Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Harbor Seal pups are being born on secluded beaches off the Mendonoma Coast. Shari Goforth-Eby, using her long lens, photographed some of the action. The first photo shows the newborn with his/her mom, already in the water.

And in the second photo the young harbor seal rests on the sand. Perhaps the mother has gone into the ocean to feed. Not to worry! She will be back to nurse her sweet pup. Please keep your distance during this important time. If a harbor seal looks up at you, you are too close to the bluff edge.

Here is a link to my most recent Sightings interview with KGUA's Peggy Berryhill on April 15. For the first time it was videotaped live on YouTube, unbeknownst to me until the end! Fast forward the first five minutes or so. https://youtu.be/oWO_8O7UX6E

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

We had a nice rainstorm early this morning. There was .55 inches in our gauge. Any rain is welcome during this drought year! The rain clouds have gone and it's a beautiful afternoon.

 

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Audrey Fields was fortunate to find a beautiful Pink Star Tulip, Calochortus uniflorus. She photographed it so we can enjoy seeing it too.

These rare plants are found in moist meadows. They  have very short stems.

Thanks to Audrey for allowing me to share her photo with us here.

It's a cool, cloudy afternoon on the Mendonoma Coast today. We have a storm coming in tomorrow evening, for which we are very grateful!

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Last year Mel Smith found three rare Groundcones on a neighboring property. I've been looking ever since to see if there might be a few on Rick's and my land. A few days ago, I was rewarded. I present to you this rare sighting of Groundcones, Kopsiopsis hookeri.

There is a lot of sandstone where we live, and these parasitic plants are growing in the sandy soil.

Our neighbor's property shares several other sightings with our land - matsutake mushrooms in the winter, Sugarstick, another unusual parasitic plant, and mixed forest and shrubs, which include manzanita, huckleberry, Bishop pines, Tan-oak, Redwoods, Douglas Fir, and more. Sugarsticks, Allotropa virgata, are just barely peeking through the forest duff. Here is a photo from a previous year of these beautiful plants.

There is something magical going on underneath our feet!

It's a beautiful spring day on the Mendonoma Coast. The wind has died down, and the clouds are gone. There is some much-needed rain coming in late this weekend. Fingers crossed!

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Grace O'Malley was at the right place at the right time. A beautiful fogbow appeared just off Stillwater Cove.

Just lovely! Fogbows are also called white rainbows. Here's what earthsky.org says about them: "Fogbows – sometimes called white rainbows, cloudbows or ghost rainbows – are made much as rainbows are, from the same configuration of sunlight and moisture. Rainbows happen when the air is filled with raindrops, and you always see a rainbow in the direction opposite the sun. Fogbows are much the same, always opposite the sun, but fogbows are caused by the small droplets inside a fog or cloud rather than larger raindrops."

Thanks to Grace for allowing me to share her beautiful photo with you here. To see more of Grace's photography, here is her website: https://graceomalleyphotography.com/

ooo, it's windy here today! Sunny and mild, but very windy.

 

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Mark Simkins and Kitty Wolfe have sightings of a Bobcat near their Manchester area home now and then.  Last week this Bobcat emerged from the foliage and sat in the sun for a bit.

Here is a photo of a Bobcat kitten Mark took a few years ago. Just look at those big paws!

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

oh, it's a beautiful day on the Mendonoma Coast. The fog has pulled back over the ocean, and it's sunny, calm and mild. Wildflowers are beautiful now.