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 […]
Life + Outdoors
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From Mars Believer to Skeptic, Part 2
Continuing from last week, here’s more on why I think talk of exploring and colonizing Mars is a boondoggle at this stage. Water is going to be a Big Deal. Actually, obtaining liquid water on Mars will be a snap compared to the moon, where it’s been compared to extracting moisture from concrete. But it’s still […]
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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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From Mars Believer to Skeptic, Part 1
My love affair with Mars goes back decades, when I’d hang out with members of the Mars Underground, a small group of University of Boulder science alumni who ate, talked and slept Mars. Then came the excitement of annual Mars Society meetings, the name of which says it all. More recently, I’ve been speaking and […]
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Vista Point Convergence
Beneath the majestic Milky Way, Vista Point scenic overlook along southbound U.S. Highway 101 lies among the Redwoods of Humboldt County, just south of Stafford, California. The primary image in this story was photographed next to the on-ramp, and immediately behind the camera is the overlook itself. This is an example of light painting photography. […]
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The Other Evolutionist
The philosopher and gadfly Daniel Dennett, who died in April, wrote that evolution by natural selection was “the single best idea anyone has ever had.” The word “anyone” implies a single idea-monger, although, as I’ve written elsewhere (“Evolution’s Co-Discover,” Nov. 5, 2020), the credit should go equally to two great field naturalists of the 19th […]
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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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Summer Survival in the Garden
Well, we survived the first major heat wave of the year, or at least my garden did — barely. And I’m on the coast. Inland, it was a whole different story. I hope all your crops and ornamental plants survived. Because this likely isn’t a “one and done” event, here are some tips to keep […]
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Washed Up Love
I’ve noticed less love on Humboldt County’s beaches than on beaches elsewhere. And I think I have some ideas about why. But our beaches do become home to some of the love people make. Some of this love is toxic. And some love entangles, chokes and smothers. But some love is fun! Fun love is […]