Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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When Jinx McCombs looked at the chip in her trail cam, she found about 100 photos of this Mountain Lion, which was seen near Point Arena.

This is the first sighting of a Cougar since last Summer, Jinx said. Seeing this big cat, also called a Puma, is a thrill.

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

Oh, the wind! It is extremely windy today as a front crosses over us. The house is shaking from today's wind! The wind is suppose to calm down overnight and the forecast is sunny and warmer for the days ahead.

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Beautiful Western Azaleas are blooming now, along with Pacific Rhododendrons. Michele Melio recently photographed one of the fragrant azaleas.

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

Sunny and mild today with NO WIND! Yay!

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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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Shari Goforth-Eby saw a Gray Whale mother and calf swim northward, passing by Gualala Point Beach recently. She photographed the calf.

Note the stubby head of the young whale. Also, the calf has no barnacles. Here's a photo of an adult Gray Whale, taken by Paul Brewer for comparison.

Scott Mercer tells me the lagoons off Baja have emptied of Gray Whales, so the mother/calf pairs are on the move northward. We've had so much wind, which whips up the ocean and makes it nearly impossible to see whale spouts, that it's been difficult to spot them. The breeze died down today, so we'll be watching the ocean!

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

No wind, and the temperature dropped twenty degrees from the very warm weather we had yesterday. Just a gentle, cooling breeze off the ocean!

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Like a ghost in the deep forest, this Phantom Orchid, Cephalanthera austiniae, is a gem to discover. I  have never seen one but I hope to rectify that. Laura Baker photographed this beauty.

These orchids have no chlorophyll. They depend on a symbiotic relationship with fungi to thrive.

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

If you'd like to watch my presentation of the rarest and most beautiful Sightings photographs, which was sponsored by the Mendocino Land Trust, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2492W3BJIQ

It's sunny today but the wind is blowing very hard. No need to comb your hair, as the wind will have its way!