Pampas Grass in Bodega Bay

I love pampas grass season in Bodega Bay. The beautiful thick, feathery plumes line both sides of Hwy. 1 and the surrounding hillsides as you wind down into town. You'll also find patches in other areas including this stretch of Westshore Rd. along Bodega Harbor.


The silky "featherduster" plumes start out as a pink-purple color then gradually turn a warm white. The stalks grow as high as 6-8 ft. and are surrounded by tall, thin, sticky, sharp leaves. In fact, they are so sharp, they're a barrier to animal movement and have been known to cut the hide of deer trying to walk through them!



Unfortunately pampas grass is not native and it's highly invasive throughout the California coast. Authorities have taken steps to eradicate this opportunistic grass and discourage people from planting it on their property. They say it's an aggressive colonizer that competes with native vegetation, displacing native coastal dunes and other shrubs.

I get it and I won't plant any in our yard, but you just can't help admiring the beauty of these majestic grasses blooming now in all their glory!

It's Mating Season, Deer

Yesterday my daughter ran up to me and whispered urgently, "Mom, there's a deer looking in our window!" I followed her over to the front door and sure enough, there stood a beautiful buck with two point antlers, staring back at us through the glass. I ran to get my camera, thinking he'd probably be long gone by the time I got back but nope, he had just started wandering casually out toward our front yard.


We watched him for quite a while and took several photos. His casual demeanor and lack of concern about us actually made us a little concerned about him. Why wouldn't he run away? Then, we suddenly spied another smaller deer curled up under a nearby bush in our front yard. We couldn't get close enough to see if it still had fawn spots but it didn't look adult-size. (I couldn't get close enough for a photo.) Okay, so why would a buck be hovering around protectively over a juvenile that appeared to be hiding? If this was a doe, she'd instinctively try to lead us away from her baby, but this guy was hovering around and refusing to leave.


We decided to call Sonoma County's wonderful, long-time deer expert Marjorie Davis of the Wildlife Fawn Rescue, to ask what was up. After asking us a number of questions, she figured it out. Turns out it's mating season! The small deer under the bush was probably a young female, possibly not quite old enough for mating. Marjorie said it was probably not a fawn because they've all been weaned by now and can eat on their own.

Regardless of the young doe's age, the buck was interested and he was sticking close by. Marjorie cautioned us not to approach him because he could get aggressive under the circumstances. We continued to observe them off and on over the next half hour or so and at one point, the doe must have made a decision to run for it because just like that, both of them were gone! We looked around the surrounding area but couldn't find a trace of either of them.

But get this! While searching for the deer out back, we instead saw a bobcat trotting through the meadow carrying lunch (a rodent) in its mouth. Too bad I didn't have the camera for that one.

Wow! All these exciting close encounters with nature in beautiful Bodega Bay! It's hard to get any work done around here.

Resource:
Wildlife Fawn Rescue
707-931-4550

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Lucas Wharf Restaurant & Bar, Bodega Bay

Click to enlarge the photos.

When we first moved to Bodega Bay, we were told "Tourists go to The Tides restaurant, locals go to Lucas Wharf Restaurant & Bar." Well the first part was true, I'd been coming to Bodega Bay as a tourist all my life and loved going to The Tides. I liked how it had evolved over the years to its current incarnation which includes a large restaurant, a snack bar with picnic tables out by the water, a cool gift shop, and a fresh fish market.

But Lucas Wharf is popular with locals and tourists alike. This seafood restaurant, perched over the harbor, has more of a rustic, seaside atmosphere, with lots of dark woods, a long, full bar, fireplace, and views of the dock, fishing boats, and adjacent fish company, The Seafood Guys.







Beyond, they also have gorgeous views of the Bodega Bay harbor and Bodega Head. From their many window tables, you can usually see harbor seals or sea lions swimming around and barking under the pier or in the harbor. This summer we often saw an adorable baby sea lion sitting up on the dock, apparently waiting while its mother fished below.





On windy days, wind surfers and kite boarders provide free entertainment as they sail along, performing amazing flips and spins above the choppy waves in the harbor.

Lucas Wharf's menu features freshly caught fish and other seafood entrees as well as a variety of steak, chicken and pasta dishes. Their website is pretty limited and the Menu button doesn't work, so I scanned it here for you instead.


We’ve had some nice meals there recently. I love their cheeseburgers, Caesar salad, and the shrimp louie salad. Our daughter loves the sauteed calamari and the clam linguini in garlic cream sauce, and my husband always orders the fresh fish of the day. Last time he had a deliciously prepared grilled salmon.

The Lucas family originally purchased this waterfront property in 1976 and opened a fish market and deli, where they sold their fresh catch of the day. Walter Lucas and his two sons had earlier leased the spot, the site of an old fish processing plant, to dock their commercial fishing trawler "Silver Seas." They caught and sold snapper, rock cod, ling cod, petrale, rex sole and other bottom fish. Their wives ran the businesses while the Lucas brothers did the fishing.

