Beth Pratt

A magical time of year is coming in February- a chance to see a natural #firefall at #horsetailfall in @YosemiteNPS Last year was the most amazing one I have ever witnessed-this video captured the wind moving the water in a spectacular show. #yosemite #yosemitefirefall

☣ BIOLOGICAL WAR: A SCENARIO - Book Tour! starts Sat 7/25, in Los Angeles. Get your tix now (selling out). Get signed books. Q&As with amazing people👇 7/25: Sat @ 3p – LA | Book Soup w/BH Library w/Tom O'Neill 7/29: Wed @ 7:30p – New York | 92NY w/Elliot Ackerman 7/31: Fri @ 7p – Portland ME | Books-a-Million w/Madeline Gernhard 8/1: Sat @ 5p - Politics & Prose at Conn Ave w/Shane Harris 8/3: Mon @ 12p - Virtual! Commonwealth Club w/ DJ Patil (pacific coast time) 8/3: Mon @ 7p – St. Louis | St. Louis County Library w/Mark Sundlov 8/5 @ 7p – Miami | Books & Books Coral Gables w/Pamela Berkowsky 8/6 @ 7p – Coronado | Warwick’s & Coronado Library w/Brian Keating

Difficult moment for Big Bear's beloved bald eagle family. An eagle believed to be nest cam star Jackie was rescued this weekend after being found weak and disheveled. The nonprofit behind the cam says she's stable as a rehab center evaluates her. bit.ly/4vGvPzM

A colorful Western tanager on the Sunshine Hill bird baths this week.

Merlin the western screech owl and family sure enjoy their daily baths!

Another newborn mule deer fawn on Sunshine Hill. Welcome to the world, little one!

Doggie bedtime! The whole Sunshine Hill Pack fits on the new king size bed! #rescuedogs

Tonight’s sunset in the Sierra foothills with the Moon and Venus.

Orange waxing crescent moon and Venus over the Central Valley tonight.

a butterfly never explains its colors Aoki

Celebrating a remarkable woman, Wallis Annenberg, this evening with wonderful friends-friendships that Wallis forged by bringing us together.

Aysun 2011, to July 13, 2026 Matriarch and last founding member of the Sunshine Hill Pack. Chaser of lizards and squirrels. Enforcer of the cheese tax. Lover of scritches. Very good girl. While at Three Dog Bakery at Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles on December 11, 2011, buying treats for my dogs Dante and Tioga, I walked by an adoption event by Fur Babies Rescue. Aysun, then named Alice, jumped on me. So of course she was coming home. We drove back from LA that night, and a stunning moon, big and bright, lit up the sky. Her name, Aysun, is Turkish for “as beautiful as the moon,” a nod also to her Turkish heritage of Anatolian shepherd. We stopped at In & Out Burger for a treat. She did a sleepover at my parent’s house the first night, because I didn’t want to introduce her to the other dogs late at night. But I didn’t have to worry—they all became a happy pack quickly, and would run and play and sleep together. Aysun also loved the cats and would play and sleep with them. She was the quiet one, and rarely barked, and was a bit reserved and wary with strangers, but this was also true to her Anatolian shepherd heritage—she kept watch. If she barked, you knew it was an alarm. Aysun was also fast—she always outran all the other dogs, even those bigger than her. The last year especially Aysun struggled with mobility issues, dementia and cancer. But she was a trooper and would not give up. And with the care of our awesome vet, Dr. Lauppe, she had more life then we had hoped for.   Last night she let me know it was time. Her little body was so tired. And so this morning, surrounded by her loved ones, and with the help of the wonderful Dr. Mero, we helped Aysun to the next place. I know all the Sunshine Hill Pack members we have lost will be waiting for her, but especially her first siblings, Dante and Tioga.  We already miss our good girl. We don’t get enough time with these wonderful souls.

summer clouds nothing beautiful stays one shape Akari

One of those stellar sunsets in the Sierra foothills tonight. And with a rainbow and some sprinkles! If you ever wondered why my home is called Sunshine Hill, these photos explain 🙂

@brontyman Me :)

@bethpratt Kudos to whoever named the Owl Merlin.

Merlin and his family continue to make almost nightly visits to the Sunshine Hill bird baths. These western screech owls are the most common owl we have here in the Sierra foothills, but they they don't screech (their eastern cousin does)--they can make tooting or barking like sounds. The longest lived screech owl documented in the wild was recorded here in CA at 14 years old.

@OTurtlegirl317 Browning Recon force

@bethpratt Great photo! Can I ask what camera you use?

JOIN THE FUN! THE BEST EVENT OF THE SUMMER! SINCE 2005! AUGUST 23!!! Get ready for our annual swim across (and back) Tenaya Lake in Yosemite, where we brave ghost trees and alpine sharks in order to feast upon our well earned potluck meal. Official event drink: the yummy Sierra Cider. Don't want to swim? Just bring food and drink and cheer us on. Kayakers--we need you to make sure we don't drown! Message me if you want to join us and I will add you to the event for details.

fireflies the meadow finding stars Anon

Porcupette is my new favorite word. Adorable!

Even with a lifetime of good dogs, this decision never gets any easier. The Sunshine Hill Pack matriarch, Aysun, adopted from LA over 15 years ago, has been struggling with cancer and mobility issues for over a year now. She is one tough cookie and keeps bouncing back from the brink—earlier this week she wasn’t eating or drinking and couldn’t walk; today she is eating and drinking and ambling around the house. When it is time? It’s always so tough to make the call. She is not giving up, so should I? I try to use myself as the gauge-would I want to survive like this? Yet as I have gotten older, I wonder if that bar has changed. Even with dementia, pain, cancer ravaging me, would I still want to be here and listen to the puppy playing and feel the sunshine for as long as I could? I don’t know. I am so grateful we have the ability to make the compassion choice for these beings in our charge and end their needless suffering. But it’s the most difficult choices we ever have to make.