Peter Baye told me he's never seen this before - a Calypso Orchid with two lips.
This is what a Calypso almost always looks like, as photographed by Perry Hoffman.
I wonder if Mother Nature is playing tricks on us! It is fun to find an anomaly like this.
Thanks to Peter and Perry for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
Kate Bloch found a beautiful Anise Swallowtail Butterfly recently and she had her camera at the ready.
Such a beautiful butterfly!
Thanks to Kate for allowing me to share it with you here.
It's quite cloudy today, though the sun is trying to break through. Warmer tomorrow!
Jackie Sones found an Anna's Hummingbird nest with at least one hungry chick. You can see the mother bird and the open beak of the chick.
The nest is about the size of a walnut. She has woven in lichen and moss, building her nest on the branch of a tree. If you are pruning tree branches, you need to be extra vigilant that you do not harm one of these nests.
Anna's Hummingbirds can have more than one clutch. They often have two clutches and sometimes even three!
Thanks to Jackie for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Jackie has a wonderful blog called The Natural History of Bodega Head. You can check it out at this link: https://bodegahead.blogspot.com/
The weather is cool and breezy, with a big dose of some afternoon sun. A big storm to our north has brought clouds but no rain. The previous storm brought 0.33 inches of rain, and the season to date total is 59.14.
Milkmaid blossoms are quite small and prove difficult to photograph...at least for me. Ron Bolander to the rescue. He found this beauties at Gualala Point Regional Park last Saturday.
There are groups of them at Rick's and my property near a seasonal creek. They like moist areas. Milkmaids are in the mustard family. They are doing particularly well this year!
Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
The vigorous storm blew through yesterday, with ominous-looking clouds full of brief downpours. Here are two photos of a very impressive cell that I took yesterday, Sunday.
Season to date rain totals at our location is 58.81 inches, a nice, fat, wet season. There's another chance of some rain tomorrow afternoon. Then we have a bit of a dry spell and warmer temps. This weekend could be spectacular here on the Mendonoma Coast!
Bonus sighting: On Friday Scott and Tree Mercer saw their first mother/calf Gray Whales pass by the Point Arena Lighthouse Peninsula...heading north.
Jon Shiu got a touching photo of two Great Blue Herons with their necks entwined. He wrote, “Must be nesting time for Great Blue Herons? Seen March 4, 2025 near Mendocino.”
Great Blue Herons nest in colonies with the nests high up in trees. There has been an active colony along Big River near Mendocino.
I read that Great Blue Herons attract mates by twining their necks, clattering their bills, and raising their nuptial plumes. Then I needed to look up nuptial plumes. They are long, decorative feathers that grow during breeding season, which they use to display and attract mates during courtship.
Thanks to Jon for allowing me to share his photo with you here!
It's storming here today - lots of wind and rain. As of this morning, Sunday, our rain total shows 57.32 inches season to date. There is more than one inch in our gauge from today's storm, and it's still pouring. Will we hit 60 inches??? 50 inches is a normal, wet winter for us, so this is another very good rain year.