Star gazers in the coming weeks may pick out the “royal family,” three constellations visible in the northeastern skies of late fall. These are Queen Cassiopeia (a “w” shape), King Cepheus and daughter Andromeda. In their classic story, the queen believes she is more beautiful than the sea goddesses, the Nereids. The angry gods are appeased by the sacrifice of her daughter, but hero Perseus rescues Andromeda from sea monsters, and the two are married. In the Greek tradition, Cassiopeia regains her honor and is placed in the sky, but half of the year she hangs upside over the north pole as penance for her vanity.
Have you noticed a few monarch butterflies in the area? They migrate northward in spring and summer in two or three generations; the new generations migrate south in the fall, some to Mexico and some overwintering in West Marin’s eucalyptus trees. What is the difference between butterflies and moths? Butterflies hold their wings upright, while moths lay them flat. Butterflies make a chrysalis and moths create a cocoon.
The recent heavy rains have brought returning steelhead trout and coho salmon into the Lagunitas Creek watershed. The females will use their tails to scrape out gravel nests called redds and wait for the males to fertilize the nested eggs. In coming weeks, I hope to have some numbers to help understand this year’s population. Good places to see them are at the gated Leo T. Cronin viewing area about half a mile west of Lagunitas. Fish may also be seen in Redwood Creek at Muir Woods.