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Jinx McCombs found the May rains had coaxed a Calypso Orchid to bloom in June.

These tiny forest orchids are a treat to find, usually in late winter/early spring!

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

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Don Chigazola trained his camera on this Fawn peering at him through the foliage.

A peaceful moment, brought to  you by Don and Mother Nature.

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

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We had some beautiful clouds last week. They must have been cirrus or cirrostratus clouds as those are the types of clouds a Circumhorizontal Arc might appear. Marilyn Green photographed this rather rare phenomenon.

 

They are formed by the refraction of the sun in ice crystals suspended in the clouds, a beautiful sight, indeed.

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

Another HOT day on the Mendonoma coast! Beach weather, for sure.

 

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Willie Brown went to Cooks Beach last week during the minus tides. He found Ochre Sea Stars, Pisaster ochraceus.

He also photographed a Star that looks to eating a mussel or some barnacles.

These Sea Stars indicate a healthy ecosystem in the intertidal zone.

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

We are having a sizzlingly hot day today - 96 degrees in the shade on our deck. Relief is promised for tomorrow.

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Peter Baye wrote, "“I have had in-channel flowing river sightings of Foothill Yellow-legged Frog egg masses, over 20 egg masses in one reach only a couple hundred feet long, and hatched larvae. The black tadpoles are as numerous as toads!"

"And Steelhead fry that definitely came from recent redds [nests.] Fly fisherman Charlie Ivor noted that the Steelhead are making their nests later than normal, adapting to the wintery spring flows.”

The Gualala River, designated a "scenic and wild river" by the State of California, is a wonder. The river has many challenges and many of us are involved in protecting it. You can learn more at Friends of Gualala River's website: http://gualalariver.org/

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

Oh my, it's spectacular on the coast today. The wind died down and the temps are up. Low tide in the mornings have brought in sightings of beautiful Sea Stars, giving me more photos to share with you in the days to come.