Author Archives: Jeanne Jackson

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Deanna Boettcher found a rare-in-our-area butterfly, a Gulf Fritillary, in the gardens at Mar Vista, north of Anchor Bay. She wrote, “We have been so thrilled to see the abundance of butterflies this fall - first the onslaught of Monarchs, and then the Painted Lady Butterflies!  All of which are still around now, just not in as many numbers. In any case, I captured this beauty, a Gulf Fritillary, on our yarrow in the flower cutting garden yesterday, and I just had to share.”

Gulf fritillaries are native to the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. This butterfly has no native host plant in California and is entirely dependent on introduced species of the Passionflower/Passion Vine. They are a rare sighting here. I asked Deanna if they had a host plant and she wrote, “Yes, we have passion vine along one fence line of the flower cutting garden.”

Deanna reported this morning that many of these butterflies were seen today at Mar Vista. And she got more photos!

Thanks to Deanna for allowing me to share her photos with you here. Mar Vista is a charming place to stay. You can learn more about it at this link to their website: https://marvistafarmandcottages.com/

It's a magnificent, clear, windless day here on the Mendonoma Coast! This morning's sunrise was so very beautiful...sigh.

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It's always a happy time when there has been enough rain for the first Porcini mushrooms to arrive. Suzy Rudy found perhaps the first one last Sunday in the Timber Cove area. King Boletes are delicious edible mushrooms.

You can see from Suzy's photo that these mushrooms do not have gills. Instead, they have a sponge. King Boletes have a symbiotic relationship with Bishop Pine trees, and can often be found under huckleberry and manzanita bushes, with Bishop Pines and Redwoods nearby.

If you are interested in learning more about wild mushrooms, local David Arora's books are wonderful. Get yours at our bookstore, the Four-Eyed Frog Books, in Gualala. They will mail them to  you if you live out of town. https://www.foureyedfrog.com/

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

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Roxanne Holmes recently photographed a beautiful sunset off Shell Beach, at The Sea Ranch.

And Perry Hoffman photographed the sweet pinks and yellows of a sunrise from  his Gualala home.

Thanks to Roxanne and Perry for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Sunny and cool today with very little wind...and achingly beautiful.

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Eric Zetterholm has been looking for the mated pair of Bald Eagles who frequented the mouth of the Gualala River. It's been several months since we've seen them. Last week Eric saw what we think is one of the Gualala Bald Eagles.

It's wonderful to see this majestic bird!

Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

Sunny with afternoon breezes. Bonus sighting: the first Boletus edulis, King Boletes, have been seen!

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Perry Hoffman said this was the happiest Harbor Seal he's ever met.

Now...did Perry's photo make you smile? Hope so!

Thanks to Perry for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Perry's nature photography, here is the link to his website: https://magentaraven.com/

We are having an amazing warm day after yesterday's storm. I had 0.46 inches in my gauge. The first Boletus edulis was found yesterday with many more to come in the days ahead.