep slope, chaparral mostly and dotted with coast live oaks, the slope dropping sharply to a seasonal streambed. Directly across,… Continue Reading →

George R. Stewart’s Storm

On December 28, 2021, the author of the Area Forecast Discussion for the Reno office of the National Weather Service sounded positively giddy that a new record for December snowfall in the Sierra had been set: “New December all-time record for snowfall… Continue Reading →

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