When a storm moves on it sometimes leaves unsettled weather behind it. That was the case recently when we had rainbows, even a hail storm and beautiful sunsets. Bettye Winters photographed one of the rainbows near Irish Beach.
And below is the hail storm, which I photographed from our deck. It hit us some minutes later.
And the few remaining clouds made for a dramatic sunset Friday night.
Thanks to Bettye for allowing me to share her rainbow photo.
Kay Martin's heather bush is in full bloom and, as she put it, butterflies are kissing the blossoms. She photographed a lovely American Lady Butterfly nectaring on the plant.
Then another butterfly arrived - this one was a Painted Lady.
Thanks to Kay for allowing me to share her photos and thanks to Ron LeValley for the identification of these beauties.
Gray Whales have been seen most days this past week. It looks like the southward migration has already begun. On Thursday Rick and I took a hike at Gualala Point Regional Park and were rewarded with the sighting of a pod of perhaps six whales. They were just west of Gualala Point Island, the rocky island you can see in the left side of this photo. There are two spouts on the right side.
And then we found our first Boletus edulis, a King Bolete, yesterday.
One of the most delicious edible mushrooms on the Mendonoma Coast, they are always a treat to find.
Craig Tooley photographed this Red-shouldered Hawk. Craig named it "Ichabod Hawk" as it appears to have no head.
No, it's not Photoshopped. The Hawk was looking back and down when Craig took this photo. Below you will see the Red-shouldered Hawk in all its glory.
Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos with you here. The first one gave me a laugh.
To see much more of Craig's wildlife photography, here's the link to his website: http://ruffimage.com/
The Mendonoma Coast is experiencing higher numbers of Pine Siskins and Red-breasted Nuthatches. Ron LeValley informed us that cone-producing trees to the north have failed to produce enough feed for these birds so they have migrated into our area. I love the nasal call of the Red-breasted Nuthatches. They sound like tin horns in the forest. Rick and I hear their calls every day.
Pine Siskins aren't so raucous. One particular bird happened upon a get together of friends on The Sea Ranch recently. It first flew to the shoulder of Dick Balch and then proceeded to walk around his back to the other shoulder. Then it flew to George Anderson's finger where it stayed for a while. Kathy Anderson had retrieved her camera in time to get this photo.
