Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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I keep looking for this wonderful edible mushroom year after year, but I've never found one. Alex Kun hit the jackpot when he found this bounty of Boletus appendiculatus, Butter Boletes.

UPDATE: David Arora let me know that this mushroom's scientific name has been changed. It's now classified as Butyriboletus persolidus. To read more about these mushrooms, here is a link to Arora's article titled "Clarifying the Butter Boletes" - http://davidarora.com/uploads/Clarifying_the_Butter_Boletes.pdf

butter-boletes-1-by-alex-kun butter-boletes-2-by-alex-kun butter-boletes-3-by-alex-kunAlex wrote, "Behold the elusive and relatively rare Boletus appendiculatus. More specifically, a beauteous bounty of bulbous Butter boletes. Everything goes better with butter!”

These boletes are found in the early autumn under hardwoods like Tan-oak. All Alex would say is he found them south of Gualala within one mile of the Mendonoma Coast. Lucky guy!

Rick and I found this beautiful, big Queen Bolete late yesterday [the cap is darker than it looks in the photo - it's quite dark brown], Coccoras are nearly everywhere, and more Matsutakes are peeking up under the duff. What a great mushroom year we are having!

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

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White-tailed Kites have been sighted recently here on the Mendonoma Coast. Sometimes affectionately called "Hover Birds," they are seen hovering in the sky while they search for a tasty rodent. Allen Vinson got this beautiful photograph.

white-tailed-kite-by-allen-vinsonHere's another photo of Allen's where the Kite landed on top of a tree.

white-tailed-kite-by-allen-vinsonThese raptors have a rather musical chirp. Here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology if you'd like to hear it: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Kite/sounds

Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see more of Allen's nature photography, here is the link: http://allenvinson.smugmug.com/

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That's the title of David Arora's pocket field guide to mushrooms. And as he lives on the Mendonoma coast, pretty much all foragers here have this guide. Here are some mushrooms that have recently arrived on our property in Anchor Bay.

First I was happy to find a couple of Queen Boletes a few days ago. They have a darker cap than the Kings, and their stem isn't as fat. They are delicious. When I trim them and remove the sponge underneath the cap, I gather up the trimmings and scatter them outside in suitable habitat - yes, I'm hoping for more!

queen-bolete-by-jeanne-jackson Also fruiting in abundance now is the edible amanita, Coccora. These mushrooms have a deadly lookalike, so you must be extremely careful with  your identification. They are nicknamed "Creamy Tops," as one of their characteristics is a cottony-like white top. You can scrape it off with your finger.

coccoras-by-jeanne-jackson-2The Fly Amanitas are also up in abundant numbers. I love watching these mushrooms evolve as they grow. Arora will tell you they are edible if you parboil them twice, throwing out the water between boiling. I find them in sunny spots here.

fly-amanita-by-jeanne-jacksonIn this basket I also have Matsutakes. They are so distinctive, with their cinnamon smell. They grow in sandy soil.

a-basket-of-mushrooms-by-jeanne-jacksonThe wonderful rains have brought back mushrooms after five sub-par years. For the many critters in the forest that feast on them, including we two-legged critters, we rejoice in their return.

David Arora has a mushroom event coming up soon. To learn more, here is his website: http://www.davidarora.com/events.html

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On Wednesday we had high surf warnings. So Rick and I, with our golden retriever Sunny, headed for Hearn Gulch to see if the blowhole was in action. It was!

blow-hole-at-hearn-gulch-by-jeanne-jacksonHere's a short video of the blowhole going off. I didn't capture much of the noise because of the loud ocean noise up on the bluff. It just booms when it goes off like this, a big WHOMP!

Hearn Gulch is found just north of Iversen Road in Mendocino County at mile marker 10. To learn more about it, here is the link to the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy - http://www.rc-lc.org/ You can also learn about Cooks Beach and the Gualala Bluff Trail. Thank you, RCLC!

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Beth Kattleman took a recent kayak trip on the Russian River. She had visitors, Harbor Seals, and they sure were curious about her!

harbor-seals-looking-at-me-by-beth-kattlemanBeth's photo reminds me of a photo of Craig Tooley's that we included in our book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year. He and Rita Peck were ocean kayaking off of The Sea Ranch when these CA Sea Lions checked them out.

sea-lions-seen-from-a-kayak-june-by-craig-tooleyYou can almost hear them talking - hey, what's happening? Seen any tasty fish? Can you come and swim with us?

A little fancifulness for you today as we try and recover from the election.

Thanks to Beth and Craig for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com