Tag Archives: Mark Hancock

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There was a nice break in the stormy weather this several weeks ago, though dark clouds occasionally blocked the welcome sunshine. Those dark clouds brought rainbows. Mark Hancock photographed an unusual one near the Point Arena Lighthouse. He wrote, “I've never seen such a flat rainbow, it was so vivid and right above Arena Rock off the Lighthouse Peninsula.  Really beautiful. I made sure everyone on my staff took a look and they all agreed it was pretty unique.”

Such a low rainbow is rare. I learned that the position of the sun in the sky plays the crucial role in determining the height, or lack thereof, at which the rainbow appears. As the sun climbs higher, the rainbow drops lower. We usually see rainbow in the mornings, and sometimes in the late afternoon.

You can see sights like this at the Point Arena Lighthouse. Learn more about it at this link: https://www.pointarenalighthouse.com/

Thanks to Mark for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Clouds this morning, sunny this afternoon, with rain arrived early tomorrow, Friday. Maybe we'll have more rainbows!

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I'll let Mark tell the story. He wrote, "Hi, Jeanne!  On my way back to the Lighthouse from S&B Market the other day my eye was caught by an explosion of pink in the Evergreen Cemetery off of Mountain View Road.  I pulled into the cemetery and there were Naked Ladies everywhere!  I walked around the grounds taking pictures and looking at some of the headstones from the 1800s, and at the far end of the cemetery a fox decided to join me on my walk.  It stopped by one of the headstones and looked at me as if to say, aren't these flowers amazing?

Amazing, indeed and it's fun to see the Gray Fox! Naked ladies are non-native bulbs. By the time the flower stalk comes up, the leaves are gone - hence the naked  lady. They aren't invasive so we are free to love them.

Thanks to Mark for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

After yesterday's downpour, we had a sunny, cool day today. The horizon looks clear so perhaps there will be a green flash tonight at sunset. Hope so!

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Bowling Ball Beach is part of the California State Parks system. It's known for these round rock formations that fall away from the cliffs. At low tide they do look like bowling balls. Mark Hancock recently visited at a minus tide and got these photos.

Mark wrote, "The tide was so far out beyond the bowling balls and the colors of the seagrass and mosses against the sandy tone of the balls was beautiful. A truly magical morning walk on one of the most unique beaches in the world!”

To learn more about Bowling Ball Beach and  the adjacent Schooner Gulch State Beach, here is their website:https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=446

The Schooner Gulch access to the south is much easier than the direct route to Bowling Ball. That route is challenging until State Parks repairs the access.

Here is a description of how the "bowling balls" were formed, from the website atlasobscura: "...the so-called bowling balls are actually a geological phenomenon known as “concretion,” sedimentary rock formed by a natural process wherein mineral cements bind grains of sand or stone into larger formations. These boulders are the result of millions of years of concretion and erosion, exposing the hard spheres as the mudstone of the cliffs receded around them."

Thanks to Mark for allowing me to share his photos with you here. Another of Mark's photos will be in Thursday's Independent Coast Observer with my column, Mendonoma Sightings.

Fog, fog and more fog close to the ocean, but it's sunny on the ridge. I have fog in front of our house and sun behind it!

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Mark Hancock sent in a sighting that I didn’t know was possible to see, the Lost Coast. Mark wrote, “On Thursday morning, Feb. 4, I was greeted by one of my favorite and rarest sights as I crested Lighthouse Road, and the Point Arena Light Station came into view. The horizon was so crystal clear that you could see the ghostly images of the King Range on the northern ocean horizon! I have seen this maybe 20 times in my five plus years at the Lighthouse, and it always takes my breath away. Considering that the King Range is about 120 miles away, we get to see just the peaks of the 4,000 feet tall mountain range." Sara Bogard was there to take these photos.

How wonderful to know that this can be seen on a super-clear day! Thanks to Sara for allowing me to share her photos with you here, and thanks to Mark for telling the story.

We have some rain coming in for Thursday into early Friday, and then it is predicted to be sunny and warmer. I saw my first Milkmaids, Cardamine californica, today, a wonderful native wildflower.

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The Point Arena Lighthouse bluffs are a great place for many types of sightings. Mark Hancock wrote, “We have recently had perfect conditions for Fogbows at the Lighthouse. While giving some lodging guests a personal tour of the Lighthouse Tower, they were treated to one of the best ones I have ever seen.

It went from one side of the Tower, around the Tower shadow on the ground, and then to the other side. It was a wonderful experience for the guests as they had never heard of, let along seen, a Fogbow before!”

What a beautiful sighting! To learn more about our favorite lighthouse, including the accommodations, here is their link: https://www.pointarenalighthouse.com/

We had some dark clouds this morning but no rain. This afternoon is sunny and cool.