Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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King Tides, the extra high tides, were experienced this past weekend. Rick Denniston photographed some of the action at the Gualala River. The Pacific Ocean was spilling over the sandbar and into the river.

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

I've received quite a few photos from the big minus tide event that is paired with the King Tides. I'll be showing you some of the intertidal animals soon.

You can see some blue sky in Rick's photo, and our clear weather continues today. Temps are in the 60's and there is only a hint of a breeze.

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Candy Cap mushrooms are a delight to find. David Arora writes in "All That the Rain Promises and More" that they are abundant under pine and oak. Last Saturday, Amy Ruegg photographed two of these members of the Lactarius family on a trail at The Sea Ranch.

She also photographed this beautiful sunset at Pebble Beach, TSR.

Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Sunny and mild, temps in the 60's today. We know it won't last but we're enjoying the warmer, sunny weather for now!

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I love Cedar Waxwings but I don't see them very often. Ron Bolander recently photographed one of these beauties.

Ron also found a White-tailed Kite resting on branches. Nice!

And a female American Kestrel in flight.

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

The weather is sunny and mild today. The Pacific Ocean has calmed down after all the storms. Last night a friend and I witnessed a green flash at sunset. These dry days are so welcome after all the rain. Crews are working along Highway One today, clearing downed trees that were pushed to the side of the highway. Lots of heroes here on the Mendonoma Coast!

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Craig Tooley and Rita Peck visited a local beach. Craig wrote, “We were walking along the beach and discovered this Crab, trying to escape from the big waves, I guess.”

Then a bad boy or girl appeared, a Common Raven. The Raven spotted the Crab and nabbed the Crab for its dinner.

Craig wrote further, “I guess this Raven heard that crab was the thing to have as part of a New Year's celebration.”

I was curious as to what kind of crab Craig had photographed so I send his photos to Bob Van Syoc. Bob wrote, “The crab looks like Cancer antennarius, a Rock Crab that lives in rocky (duh) intertidal reefs.”

ah, the food chain in action. It's not always easy to watch!

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

A smaller storm is hitting the Mendonoma Coast this afternoon. When it is done, the forecast is for sunny and warmer weather. We need it to dry out!

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Paul wrote last Thursday, "Beautiful waves all day but awful windy to try to photograph. I braved the wind this evening and thought you might enjoy seeing what the wind brought us. However, hope the wind is gone tomorrow."

Wish I had a recording to share with you, as the waves were booming - oh, the sound was so loud! It felt like the Mendonoma Coast was shaking from the force of those waves.

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/

We have one more storm coming in tomorrow, Wednesday, a smaller storm. After that the weather is forecast to be storm-free for the next seven days. We need to dry out a bit. I've recorded 43.65 inches in our gauge, season to date. A "normal" winter at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay is 50 inches. So we are having a heck of a winter so far!