Outdoors

A Seal Mom’s Lullaby

May 1, 2026 | Adventures, Animals, Environment, Marine science, Nature, Ocean Life, Oceans, Outdoors

Their sleek, torpedo-shaped bodies dive deep and glide gracefully through the sea. On land they “galumph,” rolling back on their hind flippers then belly-flopping forward. Although harbor seals and other pinnipeds (fin-footed animals, including sea lions and walruses) may seem more at home in water, their distant ancestors once walked the earth.

Like us, harbor seals are warm-blooded, air-breathing mammals with hearts and lungs. The first time I observed a breeding colony, I realized that I have something else in common with females of the species: We are Moms, fiercely devoted to and protective of our children.

The Wisdom of Wild Iris

Apr 3, 2026 | Botany, Coast, Ecology, Environment, Nature, Outdoors, Plants & Flowers

Its sturdy stalk surges from winter-wet earth. Long, sword-shaped leaves fan upward. A single flower unfurls—velvet-soft, radiant, uniquely shaded and patterned. In regal robes of deep purple, violet, and indigo, the Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana) reigns over the rainbow parade of spring wildflowers on the California coast.

Star Power

Feb 20, 2026 | Coast, Ecology, Environment, Marine science, Nature, Ocean Life, Oceans, Outdoors, Sea stars

In the galaxy of shimmering sea stars, none shone brighter than the spectacular sunflower star. Bigger, bolder and hungrier than any of its kin, Pycnopodia helianthoides could unfurl as many as two dozen arms, rocket across the ocean floor and devour a purple sea urchin in moments. As an apex predator—dubbed the “Death Star” by awed divers—it feared none and was feared by all.

Then, almost overnight, it vanished.

After the Rain: Vernal Lakes

Jan 23, 2026 | Adventures, Botany, Ecology, Environment, Nature, Outdoors, Plants & Flowers

A deluge struck California over the holidays. With almost daily downpours, my rain gauge recorded thirteen inches in less than two weeks. Trees fell. Cables snapped. Thousands lost power. For a while, our neighborhood became an island, with roads flooded in every direction. During a typical winter, rain collects in shallow depressions in the land, called vernal ponds. This year entire fields turned to lakes.

Being Crabby

Dec 12, 2025 | Adventures, Animals, Beach, Coast, Ecology, Marine science, Nature, Ocean Life, Oceans, Outdoors

As I jog along a local beach, a raucous skirmish brings me to a full stop. In a furious duel for possession, two squawking gulls are tugging a Dungeness crab into the air. When their grip loosens, the hapless victim plummets—upside down, legs flailing---onto the sand....

The Blue Marble

Nov 28, 2025 | Coast, Ecology, Environment, Nature, Ocean Life, Oceans, Outdoors

In this season of gratitude, when we hold our loved ones close, blue marbles remind us of our wider home — the blue world that underpins our lives, joys, sorrows, dreams and aspirations. As we struggle to keep our balance in a whirl of social, political and environmental upheaval, a blue marble, shining with the grace of gratitude, can serve as a powerful anchor.

Do You Speak BIRD?

Nov 14, 2025 | Adventures, Birds & Birding, Coast, Ecology, Environment, Nature, Ocean Life, Oceans, Outdoors, Seabirds

The chartered fishing boat plows through the swells due west from the Sonoma coast with nary an angler on board. Birders—sheathed in slickers, binoculars slung around their necks—line the railing. As my maiden voyage begins, cryptic cries erupt around me.

The Secret Life of Mudflats

Oct 31, 2025 | Adventures, Animals, Bodega Marine Lab, Coast, Ecology, Environment, Marine science, Nature, Ocean Life, Oceans, Outdoors

Mud sucks—literally. On land, it squishes underfoot and slimes your shoes. In seaside shallows, it clutches your feet and tugs with the ferocity of an angry alligator.

I know. Wading back to shore after fieldwork with Bodega Marine Lab scientists in Tomales Bay, I lost my balance and plunged into what felt like slow-hardening concrete. Every time I tried to pry my foot loose, I lurched back into the sludge. A graduate student reached out to help—only to skid into the ooze next to me.

Fly like a Raptor

Oct 17, 2025 | Adventures, Animals, Birds & Birding, Birds of Prey, Coast, Ecology, Environment, Nature, Outdoors, Raptors, Seabirds

Once again they are on the wing. Along the Pacific Flyway—a 4,000-mile corridor stretching from Alaska to Baja— millions of birds of many feathers and forms are flying south to warmer climes. But none dazzle the eye and stir the soul more than raptors, meat-eating birds of prey that include falcons, hawks, vultures and eagles.

The Season of the Shark

Oct 3, 2025 | Adventures, Animals, Coast, Ecology, Environment, Fish & Fishing, Nature, Ocean Life, Oceans, Outdoors, Sharks

‘Tis the season, not just for spooky ghosts and goblins, but far scarier creatures that prowl along the California coast. During Sharktober, which extends from September to November, great white sharks, the largest predatory fish on the planet, are on the hunt.

Every year these lords of the deep migrate more than a thousand miles from a zone east of Hawaii known as the “White Shark Cafe.” Their destination: the Red Triangle, a swath of ocean stretching from Bodega Bay in the north to the Farallones Islands in the west and Monterey Bay in the south. The cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary nourish a rich array of marine life, including seals and sea lions that lure great whites eager to feed heavily and build strength and stamina for the winter months.

Outdoors

A Seal Mom’s Lullaby

The Wisdom of Wild Iris

Star Power

After the Rain: Vernal Lakes

Being Crabby

The Blue Marble

Do You Speak BIRD?

The Secret Life of Mudflats

Fly like a Raptor

The Season of the Shark

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