Handbook for Not Owning Land

I step off the gravel road onto a trail hidden by undergrowth. Sword ferns and cedar branches close behind me like a curtain, and my breathing subtly changes. My senses tune to nature’s frequency and I begin to hear them: The high chiming of golden-crowned kinglets;...

Sea star wasting syndrome

By Adria Magrath A shorter version of this blog article appeared in the Christmas issue of the Vashon Beachcomber. It seems that you can always count on seeing sea stars when you visit a rocky beach – the Pacific Northwest boasts the largest diversity and...

A Salamander Valentine

If you find your flashlight and take a moonlit walk to one of Vashon’s forested ponds or wetlands tonight you might witness the incredible way nature celebrates Valentine’s Day. This may not be your partner’s idea of a typical romantic evening, but it will be...

Get your green on with nettles!

All around us myriad shades of green are nudging out the gray-brown wash of winter. Buds, blossoms, needles and leaves are unfurling with time-lapse-camera speed, responding to nature’s unseen alarm. For those in the know, one of the most exciting of the re-emerging...

Big storm offers big chance to follow new tracks

My 12-year-old has been teasing me about how I’m more wound up about the prospect of new snow than she is…and she might be right (I’m wide awake at 3 am writing this because I’m so excited for the onslaught that I can’t sleep). There’s something about how snow...