Two big events tomorrow: The Inverness Fair by the Inverness library from 9am to 3pm. Music, food, books and all sorts of great stuff. Later, The Lucid Art Foundation presents “Night of Rhythm and Poetry: From Formless to Form,” featuring poetry and recitations by Fariba Bogzaran and Kim Rosen alongside Middle Eastern, Persian and classical Indian music, at 7:30 p.m. at the Dance Palace.

Photos from last year's fair: http://www.sparselysageandtimely.com/blog/?p=20502

1:32pm - CHP is staked out at IP this afternoon. Keep your Friday cool, calm and safe.

A letter released today shows that twelve ranchers resigned on July 25th from the Point Reyes Ranchers Association. If anyone has any further details on the story, please let me know. Here is the letter.

Well. I was trying avoid DBOC talk this week but signs are getting spray painted, emotions are running high and there is quite a brouhaha breaking out over at the Point Reyes Light FB page. Apparently half the Point Reyes Ranchers Association resigned recently in response to the handling of a letter to Cicely Muldoon.
The resignation letter is posted there along with a full explanation (see the comments on the post). Would love to hear what else people know about this because it probably won't be published in either of the local papers (or at least it hasn't yet from what I can tell).
Here is the link:
https://www.facebook.com/pointreyes.light/posts/812648178780243

"National parks in Marin County brought $496 million in spending to the area and helped employ 5,505 people in 2013, according to the study. In 2012 the figure was $469 million.
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore and Muir Woods National Monument generated about one-third of the overall $1.5 billion visitors spent in association with national parks in California in 2013."
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_26269492/marin-national-parks-rake-money-despite-last-years

"On August 5, 1973, Park Ranger Kenneth Patrick was shot and killed while making a traffic stop at Point Reyes National Seashore, California. The vehicle that he stopped contained several members of a militant group, known as the Black Panthers. One of the men opened fire on Ranger Patrick with a 9 mm handgun as he approached the car, wounding him. Ranger Patrick was wearing a winter coat and was unable to draw his weapon.
Read more: http://www.odmp.org/officer/10420-park-ranger-kenneth-carmel-patrick#ixzz39aA8JsY1

4:28pm - Another accident north of Inverness Park. Traffic control in place. Weird traffic day on SFD.

11:02am - Injury accident just north of Inverness Park, hopefully not too bad. (Thx AP)

Yet another secret spot of the day. This is a beauty. (Thx Alex) #pointreyes #ssotd #treemunched

@marinij - A chance of rain with a possibility of thunderstorms is forecast overnight Monday, with a wet commute possible Tuesday. ow.ly/2Ld4pI

Secret spot of the day. Well worth the hike. #ssotd #pointreyes #guanoisland

VLBR (very large bike ride) in West Marin today. Use caution, have patience, share the road. Thanks!
- Marin Fire

Secret spot of the day. Name the beach. (Thx @kneelo)

CHP staked out at Perry's. Drive safe. As you always do.

Via Richard Dillman, "More Point Reyes Potties - Marin County ranger installs screening behind which lurks a row of porta-potties along the south wall of the Grandi Building. Rejoice, ye visitors with full bladders!" I've noticed these things springing up around town...

On the sports front, former Inverness resident (and former Boston Red Sox) Jonny Gomes was trading to the Oakland A's this morning. He must be stoked to be back in the Bay Area. Oh yeah, and Cespedes was traded too.
Trade:http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/11290302/jon-lester-traded-oakland-athletics-yoenis-cespedes-boston-red-sox
Gomes From Inverness story: http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13020471

Via Phoebe Bryan, "Hello. My families dog went missing today From my dad's shop blue slide art tile. We think he might have gotten picked up by someone because he didn't have a collar. Here is his picture."

