Jacquelynn Baas recently foraged for edible, wild mushrooms on the Mendonoma Coast. Our early rains have brought an early mushroom season. Golden Chanterelles and Boletus edulis were the treasures she found in the forest - true gifts from Mother Nature.
Jacquelynn is a writer who lives on The Sea Ranch. Here is a link to her author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jacquelynn-Baas/e/B001IU0Q28/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
I know not everyone likes snakes but we share the Mendonoma Coast with several species. Peter Baye recently photographed this CA red-sided Garter Snake on the Mendocino Coast. Its Latin name sounds like a Harry Potter spell - Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis.
This snake is a good swimmer as you will see in C'Anna Bergman-Hill's photo below. It has the ability to eat Pacific Newts, which are poisonous to most other predators. It has toxin in its saliva that it uses to capture its prey, but this snake is considered harmless to humans.
On Saturday we again sauntered down the beautiful Gualala Bluff Trail. Yes, it was foggy but we could see under it. It looks like it will take more rain to open the river. Stay tuned!
In the foreground of this photo is the river, then the sand bar with Gulls flying overhead. Beyond is the Pacific Ocean. You can see some fanciful structures made out of driftwood on the beach at Gualala Regional Park.
As we walked on the GBT we heard flapping and splashing. Gulls were bathing in the Gualala River. At the top of the photo you can see where the river has expanded into the floodplains.
Irma Brandt was the lucky one who came home with this Boletus edulis, a choice edible mushroom. She brought it over and Rick weighed it. It was a mighty four pounds. When Irma sliced it for drying she found no bugs at all. That's a lot of porcini mushrooms for the months to come!
In the picture Irma is peeking out behind the big 'shroom. She is also holding a more normal-sized Bolete.
Patricia McBratney recently noticed a colorful moth in her garden on The Sea Ranch. She sent me several photographs to see if I knew what is was. Will Ericson to the rescue! Will identified the moth as a Hemileuca eglanterina, subspecies shastaensis, which is commonly called an Elegant Sheepmoth. In one photo there are two moths. Will explained the female was higher on the blade of grass and had attracted a male to mate with her. This is a rare sighting in the Mendonoma Coast and I'm very happy Patricia allowed me to share these photos with you.
