Hundreds of fans of the world of mycology stopped by the 46th annual Mushroom Fair at the Arcata Community Center on Sunday to improve their mushroom identification skills. Attendees checked out tables filled with local mushroom species labeled “Edible” or “Toxic,” and stopped by the bring-in-your-mushroom identification table staffed with experts. They ought to know […]
Get Out
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Fall in the Redwoods
As days get shorter, I get more eager to spend time outdoors. In September, I hiked in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park on the James Irvine Trail to Fern Canyon and back via Gold Bluffs Road and the Miners’ Ridge Trail. It is almost a loop, as Miners’ Ridge merges into James Irvine less than […]
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Water Witches Ride Again
The fifth annual Humboldt Bay Witches Paddle on Oct. 19 attracted a record number of witches to Humboldt Bay on stand-up paddleboards, in kayaks and even on an e-hydrofoil board for a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon on the water. Celebrating the power, wisdom and beauty of women, the coven of witches met at the Eureka […]
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How to Be Scared
If the sun is still up and shining incongruously over the 8-foot-tall skeletons atop the entrance to the Humboldt County Fairgrounds — done up for its seasonal shift as the Scaregrounds for Griffin Loch’s Scream-A-Torium — fear not. Well, not yet, anyway. Treat the entrance like the lobby of the movie theater before you settle […]
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Temporary Insanity
I’ve been a pretty casual birder all my life. I do a little birding every day and often take photos, but seldom range far afield. Sometimes I chase local rarities if they’re easy to get to; I’d rather listen to a Giants game from my cushy recliner than tromp through brambles and poison oak for […]
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Ladies Throw Their Hats In
Participants in the 12th annual Ladies Hat Day at the Races event on Saturday offered some glamour and wild creativity in front of the recently repaired (from earthquake damage) horse-track grandstands at the 128th annual Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale. This year’s fair theme was “Ribbons, Rides & Racing,” with six days of horse racing […]
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Ask Miss Birding Manners
Whether you’re new to birding or have been around the mudflats a few times, navigating the unspoken nuances of birding etiquette is probably something you’ve had to learn on the wing. If only there were a resource to guide you toward more courteous interactions with the birds you seek — and the humans you meet […]
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Obon Drums and Dancing
After Japanese shakuhachi flute music by Rick Kruse, the Rev. Rinban Gerald Sakamoto, minister for the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, returned this year to bless the opening of the third annual Humboldt Obon Festival on Sunday afternoon. The program shared traditions of Obon, a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors coming to earth […]
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Hiking in the Headwaters Forest Reserve
On a Sunday in early June, my friend Lissa and I planned to hike the Headwaters Forest Reserve’s Elk River Trail, about 10.5 miles. At the time, I didn’t realize our timing was perfect, as this year marks the 7,472-acre reserve’s 25th anniversary. It was established in 1999, after a decade-long effort to protect the […]
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Three Great Places to Bird this Summer
It’s the time of year schoolkids love and birders dread: summer vacation. Diehard birders wait in vain for rare bird notifications but their phones have gone eerily silent. It’s not that the birds aren’t out there; they’re just busy nesting, fledging, molting and doing other birdy things behind a thick veil of foliage. For most […]
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Crabs Rally to Win Third Series in a Row
After an exciting week that featured three walk-off wins and their first conference series victory, the Humboldt Crabs had seemingly turned things around after opening conference play 0-7. They’d get one day to enjoy it before embarking on a new week of challenges that included six games in six days. Momentum can be fickle, especially […]
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Resilient Crabs Rally Behind Three Walk-off Wins
Sunday’s game was bigger than the others. A win in this contest would signal the first conference series win of the new era of Crabs baseball, while a loss would mean far more. Despite palpable tension, coach John Bryant sat calmly reading his book, the fifth in a 13-volume series, pregame outside of the dugout. […]