Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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On and off storm systems have brought dramatic clouds to the Mendonoma Coast. Karen Wilder was out at the Point Arena Lighthouse bluffs and she captured this lovely sight.

 

Sunrises have been striking too. I photographed this one from my deck in Anchor Bay on Oct. 19. A vision of loveliness in pink!

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

Rain and more rain! The  temperature is quite mild and the rain continues to fall today. A big storm is due in Sunday, an atmospheric river of rain. Will it be enough to open the Gualala River? We'll be watching.

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Irene Leidner was walking at Gualala Point Regional Park when she saw something white ahead of her. She thought it might be a piece of trash. But when she got closer she found she had found the rare and endemic Fringed Corn Lily in bloom.

Irene said it was if the sun had come out!

It's interesting to see the leaves are mostly intact. Usually, by the time this plant flowers, the leaves have been riddled with holes made by munching insects.

Thanks to Irene for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

We had a vigorous storm yesterday! 1.6 inches in our rain gauge, and a total of 4.2 inches season to date. More rain is coming in tonight, and tomorrow is suppose to be very wet. What a blessing October rain is for the land, and the rivers and creeks.

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Black Turnstones overwinter on the Mendonoma Coast - they breed far to our north. Mike Reinhart recently found a group foraging at a beach at The Sea Ranch. In flight you can see their beautiful markings.

Black Turnstones are shorebirds and they do turn over stones and kelp to find food. Mike photographed one standing on kelp which has washed up on the beach. The bird overturns bits of kelp to find flies and eggs and other tasty morsels.

This Turnstone has some sand on its beak!

To hear their high-pitched calls, here is the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Turnstone/sounds

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

We had a nice storm this afternoon, Sunday. October rain is such a blessing. We have a lot of rain in our forecast too. Thank you, Mother Nature!

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Eric Zetterholm noticed this Bobcat sitting in a meadow at The Sea Ranch.

Suddenly the Bobcat rose up and began staring at Gopher holes. Eric watched the cat with the tufted ears try to get a tasty rodent, but this time the Bobcat was unsuccessful. Just look at the intensity in the Bobcat's face!

 

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

Saturday is a spectacular day, warm with no wind. Last night, watching with friends, we saw a beautiful green flash at sunset. There is blessed rain in our forecast!

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Rozanne Rapozo visited the lagoon of the Gualala River a few weeks and she found dragonflies. For many of us, dragonflies are difficult to photograph because they move so fast. But Rozanne got a wonderful photo of what I thought were mating dragonflies. You will see they are reflected in the river.

I sent Rozanne’s photo to Kathy Biggs. Kathy wrote the book Common Dragonflies of California. She wrote, “Beautiful image of ovipositing Variegated Meadowhawks. They have already mated and now he is tandem guarding her as she lays their eggs. If he didn’t stay guarding her, another male might grab her and remove his sperm, so they stay in tandem. This is a migratory species but these two look pretty fresh still. SUCH a gorgeous photo!"

Rozanne got another photo of these two beauties.

Isn't this fascinating? Thanks to Rozanne for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We had a little misting rain this morning, but blue skies are now the order of the day!