Opinion
PAT NEAL: The composting chronicles
IT MIGHT HAVE been the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson who was credited with saying, “build a better…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Disaster preparedness month
SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL Disaster Preparedness Month. It’s time to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A good time on the Peninsula
1890 WAS A good time to be on the Olympic Peninsula. That was before the coming of the…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Heed the wilderness warnings
IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news. We almost didn’t need a bombshell press release from Olympic…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The season of harvest
SEPTEMBER IS THE season of harvest, when we gather the fruits of our labors. It is the realization…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A case of mushroom fever
BY NOW, I think we’ve all had it up to here with people complaining about the rain. That’s…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The wrath of the Thunderbird
YOU KNOW LIGHTNING’S getting closer when you feel the thunder in your bones. That’s how close it got…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The seven stages of device deprivation
WITH THE MIRACLE of climate change, people living in the southern states of this great experiment in democracy…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The legend of the paper salmon
AS GOODWILL AMBASSADORS of the tourist industry, it is our civic duty to share our precious local knowledge…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Firewood fever is catching
WITH THE RECENT spell of rainy weather, firewood fever has hit the land. It’s time to cut firewood…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A friend of the salmon
BEING A GUIDE on the rivers of the Olympic Peninsula calls for more than just a big hat,…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The perils of fire season
EVERY YEAR ABOUT this time, people who live in the woods start to get a little nervous.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The joy of camping
IT’S THE SIMPLE things that I enjoy most about camping, like the smell of burning driftwood and watching…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The Fish Cop Employment Security Act
IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news. The 2024-25 Washington state fishing regulations came out.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Salmon berry season
Salmon berry season marks the beginning of the berry picker’s year.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Sweet backpacking bliss
IT WAS GOING to be one of those days. From the dawn’s early light to the twilight’s last…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Baiting the tourists
FROM THE ACIDIFIED ocean to the melting glaciers, the Olympic Peninsula has seen an unprecedented invasion of tourists…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The bears are awake
“WHERE CAN I see a bear?” the frantic tourist asked. This is a common question among the seasonal…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A bad bunch of bugs
IT IS DAYLIGHT in the swamp. The faint cooing of the band tailed pigeon ushers in the dawn…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Sasquatch Days are here
IT’S TIME ONCE again for the third annual Sasquatch Days in Forks this Memorial Day weekend from May…