The brown pelicans are here. We found a shed flight feather on the sand.

We think we found weasel tracks in the sand. Not dog or cat or rat or raccoon. Little weasel tracks. By the time I got them with a camera, the sun was up and the tracks had begun to fall in. You will have to take my word. A weasel. There has been a weasel in the neighborhood at least since the 80s when I first saw one dart across the front yard. A weasel watched the electricians replacing a rusted out meter box. Our cat Leakey had an on-going feud. Then it was gone, but maybe it is back again, or more likely a cousin after all this time.

The tide scrubbed cold water up from the bottom of the ocean and dozens or hundreds of aged dead crabs were tossed on the sand, many of them 8 inches across and nearly all males. The other day as the sun came up during our morning walk we could see odd color in the sky, a gilded haze from the fires elsewhere in the west.

Our family came for the weekend and we had 8 adults and 5 children between the ages of 2 and 6. There was a bit of chaos.

And then Gary and I picked blackberries. They are early this year. I meant to gather only a handful to combine with nectarines, but there were so many!

My mother always said you could tell a pie was done when it began leaking and bubbling over.

A good month so far.