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
Get out here this first full summer weekend. The weather is predicted to be very nice and the wonderful Point Reyes Farmers Market opens (get there by 10a for an opening toast to the season).
While you are enjoying the long days, keep an eye out for jellies washed up on the beaches; they are susceptible to temperature changes in the upper layers of water. The park folks say “Tomales Bay State park rangers have been finding dinner plate sized – ice tea colored “Lions Mane ” jellies on their beaches, these may have tentacles that sting and cause an allergic reaction. Clear moon jellies with white crescents do not have stinging tentacles. Usually, by the time they are on the beaches, the tentacles have been eaten away.”
This is a guest letter by Lyons Filmer, Point Reyes Farmers Market Steering Committee member.
A poem of gratitude, a letter of blessings – beautiful texts written about the special qualities we see in our everyday lives. Writings by West Marin School student Adrian Vega and farmer Sandy Dierks are my inspirations as this year’s Point Reyes Farmers Market readies to open on Saturday, June 27.
“So I love” my farmers market…..here in the town where I live, with farmers and vendors who come from nearby, selling what they’ve grown and made with care. I am blessed to know where this food comes from: lettuces from Paradise Valley soil nurtured by Dennis and Sandy Dierks…..Fresh Run romano beans from Peter Martinelli in Bolinas…..raspberries out of (the) Wild Blue of Tomales from Jack and Margie…..Jams and eggs from Susan Martinelli’s Creekside Garden…..Peter Worsley apples a hop-skip-and-a-tractor-ride from the mesa…..Lunny oysters straight from the briney in their snug-fitting jackets…..Sartori strawberries have no sartorial troubles, they come dressed in their juicy flesh…..Biodynamic herbs power Moonflowers’ creams and essences. I am blessed that these farmers consider soil and sun, wind, rain and micro-climate when choosing what and when to grow, that I may enjoy it all!
Katia and Doug of Beekind place their bees with careful intention; what’s in bloom to tempt their buzzing crew? What fruit is the ripest for this week’s tarts? That’s Sandra’s quest as Wedgewood Baker. Brickmaiden Celine raises dough (it’s faster than kids!) into loaves and baguettes. Windrush wools are vegetable-dyed, from sheep Mimi Luebbermann raises. I love Duck Derby quackers, kittens & Kathy from Planned Feralhood; MALT’s hikes and farm tours. Breakfast or lunch? Grilled cheese sandwiches, Mexican dishes, juices, teas, and coffees. Sit at picnic tables, enjoying wonderful music Carolyn Strausser arranges. Pick up ideas and tasty samples from guest chefs Amy Whelan choreographs. Star in a Richard James photo. And more & more……..
“So I love” these people, and all who attend my farmers market – schoolkids, tourists, house-husbands, bankers, teachers, tots, the grumpy and growly, the new-comers and old-timers, I look forward to them all. There’s Chris and Oscar, without whom……and market manager Bonnie Guttman, market sponsors Toby’s Feed Barn, Marin Organic, Point Reyes Books, the County of Marin.
What a place to be, my farmers market. “All this, so I love.” (Gracias, Adrian.)
Start the summer right by heading up to Point Reyes on Memorial Day weekend. Besides the usual outdoors fun, the Point Reyes Open Studios offers great works by local artists. Check it out…
John Small was waiting for the fog to clear at Point Reyes; it did not. But Point Reyes has its own special mood in the fog, captured well in one of his photos.
So far this year, one snowy plover nest is being monitored. Enclosures of string and metal fencing along the Great Beach are reminders of where they are attempting to nest, please avoid these areas, look for the annual closures signs especially from Kehoe Beach South to North Beach.
Springtime is also the beginning of annual bat monitoring – a healthy 212 Townsend Big eared bats in the first Olema Valley counts.
Spotted owl nest counts in older growth woods are also positive this year!
The usual sign of spring at Bear Valley – the gopher hunting great blue heron appeared last week.
This week is also peak harbor seal season – Bolinas Lagoon and the Estero Trail are good spots to observe from a safe distance. Or the newly repaired film at Bear Valley Visitor Center has some great images of onshore antics of these marine mammals.
New photography show at Bear Valley Visitor Center is nature images by Kevin Shea going up this week!
These are highlights from the National Park Service Park Wavelengths newsletter.
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
See our special section on the 
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.
Get out here this first full summer weekend. The weather is predicted to be very nice and the wonderful 
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