The new moon on Sunday, Feb. 19 provides a window of afternoon minus-low tides through the holiday weekend—a good time for tidepooling! On Wednesday, Feb. 22, we may be able to view a conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the waxing crescent moon. The bright gem of Venus will be lower on the horizon.
More and more flowers are springing up, with milkmaids in shaded areas and the curved leaves and stems of soaproot. Three-petaled white trillium are blooming along Bear Valley Trail. Plenty of pollen is in the air from the yellow fluffballs of acacia trees along Ottinger’s Hill and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.
Tule elk may all look the same after passing through the annual male antler shedding season. Some males may lose one antler at a time instead of both at once. With good nutrition, they will begin to regrow their antlers for use in the late summer rut. The dropped antlers are an important source of nutrients for smaller animals that gnaw on them. Antlers may not be collected in the park.
Notes from the national seashore: Park visitor centers and the lighthouse will be open on the Monday, Feb. 20 holiday. Also, applications are now available for the Youth Conservation Corps’ summer youth work program at Point Reyes; visit www.nps.gov/pore.