Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Garter Snakes are common on the Mendonoma Coast. They can be several feet long. They eat snails and banana slugs and pretty much everything else they come across as they are carnivorous. Luckily for Huckleberry, he is way too big to attract this snake's attention.

Huckleberry does not like snakes or reptiles. I've seen him jump up into the air and BACKWARDS when he sees one slither along. Recently Rick and I spotted a Garter Snake on a forest path. As you can see, Huckleberry saw it too.

The snake is in the right lower corner. And Huckleberry's fur is standing up on his back. A fun photo for you today!

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Rattlesnakes prefer warm climes than the Mendonoma Coast. There are legends of a rattlesnake hitching a ride on a logging truck and falling off near the ocean. Perhaps that is what happened here. But there were two of them spotted within a week.

The first one was seen near a road at Gualala Point Regional Park by Kathy Bishop.

It was identified by Gary Nafis as an adult Northern Pacific Rattlesnake. It appeared to have been run over by a vehicle and it soon died.

However another adult was seen several days later at the south end of The Sea Ranch. Jim Merryman photographed the head and the tail.

I wondered if these extremely unusual sightings of rattlesnakes could be because they are searching for water. Gary Nafis told me they don't drink water. He said, “Rattlesnakes get most of their water from food, which they’re always looking for until they find it and go underground to digest. They often need to travel out of their usual home territories in their search, which could be happening here. Both snakes are adults, so it’s not a case of juveniles looking for a place to settle.”

Jim said about an hour after his sighting he saw a White-tailed Kite with a snake the same size as the rattlesnake so perhaps the Mendonoma Coast is once again free of rattlesnakes.

To see Gary Nafis' fascinating website about amphibians and reptiles, here is the link: californiaherps.com

Thanks to Kathy and Jim for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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Jinx McCombs was surprised to find this little Western Brush Rabbit in a flower pot on her deck.

We have two types of rabbits on the Mendonoma Coast - these little "bunny" rabbits, Brush Rabbits, and the larger Jackrabbit.

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

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Rick and I were traveling down Highway 1 a week ago Tuesday and the fog was hovering bluff-high. With the morning sun shining on the fog, a beautiful fogbow formed. Rick was able to pull over and I tried to get a photo. My auto focus wouldn't focus on the fogbow, much to my frustration. Then Rick told me to switch to manual and I got this photo.

Fogbows are also called white rainbows. Now that I've finally seen one, I can move on to my next goal - to see a Moonbow! With autumn approaching and the first of our rains, there is a chance to see this very rare occurrence. The moon needs to be full or close to full with showers opposite it. I would dearly love to see one.

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I can't resist sharing one last photo by Kathy Bishop of a cute Gray Fox Kit lounging in the sun.

This little fox is exemplifying the Sea Ranch motto of living lightly on the land.

We are having a heat wave on the Mendonoma Coast. With no fog on the horizon there was a beautiful green flash last night a sunset. Tonight should be another great chance to see this phenomenon.

To see a photo of a green flash, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/02/07/the-green-flash-was-photographed-by-richard-kuehn/

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