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Bob Van Syoc noticed this small Star in a tide pool off of The Sea Ranch, a Rainbow Star.

Marilyn Green reported on the sighting. She wrote, "Amy and Bob counted hundreds of Abalones at low tide, including some small ones. All were very close to shore. We also saw many types of Sea Stars. There was one that Bob had never seen at Pebble Beach before!” Bob photographed a Rainbow Sea Star, which measures about four inches across. This is the first sighting of this Star that I've had in the 15 years I've been writing my nature column!

Thanks to Bob for allowing me to share his photo with you here and to Marilyn for sending in the sightings.

Our warm, dry weather is in the rear view window. Rain - actual wet stuff! - is predicted to later tonight into tomorrow. Hooray!

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Peter Baye wrote, "Here are some photos of a beautiful flowering shrub that isn't too common in Mendonom - canyon gooseberry, Ribes menziesii. It has incredible tiny fushsia-like flowers, dark maroon to pink or white.

This bush is from The Conservation Fund's Buckeye Forest, on Fuller Creek. Not many records of them up here, most of them quite old."

Fuller Creek is a tributary of the Gualala River. I personally have never seen this flowering bush. It's quite lovely. To learn more about the Conservation Fund, here is a link to their website: https://www.conservationfund.org/projects/gualala-river-forest

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

Another sunny, warm day here today. Hints of rain coming in for the weekend.

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Michelle Rossich was celebrating her birthday by taking a walk on the Lands. This beautiful Great Blue Heron took flight quite close to her, a real gift.

Michelle found more gifts in the tide pools. First a beautiful Sea Anemone.

And a healthy Ochre Sea Star.

Birthday gifts courtesy of Mother Nature!

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

Sunny, breezy, so-not-winter, here today. Perhaps some rain by the weekend...we hope!

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Roxanne Holmes was enjoying the recent warm weather by visiting Shell Beach on The Sea Ranch. She found this sandcastle nestled into the rocky bluff edge. Pretty sweet!

I imagine it would be easy to miss this if you weren't paying attention.

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

Cloudy, cold and VERY windy today. It would sure be nice if some raindrops fell. We have had zero rain for the entire month of February, which is worrisome.

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Yep, he's still hanging around the hamlet of Elk. The big male Roosevelt Elk can sometimes be seen from Highway One. Ken Bailey recently photographed him.

He looks healthy with that big rack! Hope he finds a female of his species one of these days.

Thanks to Ken for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see Ken's underwater photography, here is his website: http://www.seadreams.org/

Unbelievably warm here today for February - 76 degrees this afternoon. It's hard to really enjoy this dry spell when we know we need rain.