The family expanded and opened the restaurant and bar in 1984, and James and his wife, Peggy Lucas, became the sole owners in 1993.

They also have this somewhat dilapidated pier that people can walk out on. The views out there are lovely but the wood has rotted through in some areas. I'm surprised it's legal, watch your step.

Today, the complex includes Lucas Wharf Restaurant & Bar, The Seafood Guys fresh fish wholesale and retail market, and the Island Style Deli. Yes, island as in Hawaii, here in Bodega Bay, don't get me started...

Lucas Wharf Restaurant & Bar
595 Hwy. 1
Bodega Bay, CA 94923
(707) 875-3522
Open everyday for lunch and dinner
11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays

Gorgeous Weekend on Bodega Bay Waters

This has been one of the nicest weekends in Bodega Bay in a long time. After an unusually long, foggy summer, we finally enjoyed clear skies, no wind, and temperatures in the 70s!

Of course, the beaches were packed, Doran Beach’s parking lots were full by midday and a steady parade of visitors streamed through town up Hwy. 1.

The water was really the place to be! It was such fun to see kids wading along the mud flats in the harbor, powerboats cruising out to sea, and a colorful Hobie Cat race, the Sharkfeed Regatta, that took place Saturday and Sunday on Bodega Bay, right off Doran Beach. Here are some photos of the festivities.

View across harbor looking toward The Tides Inn and Restaurant.

View across harbor looking towards Old Town Bodega Bay and the abandoned boat.

View of boating channel through the harbor, behind Doran Park campground.

Backside of Doran Park beach and campground.

Sharkfeed Regatta, Hobie Cat Race Sept. 26-27

I think this is a godwit.

Seagull

We finally had an opportunity to take my new kayak out for her maiden voyage and it was a blast! However, I don't have any photos to document the big event because I didn't want to risk getting my camera wet. We set off from Campbell Cove beach, near Hole-in-the-Head. The soft sand makes it a great place to launch kayaks, but it's a bit of hike down from the parking lot.

Campbell Cove Beach. Doesn't this look like a scene from Gilligan's Island?

We rowed along the base of Bodega Head and watched the Hobie Cat race out on Bodega Bay, then turned up Bodega Harbor toward town. Hugging the shore, we passed an enormous flock of what seemed fifty or more beautiful white pelicans on a sandbar-boy I wished I had the camera. As we rowed quietly past, several stretched their wings to reveal the black edges. Here's a stock photo of what they looked like:



We also saw several harbor seals and hundreds of shore birds. Next time I'll try to bring my camera. It was a perfect day to kayak because there wasn't any wind, the water was calm, and the tide was high all day. Even low tide was higher than some day's high, does that make sense? Ttfn!

Volunteers Clean Up Bodega Bay Beaches

We had a lot of fun at Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday! People were in good spirits and ready to work. Weatherwise, we started out with thick fog, but it eventually burned off and we enjoyed a brilliant, sunny day with blue skies over a shimmering Bodega Bay.


We were assigned to Pinnacle Gulch, a rocky area south of Doran Park with several small beaches that you access by climbing over slightly treacherous rocks, especially during high tide, which it was. Because this was a remote area, most of the trash we found had been washed ashore rather than left behind by beach-goers.

Here's the pile of garbage we picked up.

My husband found the large items, I trailed behind him picking up dozens of small styrofoam chunks. Normally I would have overlooked them but after reading about all those tiny fragments of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, I picked up everything I saw. I also found several fishing lines tangled in seaweed. I started really getting into it. With every item, I said, "Yay, I just saved a sea creature from being harmed by this." Here's more:




The event wrapped up with a delicious barbecue lunch for the hundreds of volunteers who helped out along the Sonoma Coast. Sponsored by Whole Foods, the lunch included hot dogs, their incredible Cabbage Crunch salad (my favorite, tied with their Tailgate Coleslaw), chips (have you tried beet chips?), cookies, Honest Tea, and lots of yummy samples from other food vendors. Thank you Whole Foods!


The barbecue was held at the day use area of Bodega Dunes Campground, just north of downtown Bodega Bay. I'd forgotten how beautiful it is in there, a perfect place for a picnic and hike out to the ocean. The trail takes you through the dunes out to South Salmon Creek Beach.





The Coastal Commission's preliminary results estimated 70,000 people scoured beaches, shorelines, and inland locations up and down the California coast, picking up trash and debris, covering over 800 sites. They expect to exceed 1,000,000 pounds of trash when all the totals are in. Great work everyone!

Sea Sick: Press Democrat Editorial

Here's a timely editorial from our local newspaper, The Press Democrat. Remember, this Saturday is Coastal Cleanup Day!

