 It's about time I do a blog entry on California's official state mollusk. Banana slugs are the decomposers of the redwood forest and your journey into the forest is not complete until you spot one of these suckers, which isn't hard to do because they are very plentiful.  A typical slug can grow from 6 to 10 inches.  When in danger the slug will emit a thick mucus coating and make their body shorter and fatter!  Banana slugs need a lot of moisture so on a dry day, they are often found next to a creek, wrapping themselves in the moist plants.  Slugs use tentacles to sense their environment. The "eyestalks" on the top detect light or movement.  Itty bitty baby!  How many banana slugs do you count above? I found 10!
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I grew Sunflowers last summer and took these pictures as they opened up. It's that time of year again to go down to Pierson's and get starters for a new round of gardening...         After crossing the Samoa Bridge heading toward Manila from Eureka, make a right and Ma-le'l Dunes will be down Young Lane on your left. There is a North and South side, each with various trails that branch off in all directions, encompassing coastal dune, forest, wetland, and estuarine ecosystems. After passing by a small forest of Sitka Spruce and Beach Pine, the trail transforms from green pastures to enormous, dunes that are seemingly endless, spreading as far out as the eye can see. The entire time one can hear waves lapping against the shore and taste salt in the air, but with no visual proof of the ocean itself until the very end, which is a rewarding vista. Meanwhile, splashes of wildflowers dot the dunes with bright yellow, purple, and pink hues. It's an incredible feat that these delicate, flowering creatures can root themselves in the ever-moving sand and extract drinking water from the salty sea.          Wedding Rock It's was the Monday before finals week and my significant other and I were feeling stressed to the max, so we decided to forget our obligations for the day and spend the morning tide-pooling at Patrick's Point State Park. First we hiked to the glorious vista atop Wedding Rock and from there we took the Rim Trail to Patrick's Point for a peek and then climbed down to the base of Rocky Point just in time for low tide. We spotted numerous orange, red, and purple starfish and aquamarine anemones. We saw tiny striped fish and even the monstrous Sunflower Star swimming with the current. Finally the huge crashing waves became too prevalent to ignore so we booked it out of there fast, making our way along the Rim Trail to Palmer's Point for the sweeping view at the end.  The start of The Rim Trail  Leading to Patrick's Point  Walking through the coastal rainforest is dream-like... as if the bunnies hopping along the trail should be wearing waistcoats.  This is Rocky Point where there are always sea lions honking nearby... This is where we went tide-pooling  Sunflower Star, so beautiful!  Anemone  A mama and her baby grazing at Palmer's Point The following pictures were taken while tide-pooling at Palmer's Point and Trinidad Beach on different occasions...      | AuthorMy name is Bailey Fletcher and this is a record of my Humboldt Moments, which I began recording for a Journalism class in 2011. ArchivesMay 2012 |
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