Amy Ruegg was headed north on Highway One when she saw this beautiful sight.
She was near Deer Trail on The Sea Ranch. How's this for a great way to start your day? Amy said it was a true blessing and reminder/message of hope.
Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photo with you here. May your days be filled with rainbows too!
We had a big storm come in last night. Over 2.15 inches of rain fell. This afternoon there has been rain and hail but now it is sunny! What's next?
Amy Ruegg spotted these Stream Violets in riotous bloom.
And delicate Calypso Orchid.
The wildflowers know spring is coming! Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
Sunny one moment, then driving rain and hail the next. It actually hailed so much in Point Arena last night, that it looked like snow, even at the Point Arena Pier. I'll be sharing some of those photos soon.
Just look at this beauty - a six-legged, small, nearly translucent Sea Star. Marilyn Green photographed it at the most recent low tide at Pebble Beach off The Sea Ranch.
Here's what intertidal zone expert, Robert Van Syoc, had to say about this Star.
"This is a very interesting star, and a rare find on our part of the coast. According to Prof. Sarah Cohen at San Francisco State University, who is an expert on this group of stars, it's a member of a ‘species complex’ of three species distinguished by differences in their DNA, but not yet easily identifiable to species-level by obvious morphological characteristics.
“Formerly, all three species were known as Leptasterias hexactis, a smallsix-armed star. Currently, Prof. Cohen considers true Leptasterias hexactis to be the most northern of the three species, ranging from Alaska south to Washington State. The remaining two species of Leptasterias are most common further south in California, uncommonly found this far north. So, it would appear that Marilyn has photographed a currently undescribed species of Leptasterias! Keep your eyes open for more, please!”
As Amy Ruegg often photographs in the intertidal zone, I sent her Marilyn's photo and it turns out Amy photographed this type of Star last year, off Pebble Beach. One of its legs is mostly underneath the center of the Star. Bob agrees it's probably the same species as Marilyn's find.
Bob sent in some fascinating information about these Stars. He wrote, “Another important aspect of Leptasterias biology is that they are ‘brooders,’ that is they do not have planktonic larvae, but keep their developing offspring on ‘Mom’ until they ‘walk away’ as tiny versions of the adults. This limits their ability to re-colonize distant areas after the Sea Star wasting disease of 2015 in our area. Hence, the slow re-establishment of Leptasterias on our part of the coast…and our excitement at seeing them again.”
How great is this? At the next low tide, perhaps you will find one of these rare Stars.
Thanks to Marilyn and Amy for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
It's a stunning day - warm with no wind. But the forecast has it cooling off, big time! For today, I'm enjoying the sunshine and the 70 degree temps. It's not really winter today!
Amy Ruegg went out on a local trail last Sunday and while she found trees down because of the recent storms, she also found early wildflowers. Milkmaids, Cardamine californica, are blooming now. They are members of the Mustard family.
Amy also found Western Trilliums, Trillium ovatum. This photo shows one covered in raindrops. The white blossom tells you it is freshly bloomed. The blossom will turn pink and then darker still in the days ahead as it "ages."
And lastly, Amy found Wild Ginger, Asarum caudatum.
Wonderful to see! Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
It's a lovely day here on the Mendonoma Coast today, sunny with little breeze, and temps briefly hit 70 degrees!
Candy Cap mushrooms are a delight to find. David Arora writes in "All That the Rain Promises and More" that they are abundant under pine and oak. Last Saturday, Amy Ruegg photographed two of these members of the Lactarius family on a trail at The Sea Ranch.
She also photographed this beautiful sunset at Pebble Beach, TSR.
Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.
Sunny and mild, temps in the 60's today. We know it won't last but we're enjoying the warmer, sunny weather for now!