For all of you not participating in the 'healing advocates' group hug, there is a farewell ceremony tomorrow at 11am at the Drake's Bay Oyster Company out in the park. It will last about an hour and parking is limited, so plan accordingly. More info here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Drakes-Bay-Oyster-Farm/111934439492

Lots of great photos of old school Marin and some of West Marin in a new Facebook page called 'Lost Marin'. We should start something like this for out here. Hmmmmm. (thx Marc).
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lostmarin/

Quote of the Week: "All “healing advocates” should gather somewhere and have a nice hug fest."
http://westmarincitizen.com/news/heal/

From a local salmon fishing report yesterday: "We saw a great white kill and eat a small porpoise off McClures." Wow. I thought they didn't come back until September. (artist rendition of the shark)

Someone scored a pretty sweet ride. #oldschool #boat

This isn't a very fun article to read, but if you were hoping (like I was) that El Nino was going to rescue us from the drought, I would update your expectations.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2014/07/difference-engine-2

From the police reports this week. Wild baby pig? Lost baby pig? Dangerous baby pig? Reminds me of rabbit sketch from Monty Python's The Holy Grail:
Sir Robin: What's he do? Nibble your bum?
Tim: He's got huge, sharp... er... He can leap about. Look at the bones!
King Arthur: Go on, Bors. Chop his head off!
Sir Bors: Right! Silly little bleeder. One rabbit stew comin' right up!

Levee road in #pointreyes is backed up to whitehouse pool. Plan accordingly.

The Far West Fest in #pointreyes in full effect. The Crux rock the main stage.

Car commercial time on Lucas Valley Road at the reservoir. Expect delays. #hollywood

It's going to get wild today! We've got the Farmer's Market in the morning, then Far West Fest in the afternoon and an after party at the Old Western Saloon. Plan your travels around town accordingly and we'll see you out at Love Field! More information here: http://farwestfest.org/

"Allies of Drakes Bay Oyster Co. announced Friday they had secured an agreement with the National Park Service to give the embattled Marin County oyster farm 30 days’ notice before ordering it to shut down operations in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
The agreement “ensures the status quo,” enabling oysterman Kevin Lunny’s company to continue harvesting oysters until a competitor, Tomales Bay Oyster Co., can get its case before a federal judge, possibly in September, said Stuart Gross, a San Francisco attorney representing Tomales Bay."
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/2435732-181/drakes-bay-oyster-companys-allies

Car commercial time on Lucas Valley Road at the reservoir. Expect delays. #hollywood

Update on the warm water situation: "Wondering why our local ocean temps are so warm? Hint: not #elnino! Lack of upwelling the reason." Water temps are dropping fast right now. - via NWSBayArea
https://twitter.com/NWSBayArea/status/492313399385001986

Marin County authorities are warning hikers to beware of a man claiming to be a park ranger who in the past month has kicked dogs, taken photos of women with a cell phone and given out false information about dog rules. (thanks Sharron)
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Warning-to-Marin-County-hikers-Beware-of-fake-5639951.php

Local legend Banana Levinger is playing at the Station House tonight from 5pm to 8pm.

Tree and power lines and AT&T lines down Lower Roberts Drive off Drakes View Drive
(Thx Richard)

The Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM) is holding their annual meeting tonight with a special discussion about the Coast Guard property in Point Reyes. Please attend and be a part of the conversation. 6:30pm at The Dance Palace.

The salmon was selling like hot cakes in downtown #pointreyes tonight. (thx Suzanne)

The new Black Mountain Circle Film Series starts tonight with a screening of the Sundance award winning film, "A River Changes Course" at 7:30pm at the Point Reyes Presbyterian Church. A Q&A with the filmmakers follows the screening.
Point Reyes Books created the series, it is curated by West Marin filmmaker Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee and Sausalito Film Festival Co-Director Allison Faust. More info here:
http://www.ptreyesbooks.com/events/black-mountain-circle-film-series-river-changes-course

A new lawsuit has been filed by a number of local businesses led by the Tomales Bay Oyster Company, Margaret Grade, Stellina and the Saltwater. Apparently they're seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to stop the closure of the DBOC before July 31. The filing is here, that's an impressive list of defendants:
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/4:2014cv03245/279168

CHP SUV back in business on Lucas Valley Road today. Drive safe.

A lone surfer contemplates his good fortune in West Marin.

