Gary Levenson-Palmer captured this beautiful sight.
Lots of white water, and perhaps some sea foam. Thanks to Gary for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Still many power outages but we've had a break from the rain today. More raining beginning tonight. Wow!
Don't get close to the bluff edge, especially after all the rain we've had here on the Mendonoma Coast. Roxanne Holmes didn't get wet with this crashing wave, but it was a close call! You can see a big wave forming behind this crashing wave.
Gail Jackson went to the Gualala Bluff Trail and got these photos.
It's pretty thrilling to observe the power of the ocean at moments like these.
Thanks to Roxanne and Gail for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
It's raining as I type this. So far this season I've recorded 37.15 inches. 50 inches total is a normal winter, to give you perspective. I'm on day eight of no power, and I've run out of propane for my generator. But I'm getting help to keep the generator on for short periods of time with 5 gallon propane cylinders. Wood stove is going, and a certain kitty I adopted loves laying in front of that stove. Many others here on the coast are in a similar predicament. We help each other as we can, and we smile through the experience...because, really, what else can you do?
Seasonal creeks are full of water now, tumbling on their way to the Pacific Ocean. Craig Tooley recently photographed some of the cascades on Quinliven Creek.
And if you could hear the creek, you would find out it is singing!
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
We received well over three inches from yesterday's storm. Season to date is 35.10 inches. And more rain coming in tonight.
Scoliopus bigelovii has two strange common names - Fetid Adder's Tongue and Slink Pod. They are our earliest blooming wildflowers and they are found on the forest floor. The tiny, exquisite blooms come up first, with the stem barely cupped by the emerging leaves. The blooms are only about an inch or so high, so they are quite hard to spot. I recently showed photographer Craig Tooley where they were blooming on a neighbor's property.
They are members of the Lily family. The flowers will be long gone when the leaves fully emerge. If you find the large mottled leaves in the spring, note where they are growing so you can look for the flowers next winter. Rick and I always started looking for them on Christmas Day, and this year I found the first one on Dec. 26th.
Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com
Much of the Mendonoma Coast has no power. The towns of Gualala, Anchor Bay and Point Arena are without power since yesterday's storm. I am posting this with the help of a backup generator. We had a wild and very windy storm, which was the culprit for the power outages. Many trees are down. It will be several days before power is restored. The rain totals for yesterday's storm was 2.45 inches, 29.95 season to date.
Perry Hoffman slowly approached the resting Harbor Seals, who were lounging on the sandbar on a sunny day. Don't they look happy and contented?
A Common Raven appeared, perhaps looking for remnants of the Harbor Seals' meal. The Harbor Seals didn't seem to mind.
Lastly, Perry saw a beautiful rainbow on New Year's Eve.
Now that's a nice sighting for the last day of the year.
Thanks to Perry for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Perry's nature photography, here is the link to his website: https://magentaraven.com/
A big storm is hitting the Mendonoma Coast now. With the first wave, in the wee hours of Wednesday, we received 0.75 inches. Lots more coming down now. Power it out for many of us. I am fortunate to have a backup generator, which is how I can send this to you today. Batten down the hatches!