Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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It's no secret we've had a fairly dry winter - at least so far! Last night we had a beautiful sunset, which was accented by a very short green flash. Here's a photo just before the sun set, taken from our deck in Anchor Bay.

Today we are enjoying spring-like weather. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom in the forest. Redwood Sorrel, Oxalis oregana, has just begun to bloom. The leaves are purple underneath and they close if the sun hits them. Yes, they love the shady forest where they reside

In the top of this photo you can see the distinctive, splotchy leaves of a Fetid Adder's Tongue.

And I'm happy to report that the northward migration of Gray Whales has begun. On Sunday five Grays were seen, two of which were Calves. Hooray for our Gray Whales!

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One of my favorite birds on the Mendonoma Coast is the Acorn Woodpecker. We have a pair that is in residence year 'round but others will be migrating into our area soon. A friend described them as "secret agents" because they bob their heads this way and that, while hanging on our feeder. Jim Garlock recently captured a nice photo of an Acorn Woodpecker in flight, headed straight for Jim's feeder!

To see another photo of these brightly colored birds, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/08/14/two-acorn-woodpeckers-at-my-feeder-one-seems-to-be-saying-are-you-done-yet/

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This past week we've had high surf on the Coast. John Sperry photographed the Pacific Ocean in full boil mode in the Timber Cove area of Sonoma County. You can see the mist the ocean is throwing into the air. Just beautiful.

Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see another dramatic photo of the Pacific Ocean that Carolyn André took from The Sea Ranch last month, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/01/09/dramatic-photo-of-the-sonoma-coast-by-carolyn-andre/

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If you walked far enough to the south, to nearly the southern end of the Stornetta Public Lands, you would be rewarded in the winter and spring with a beautiful waterfall. But recently a fracture in the rock has caused the waterfall to come down inside the rock. I was standing where last year the water would have been flowing over and cascading down the bluff face.

If you look carefully you can see the fracture in the rock. You can see just a peek of the water and just down from it on the right is the fracture. One day this part of the rock will fall away and the waterfall will be revealed in all its glory. Tomorrow or fifty years from now?

Some of the beautiful offshore rocks seen while walking the bluff.

                                     
 And here is the sign posted along Highway One. See yesterday's post for the best way to enter the southern part of these most beautiful lands.

To see a photo of the waterfall before it "broke," here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/06/15/a-hidden-waterfall-on-the-stornetta-public-lands-in-mendocino-county/

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Rick and I, plus our golden retriever Huckleberry, took a hike at the Stornetta Public Lands this Thursday. You can see that it was a lovely day. A very low tide occurred while we were there.

 Sea Lion Rocks are only accessible at low tide. The photo below shows this rocky staircase. As this is a Marine Sanctuary, it would be better to stay off these rocks. And you wouldn't want to be caught when the tide changes!

 We kept Huckleberry on a short leash because of sinkholes like this one and the dangerously steep bluff-faces.

 The main access is off of Lighthouse Road, which is north of Point Arena. Before you see the Lighthouse pay station and parking, look on the left. You will see a portable toilet, parking and these rather uninformative signs. Notice that this one still has a picture of a fish, indicating that fishing is allowed. But it's not!

Here's the sign BLM added when this area was closed to fishing, including abalone diving, in 2010.

Tomorrow I will show you that there's been a BIG change in the Stornetta waterfall.