Rambling Jack Elliott is playing tonight at the Pine Cone Dinner in a benefit for Zeke. From 7pm - 9pm, don't miss it. Every time you see Jack, its like being a part of music history.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pine-Cone-Diner/199746200126483?hc_location=timeline

BREAKING: serious brush fire on Sir Francis Drake in Inverness near #pointreyes (thx Adam)

Whoa, major rainbow alert in #pointreyes, anyone see that one? Both sides of the bay. #gold thanks @kneelo

The hills light up with gold in #pointreyes

"The number of great white sharks that prowl the waters off Tomales Point, Stinson Beach, Duxbury Reef and Bolinas for marine mammals is larger than previously thought, according to a new study." Good news in that 'just don't eat me please' kind of way.
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_26138912/study-more-great-white-sharks-off-marin-california?source=rss

Saturday, 9:45 pm Levee Road, Point Reyes Station California Highway Patrol parked roadside, lights off. (thanks Marc).

Richard Dillman gets his telegraph on for the Night of Nights at the old Marconi station in #pointreyes

There's a pretty rad cookie and juice stand right now in Inverness Park. Stop and get some local goods from Sheamus and Paloma.

Tonight is a 'super moon' full moon. Hopefully the skies clear way. "According to folklore, we call this full moon the Buck Moon, Thunder Moon or Hay Moon. Because it’s a super moon, and relatively close to Earth, expect higher-than-usual tides in the days ahead."
http://earthsky.org/tonight/july-12-supermoon-first-of-three-superrmoons

Point Reyes Farmer's Market today! At the Chef's Booth they've got pastry chef Chrisin Anderson baking pies with kids, and on the Music Stage Fran Guidry returns to sweeten the air with Hawaiian slack key guitar. Such Sweetness! Both events at 10 a.m. Market opens at 9 for early shoppers.

Art Rogers has a photo exhibit up at SFO now through the end of August. I love that this is where it is: Terminal 3, Departures - Level 2 - Post-Security. So I guess you can only see it if you're flying somewhere.
http://www.flysfo.com/museum/exhibitions/19245/detail?num=4#sthash.EP29nQj8.dpuf

The CHP are very active at Perry's right now. And I don't mean buying lunch. Although they probably are doing that too. Just a reminder to always drive safe and slow down where the peoples are.

21 new US Citizens were sworn in today at Bear Valley. I'll bet this is pretty cool to see, sorry to have missed it. (photo by Sharron Rummery twitter: @USCISMediaSF)

"The federal government has given Drakes Bay Oyster Company until July 31 to shut down the cannery and oyster shack and remove its personal property from the shores and waters and Drakes Estero, according to farm owner Kevin Lunny.
That property includes the cannery equipment, 20,000 oyster bags containing millions of oysters and five miles of oyster racks—though the farm and the National Park Service disagree on who is responsible for the latter, which has a longer 90-day window for removal."
http://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/oyster-farm-close-shack-and-cannery-julys-end

Found this via The West Marin Citizen. If you're going to make a video of the tug of war, might as well do it right. Drones and all. Well done.
http://vimeopro.com/user10128179/stinson-beach-vs-bolinas/video/100144744

While on a surf check to the beaches, someone stumbled upon the wild dogs of #pointreyes. No owner in site, hopefully they made it home ok.

This Friday (7/11) at 8:30 am on KWMR, Supervisor Steve Kinsey and TAM Executive Director Dianne Steinhauser will talk about transportation in West Marin, including a discussion of an innovative ridesharing program using the free smartphone app Carma. More information is on http://car.ma/sfbay.

Terra Livingston just opened a new store in Petaluma called 'Opera House Collective'. Looks amazing.

Can you identify this mystery creature found at the beach in #pointreyes this weekend?

Caught off guard tonight by an epic sunset in #pointreyes

OYSTER UPDATE: I have know idea what any of this means. "It looks like the last oyster may finally be shucked at the Drakes Bay Oyster Co. by the end of December, judging by what both sides in the long legal fight over the future of the farm said in federal court Monday. Then again, maybe not."
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/End-may-be-near-for-Point-Reyes-oyster-farm-5605362.php

A lot of the sirens over the weekend were due to rescue crews going out to check on Will Schmidt who is SUPing from Canada to Mexico to support Wounded Warriors battling depression. Everything ended up being ok. Amazing journey for Will.
http://www.areyouinspiredyet.com/

Really nice art exhibit right now at The Wounded General in Inverness Park. Stop by and check it out.

