Sightings

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A big, wet storm dropped a lot of rain on the Mendonoma Coast. At our house in Anchor Bay we received over 6 1/2 inches of rain in two days. The Garcia River flooded Highway One yesterday, closing the road. It reopened this morning. Chris Howard photographed the Gualala River yesterday and it was full to the brim and moving fast.

The Gualala River is full to the brim by Chris Howard The raging Gualala River by Chris Howard

The raging river blew out the rest of the sandbar to the north. The river is something to behold!

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

If you are on the Mendonoma Coast tomorrow, Dec. 13th, the Ernest Bloch Bell Ringers will be performing their holiday concert at the Gualala Arts Center at 3 pm. I am the director/conductor, so you could have a sighting of me, along with the sound of beautiful handbells. Here is the group:

The Ernest Bloch Bell Ringers Summer 2014 by Rick Jackson (Large)

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Peter Cracknell noticed a rock formation apparently looking at him.

Who's looking at you - a rock in Jenner by Peter Cracknell

This is a rock formation near Jenner in Sonoma County. It does look like it is peering at Peter!

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

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A storm like this can put a serious dent in ol' man Drought! We are told we may get more than five inches of rain and 50 mile per hour winds. Bring it on, Mother Nature! Robert Scarola photographed a storm cloud moving in.

Hail Storm Coming by Robert Scarola

We know we might have power outages but we are prepared. We haven't had a nice, big storm like this for several years and we are grateful.

Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photo with you here. If you are on the Coast this Sunday, Dec. 14th, join Rick and me at the Four-Eyed Frog Bookstore in Gualala at 4 pm for Robert's book event for his new book, Rim of the World. For more into, here is the Frog's website: http://www.foureyedfrog.com/

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Perhaps it was one of the recent storms that blew this rare visitor to Point Arena. Leslie Dahlhoff wrote, “How exciting! Eric, the non-birder, actually spotted it in our backyard and told me I should check it out. There I saw the sunniest, yellowest bird seriously chowing down on aphids in the artichoke.”

A rare visitor - a male Prothonotary Warbler by Leslie Dahlhoff male Prothonotary Warbler by Leslie Dahlhoff

This songbird is usually found in wooded swamps in the southeast. Wow, is this bird off course! To hear its call, here is a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Prothonotary_Warbler/sounds

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

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Teresa Denniston photographed a recent sunrise and you can see it reflected in the Gualala River.

Sunrise reflected in the Gualala River by Teresa Denniston

We have a big storm headed our way. Creeks and waterfalls are flowing and it is a wonderful time to be on the Mendonoma Coast.

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