More Art!

In addition to the cool surfboard art I mentioned in the last post, the Bolinas Museum has a few other offerings well-worth checking out.

In the main gallery, there's an exhibit on West Africa, as well as a free concert in the museum's courtyard featuring West African music. The concert is June 28th at 2pm, and the exhibit will run until August 2nd. If you've never had any experience with West African music, here's a small taste of it from Senegalese artists King Ibu and Lucky Diop:

So, if your interest is piqued, go to the concert and take a look at museum's upcoming exhibits and other special events. And if your interest isn't piqued, well, then don't. But you'll be missing out.

Also worth your time is Claudia Chapline's Gallery in Stinson. Through the end of June the gallery will be showing some of Jon Francis's recent oil paintings. Watch the video for some impressive examples of his work. The gallery's address can be found here and it's open from 12-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays or by appointment if you simply can't wait. Enjoy!

Paddle Race!

With the NBA finals now over, another event must step up and fill the need for exciting competition.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the paddle race!

For the second year in a row, there will be the Shore-to-Shore Paddle Board race from Bolinas to Stinson and it promises gripping drama, intense athleticism, and moving across several miles of ocean in floating watercrafts.

Come to the finish line at Stinson Beach Federal Park to watch the exciting conclusion! The race will start at 9:00 AM on June 20th and proceeds will go to the venerable Stinson Beach Junior Lifeguard program and the Surfrider Foundation.

If that wasn't incentive enough, there will also be a beach clean up and picnic following the race, all as part of the International Surfing Day.

And if you haven't gotten enough surf culture, there's one more thing worth checking out. From 3-5 PM, there will be an art opening and reception at the Bolinas Museum. Internationally-known photographer Brown Cannon III will be attending to show off his exhibit Surface, which features "dramatic images of the oceans mounted on surfboards."

You might fall in love with one and want to buy it, which raises the question, can you put a price on art?

The answer is yes. $6,500. Fall in love carefully.

Cloudy Days and Beach Days

There's a lot to love about the West Marin coastline: it's gorgeous, great for surfing, and has more varieties of birds than you can shake a telephoto lens at.

But what happens when you're all set to sunbathe at the beach only to find that it's overcast, windy, and a hair above freezing?

I found myself in the same situation just last week, and rather than bemoan the fact that Muir Beach wasn't Waikiki (or after our teeth were chattering too much to bemoan effectively), my friends and I hunkered down and created a memorable experience for ourselves. Here's how to make the most of your cloudy beach day:

1. There's no such thing as bad weather...
...only bad clothing. Bring layers. And layers. And a few more layers on top of that. Wrapping yourself in towels and blankets only adds to the sense of adventure, especially if you and your friends/family look slightly ridiculous. Being prepared for the coldest that Mother Nature has to offer goes a long way to making the trip a happy memory instead of a traumatic one.

2. Food, glorious food.
The only thing worse than being cold is being cold and hungry. Go into survival mode by packing an assortment of delicious snacks, treats, and drinks. Sandwiches? Check. Bag of cookies? Double check. Thermos of hot, life-sustaining coffee, tea, or hot chocolate? Check plus. Food = energy = you keeping your body heat up and not freezing to death. And it's delicious. So eat something, you're all skin and bones.

3. Capture the moment.
Cloudy days offer some of the greatest photo opportunities because you don't have to deal with the hassle of shadows. Set the white balance on your camera to cloudy (a picture of a cloud) and start walking the beach, bundled up in blankets, well-fed, and looking for adventure.

4. Fire good!
[Disclaimer: the only beach that I know you can have fires at is Muir Beach, and only in the designated fire rings. All other beaches follow a strict "fire bad" policy, just like Frankenstein's monster.]

Our cro-magnon ancestors had it right: fire good. In fact, fire very good. So bring a bundle of logs to a fire pit and bask in the loving glow of its warmth. Roast marshmallows, char processed meat on sticks, and be grateful for having a roof over your head whenever you want one.

5. Wind good!

Instead of being whipped around by the wind's cold chill, harness its awesome power for your own entertainment! Take the old kite for a spin and rejoice in the child-like wonder that ensues.

It's very nice to spend a day at the beach relaxing under the summer sun, tanning and burning ourselves to our hearts' content. But ask yourself: how many different times can you actually remember spending a perfect day at the beach? If you're like me, all those cloudless, sunny days have started to blur together, and while pleasurable, adding one more to the mix isn't necessarily going to stand out in your memories.

But a day under the clouds, watching the cold waves lap at the shore while you sip hot chocolate around a fire you built, huddled with friends and family, wrapped in an assortment of blankets and towels-- now that's a day worth remembering for years to come.

More Birds at Seadrift

Thanks to William for these two great bird shots!

The first is of a flock of snowy egrets (we think) "roosting in a cypress tree at 193 Dipsea Road." Click on the photos to see them at full size in all their avian glory...

 

Our second photo is of Heidi Ryerson of the Seadrift office, bonding with a sparrow.

Happy birding!

