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Grace O’Malley in Timber Cove wrote, “The warm air last week brought out a kaleidoscope of butterflies, flitting and fluttering about in my flower beds. I was delighted to see a pair of Monarchs dating in flight, and then they landed together on a grassy bed, glued abdomen to abdomen. May she successfully locate the native milkweed to perpetuate life."I asked Monarch expert Mia Monroe about these butterflies mating in the autumn. She wrote, “Good to hear from you and with such good news. With this warm weather much is going on, like migration, and some seem frisky and mate. It’s not the best thing as it’s the wrong time of year. But that female can also make it through the winter and then in spring lay her eggs at the ‘right’ time.”

Interesting! Thanks to Grace for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

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Mary Keller noticed this stand-off between a Sierran Treefrog and an Alligator Lizard, both seemingly enjoying the sun.

Gary Nafis wrote that the little green frog must have been too big a meal for the lizard. So, maybe we should call this a peace on earth moment!

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

No power shutoff today, for which I am thankful. Slightly breezy, cool and sunny today.

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Red-shouldered Hawks are seen year-round here on the Mendonoma coast. They aren't a common sighting, like a Red-tailed Hawk, however. So it's always a treat to see one. Craig Tooley photographed one recently.

Craig also photographed the hawk we can usually see every day, a Red-tailed Hawk.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com

Sunny, breezy and cool here today. It looks like our portion of the coast will avoid a planned power outage on Wednesday Nov. 20. The rains can't come quick enough! Next week, according to the forecast.

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Chris Pechal wrote, “This juvenile Cooper's Hawk flew up on our deck trying to catch one of the quail that was feeding down below. They got away again!”

Cooper’s Hawks are known for their flying prowess and, yes, they eat smaller birds.

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

The weather has turned warm today, mid 70's. Feels strange for mid-November. Yesterday in the warm weather, local beach accesses were full of cars. Might as well take advantage of the good beach weather!

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Amy Ruegg photographed a recent sunset at Pebble Beach, on The Sea Ranch.

Amy also found Oyster mushrooms.

And Scott Mercer found a King Bolete, boletus edulis, in his yard.

I heard that Catherine Miller found her first King Bolete this morning, along with the first Yellow Chanterelle. A combination of some rain (.14 inches at our place early Friday morning, and some heavy fog earlier in the week, seem to have prompted the first bloom of choice, edible mushrooms. Hooray!

Thanks to Amy and Scott for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

The ground is damp, the sun is out and the temps this afternoon are in the high sixties. Perfect!