Today at 2:00pm: "Join us for a conversation with stage and film actor Frances McDormand and writer and director Joel Coen, moderated by Commonweal board member, Eric Karpeles." Star power.
http://tns.commonweal.org/events/mcdormand-coen/#.U7mL2PldV8F

Black Toyota Tacoma being cleared from SFD by Dream Farm. All clear now. What a weekend for car mishaps.

"In Bolinas, Stinson Beach's men defeated Bolinas in 9.23 minutes, reclaiming the tug of war title they lost last year. Bolinas women, however, won their contest."
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_26093976/marin-celebrates-fourth?source=rss

The sirens are for a car on its side by Tomales Bay Oysters on Rt 1 #pointreyes

I got the information for the Fourth of July races out of the Point Reyes Light. Some local folks have told me they start at 10 and there is no food. So I'm completely confused and apologize for other folks confusion.

Careful, car off the road just before Inverness on SFD. #pointreyes

"July Fourth festivities in Inverness take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the annual footraces and food for purchase in front of the firehouse." And by annual footraces, I mean the 'once-a-year opportunity to have your pride crushed' in front of everyone.

1:00pm - CHP on Novato Blv at Petaluma-Point Reyes road today. (Thanks Matt).

A temporary beach closure on the Great Beach between North Beach and Abbots Lagoon is in place from Friday July 4 through July 6th to protect nesting snowy plovers during this critical phase. In 2013, of 11 newly hatched chicks, only three survived past the 4th of July weekend. It is hoped the temporary closure will protect this threatened species. (via Loretta Farley)

Someone picked up a basket of tennis balls from in front of our family house in Inverness last night between 6:30 and 9:30. They were sitting in front of the gate at 98 Camino del Mar in Seahaven. Maybe this person thought the basket and balls were abandoned there? If so, would you please return them? My brother, Xerxes Whitney, a tennis coach and sixth grade P.E. teacher uses them to give lessons and in his classes at Windsor Middle School. Just please bring them back and leave them where you found them, no questions asked. (via Dakota Whitney)

A teenager was pulled into the beach break today at South Beach in #pointreyes and barely made it out (waves pic just before incident). Please remember to be safe at the beaches and don't be afraid to tell others to get out of the water. (Thanks to Kneelo for pics and story).

BREAKING NEWS: Point Reyes oyster farm denied Supreme Court hearing
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Point-Reyes-oyster-farm-denied-Supreme-Court-5589634.php

I happened to find this on the Twitter from this week's local papers. Is this a typo or just a very poorly written report? Or a miracle? Was a shark involved? (@daudig)

8:41pm - Anyone else hear all the gun shots on the bay? Hunting ducks or what?

A shallow magnitude 3.2 earthquake was reported Saturday evening, 14 miles from Bolinas, Calif., in Marin County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 6:51 p.m. Pacific time at a depth of 3.1 miles. In the last 10 days, there have been two earthquakes magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-earthquakesa-earthquake-32-quake-strikes-near-bolinas-calif-fhnx6q-story.html

So this week the Point Reyes Light has a fantastic photo from Art Rogers of a Great White that was caught off of Point Reyes and displayed out front of Tobys in 1976.
http://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/art-rogers-family-album-june-26-2014
AND they have a lead story on the 'mystery shark bite' in Tomales Bay a few weeks ago, on the list of suspects apparently is a Great White: "Ms. Ludwigsen’s bite has puzzled some of the nation’s foremost shark experts: the cuts are not deep enough to match the teeth of a vicious predator like a great white shark, but attacking a human would be unprecedented behavior from docile bottom-feeding sharks that breed in Tomales Bay. Many of the researchers had guesses, but no one was sure."
http://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/tomales-bay-swimmers-shark-bite-puzzles-experts
Coincidence? I think not! It's Shark Week at the Point Reyes Light!!!

Tigger - the West Marin School cat has been missing since Tuesday night. He is easy to recognize as both his ears were removed to save his life from cancer. He is beloved by the staff and students of West Marin School where he has lived for many many years. If you see him please notify the school office, Point Reyes Animal Hospital (663-1533), or Planned Feralhood (663-8497) (via Kathy Runnion)