John Williams

We're beginning year eight of Salish Magazine with an issue about “Insects”.
This initial release contains a page of poems and a fascinating article about an insect which tunnels its way forward, like a miner working deep in the earth.
Here it is: salishmagazine.org/issue-29/

We're coming up on mushroom season, so here's a link to a great article from 2019 Salish Magazine. Our 2025 Autumn issue will begin to show up soon... salishmagazine.org/think-like-a...

CALLING Writers, Artists, Poets, Photographers, Filmmakers, and Audio artists for the Winter 2025 Issue of Salish Magazine — Theme: “Nature’s Recyclers"
If you think you might want to submit some content on this theme, find details at:
salishmagazine.org/call-for-submissions/

Berry plants gift us with color. How do berries get their colors? Why are they colorful in the first place? What kinds of berries can be observed locally throughout the year?

Here is the last [belated] article of our Summer issue of Salish Magazine.

salishmagazine.org/a-rainbow-of...

This photo essay follows several young explorers as they discover berries and other parts of the berry ecosystem. From browning maple leaves, Mahonia flowers, and thimbleberries, to a rough skinned newt, these youngsters do more than observe, they create art.
salishmagazine.org/nature-walk-...

Three species of blackberry grow around the Salish Sea. One is native, but the other two are invasive species.
This article illustrates the make-up of blackberries, and it discusses some similar species as well as blackberry ecology.
salishmagazine.org/blackberries...

We've added another article to our Berries issue of Salish Magazine...a tree visited by berry gulpers, sap eaters, and gleaners with photos and sounds.
Take a look (and listen):
salishmagazine.org/our-rowan-tr...
Photo above is a berry cached in a rowan tree and is by Thomas Noland.

Blush Before the Salmon by Celeste HankinsSummer 2025 Along the edges of the Salish Sea, the salmonberries blush first. The rose-pink blossoms give way to amber and ruby fruit as the salmon begin their long journeys home.

New article in Salish Magazine.
Along the edges of the Salish Sea, a blush presages the return of the salmon. The rose-pink blossoms of salmonberrries give way to amber and ruby fruit as the salmon begin their long journeys home.
Take a look: salishmagazine.org/blush-before-the-salmon/

The theme of our summer issue of Salish magazine is “Berries.” This initial release contains 2 pages of poems about berries, with a variety of perspectives and styles: roots, nectar, bees, jam, tie-dyeing, prickles, and of course, taste explosions — sometimes a surprise: salishmagazine.org/issue-28/

New Life is prevalent in the spring, and here is a photo essay which shows some of that new life in the Salish Sea region as well as some things which lead to new life: salishmagazine.org/images-of-ne...

A ground-nesting bee on some blades of grass.

Some great bee photos accompany this story of bees that we can see in our Salish Sea region. In addition to their life history, this article tells about the social styles of bees and their phenology: their different activities (or inactivity) throughout the year.
salishmagazine.org/springtime-bees

Finding a long-toed salamander under a fallen log is a special experience. A new article in Salish Magazine tells about research on long-toed salamanders in the Union Bay Natural Area — and about the critters' life history.
salishmagazine.org/salish-sea-s...
photo by Julianna Hallza

As I've been seeing the ferns (and bracken) unfolding this spring, it reminded me of an article we published a couple of years ago about native evergreen plants: from huckleberry to honeysuckle, from stonecrop to kinnikinnick (which was flowering recently). salishmagazine.org/gardening-wi...

New Article for Salish Magazine:
salishmagazine.org/herald-of-sp...
They make a very recognizable sound, and they're out there now waiting for you to visit!

Salish Magazine's spring theme is New Life, a time for birth, growth, & flowering. It’s a time when the big, invisible cycles and webs of nature are perhaps most apparent. So far, this issue contains some poetry and artwork. More articles will follow through the Spring.
salishmagazine.org/issue-27/

The last article for our Winter issue. Can a marine creature have an important relationship with the air? The air can propel “rafts” of “by-the-wind sailors.”
salishmagazine.org/by-the-wind-sailor/
(photo by Rick Harbo) Spring issue will be online soon!

Today I saw dozens of brants nearshore at Point No Point. I guess they're on their way to Alaska.
Help support Salish Magazine through the #KitsapGreatGive www.kitsapgreatgive.org/organization...

Aerial Relationships Plants and air have a complex relationship. Plants exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen with the atmosphere, but the relationship some plants have with air is rooted even deeper.

AERIAL RELATIONSHIPS
Animals are not the only spreaders of pollen and seeds. This article takes look at the air around us being used by a variety of plants to aid in their reproduction. Nature certainly has a very diverse set of approaches. salishmagazine.org/aerial-relat...

End of December I found eggs in a nest in my outdoor firewood stack. Nest materials included feathers, plant parts, and plastic. Eggs were about 7/8" long. I cracked one and it was liquid inside. I left them on my deck. Today they were still undisturbed, no other critter interested apparently. 🌎

A duck with its head down in the water seeking food.

EGGS ON A JOURNEY
by Christina Jarvis
This is just a small piece of Christina's artwork which offers an answer to the question: how do fish get into isolated bodies of water? Visit the web page to see the whole image and the rest of the story:
salishmagazine.org/eggs-on-a-jo...

Exploring the superpowers of moss | Planting Curiosity Join Rachael Tancock as she uncovers the surprising world of moss, a small but mighty plant that plays a big role in our ecosystems. Short documentary produced for CBC Creator Network.

I just saw, "Exploring the superpowers of moss", a 6 minute video examining many facets of moss in the ecosystem: microscopic peeks, it even turns rocks into soil. Filmed in British Columbia, aired via Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. I hope to see more like this: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

Dance of the Fairy Moth Those extravagantly long, white antennae are impossible to miss! Easily twice the length of the insect’s white striped forewings, they sway ever so slightly in a breeze.

New article in Salish Magazine: To attract the female fairy moths, the males “dance” in swarms above and on the flowers of our native ocean spray. But witnessing the aerial dance of the male fairy moth eluded me. Until . . .
salishmagazine.org/dance-of-the...

The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp This web-based book celebrates the power of art and science to tell the story of kelp forests on the North Pacific Coast.

I discovered a web site which tells many facets of the kelp forest story, doing an amazing job of it — with images, video, words, references, and no advertising. It also has menus to let you choose different perspectives, such as region, forest community members, restoration, etc. bullkelp.info