The new moon rises on Saturday, Nov. 30 with some extra-high mid-morning tides in the six-foot range. Fog permitting, we may see the planet Jupiter at its closest approach to Earth on Saturday, Dec. 7 in the southwestern sky.
Many of us scurried out the door last Saturday as the rain swirled away from West Marin. As glimpses of sunshine poked through spectacular clouds, many rainbows colored the skies. The first fungi—white globes of puffball mushrooms—have popped up in grassy areas. Typically, these completely round fungi range from golfball-sized to larger than softball-sized.
Rushing creeks may be prompting the first winter salmon runs. Coho salmon and steelhead trout linger in Tomales Bay, awaiting the first rains to begin their final journey to their natal creeks. Once all the sediment and silt has settled and streams become clearer, we may begin to see the annual returns in our creeks.
Another reminder of the approaching winter season is the return of yellow and black Townsend’s warblers. They appear along Bear Valley Trail, a coniferous forest that is their usual habitat. They’ll feast on berries and insects for the winter before returning north to Canadian breeding grounds in springtime.