Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Charlie Ivor called to tell me he had seen a Ring-tailed Cat at dusk this past week. It was eating an apple that Charlie had tossed over the fence for the Deer. I have only had three or four sightings of a Ringtail, Bassariscus astutus, in the past seven years, so you can see it is a rare sighting.

Amy Borge has had a family of Ringtails living in her wood box. Amy sent in several photos and one is of a baby as you will see below.

Below is an adult in Amy's wood box.

And here's a Ringtail that got caught in a Have-a-Heart trap and photographed by Frank Aszklar. It was then let go.

Ringtails are shy creatures. They are good mousers and it's said they can be tamed. They are related to Raccoons. Below is a map that shows where in the world you can hope to see one of these exotic-looking creatures.

Thanks to Amy and Fran for sharing their photos with us here.

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Rick and I were shocked when we noticed the Paper Wasp nest in our birdhouse had been attacked and destroyed. The nest that they attached to the inside ceiling is gone and no wasps are coming and going.

Skunks are predators of Wasps, so we are pretty sure one was the culprit.

To see what the outside of the birdhouse looked like before the Skunk ripped it apart, here's the link:
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/07/22/the-strangest-thing-one-of-our-birdhouses-was-recently-taken-over-by-paper-wasps/

And here's a photo of the wasps coming and going:
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/07/28/close-up-photos-of-the-paper-wasp-nest-in-our-birdhouse/

It was a beautiful work of art before the Skunk had its way. I've read to prevent this from happening again, you should tack up aluminum foil on the inside ceiling of the birdhouse. Then the wasps wouldn't be able to attach their nest. Looks like I'll be doing that this winter. I would prefer birds in our birdhouse!

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Sus Susalla is the Executive Director of the Gualala Arts Center. A few months ago the Art Center had a class called, "Introduction to Night Photography." Sus took the class and just look at the results.

What a spectacular photo! The Point Arena Lighthouse shines in the night sky. Thanks to Sus for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

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Ken Hofer enjoys surfing up Point Arena way. There are several nice surfing spots on the coast. Here's a photo of Ken and his surfboard, with Ken's wife, Carol, very much enjoying the sunny day.

Thanks to the Hofers for allowing me to share their photo with you here.
To see some of our areas surfing spots, here are a few links: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/05/20/surfing-on-the-mendonoma-coast/
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/08/03/surfing-off-arena-cove-in-point-arena-as-photographed-by-michelle-schubert/
http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/12/14/surfing-at-black-point-beach-and-a-day-of-unusual-visibility-in-the-pacific-ocean/

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Agaricus augustus, The Prince, continues to make its royal appearance. Rick and I saw a new group of this edible mushroom growing just off our road in Anchor Bay. They are having a long fruiting season this year. Irma Brandt photographed these on the last day in May. She called them soldiers on Memorial Day.

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

Update: The paper wasp nest that took over one of our birdhouses has been wiped out, probably by a skunk. I'll post a photo tomorrow.