Animals
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Top That
Posted By Mark Larson on Tue, Sep 5, 2017 at 1:09 PM
Wearing formal hat wear on the sixth annual Ladies Hat Day at the Humboldt County Fair on a hot, smokey Saturday got you free admission into the horse races and a chance to compete for some big prizes. See some of the feats of fashion in the slideshow below.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Fair Champs
Posted By Mark Larson on Wed, Aug 30, 2017 at 4:36 PM
On an unusually hot, sunny day on Sunday in Ferndale at the Humboldt County Fair, the Junior Livestock Auction attracted a large crowd of willing and generous bidders on the well-fed and well-cared-for animals and birds offered for sale by 250 local young 4-H and Future Farmers of America exhibitors. Many individuals and businesses responded eagerly to the auctioneer, and the bids for the "champion" level animals and birds often far exceeded the current market price.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Fair Competition
Posted By Mark Larson on Fri, Aug 26, 2016 at 4:28 PM
Entering the west gate at the 120th annual Humboldt County Fair on Wednesday afternoon, I was drawn to the tantalizing smell from the third annual Surf & Turf Barbecue Contest. A large crowd was at the racetrack grandstands sampling the free seafood, pork, beef and poultry. The offerings were quite a contrast in taste and quality from the usual "fried anything" fare.
The barbecue specialties were also submitted to a judging contest overseen for the second year by guest expert chef Guy Fieri, who grew up in Ferndale. The volunteer judges got some helpful advice on what to look for and how to evaluate the taste of the contest entries from Fieri.
"The quality of the food, especially the seafood, was outrageous," said Fieri at the awards ceremony. "None of the judges sent any of it to the dog bowl."
Mike Barrer Barbecue of Ferndale won the Grand Championship Award trophy for its entry.
A visit to the fair is never complete for me without a tour of the livestock barns and a look at the midway rides. The highlight this year was watching a group of youngsters participating in the entry-level showmanship competitions with their Boer goats.
The fair continues on Friday through Sunday. The dairy cow, goat and vegetable auction and 4-H large animal round-robin competition will be on Saturday, followed by the Junior Livestock Auction on Sunday.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Party for the Parks
Posted By Mark Larson on Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 11:39 AM
The former log deck of the California Redwood Company located just north of Orick, once covered with stacks of huge old-growth redwood logs, was filled on Sunday with the vehicles of visitors arriving for the 2016 National Park Service’s Centennial Celebration in the Redwoods.
Activities included horseback riding, hiking to the nearby Centennial Tree, storytelling, eating the submissions in the redwood forest cake contest, enjoying live music, participating in Junior Ranger activities and exploring a wide mix of exhibits and food vendors.
John Muir’s great-grandson Michael Muir, of Napa, spoke at the Centennial event along with Sam Hodder of Save the Redwoods League and Congressman Jared Huffman. The Save the Redwoods League recently announced a plan to build a new visitor center on the former site of California Redwood Company.
The 100th birthday of the N.P.S. was celebrated even though Yellowstone National Park and others were created decades earlier. Stephen Prokop, superintendent of Redwood National Park, attributed the vision of national park system to Stephen Mather and the Scottish-American conservationist John Muir.
Redwood National Park was formed in 1968 and expanded in 1978. Prokop described the cooperative management of the Redwood National and State Parks with local Native American tribes, including the Yurok, Tolowa-Dee-Ni, and Elk Valley Rancheria.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Meow, Baby
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill and Alexander Woodard on Tue, Oct 13, 2015 at 11:15 AM
Rowr. On Saturday, Oct. 10, the Arcata Theatre Lounge turned into a bit of a cat house as the Alley Cat Cabaret & Purrlesque slinked onstage to raise money for the Companion Animal Foundation. Photographer Alexander Woodard was on hand (paw?) to capture the feline frivolity. The evening featured more kittenish kitsch from locals Blue Angel Burlesque, Beat Vixens Burlesque, Bada Bling! Burlesque and Va Va Voom Burlesque Vixens, and Bay Area headliners Sugar Cane Jane, Ophelia Coeur de Noir and Laika Fox. Sassafrass and Laura Lopez-Ayllon brought the hip-shaking belly dance, while Lizzy Moonbeam, Luna Eclipse and Mr. Humboldt himself provided a little mood music. Take a peek at all the pussyfooting around in the slideshow below. And remember: Spay and neuter your pets.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
To the Buzzer
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Wed, Jul 22, 2015 at 6:09 PM
The 94th annual Fortuna Rodeo rode into the sunset on Sunday, July 19. Horses, firetrucks, bands and floats made their way down Main Street for the parade, and kids of all ages chanced the games and clanging rides at the carnival, while riders and ropers took on bulls and broncos in the rodeo arena in Rohner Park. Photographer Greg Rumney was there snapping photos of those riding tall in the saddle and tossed into the dirt.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Animals / Fun / Television
Leonard Nimoy, Bigfoot Hunter
Posted By Grant Scott-Goforth on Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 5:31 PM
“It’s hard to imagine corner of our crowded world where a giant man-like creature could roam free, yet there’s persuasive evidence that Bigfoot is real.”
