•

Earlier this month Kate Bloch wrote,

"I was just about to email you two photos of wildlife I saw earlier this afternoon as sunset approached. Because it looked like the fog bank was a slim bank across the horizon, it seemed prudent to wait for any end-of-daylight pyrotechnics, and today certainly came to a close with a beautiful sunset and a lovely light purple flash.  I hope you had a chance to witness the display."

"And here's a photo of the green flash from September 17th, as the flash ended up with a lovely silhouette of a pelican above it."

It isn't easy to photograph a green flash but Kate has the talent and ability to do so. I thank her for allowing me to share these photos with you here.

I did see a beautiful green flash last night, Monday. It's said to be good luck to see a green flash. I hope that works for photos of green/purple flashes too!

This morning it was sunny and mild. And then...and then...the fog came up from the south. Most of the time it comes from the north. It rolled over Rick's and my house in Anchor Bay early this afternoon and the temperature dropped dramatically/

•

Shari Goforth found this bald eagle hunting. She saw all the gulls take flight but the brown pelicans stayed in place. It's very rare for a bald eagle to take a much bigger brown pelican, but gulls are much easier pickings.

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

The past weekend and today, Monday, have been warm with very little wind - perfect autumn days!

 

•

A sign of autumn, Dyer's Polypores are fun to spot in forests. Carolyn Case found two of them.

And Thane Frivold found one.

Dyer’s polypores are harbingers of autumn, letting us know the season is changing. Their role in nature is to decompose dead wood. They get their common name because dyer’s of wool use these mushrooms to dye the wool. When the mushroom is young, it dyes yellow, then orange, and then as it has aged, it dyes brown. I so enjoy watching them evolve in the forest.

Thanks to Carolyn and Thane for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Bonus sightings today: Susy Rudy found two King Boletes, boletus edulis, yesterday - the first I have heard of this season. Hooray! And Humpback Whales are being seen today and the past couple of days in large numbers.

• 2 Comments

•

We had an odd storm come through on Wednesday 9/24, odd in that it moved from east to west. That gave the perfect conditions for a rainbow at dusk.

First is the beauty taken by Paul Brewer in Gualala.

And this beautiful rainbow taken by Cathleen Crosby at the south end of Gualala.

And finally Roxanne Holmes caught magic at Shell Beach at The Sea Ranch.

•

Brown pelicans are so much fun to watch. They ride the wind currents over the bluffs and rocky islands in the ocean. Steve Woolson recently photographed these pelicans headed south.

Jon Shiu photographed many brown pelicans resting on the bluffs and rocks at the Mendocino Headlands.

Through my spotting scope, I can see a hundred of more brown pelicans resting overnight on Fish Rocks off Anchor Bay. And the Gualala River, with its big sandbar, plays host to hundreds every day recently.

They will soon head south to their breeding grounds and I will miss them until they return in the spring.

Thanks to Steve and Jon for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Yesterday we had a storm rumbled through. 1.18 inches at Rick's and my place. 3.41 inches season to date. Today it is cool - mid 50's - with some showers. The sunset could be amazing!