They’re baaack! Over a decade after an epidemic nearly wiped out populations in the Pacific Northwest, sea stars have rebounded. Darcy Osborne discovered dozens of purple ochre stars at low tide, on her recent visit to Sitka’s Whale Park. (Darcy Osborne photo)

Summer in Sitka for many may sound like a string quartet,  the rumble of buses, or the sizzle of black cod collars on a grill. But nature is really never far away. Darby Osborne, with the Sitka Sound Science Center, recently visited Whale Park, to remind herself just how vibrant summer can sound. She sent this audio postcard.