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Mike Nelson piloted his drone and photographed the Gualala River recently. You can the big sandbar that finally was breached with the rains. The buildings are the small town of Gualala. The river opened a little differently this year, angling to the south as it flows into the Pacific Ocean.

It's very interesting to see the Gualala River mouth from the vantage point of a bird...or in this case, a drone!

Thanks to Mike for allowing me to share his photo with you here.  Mike is the owner of MD Electric and Solar. If you ever need his services, here's a link to his website: http://mdelectricsolar.com/

More rain today and the ocean is roaring!

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Friday afternoon, Rick and I, along with our rescue golden retriever, Duffy, took a walk. Alongside a path we take every day was a fresh Queen Bolete, Boletus aereus. Queen Boletes seem to like colder weather, which we had up until yesterday when the rains arrived.

Duffy came to us from Taiwan. He was living on the streets for a while. He obviously knew this mushroom was a tasty one. He would have snatched it if we weren't paying attention. Sorry, Duffy! We enjoyed it with dinner.

We also found Matsutakes in the same place they come up every year. These were just peeking up from the forest duff.

They smell wonderful - of cinnamon. They grow in sandy soil and I believe they have a symbiotic relationship with Sugarsticks, Allotropa virgata. I have found Sugarsticks, a native perennial herb, nearby in the spring.

We are having lots of wonderful rain. It began yesterday and continues today, for which we are grateful.

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Scott and Tree Mercer sit out on the bluffs most days looking for Gray Whales and other marine life. As of yesterday, they have seen 99 Gray Whales swimming fast to the birthing lagoons of Baja. These first whales are the pregnant females and they are intent on reaching the safety of the lagoons before giving birth.

Here is a photo Ken Bailey took a few years ago showing the spout - the exhalation of air - and the tail.

And next is a flipper of a Gray Whale, photo by Paul Brewer.

You can see this Gray Whale was in the surf break, photo taken by Frank Coster.

And here is the migration route the Gray Whales take. They travel thousands of miles, twice a year!

Today is the last sunny day for a while as three storms are lined up for the days ahead. But when there is a break, you can look for Gray Whales, as thousands more will be passing by in the days, weeks and months to come. I find it comforting to know they are just offshore, living their lives as their ancestors did.

Thanks to Ken, Paul and Frank for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To follow the Mercers whale counts, visit their Facebook page, Mendonoma Whale and Seal Study at this link: https://www.facebook.com/Mendonoma-Whale-and-Seal-Study-1421926098039236/

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Peter Baye went tide pooling during the last big minus tides. He was surprised to see such big and healthy-looking Abalones!

Peter wrote, “I don’t want to publicly identify the exact location, but I saw more large Abalone today in one area exposed at a foot minus tide. I counted 285 Abalone in the half hour before it got dark!"

Good news, we hope, for the health of the abalone off our coast. Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

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Dennis Latona was at the Point Arena Lighthouse bluffs during the recent King Tides event.

Dennis enjoyed how the super high tides left water cascading off the rocks, creating many tiny waterfalls. The next chance to see this phenomenon is January 20 and 21. And the flip side of the King Tides are big minus-tides, perfect for tide pooling.

Thanks to Dennis for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Dennis' photography, here is his website: http://www.pinenutz.com/

We are having clear, cold weather - well, cold for the California coast! 40 degrees this morning. The vanguard of the southward Gray Whale migration has been seen off the Mendonoma coast. Thousands more to come in the days and weeks ahead!