The first rumblings of the tule elk rut or breeding season – harems are being formed around bull elk; the male bugling sounds are being heard out at Tomales Point. The rut begins in early August and continues through the fall. Volunteers staff the trail on weekends to provide a closer look and answer questions.
Summer Berry time – the first ripe blackberries are appearing along roads and trails – both the native ‘Cutleaf’ and the exotic Himalaya berry! Scarlet Thimbleberries are ripening along the Bear Valley Trail and hairy Salmonberries along the lower Bayview Trail. Huckleberries appearing throughout Tomales Bay State Park though no reports from Old Pine Trail yet!
These are highlights from the National Park Service Park Wavelengths newsletter.
Sharing West Marin experiences through Point Reyes Weekend is a real pleasure. But I really enjoy reading a good writer’s first trip through the area. Jonathan Levitt recounts his first trip to Point Reyes and West Marin in the Boston Globe.
Traveling around the country, asking people about their favorite places, and about their most beautiful places, I heard again and again about the rolling ranchland and wild beaches of west Marin County. Here, the almost 70,000 acres of windswept wildness at Point Reyes National Seashore coexist with cattle ranches, dairy farms, and small organic market gardens. It makes for a balance that attracts tourists content to enjoy the seashore, hike in the hills, and eat good food. Chain stores and rowdy revelers are nowhere in sight.
The Wild Blue Farm stand at the Point Reyes Farmers Market is impossibly colorful with the produce looking much too good to eat. Throughout the season, Wild Blue will offer everything from edible flowers to pumpkins to raspberries to tomatillos to lavender to beets and more. If you get to the market early, you will be treated a beautiful display of bounty. But hurry, Wild Blue sells their produce quickly.
Here’s our quick chat with Margie McDonald, who runs the farm with her husband Jack Corwin.
* Tell us about Wild Blue Farm
Wild Blue Farm is about 10 acres and we farm about 4. We bought the farm 10 years ago. There was only one very old apple tree here. Its about 75 years old and is an heirloom called Grimes Golden, the original Johnny Apple-seed apple.
* From your farm, what are the market-goers’ favorites?
The market customers love the raspberries, they are surreal. They also love the beautiful 4 color carrots; purple, red, yellow and orange. We also have beautiful, delicious and unusual winter squash. I love the strange looking ones.
* What are your best-kept secrets?
The best kept secret is the small seckel pear that we grow. When we bring it to market it only lasts a minute or two. People who know of this pear buy bags of it and the rest of our customers don’t even get to see it. We have planed a few more trees to meet the demand.
* What do you buy at the Point Reyes Farmers Market?
At the market I love to buy Peter Worsley’s heirloom tomatoes and fresh honey from Beekind.
Wild Blue Farm and Marin Organic are holding a tour of the farm on Sunday, July 26, 2009. See the Point Reyes calendar for more info.
For the last few years, there has been a pretty good controversy about the oyster farm located at Drakes Estero. The lease for the farm expires in a few years and battle lines have been drawn about the renewal of such a lease. Scott Shafer of KQED’s Forum moderated a lively debate among these guests:
Dianne Feinstein, U.S. senator
Dr. Corey Goodman, elected member of the National Academy of Sciences currently teaching anatomy and biochemistry at UCSF
Gordon Bennett, parks chairman with the Sierra Club’s Marin Group
Huey Johnson, president of the Resource Renewal Institute and former California secretary of resources
Lovely! RT @jeffmtrost: Point Reyes National Seashore http://t.co/vWNgV26o 2012/02/01
Video Exploration of the Tule Elk Reserve at Point Reyes http://t.co/Bv9dG1py 2012/01/27
RT @connect2canada: Since 1911, @ParksCanada has preserved over 320,000 km2 in national parks & marine conservation areas, an area large ... 2012/01/27
Sharing West Marin experiences through Point Reyes Weekend is a real pleasure. But I really enjoy reading a good writer’s first trip through the area. Jonathan Levitt recounts his first trip to Point Reyes and West Marin in the Boston Globe.
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