Amy Ruegg photographed this jaunty-looking orange Bat Star recently.
This member of the family Asterinidae comes in many different colors. Bat Stars have webbing between their arms, which resemble bat wings. They live in the intertidal zone and they help keep the ocean clean by eating algae and dead animals. Amy photographed this Star at low tide, the perfect time to go tide pooling.
Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
After a storm we often have a rainbow day. Melissa Scheaffer captured a full rainbow over Irish Beach.
Melissa speculates that the pot of gold might very well be at her house on the right!
Thanks to Melissa for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
All these storms have brought big surf. Bill Oxford went out between storms to Black Point Beach on The Sea Ranch. He said the waves were massive.
We had a big storm today, which brought over two inches of rain. And it's still raining this afternoon. The weekend and the first of next week is predicted to be dry, so we will have a chance to dry out.
Thanks to Bill for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Bill's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://searanchphotos.com/
We soared past 50 inches of rain at our place in Anchor Bay. That's our average rainfall for the entire year! So it's not a surprise that waterfalls would be flowing beautifully now. Mel Smith took a hike on the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands recently and photographed this waterfall.
Mel was out on a rare sunny day, as we've had storm after storm roll in. This weekend is predicted to be sunny and mild, a perfect time to visit the coast. To find this waterfall, here is a link to a previous post with directions: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/06/15/a-hidden-waterfall-on-the-stornetta-public-lands-in-mendocino-county/
Thanks to Mel for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Hearn Gulch is such a beautiful spot, with a sea tunnel and a blowhole. Eric Duff recently photographed the scene at sunset.
Here is a photo Eric took a while ago that shows the sea tunnel with the setting sun shining through it.
And here's a photo of mine of the blowhole in action.
You find Hearn Gulch just north of Iversen Road in Mendocino County. Parking is along Highway One at mile marker 10.0. To learn more, here is the link to the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy: http://www.rclc.org/
Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photos with you here.