There has been a lot of bug action at my house lately. On warm nights, the chorus of crickets from the front yard is loud enough to get a little embarrassing. If I go outside and walk up and down the street, it becomes obvious that the entire cricket scene is happening at my house […]
Life + Outdoors
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It’s the Algae, Dear
Oh, drear, more gloom and bad cheer — that’s what you’re thinking if you’re a SAD Brit hunkered down in your centuries-old stone house staring out the fortress slit at yet another gray day. What is this mist before your eyes, tears or rain? So you punch on the computer and randomly search for sunny […]
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Down on the Delta
Looking toward Pedrazzini Park from Cock Robin Island. Photos by Hank Sims. You think of the great Humboldt County outdoors and first you think of one of two things: deep dark redwood forests or stark, windswept beaches. Afterward, you think of the mountains, the oak-and-madrone scrub to our east and south. Then the bay. Dunes. […]
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Why do some rocks resemble Swiss Cheese?
Many rocks along our coast exhibit strange holes. You may be surprised to learn that these holes are bored by marine “Pholad” clams, chiefly for protection from predators. Holes enlarge with depth because each is excavated by a single growing clam during its lifetime of several years. The clams possess specialized muscles with which to […]
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Tales from the Madaket
Relaunching the Madaket , 1989 The Motor Vessel Madaket harbors a veritable boatload of stories in its weathered Doug fir planks. From 1910, when she was built, to 1972, when the Samoa Bridge went up, the Madaket (originally named the Nellie C ) ferried scores of mill workers and their families and other folks back […]
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The Wordy City
The New York Times ’ wordsmith William Safire would have a field day if he visited Fortuna now. That’s because the City Council there is pulling out its hair over how future generations might define the phrase “preserving small-town qualities,” as contained in the city’s General Plan Update (GPU). At its Oct. 2 meeting, the […]
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Grab Your Pitchfork
Boy, that was a burly editorial in last Wednesday’s Eureka Reporter. Headlined “Professor’s depreciation theory not supported by North Coast history,” the editorial excoriated HSU Economics Professor Erick Eschker for daring to suggest that Humboldt County home prices may fall in the coming years. Earlier in the week, the Reporter had published a story about […]
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Why do we experience summer fogs?
Sprinkle flour upon a lazy Susan and turn it steadily in a counter-clockwise direction to simulate the rotation of the Northern Hemisphere. Roll a marble straight across the rotating surface in any direction. You will find that the path recorded in the flour curves to the right. This apparent curvature of trajectories is known as […]
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Ecstasy and Agony
So there you are, wandering around the garden center, feeling like you are wasting your time because the garden is so overgrown that there’s not room to plant anything anyway. Back home, there are weeds to be pulled and the last of the summer vegetables to be harvested. The season has come to an end […]
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Three Rides
After two months off the bike to give my suddenly-dislocating thumbs a little rest from the brakes, I got back in the saddle this past weekend. With a mild vengeance. And it got me to thinking, once again, how deliriously grateful I am for the assortment of cycling jaunts within minutes of my front door. […]
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How Can Redwoods Grow So Tall?
How do the high crowns of redwoods obtain the water required for their photosynthesis? The pressure of the atmosphere (15 psi) is only sufficient to push water as high as 10 meters (33 ft.) into a vacuum, yet redwoods can reach 115 meters (379 ft.) into the sky! How is that possible? Osmosis is significant […]