Mel Smith photographed this red Crab, which was inadvertently caught by a fisherman at the end of the Point Arena Pier.
I sent Mel’s photo to Carol Preston of NOAA. She wrote back, “It’s a Kelp Crab, Pugettia producta. It has two color morphs, red or olive green. This is a red color morph.” Mel said he has seen the green ones, but this is his first sighting of a red Kelp Crab.
Thanks to Carol for her expertise, and thanks to Mel for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Paul Brewer is back on the Mendonoma Coast from his holiday travels. He came back just in time to photograph this morning's beautiful sunrise.
I photographed it too, though my view has trees in the way towards the south. The pinks and purples seen through the trees was dramatic too, and the ocean appeared a deep purple for a few minutes as you see in Paul's photo.
Sunrises are so fleeting. They are often the reward for getting up early, something I do regularly.
Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is his website: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/
We are receiving lots of weather warnings in advance of several "juicy" storms. It will be an interesting seven to ten days of LOTS of rain. Here on the Mendonoma coast we are battening down the hatches!
Before the "Rivers of Rain" arrive late Friday, here is a beautiful January sunset photo taken by Mike Nelson.
To see the sunbeams shining down through the clouds feels like a gift. And Mike's photo allows me to share it with you. Thank you, Mike!
We have a lot of rain in our forecast. And Californians say, "Bring it, Mother Nature!"
Rozann Grunig wrote, “On Christmas – and Hanukkah – morning, I awoke to see this rainbow from a north-facing window. It wasn’t raining, but the sunrise was full of pinks and oranges. It lasted perhaps 20 second, then was gone.
“I showed my photo to George’s cousin, a former military pilot. He said this is virga, which is rain, ice or mist in the clouds that evaporates before hitting the ground. It causes streaks of light as the sun refracts light through the moisture.”
Thanks to Rozann for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
It's our earliest wildflower, the one with the unlovely common names, Slink Pod and Fetid Adder's Tongue, Scoliopus bigelovii. I recently found one blooming in our forest. You can see its leaves are just peeking up at the base of the stem.
This is what we look like trying to find one of these tiny wildflowers. This photo was taken by C'Anna Bergman-Hill a few years ago, the very same place I found them last week.
Craig Tooley took this close-up photo, which is in our book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year. Yes, it's a MUCH better photo than mine! The leaves of this member of the Lily family are distinctively mottled. If you find the leaves, which can grow to 12 inches long, you know where to look for the earlier-blooming flower next winter.
Thanks to C'Anna and Craig for allowing me to share their photos with you here.