Some things are so ugly they’re cute. On Sunday, Dec. 4, nearly 300 people leaned into the ugly, donning bright, lumpy, spangly and snowman-festooned pullovers and cardigans for the Ugly Holiday Sweater Fun Run. Starting at the Arcata Plaza, the wild and wooly 1-mile or 5-kilometer race organized by Arcata Main Street benefitted Humboldt Educare. […]
Outdoors
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Wavesgiving
On Saturday, Nov. 19, while some of us huddled inside and watched the rain, Humboldt surfers woke before dawn and headed out to Trinidad State Beach for the second annual Wavesgiving Surf Contest. Some 20 contestants zipped into their wetsuits and hit the water to compete for cash and salty glory. Photographer Sean Jansen was […]
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Close Call Leaves Mills with Lessons Learned
Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills has a PSA for would-be wave-watchers: “When they say don’t go out on the jetty, don’t go out on the jetty.” Mills was driving along the north jetty with his wife last Saturday when he decided to walk out on the jetty and take pictures of the large waves sweeping […]
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HumBug: Fly Fishing
A very long time ago I got into fly fishing. It is a highly technical method for fooling an animal with a brain smaller than a pea into thinking that bits of feathers and fluff are something good to eat. Those somethings are usually members of three orders of insects: mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies. The first books […]
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Flooding Possible With High Tides and Storm Surge
The worst of the storm that hit Humboldt County with a one-two punch is over but there is a chance of coastal flooding in low-lying areas of King Salmon and Arcata this afternoon when the storm surge and high tides meet up. According to the National Weather Service, tides are expected to peak between 8.5 […]
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HumBug: Seasons Change
Seasons change, and with them the insects we see. Headed toward winter now, there are fewer dragonflies. It seems the big common green darners are all gone now, migrated elsewhere. But on a recent stroll along the Van Duzen, I saw several others. A solitary dusty, old-looking western river cruiser and a couple too far […]
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Grants Bring Bay Trail Closer to Completion
Efforts to link a series of trails to create a 13-mile-long recreational waterfront corridor between Eureka and Arcata took two steps forward this week with nearly $1 million in grants being awarded to the cities. In the works for years, the $550,000 California State Coastal Conservancy grant awarded to Arcata on Thursday, coupled with the […]
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HumBug: False Scorpions
A little over 20 years ago, after moving to the country, I noticed a tiny, dark critter, no bigger than a newsprint letter “o” scurry across my counter. I scooped it up and checked it out with a hand lens. It was an animal I had only read about, a book scorpion or pseudoscorpion. After […]
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HumBug: Uninvited Guests
The black lights of my “light trap” don’t make for a regular trap; the insects are free to come and go as they please. That’s the trick, though — the lights are irresistible. Moths, of course, come by the dozens, but there are others. An opportunistic praying mantis seeks an easy dinner. A burying beetle […]
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A Ballet of the Fog and the Stars (Video)
Work week got you down? Or maybe it’s Humboldt’s seemingly endless feed of grisly news? Whatever it is that’s conspiring against you this Wednesday, push it aside and take a moment to appreciate this beautiful place we call home. Heck, thanks to Eureka’s David Wilson, you won’t even have to get out of your chair. […]