The meteor season is underway, with the Eta Aquarids entering the scene. This shower lasts through May but peaks on the night of May 4, with the best viewing the following morning of May 5. Fog permitting, early risers that Monday may see 10 to 20 shooting stars an hour. The full moon rises the following Monday, May 12, with very low early-morning tides. In the Celtic tradition, this moon marks Beltane and the beginning of summer.
Drakes Beach has partially reopened as the elephant seal season winds down. As you face the ocean, the left side is open while the right side remains closed as some seals return to molt and grow new fur. Male seals will move north and females south for the rest of their solitary year. The road to the beach is now fully open.
More and more wildflowers are blooming. Yellow and violet-blue bush lupine, often a later species to appear, is beginning to blossom, and the huge, white cauliflower-like blooms of cow parsnip are popping up along roadsides. Lots of grasses are out there, too. The mowing of trails and roadsides this year may be slow, as it is also bird nesting season, and areas, especially in the parks, are checked for nests before mowing begins.