The coastal prairie is broken by pockets of forestland in the deep ravines of the mountains that emerge from the sea. After a drenching, this southwest corner of the Marin Peninsula, is overcast and mild. The fecundity of the land is quickly apparent when one gets outside and slows to the pulse of nature.
Ascending a few hundred feet above the hostel affords a birdseye view of Rodeo Lagoon and Beach, along with the red and white buildings constructed by the military 80 years ago. Atop a false summit lie rings of bag-concrete bricks; defensive positions for gunners, their sites trained on the Pacific for the Japanese foe which never came.
After sunset, a full moon-lit walk along the lagoon produced a curious encounter. Under headlamp a single eye shown back at me; I initially thought the bird might be injured. After it darted up to catch flying insects, it landed back on the trail. For the next 15 minutes, we hop-scotched up the trail as my friend would swoop for an insect, putting on an aerial display, before landing again on the trail. Why would this bird, my initial field ID was confirmed as a western screech owl, choose the place that is disturbed by humans? Could it be that said disturbance may provide some feeding advantage that is changing the bird’s behavior?
The beach sand is still damp from the recent storm brought by the pineapple express, an atmospheric river of instability. On this January night a mild off-shore breeze cools the air, but not much, especially when one thinks of the bone-chilling cold that July can bring on this part of the California coast. The surf crashes as swells converge shoreward. Rocky headlands stand against the onslaught, with sea stacks and caves a testimony of the power of waves. Through time the eroded and weathered rock is deposited as beach sand. The eternal cycles, having withstood countless change in condition, process and form; no doubt these will continue, long after the age of humans.
- Log in to post comments