Sightings

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Peter Baye and Will Ericson were exploring the newly exposed river bed of the Gualala River when they spotted a juvenile Western Pond Turtle.

A juvenile Western Pond Turtle by Peter Baye Western Pond turtle in Gualala River by Peter Baye

This is the first juvenile that Peter has seen in quite some time, good news as these turtle are on the endangered species list.

Western Pond Turtles favor a habitat with boulders and logs where they can sun themselves. They are very wary of people. Peter tells me he is usually made aware of one of these turtles' presence by hearing the sound of the turtle disappearing into the water. This little guy must have wondered what happened to the water. It was walking across the newly exposed stream bed when Peter and Will noticed it.

Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photos with you here. May there be many more juvenile Pond Turtles in the Gualala River!

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I have previously shared photos of the fantastic sunset we had on Valentine's Day. Rozann Grunig was in Jenner that day when the sun was setting. She got this dramatic photo with the lights reflected in the Russian River.

Sunset at Jenner on Valentine's Day by Rozann Grunig

Rozann creates calendars, cards, and other item featuring her photography. She mentioned that this photo would be a future greeting card. To see more of Rozann's creations, here is her website: http://highway1designs.com/

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

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A beautiful seasonal waterfall comes to life with enough rain at Stengel Beach on The Sea Ranch. Allen Vinson took this photo from the staircase that leads to the beach on February 8th.

Stengel Beach Waterfall by Allen Vinson

Since then we've had no rain and this waterfall is greatly diminished. But we do have rain in our forecast, thank goodness. Bring on the rain, Mother Nature!

Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his photo with you here. Allen has a showing of his work at Spindrift Gallery in the Cypress Center in Gualala. It will be up until March 7th. Don't miss it!

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Margaret Lindgren noticed this Bobcat looking at her on The Sea Ranch recently.

A Bobcat watches by Margaret Lindgren Bobcat by Margaret Lindgren

The Sea Ranch has a lot of open space, much of it meadows. And it seems like these meadows have an inexhaustible amount of gophers. Bobcats LOVE gophers so if you are lucky you might see one hunting rodents in the middle of the day. That's what happened to Margaret.

Thanks to Margaret for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To learn more about Margaret's Mendonoma hiking tours, here is her website: www.unbeatenpath.weebly.com

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Richard Hansen recently photographed this lovely sunset from his home in Gualala.

Feb. 19 Sunset by Richard Hansen

Rick and I watched this sunset too from our home in Anchor Bay. It *almost* doesn't look real, but I can assure you Richard's photo is the real deal.

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