Animals

La Tuna Canyon

A boy timidly holds a snake during the Wild Mushroom Festival at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, Connecticut. Read the article here.

A representative of Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center shows off a rehabilitated owl during the 2014 Wild Mushroom Festival. Read the article here.

A boy lets a millipede crawl on his hand at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, Connecticut, in 2014. Read the article here.

A horse keeps an eye on the humans who visit a barn in Maryland.

Karra, a seeing eye dog, enjoys a trip to the library with her human.

A herd of bison walks though the active geothermal landscape of Yellowstone National Park in 2016.

A bison crosses the road at Yellowstone National Park in 2016.

A bison hoof print left on the ground at Grand Teton National Park in 2016.

Bison roam near Yellowstone National Park in Jackson, Wyoming, October 2016.

My cat, Chiyo, looks out the window of our home in Rhode Island, 2014.

A bird perches on a branch in our backyard in Bradford, Rhode Island, 2013 or 2014.

A butterfly feeds on a flower at the Fantastic Umbrella Factory in Charlestown, Rhode Island, 2014.

A butterfly alights on a plant at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, in September 2017.

A feral cat licks its lips after enjoying a meal at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, 2017.

A peacock struts through Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, 2017.

A sign marks a peacock crossing path at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, 2017.

A feral cat sits outside a masoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, 2017.

A dog checks out visitors to a gas station in Searles Valley, California, in 2017.

A toad rests in the leaves on a Connecticut forest floor, 2014.

A cat stalks through the Torre Argentina in Rome, March 2017.

A cat suns itself on a bench at the Torre Argentina, which contains the ruins of Pompey's Theatre, in Rome, March 2017.

In Italy, even pigeons eat well. We saw them dining on gelato, parmesan rinds, and proscuitto in March 2017.

The tail of an iguana dangles out of a rocky cliff by the sea in Tulum, Mexico, December 2015.

An iguana rests inside a rocky cliff by the sea in Tulum, Mexico, December 2015.

A peacock's tail feathers drag along the ground at Salt Lake City's Tracy Aviary in 2015.

An energetic dog runs the labyrinth at Tuna Park near Malibu, California, 2017.

A mule deer prepares to cross a street in Zion National Park, 2015.

A sign warns visitors about rattlesnakes at Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona.

An owl takes flight during the 2013 Renaissance Faire in Norwich, Connecticut. Read the article here.

A cheetah stalks through its enclosure at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., October 2012.

An elephant prepares to eat a snack at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., October 2012.

An elephant greets visitors to the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., October 2012.

A curious red panda examines the door to is enclosure at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., October 2012.

A red panda indulges in a snack at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., October 2012.

A man feeds his puppies on the street in Paris, August 2012.

Pigeons flock near the Notre-Dame de Paris, August 2012.

Hunting hounds rest in their kennels at Chateau de Cheverny in Cheverny, France, August 2012.

Hunting hounds stand on their hind legs as they await feeding at Chateau de Cheverny in Cheverny, France, August 2012.

Hunting hounds rush past each other to reach their food at Chateau de Cheverny in Cheverny, France, August 2012.

One of the ravens kept captive at the Tower of London sits on its perch while a member of the Queen's Guard marches in the background, September 2012.

A donkey in Oatman, Arizona, reacts grumpily to having its photograph taken. 2017.

My cat, Chiyo, naps at home.

My cousin's dog, Otis, rests his head on a block of cheese. Arlington, Texas, December 2014.

An owl takes flight during the 2013 Renaissance Faire in Norwich, Connecticut. Read the article here .

Snakes, birds, horses, dogs, cats, bison, and other creatures I've met.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

The only cemetery in Hollywood, and the final resting place of many famous people.

Death Valley National Park

A wildflower spotted in Death Valley National Park during the superbloom of 2016.

Wildflowers in Death Valley National Park during the superbloom of 2016.

Racetrack Playa, 2017

Teakettle Junction, 2017

Ubehebe Crater, 2017

A girl surveying the Artist's Palette -- a part of the Black Mountains where rocks are colored by oxidized metals -- in 2016.

Artist's Palette, a part of the Black Mountains where rocks are colored by oxidized metals, in 2016.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, 2017.

Harmony Borax Works, 2017.

Old firetruck at Furnace Creek.

Death Valley National Park, which straddles the border of California and Nevada, includes parts of the Mojave and Great Basin deserts and is home to a variety of unusual terrain. It's also one of the hottest places on earth; the record high ambient temperature is 134 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded in Death Valley in 1913.

In September 2017, a wildfire burned 7,194 acres in Los Angeles. A few months later, an anonymous art collective set up an exhibit called "Lost and Found LA" in the scorched La Tuna Canyon. Inspired by of kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with golden lacquer, the artists "repaired" the burned trees with a golden arborist-approved wax.