Park Wavelengths - Saturday, April 23, 2016
The Lyrid meteor shower may be seen through April 25, originating from [near] the Lyra constellation on the eastern horizon. Usually, in clear conditions about 20 per hour may be seen. [The radiant point for this shower is near the star Vega in the constellation Lyra, which rises in the northeast at about 10 pm at this time of year. By the pre-dawn hours, the radiant point will be almost straight overhead for those in northern California, although the light from the full moon may make it challenging to see any of these meteors.- Ed.]
New [land]slides have appeared at the Chimney Rock Headlands. Be sure to stay on the main trail and not venture towards cliff edges.
Blooming along the Bear Valley Trail is the creek [sic] dogwood left at an old cabin site! It is on the left side of the trail heading out to the coast, about 10 minutes down the trail. Poppies and small lupine are appearing in the pastures behind Bear Valley. [The non-native dogwood that was planted on the east side of Bear Valley Creek and is located about a quarter-mile south of the Bear Valley Trailhead is a Cornus nuttallii (mountain, Pacific, or western dogwood). Cornus sericea (American dogwood, creek dogwood, redosier dogwood, red osier dogwood, red willow, redstem dogwood, redtwig dogwood, red-rood, or western dogwood) is native to Point Reyes, may be seen in many locations throughout the park along creeks and marshes, and has clusters of small white flowers and red-colored twigs. Cornus nuttallii is more conspicuous than Cornus sericea when in bloom, with relatively large, showy white bracts, which many mistake for the petals of the dogwood flower. The flowers, as opposed to the bracts, are small and inconspicuous—2–3 mm across—and produced in a dense, rounded, greenish-white flowerhead that is 2 cm in diameter.- Ed.]
It is the last week for Stephanie Martin's show of prints at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Coming up on May 2 will be the annual display of California Coastal Commission [annual Poetry and Art competition child and teen] winners artwork and poetry.
Also, [this is] the last week for applications for the Youth Conservation Corps summer program, [which are] due on April 29.