Photo credit: Scripps Institute of Oceanography. University of California scientist Matt Durham, front, pulls in a large patch of sea garbage with the help of Miriam Goldstein during an August research trip to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Sea Sick:
Rising Acid Levels, Floating Trash Are Signs of Ocean Peril
Published: Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. PressDemocrat.com

It isn’t obvious from the beaches on the scenic Sonoma Coast, but the health of the world’s oceans is tenuous. From declining fish stocks to rising levels of acid to a swirling vortex of discarded plastic in the northern Pacific, there are signs that the world’s oceans could present the next environmental crisis.

A new emphasis on protecting streams offers hope for restoring fisheries, as do plans to remove dams on the Klamath River and elsewhere that have kept salmon from reaching their historic spawning grounds.

This summer, California created 22 marine protection zones along the coast from San Francisco Bay to Mendocino County, which should help restore stocks of rock fish and abalone, offering more hope to the state’s beleaguered fishing industry. Similar ocean sanctuaries already were established between Santa Barbara and Half Moon Bay, and more are likely along California’s 1,100 miles of coastline.

Meanwhile, scientists at UC’s Bodega Bay Marine Lab are focused on the threat to marine life from the changing chemistry of ocean water.

Researchers say rapidly rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air — a result of global climate change — are being replicated in the ocean. That, in turn, results in higher levels of acid in ocean water.

Scientists have found evidence that mollusk shells are dissolving and mussel beds are disappearing. Their current study is focused on oysters, but they’re also concerned about long-term consequences for abalone, urchins, clams and other shellfish.

The threat is economic as well as environmental: California’s shellfish industry recorded more than $16 million in sales last year.

“Very little is known about how ocean acidification is unfolding, other than it is,” Susan Williams, the director of the Bodega Bay Marine Lab, told Staff Writer Bob Norberg. “We are already seeing dramatic effects.”

Another dramatic effect of human activity is the huge field of discarded plastic trapped in a gyre of ocean currents between Hawaii and Japan. Known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, by some estimates it covers an expanse of ocean the size of Texas and includes as much as 100 tons of plastic, most of it discarded on land.

UC San Diego researchers recently visited the zone and found some large pieces, including stuffed toys, buckets and bottles. But the small pieces, many smaller than a thumb nail, concern them most because they’re easily swallowed by seabirds and marine mammals. Japanese scientists recently reported that the plastics break down faster in the ocean water, releasing contaminants that may add to the threat to marine life. Scientists fear there may be another patch of plastic waste in the south Pacific.

It may be impossible to clean up the plastic that’s already there, but it’s one more good reason to think twice about how you dispose of trash.

25th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day Saturday, September 19, 2009

California Coastal Cleanup Day is part of a huge international volunteer event focused on the marine environment. In 2008, more than 70,000 volunteers worked together to collect more than 1,600,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes, and waterways.

Since the program started in 1985, over 800,000 Californians have removed more than 13 million pounds of debris from our state's shorelines and coast. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year.

This year's local cleanup for the Sonoma Coast is Sept. 19 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and the staging area is at the Salmon Creek Ranger Station. They suggest that you pre-register for all beach sites or call (707) 829-6689 for more information. But if you forget to call, it's still okay to just show up on Saturday morning, ready to help.

Debris from the Garbage Patch washed ashore in Hawaii.

The need for cleanup is more urgent than ever. By now many of you have been hearing about the horrific the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Technically known as the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, it's an area devoid of ocean currents where floating objects tend to collect.

But "patch" is a misnomer. More than 7 million tons of plastic now clog an area roughly twice the size of Texas. There's six times as much plastic in the gyre as there is plankton, which form the base of the ocean's food chain. And plastic never biodegrades; it only breaks into ever-smaller particles called "nurdles," which often resemble plankton and are mistakenly eaten by bigger sea creatures. Not only do nurdles cause malnutrition, they also tend to concentrate persistent organic pollutants like PCBs and DDT . . . with toxic effects on unsuspecting marine diners. Here's a video from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation.



Plastic gets into the ocean when people throw it from ships or leave it in the path of an incoming tide, but 80% of marine debris comes from urban run-off, when rivers carry it there, or when sewage systems and storm drains overflow. Despite the Ocean Dumping Reform Act, the U.S. still releases more than 850 billion gallons of untreated sewage and storm runoff every year, according to a 2004 E.P.A. report.

Plastic only photo-degrades, or slowly breaks into smaller and smaller pieces, but still remains a polymer. And plastic has been proven to absorb toxins up to one million times background levels in ambient seawater, making the floating plastic a defacto poison pill. Because of their buoyancy and persistance, most of the debris that either entangles sea creatures or found in their stomachs, is made of plastic.

Groundbreaking research has been conducted aboard the ORV Alguita under the direction of Captain Chales Moore, shown in this longer video.



Isn't this depressing? I'll be there to pitch in next Saturday and I hope you can join me. It's the least we can do.

Resources:
California Coastal Commission
Algalita Marine Research Foundation
Plastic Debris