Sightings

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Ben Angwin photographed a double green flash several weeks ago, on Dec. 28 to be exact. My visiting friend, Barb Bourke, and I saw it too, a real treat.

Kate Bloch got a photo of the next night's sunset, which I inadvertently missed. Kate's shows the rarest of the color, when the green flash turns to violet. Look closely at the very top of the setting sun.

Thanks to Ben and Kate for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

With our string of dry days, green flash watching in order. Two nights ago I saw a beautiful green flash, a double green flash, from Rick's and my deck in Anchor Bay. My golden retriever, Honey Bun, watched the sunset with me. Sorry, I didn't get a photo of the double green flash...it's not easy, though Ben and Kate make it look easy!

 

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Bald Eagles continue to expand northward as their numbers increase. Jon Shiu photographed this Bald Eagle flying over the Navarro River.

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

"For such a powerful bird, the Bald Eagle emits surprisingly weak-sounding calls—usually a series of high-pitched whistling or piping notes. The female may repeat a single, soft, high-pitched note that has been called “unlike any other calls in nature”; apparently this signals her readiness for copulation." You can listen for yourself at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/sounds

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

We are having cool and dry weather. No rain predicted for at least a week or more. There are overhead clouds late this afternoon, which are making for a dreamy-looking sunset!

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Here are a few more photos of the late afternoon rainbow I showed you yesterday. Judy Mello of the B Bryan Preserve in Point Arena sent in several photos taken by Cassidy Spooner. Here's Mazi, a nubian giraffe with a beautiful rainbow behind her.

Cassidy also photographed Anisa, a bontebok antelope.

They were having fun with their endangered animals and the rainbow!

Randall Balmer got a nice photo of the rainbow that day. He said it was stretching up and over the Gualala Ridge.

Dan Lewis found his pot of gold at Gualala Point Regional Park.

And if you'd like just one more...just one more rainbow pic, this is from this morning as the last storm in the series was moving out. Taken by me, a traditional early morning rainbow. It was like a gift.

Thanks to Cassidy, Randall, and Dan for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Yesterday's storm was nearly an inch of rain and we now have received 30.30 inches of rain season to date. Hooray! Now we have a stretch of dry weather to enjoy.

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The sun came out briefly late this afternoon and I saw  a glimpse of a rainbow to the east. During the last series of storms there were multiple late afternoon rainbows one day, and many people photographed them. Joan Rhine got this double rainbow in Gualala.

And Seve Cardosi got this one as she crossed the Gualala River Bridge. See how full the river is, and how muddy from the storms.

Carolyn Case was happy to find this afternoon rainbow at Gualala Point Regional Park.

Tomorrow I will show you some more from that day, including rainbows and a giraffe at B Bryan Preserve in Point Arena!

Thanks to Joan, Seve and Carolyn, aka CC, for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Lots of rain today. The main storm seems to have passed late this afternoon, with showers at dusk. We've had six inches since the series of storms began on Jan. 1st. and a little over 30 inches season to date. The forecast says we will have a string of dry days ahead after the remnants of today's storm moves out. This could be a GREAT time to visit the Mendonoma Coast.

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Witch's Hat mushrooms, Hygrocybe conica, are quite tiny. When young, they can be a yellowish-green, as Paula found.

A week or so later, Paula sent in this photo, saying she had never seen it before. It's also a Witch's Hat; it just has turned black with age.

These mushrooms are not considered edible and with a common name of Witch's Hat, I wouldn't want to eat them anyway!

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

We've had a lot of rain, nearly four inches since Jan. 1. We have one more storm coming in later today and raining tomorrow. Then the predictors say we have a dry week ahead. We need to dry out - the ground literally squishes when you walk on it!