The full moon of June 11 is around the corner, and it brings with it extra low tides in the early mornings. The Farmers’ Almanac calls it the “strawberry moon” after the ripening of wild strawberries found across the Northern Hemisphere. Local oral tradition describes fields of tiny native berries in the Nicasio Valley.
Indeed, berry season is beginning. Look for the white-petaled and star-shaped flowers of thimbleberry in shady areas. These blossoms will soon transform into a delicious scarlet berry in the shape of a sewing thimble. Huckleberry shrubs along Inverness Ridge are just beginning to show the tiny green berries that will ripen to a deep purple in summer.
Harbor seal pup counts conducted at the peak of breeding season in late April are lower than the long-term average—880 this year against an average 1,100. Spotted owl nests among older growth forests are being counted and monitored for successful hatches.
I feel as if I blinked and the hills went from spring’s emerald green to summer’s golden brown. The distinctive golden rattlesnake, or quaking, grass has sprouted along Limantour Road. The seed pods of this Eurasian grass look like the tail of a rattlesnake.