Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Crab season was delayed from the Gualala River north because the Dungeness Crab samples weren't big enough. Since the waters off the Mendocino Coast have been opened to commercial fishing, crab boats have been plying our waters. Bettye Winters photographed a boat off of Irish Beach. She said the boat's light lit up her room.

 The boats work day and night.

The fog is about to catch up to the crab boat. Lovely photo. Thanks to Bettye for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

To see a photo of Crabs arriving at Point Arena Pier, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/01/24/dungeness-crab/

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Robert Scarola couldn't believe what he was seeing - a Harbor Seal precariously perched on a rock, apparently asleep. Those must be sweet dreams as the Harbor Seal looks so happy.

Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share this smile-inducing photo with you here.

Harbor Seals will be giving birth to pups in April. Here's a link to see a mom and her pup by Craig Tooley :http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/07/27/sweet-photo-of-a-harbor-seal-pup-with-its-mom-taken-by-craig-tooley/

And to see a spectacular photo of Harbor Seals crowned by kelp, here's the link to Siegfried Matull's photo: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/08/24/a-photo-of-harbor-seals-crowned-with-kelp-by-siegfried-matull/

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This past week Cathleen Crosby and her granddaughter, Tali, came across a small Pacific Tree Frog on The Sea Ranch. The way it's looking at Cathleen's camera makes me think this frog has an attitude! This would be a fun photo to have a caption contest.

This is the only frog who's call is "ribbitt, ribbitt." It is usually green but can change color to help camouflage itself. These frogs are found on the West Coast all the way up to British Columbia. To see another photo Cathleen took of a Pacific Tree Frog on a spa, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/10/21/a-tiny-frog-with-a-big-voice-meet-the-pacific-tree-frog/

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Trilliums, Trillium ovatum, have been blooming for several weeks. When they are young the bloom is white. But when they age a bit the bloom begins to turns pink. I noticed a few pale pink blooms the other day.

 And Redwood Violets have begun to bloom in sunny spots on the forest's edge.

Violet is the flower, not the color, which is obviously bright yellow!

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On a recent mushroom forage with my husband, Rick, we found Black Trumpets, Chanterelles and Hedgehogs. There is a veritable feast in the forest if you know what to look for!

Rick spotted this golden Chanterelle hiding under Huckleberry bushes.

 And I had luck spotting the hard-to-see Black Trumpets, which are also more properly called Horn of Plenty.

And this is what we did with the Hedgehogs we found - a wonderful omelet this morning.

That's homemade huckleberry jam on the english muffins. Life is good!