Tag Archives: Anchor Bay

•

I was sitting on our deck reading when a fairly large bug flew into the side of my face. It flew down to the brick deck and rested in the mortar between two bricks. Rick and I had never seen anything like it before. The antennae are longer than the bug's body.

I sent my photo to bug expert Will Ericson. He wrote back, "Oh, that's cool. I haven't seen these in Mendocino before, always a pleasant surprise. This is a Monochamus sp. in the family Cerambycidae." Will told me they are wood-boring beetles and act as essential decomposers of dead trees. They are also known as Sawyer Beetles.

I thought the photo below was interesting with the shadow.

• 1 Comment

•

Coccora mushrooms, Amanita calyptroderma, are just poking up through the forest duff on our Anchor Bay property. They appear in the same place, year after year. A mushroom expert friend, Bev Vogt, identified them for Rick and me some years ago. She declared this part of our property, "Coccora heaven!"

In the days to come, the white you see below will adorn a golden-colored cap. These are edible, indeed considered choice by some. But with the creamy white top removed they can be confused with the Death Cap, Amanita phalloides. As the name implies, it is deadly poisonous.

I wouldn't eat a Coccora unless I had picked it myself. They are quite beautiful to look at. I will post a photograph here when they are in "full flower."

•

It's unusual for the Mendonoma Coast to be hit by winter-like storms in early October but that is what is happening. Yesterday we got nearly two inches of rain at our home in Anchor Bay. Another even bigger storm is due in tonight. Batten down the hatches! But this morning's sunrise was lovely.

Several friends have told me they have found Chanterelles, Cantharellus cibarius, in the past couple of days. This morning, in our forest, Rick and I saw golden Chanterelles just appearing. Notice the Banana Slug approaching them too.

Chanterelles are among the most delicious of the coast's wild mushrooms. Thank you, Mother Nature!

• 2 Comments

•

I so enjoy California Honeysuckle - Lonicera hispidula. In the spring lovely pink blossoms appear. And now, on this first day of autumn, the berries that formed after the blossoms have begun to ripen. They are round and a brilliant orange-red. They are edible but very bitter. Some birds will eat them if they can't find other food. With all the Huckleberry bushes we have on our property in Anchor Bay providing a multitude of sweet berries, the fruits of the Honeysuckle usually adorn the vines well into winter.

To see their pink blossoms, click on this link and imagine you are smelling their delicate fragrance: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/06/30/california-honeysuckle-has-begun-blooming-such-a-delicate-climbing-beauty/

• 2 Comments

•

Last night - and a balmy one it was - Rick and I heard a Western Screech Owl calling just outside our courtyard. These owls don't screech! They have a very melodic, soothing call. We know we have Screech Owls in our area in Anchor Bay because last year we found two juveniles in a dark canyon. Here's the link to see them on this blog: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/04/29/hoping-for-a-western-screech-owl-to-take-up-residence-in-my-beautiful-owl-house/

I decided I'd like to learn more about owl calls. I found a great web site, forgetting that I had turned the volume on my iPad all the way up. Huckleberry was sleeping behind Rick and me. It was very tranquil and quiet. Quiet, that is, until I clicked on the very loud "hoo, hoo, hooooo" sounds of a Great Horned Owl. The calls boomed out into our house, echoing off the walls. Huckleberry reared up in great alarm, looked everywhere in the living room and then began barking.

Here's a photo of a Great Horned Owl taken by Steve Wilcox. I thank him for allowing me to share his photo here.

And if you'd like to hear their call, here's a link: http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Bubo&species=virginianus But learn from my lesson and keep the sound down so you don't scare your furry friends!