The full moon that rises on Sunday, Dec. 15 is known as the “rowan moon” in the Celtic tree calendar. Rowan is translated as “little redhead,” and stems from the rowan tree, a red-berried ash native to Europe. Alas, the moon will overshadow the peak of the Geminid meteor shower on Dec. 13, when over 120 meteors an hour will move through the moon-brightened sky on the western horizon. Our shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, follows on Dec. 21, the calendar year’s beginning of winter.
Beachcombers should note that the full moon brings very high, seven-foot-plus high tides in mid-morning. These tides may help northern elephant seals surf onto Point Reyes beaches, which in turn will spur annual beach closures.
The salmon are returning! Early reports from the Lagunitas Creek watershed promise a banner year, with higher numbers of redds, or nests, already counted. Viewing at the Leo T. Cronin Fish Viewing Area and Devil’s Gulch may be challenging due to limited parking. Travel early, especially on weekends.
A new feature on the national park website are trail conditions. Updated weekly and organized by name in north and south districts, the feature notes closures, trees down and dates when trails were cleared. This helpful tool for planning winter adventures can be found at https://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/hiking_trail_advisories.htm.