My sense of time drifts along on these warm afternoons, though my paper calendar is speedier. The summer solstice, the official start of summer and the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, arrives next Friday, June 20. Summer weather with coastal fog and inland warmth is here.
The warmth has prompted the blooming of the last wildflowers, the pink poppy-shaped blossoms of “Farewell to Spring” or “Herald of Summer,” depending on which guide is consulted. Their proper name is Clarkia amoena, and they lie along Lucas Valley Road and in various pockets in Inverness. The yellow blooms of blue elderberry shrubs along roadways also announce the end of spring. Their earlier-blooming red elderberry cousins are now producing sprays of scarlet fruit.
Nature can always amaze and delight us. National Park Service fishery staff for the first time noted coho salmon in Bear Valley Creek, near park headquarters, where it is believed that a nest successfully hatched over the winter. Those cohos’ journey from Tomales Bay would have included passing under two local roads via Olema Marsh to reach the respite of Bear Valley.
It’s time to watch for the return of humpback whales. Weather permitting, they can be seen feeding and splashing.