Sightings

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Nikki and Jack Smith, along with their children, went to Bowling Ball Beach after one of the recent big storms. This is what they found - iridescent Abalone shells, treasure on the beach!

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

One last storm has plastered us with rain, including a thundercloud with hail and lightning this afternoon. Sun is now breaking through and we have a pause from the rain for perhaps a week. Over 40 inches of rain at Rick's and my place so far this season. Last year at this time, it was 18.75 inches.

Happy New Year, everyone!

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The storms have been rearranging the sandbar of the Gualala River. Theresa Slaman photographed the very full Gualala River flowing into the Pacific Ocean under a stormy sky. The sandbar has been flattened out - at least for a while!

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

Today was sunny but quite cool. The temp early this morning was 38 degrees - that's cold for the coast! Okay, I can hear some of you laughing at me. 38 might be warm for some of you!

On this New Year's Eve, I send you my best wishes for a wonderful 2025. May these Nature sightings continue to bring us joy.

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I love this photo Perry Hoffman took of a Snowy Egret in a pond at The Sea Ranch Golf Links.

Just beautiful!

Thanks to Perry for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Perry's photography and artwork, plus the beautiful calendar he created for 2025, here is the link to his website: https://magentaraven.com/

The rain has moved out and we have a sunny, cool day here today. 39.15 inches so far, which is pretty amazing!

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I found the first Slinkpod, Scoliopus bigelovii, blooming on a sunny spot on the forest floor a few days before Christmas.

This diminutive member of the Lily family is our earliest blooming wildflower. It stands only about an inch and a half high. See the emerging leaves cupping the stem? There are two leaves, and by the time they are full grown, they can be six to twelve inches long with mottled spots!

If you have never found this wildflower, look for these mottled leaves in the spring. They will tell you where these exquisite little flowers come up. You should start looking around Christmas.

We had another rip roaring storm last night. 2.23 inches in Rick's and my rain gauge. Season to date is 38.97 inches. 50 inches is a normal wet winter here. Boy, are we well on our way! Now we have some days to dry out.

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Laura Baker and Lewis Lubin have a apple tree at their Annapolis place. Their motion camera is pointed in the direction of that tree. We know Black Bears love apples! Last month their camera captured this healthy-looking bear.

Pat Whelan appears to be on a regular route of a Black Bear in The Sea Ranch. A few weeks ago, her camera caught this bear trying to figure out Pat's bear-proof garbage bins. Here's the video:

Black Bear checks out garbage bins, courtesy of Pat Whelan

And Ron Bolander found evidence of a Black Bear at Gualala Point Regional Park just last weekend. The scat is full of bite-sized apples!

Maybe that was more than you wanted to know...

Thanks to Laura, Pat and Ron for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We had a break from the rain on Christmas Day and much of Dec.26th, but the rain has returned in earnest late afternoon on Thursday. Rain total season to date before this afternoon's storm is 33.54 inches. A "normal" rain season at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay is 50 inches.