Sightings

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Lisa wrote up her experience beautifully.

“On a bucolic walk along the Sea Ranch bluffs, suffused with the mid-winter bliss that comes from unexpectedly warm, sunny weather, I strode south along the bluffs, taking in the smells, sounds, and feel of the sun on my skin. A random glance left stopped me in my tracks as my eyes fell directly on a bobcat curled in the grass, also basking in the warmth, eyes at half-mast in pleasure…and probably monitoring my presence for potential threat. I stood for a minute and spoke to it in a low voice, hoping the vibration of my presence and my appreciation for sharing the day and the moment with it would convey. It never moved a hair, though we were only, at most, 20 feet apart; just gazed back at me through narrowed eyes in that distinctly feline manner that always leaves one wondering what exactly they're thinking…

“I'm always gratified by these close encounters with our wild fauna brethren. They reinforce my belief that sympathetic vibrational magnetism is at work in the world, drawing to us those who are attuned to the same energy and outlook we are. We're connected in invisible ways, in ‘mysterious’ ways that don't need to be figured out…simply acknowledged and accepted, gratefully.”

I know what Lisa means about being connected. I had an encounter with a deer in a meadow that was magical. I’ll never forget it.

Magical encounters and more, specialties of the beautiful Mendonoma Coast.  Thanks to Lisa for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

It's a total washout today, Sunday! Since this morning, nearly THREE inches of the wet stuff.

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Three mountain lions, I'm thinking a mother with her two grown offspring, were videoed by motion detection cameras last week, right in Gualala. One sighting was on the east side of Highway One and the other was on the west side. Michael Coustier wrote, “Thought you might get a kick out of seeing the kitties that were outside our house earlier this week.”

This is the time of year for the two younger cougars to leave their mother, and establish their own territory. We’ve been seeing that happening in the Bay Area recently.

I was impressed with the quality of the video Michael sent in. He sent me a link that told me it was a Tapo 2K Outdoor Pan/Tilt Wireless Floodlight Security Camera - Battery Power with Solar, 360º AI Motion Tracking. Here is the link to Michael's video:

The cougars sure seem comfortable in this area! And they would have crossed Highway One to reach the west side after this visit.

Thanks to Michael for allowing me to share his video and screen shot with you here.

It's been sunny today with a cool breeze - rain predicted starting tomorrow, Saturday, night. Happy Valentine's Day!

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We're finally back to winter here on the Mendonoma Coast. Temps have fallen, the wind has picked up and the wet stuff arrived as promised. This is a photo I took this afternoon from Rick's and my deck in Anchor Bay.

We received a half inch of rain so far! The next two days are suppose to be dry but then a series of storms will pay their visit with rain predicted for at least five straight days beginning late Saturday.

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When there is a minus tide, some of us head to the beach to see what may be revealed. Cindy Morey did just that and found an animal rarely seen. She wrote, “I found something on our Irish Beach that I had never seen before and I have no idea what kind of crab it is. The body part was a reddish color with little bumps of white. The legs were like fur with nails at the end. I thought it was a piece of succulent until I picked it up and the legs moved. Looked more like a tarantula than a crab. It was like seeing an alien.”

I sent Cindy’s photos to intertidal zone expert Bob Van Syoc. He wrote, “Ah, looks like a rhinoceros crab!  I’m not too fond of the common name, but easier to pronounce than Rhinolithodes wossnessenskii, perhaps.  Count the ‘walking’ legs.  Eight, four on each side.  It’s in the same family as King crabs, the Lithodidae.  This cryptic creature blends in with rocky rubble and sponge covered rocks.  Nice photos.”

Here is a look at the underside of this crab.

Cryptic is a good way to describe this crab that stays hidden most of the time. They live at depths of 20 to 240 feet on rocky seafloors, often hiding in deep crevices. They are common in Alaskan waters and their southern boundary is supposed to be Crescent City.

In the twenty years I've been writing my Mendonoma Sightings column, I have never received a sighting of this unusual-looking crab...until now! I did share Cindy's photos with the folks at NOAA and they were happy to learn about this.

Thanks to Cindy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

It's raining here this afternoon! Yes, after over a week of sunny and warm weather, it looks like the pendulum has swung back to rainy and cooler, as it should be in winter!

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We have a mated pair of Bald Eagles at the Gualala River. Michael Reinhart found this one on the northern cliff overlooking the river and the Pacific Ocean.

She just looks so darn majestic!

Thanks to Michael for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Our warm weather looks to be leaving us. The wind picked up today and there are some clouds rolling in. We're ready for more rain, that's for sure!