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Alan Reinke noticed this amazing sight, a halo around the sun.

Alan photographed a Sun Dog, also called a mock sun. They are caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the air. Sun dogs are most likely to be seen when the sun is near the horizon, as it is in Alan’s photo.

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

We are at the tail end of a wild storm. We received 2.5 inches of much-needed rain. The remarkable thing is how cold the coast is.

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Allen Vinson spotted this small green treefrog recently. The "eyeliner," the black line than runs on either side of his face are unique to Sierran Treefrogs. They are also called Chorus Frogs, as they have a loud call.

This is mating season. The male has a vocal sac that expands when he calls. Peter Baye captured this amazing sight.

Surely this treefrog will attract a mate!

Thanks to Allen and Peter for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It is very cold here on the Mendonoma coast today. It was 34 degrees this morning. We are having showers, rainbows, hail...what could be next? Frogs!

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Bob Rutemoeller spotted this rare trillium, Trillium albidum, or Sweet Trillium.

The flowers are fragrant, I am told. The flower of any trillium should never be picked. So if you find one or more, just enjoy them where they are. Western Trilliums, the more common trillium, are blooming now in shady forests. The Sweet Trillium prefers more sun. Here's a photo of a Western Trillium for comparison, photo taken by Renee Jardine.

Thanks to Bob and Renee for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

A big storm is forecast to drop a lot of rain on the Mendonoma coast. It is already raining this afternoon. Waterfalls will be coming back to life with this much-needed rain. Thank you, Mother Nature!

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Ron LeValley spotted what he believes was a young Elephant Seal molting.

Ron reports that the seal left after three days on the beach.

Here's a male Elephant Seal - notice the big proboscis [snout]! - seen some years ago north of Anchor Bay. Frank Jackson got this photo. I hope he used his long lens, as it isn't a good idea to get close to one of these big guys. They can move surprisingly fast when they want to!

Thanks to Ron and Frank for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Ron's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://levalleyphoto.com/home/

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We continue to observe the two mated Bald Eagles near the mouth of the Gualala River. Several weeks ago a juvenile Bald Eagle was spotted on The Sea Ranch. Bryant Hichwa got this photo of the young eagle, which is also called an immature Bald Eagle.

It's wonderful to see these birds continue to recover from pesticide poisoning and other hardships. They are our national emblem.

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

We are have another wait-five-minutes kind of day - showers followed by brilliant sunshine with a cloud show to savor!