For the Birds

Dear Readers,
My name is Ezra and I'll be your blogger for this evening, and beyond. In the coming months I hope to inform and delight on a variety of topics, all related, in one way or another, to getting the absolute most out of your visits to Seadrift and West Marin. If there's anything I can do for you, anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask.
-EF

For the over 50 million birders (bird watching enthusiasts) in the US alone, Marin is a very special place. There are nearly 1,000 species of birds in America and more than 450 of them have been spotted in Point Reyes. And even closer to Seadrift is the Audubon Canyon Ranch, a mere 10 minute drive away. If you're not much of a bird person yet, you really owe it to yourself to go birding the next time you're in West Marin. It'd be like avoiding the pyramids while in Egypt because you're "not much of a triangle person." Go birding now; thank me later. You might just be lucky enough to see a red breasted merganser (complete with a sweet mohawk), like this newly-minted birder.

When I was traveling in Costa Rica (a slightly longer drive from West Marin, but also with very good birds), I had the good fortune of taking a walk with a friend, Frank, who was crazy about birding. I knew nothing about it, but Frank made up for that when he started shouting fanatically, "Quetzal! Quetzal!"

I hope to one day be as happy as Frank was when he saw that majestic, long-tailed bird. I'm pretty sure I never will be, and that's okay too (after all, he was euphoric). He called over other birders that were on the same trail and they were likewise ecstatic.

Even better than seeing the quetzal, I saw a new way of experiencing nature. All around us were the rarest living treasures, birds you could look for your whole life without seeing. When Frank saw that quetzal, it was the fulfillment of a desire he had for years. That's a feeling worth feeling. It was then that I realized that birding was a hobby worth pursuing.

Now that I've converted you all into die-hard birders, foaming at the mouth for the next glorious chance to get out to Marin and immerse yourself in wildlife, let me tell you a story about what happens when the birds come to you.

A week ago my parents had the chance to nurse an injured humming bird back to health after it flew into their window. After waiting to see if the humming bird would die or fly away, it did neither and was hanging on to life, now in severe need of food. This is how my mom tells it:

"Dipping my little finger, I offered a single drop [of sugar water]. But my pinky looks nothing like a flower, so he wasn’t interested. 5 minutes of continuing to offer a drop suspended from my finger, [the bird] thinks, 'Not my usual fare, but this lady’s trying awfully hard… so… what the hell?' Out darts his teeny tongue and he’s lapping the water! YES!

"For the next 2 hours [my husband] and I take turns feeding Hum who gets stronger and stronger. It’s incredible!! (Who says there’s no nutrition in sugary drinks?!)"

Go here to read the rest of the story. It's pretty incredible.

So, now that you all have a deep and abiding love for birds, here are ten ways how you can do your part to protect them from needlessly smacking into your windows.

True, you won't get a chance to nurse a humming bird back to health, but you'll be happy with the knowledge that the birds will be out there the next time you get to come to West Marin. Frank would be proud.

Biking on the Ridge

Guest blogger and Seadrift visitor Clint Graves forwarded this photo to us. Bicycling is a favorite pastime of his while visiting Seadrift.

You can see the Seadrift homes and lagoons below him.
 

The beach, bagpipes and whales

Whether you are lucky enough to live here or are just planning a visit, September is a great time to be at Seadrift.

Both Minke and humpback whales were seen off Stinson Beach last weekend. They are a bit early this year, but what better way to watch whales then from the beach?

This weekend, Sunday, September 14th you can make the short drive up to Inverness and join in the annual Piper on the Ridge. Bring an evening picnic and a few dollars to "pay the piper" and enjoy the sunset and moon rise on beautiful Mount Vision. The parking lot at the top of Mount Vision Road is where you'll park. The trail to the top is moderate and you WILL want to bring a flashlight. While the walk up is easy, walking down in the dark is much better when you have a flashlight (or better yet a headlamp). Take it from someone who has tried it in the dark.

Saturday, September 20th is annual Coastal Cleanup Day. Join your friends at your favorite beach and help take care of our environment.

Tide Pools

This weekend will bring us some great early morning low tides:

• 
  Thursday, July 3rd 5:58 am -1.8 feet
• Friday, July 4th 6:45 am -1.7 feet
• Saturday, July 5th 7:30 am -1.3 feet
• Sunday, July 6th  8:13 am -0.8

If you're headed to Stinson Beach try the Duxbury Reef or Agate Beach tide pools.

The monkey flowers, Marin County's late-blooming flowers are showing on Mt. Tamalpais now. On the lower slopes you'll see the Seep-Springs Monkey Flower, higher on the rocky slopes you can spot the orange Sticky Monkey Flower.

Prehistoric Brown Pelican of Bolinas

As we approach the longest day of the year, the sight of one of our favorite birds flying in formation fills the skies. The Brown Pelican is one of those few prehistoric looking creatures remaining in today’s world. These large, ungainly birds are a marvel to watch as they zero in on fish in the ocean or Bolinas Lagoon. Amazing how they can spot their dinner from hundreds of feet in the air, angle down and dive out of the sky into the water to fill their pouch with a a school of herring or other small fish! These wonderful birds fly between our Lagoon and the Sea of Cortez and other Mexican spots. Look for them on the remnants of the old dredge in the Bolinas Lagoon or sunning on Kent Island – they are magnificent!