Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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The dark of the forest is brightened with the sightings of Western Trilliums, Trillium ovatum. As I learn more, I pay attention more. I had noticed the red stems earlier this month with the leaves closed like hands praying - that's if one had three hands. As the days went by the leaves slowly opened to reveal the exquisite white flower. Here's a photo from our place in Anchor Bay that shows three stages of development.

You should never pick these wildflowers as it seriously sets the plant back. The leaf-like bracts by the flower provide food for the next year. Just enjoy their loveliness in their natural habitat.

We are having a wild and cold storm today on the Mendonoma Coast. The rain is very welcome. With the storm cells marching across the Pacific Ocean, there might be some wonderful sunset photos to share with you tomorrow. And I almost can't believe my eyes when I just now looked out the window and saw it was snowing! That's an extremely rare occurrence here.

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Ron LeValley recently photographed a Pygmy Nuthatch characteristically moving head-first down the trunk of a Pine tree.

Ron says, "Creepers go up the trees and Nuthatches go down!" I asked him what the Nuthatch does when it reaches the bottom. Ron replied, "It flies up to the top and heads down again." They are, of course, looking for insects and seeds on the tree.

Their call is quite distinctive and you can hear it on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website at this link: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pygmy_Nuthatch/sounds

Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Ron's wonderful photography, here is his website: http://www.levalleyphoto.com/home/

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Ken Bailey was on The Sea Ranch when he spotted this young Bobcat. You can clearly see its tufted ears in Ken's photos. Lynx rufus is its Latin name. They can be seen in the daylight hunting rodents in grassy meadows.

I have it on good authority the The Sea Ranch has a plethora of Gophers and other rodents. That is why several healthy Bobcats are thriving there and living lightly on the land.

Thanks to Ken for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see more of Ken's photography, here's the link to his website: http://www.seadreams.org/  He has taken some fantastic underwater photos and you can see them via this link.

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Meyers Grade is an alternate route to Highway One found at the top of Jenner Grade. It adds a scant five or so minutes to any journey north. It's very lovely and has beautiful views as you can see from Robert's photo.

Rick and I will take this route as a change of pace, particularly if the coast is socked in with fog. This road changes name several times. When you reach Timber Cove Rd. turn left and return to Highway One. This was nicknamed the Million Dollar Bypass some years ago when Highway One was closed by a slide. It does bypass some of the scarier parts of the highway and we have friends who routinely take it when they visit us.

Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

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Harmony Susalla and her friend, Fred Adler, were hiking by the Gualala Point Regional Park campground. The small but exquisite campground is framed by the Gualala River. Harmony took a beautiful photo that shows the wonderful melange of colors in February.

It looks rather like a painting, don't you agree? Thanks to Harmony for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Harmony creates organic textiles. I wonder if the above scene will inspire her to create a new fabric. Here's her website: http://www.harmonyart.com/

To learn more about Gualala Point Regional Park, one of the jewels on the Coast, here's the link: http://www.sonoma-county.org/parks/pk_glala.htm