So small and delicate you might overlook it, the Redwood Pea is blooming now on the Mendonoma Coast. Its Latin name is Lathyrus torreyi and it is a California native. It's a perennial herb and it is blooming in the forest on our property in Anchor Bay and also in several sunnier spots. Peter Baye tells me they are not too common these days and he encourages his wherever he finds them. Now this native wildflower is even more precious to me.
The sun has finally decided to make an appearance and a welcome one it is. Our rain total at our Anchor Bay home has topped 70 inches for the season with this last storm. It's time for some good weather! A Swainson's Thrush is singing his beautiful song and the fragrant smell of wisteria and from our incredible banana bush are wafting in through the open sliding glass door. This is more like it! But to remind us that winter was just a few days ago, Carolyn André recently photographed storm waves off The Sea Ranch and is kindly allowing me to share it here. The Pacific Ocean - I never get tired of looking at it.
On calm days the Sea Lions on the colony at Fish Rocks just off of the hamlet of Anchor Bay can be heard noisely barking. They are giving birth to pups now on the rocky islands off the coast. Craig Tooley captured a photo of a mom and her newborn pup and has kindly allowed me to share it here. Another of Craig's photos shows a group of Sea Lions on Fish Rocks. They are known for their intelligence and playfulness - this mammal is often the trained "seal" found in zoos. I prefer to view - and listen - to them in the wild!
To see more of Craig's photos, go to: http://web.me.com/theruffians1
A beautiful bright yellow wildflower is blooming in sunny, dry places on the Mendonoma Coast now. It's name is Goldwire or Hypericum concinnum. Rick and I have several nice clumps of this perennial herb on our property in Anchor Bay. Peter Baye recently identified it for me. There are many subtlety different yellow wildflowers blooming now. But Goldwire is unique enough to stand out and say, "Look at me!" Its stems are very wirey. It's a member of the St. John's-wort family and is only found in California. It's a California native just like me!
A Coast Lily - Lilium maritimum - one of the most beautiful of our spring wildflowers has just bloomed on our road near the hamlet of Anchor Bay. It's a perennial herb and now only grows on the North Coast, particularly in Mendocino County. It grows nowhere else in the world. It grows on a tall stalk over a foot tall, sometimes reaching as high as three feet. It is pollinated by Anna's and Allen's Hummingbirds and by Bumblebees. Our weather may be saying "Winter!" but this Coast Lily is saying "Spring!"
