The ever-intrepid watershed walkers had trekked their way down the side of a slope at Loch Lomond to the water’s edge in the middle of the hottest day of July 2010. Graduate students from Chris Wilmer’s Puma Project Lab at UCSC, who collar the cats, held up their antennae and began receiving radio signals immediately.

Some might consider Robert Ludlow Jr. a “medical miracle”: In 1952, he severed his spinal cord in a swimming accident and was told that he would die within six months. Even if he did survive, the chances of becoming a successful businessman were low.

When it comes to ocean fishing, you can take your pick, as many species are biting. Offshore waters have produced albacore, while along the canyon edges, salmon fishing remains strong. Inshore fishing for rockfish, lingcod and halibut has been very good. Striped bass continue to be caught along the beaches for shore-based anglers.

Which came first, the gardener or the writer?