If you’re feeling nostalgic about Leonard Nimoy, take a look back at his In Search of… episode featuring local legend Bigfoot. Most of it centers on Sasquatch investigators and sightings in Oregon and Washington, but Nimoy also features footage from the Patterson-Gimlin film which was (arguably) filmed in Humboldt County.
If you’re feeling nostalgic about Leonard Nimoy, take a look back at his In Search of… episode featuring local legend Bigfoot. Most of it centers on Sasquatch investigators and sightings in Oregon and Washington, but Nimoy also features footage from the Patterson-Gimlin film which was (arguably) filmed in Humboldt County.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Name Those Pandas
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Wed, Jan 14, 2015 at 5:09 PM
UPDATE: With 202 of 645 votes, Cini and Masala (Nepalese for sugar and spice) edged out 10 other possible names for the red panda twins at the Sequoia Park Zoo. Now we just have to figure out which one is which.
PREVIOUSLY: In July, our red panda family expanded again with a pair of twin girls born to Stella Luna and Sumo. That's a total of three cubs for our happy couple (Móhú moved out last year to seek her fortunes at a zoo in Des Moines, Iowa), who frankly could teach the giant pandas a little something about romance.
Now that the young ladies are out in society, the zoo is asking for the public's help naming them. Before you start brainstorming, the zoo has set up a list of options (many inspired by the regions where red pandas dwell, so it's not like "Chai" would be a hipster/poseur thing) on its Facebook page. Panda fans and Red Panda Rangers (we see you) can cast their votes until Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. Choose carefully — you don't want people rolling their eyes when these girls introduce themselves at college years from now.
PREVIOUSLY: In July, our red panda family expanded again with a pair of twin girls born to Stella Luna and Sumo. That's a total of three cubs for our happy couple (Móhú moved out last year to seek her fortunes at a zoo in Des Moines, Iowa), who frankly could teach the giant pandas a little something about romance.
Now that the young ladies are out in society, the zoo is asking for the public's help naming them. Before you start brainstorming, the zoo has set up a list of options (many inspired by the regions where red pandas dwell, so it's not like "Chai" would be a hipster/poseur thing) on its Facebook page. Panda fans and Red Panda Rangers (we see you) can cast their votes until Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. Choose carefully — you don't want people rolling their eyes when these girls introduce themselves at college years from now.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
A Very Special Finding Bigfoot
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 10:00 AM
On Sunday, July 20, take the night off from trolling the woods in your furry suit and settle in for James "Bobo" Fay's return to our neck of the woods. A very special "Finding Bigfoot" takes the sasquatch hunters to Humboldt in search of giant footprints, shadowy figures and infrared footage. The episode airs at 10 p.m., and who knows? Maybe he shows up in this one.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Amphibian of the State
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Tue, Jul 15, 2014 at 1:07 PM
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has tapped the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) to be our state amphibian. In other news, there is, in fact, such a thing as a state amphibian.
So far, the Sequoia Park Zoo doesn't have one of these little flippered fellows — which, according the the press release, inhabit wetlands from southern Mendocino to Los Angeles and are the largest among indigenous frogs in the western U.S. — but one hopes the state will be passing them out like cigars in celebration. Well, maybe not. California Fish and Wildlife says the species is considered threatened under the Environmental Protection Act. Evidently those red legs taste just like chicken, or they did to the gold (and frog) hungry '49ers who nearly pan-fried them to extinction.
So how did the frogs land this gig as croaking state laureates? It's who you know. Some elementary school kids in Salton City wrote Assemblyman Perez to make it happen.
A quick scan of the ca.gov website reveals that while we have a state animal (grizzly), bird (California valley quail) and flower (Golden poppy), there's still plenty more flora and fauna to stake out. State Elusive-Missing-Link-Man-Beast, anyone?
So far, the Sequoia Park Zoo doesn't have one of these little flippered fellows — which, according the the press release, inhabit wetlands from southern Mendocino to Los Angeles and are the largest among indigenous frogs in the western U.S. — but one hopes the state will be passing them out like cigars in celebration. Well, maybe not. California Fish and Wildlife says the species is considered threatened under the Environmental Protection Act. Evidently those red legs taste just like chicken, or they did to the gold (and frog) hungry '49ers who nearly pan-fried them to extinction.
So how did the frogs land this gig as croaking state laureates? It's who you know. Some elementary school kids in Salton City wrote Assemblyman Perez to make it happen.
A quick scan of the ca.gov website reveals that while we have a state animal (grizzly), bird (California valley quail) and flower (Golden poppy), there's still plenty more flora and fauna to stake out. State Elusive-Missing-Link-Man-Beast, anyone?
