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Marie De Santis noticed one of the Gray Fox kits at her place was quite a bit smaller than the others. She was worried about this fox, but she says he/she seems to be thriving.

Ellen Loring also has a Gray Fox family in her yard, underneath her hot tub. Here is one of the kits looking through her door - you can see another kit in the background.

Kits are curious and will come inside, as Marie has discovered. One of my favorite stories is about a kit who came in a small opening in a sliding glass door. The little fox grabbed a cube of butter and tried to make an escape, but the stick of butter wouldn't fit through the door! Oh, I would have loved a photo of that.

Thanks to Marie and Ellen for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It is beautiful on the coast today - sunny and warm.

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Pam Ryan was observing Gualala Point Island when she saw this Common Murre coming in for a landing.

The top of the rocky island looks pretty crowded! Common Murre's look like small penguins, as they walk around upright.

Here's a photo Craig Tooley took of Murres along with Cormorants on the island. I love the two Murres with their chests together in the back.

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

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The chicks in the other two Peregrine Falcon nests, one with two chicks and the other with four chicks, have fledged. But a new nest was discovered recently and the chicks are at least three weeks younger than the ones that just fledged. There are two chicks in this newly discovered nest and Michael Beattie was invited to come by and photograph them.

Here the two chicks obviously are anxious to be fed.

The adult Peregrines have been taking nearly all of this year's Western Gull chicks to feed their young. It's a rough time for smaller birds with these predators in town.

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

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One of my favorite summer wildflowers is the Leopard Lily, Lilium pardalinum. Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner found a nice group of them recently.

Never pick these beauties, just enjoy their splash of color wherever you might be fortunate enough to see them.

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

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Rick pointed it out to me, a completely built Paper Wasp nest in a tree which is along the parking area of our home in Anchor Bay. You can see the small wasps on the outside of their beautifully constructed nest.

The wasps are not as aggressive as yellowjackets or hornets, though they will defend their nest! Luckily the nest is quite high so we will leave it be. Paper wasps are important pollinators and they eat other insects that might be pests in the garden. Something is chewing on my tomato plants' leaves...hint, hint!

A few years ago, a Paper Wasp colony took over a birdhouse on our property, and completely covered the wooden portion. Craig Tooley came over to photograph it.

They create their paper nests by mixing their saliva with dead wood and plant stems to form this papery material. It's quite beautiful, don't you think?

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. This photo of the birdhouse is included in our book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year.