Richard Hansen noticed this dark cloud from his Gualala home, and saw that it looked like a shark with its mouth open - a hungry shark.
And the cloud held the shape as it moved slowly to the south.
Two fun photos on a sun-splashed Sunday, and I thank Richard for allowing me to share them with you here.
We are enjoying the sun today, and temps in the mid-60's. But rain is coming!
John Wall photographed a very nice scene indeed. A Great Blue Heron on the bluffs at The Sea Ranch was looking out to see as a Gray Whale spouted.
Today fog covers most of the Pacific Ocean, making whale-watching next to impossible. We have storms predicted for next week, which will clear out the fog. Before the fog, many Gray Whales were seen heading northward, and just a few heading southward. The first mother/calf pair was seen off southern California late this week. They have many miles to swim before we see them off the Mendonoma coast.
Thanks to John for allowing me to share his fun photo with you here.
Desiree Palestrini recently photographed the wonderful sight of a mature Bald Eagle flying overhead, over the hamlet of Anchor Bay.
Her photo shows the snowy-white tail and head, which tells you that this eagle is mature. We have a mated pair near the mouth of the Gualala River. They have been seen mating. We hope they will nest here, an exciting development in the recovery of these majestic birds.
Thanks to Desiree for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
We share the coast with Common Ravens. Many love them, and some do not. Allen Vinson recently photographed one. Look at that big beak.
They are extremely intelligent. They have many different calls and can even mimic humans. In fact, one raised in captivity was taught to say "nevermore." Allen photographed this raven calling. If we only had sound with this photo!
To hear a few of the 33 different vocalizations Common Ravens make, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/sounds
Ravens eat practically anything, including carrion. Please don't feed them; they don't need our help to thrive.
Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share these photos with you here. To see more of Allen's photography, here is a link: http://allenvinson.smugmug.com/
A beautiful addition to the Mendocino coast is brought to us by the Mendocino Land Trust. It's called Pelican Bluffs Preserve and Coastal Trail, and is found south of Point Arena. Allen Vinson recently walked the 2+ miles of trails and took these photos.
You can learn more about this new open space at this link: https://www.mendocinolandtrust.org/trails/southern-coastal-trails/pelican-bluffs-trail/
Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his photos with you here.