Tag Archives: John Wall

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A Mendonoma sunset is something to be savored. This is what John Wall saw from his Sea Ranch home last week. Isn't beautiful?

I asked John if those were Brown Pelicans resting on the island and he said yes! Brown Pelicans are now headed southward. They are being seen here in very large numbers.

Bonus photo from John! Dash, the dog, points out a vole or gopher. What a dog!

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

Smoke from fires far to our north drifted in overnight...ugh. And it's quite warm, over 80 degrees at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay. Cooler weather is predicted and even a chance of sprinkles on Friday. So, hopefully the smoke will be fleeting.

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John Wall’s dog, Dash, points out nature sightings. A few weeks ago, Dash found a Vole.

John wrote, “Everyone has seen a Vole hole, but not that many have seen a whole Vole! Dash wanted to share this sighting with you since he spotted one of our little friends sunning himself along our way. And we told the Vole, ‘Bud, you’re gonna be lunch for a heron or something if you stay out here like this!’ So we gently herded him back into his hole!” Voles are small rodents and are related to lemmings and hamsters. They are sometimes called meadow mice.

And wouldn't you know it, a few days later John photographed a Great Blue Heron with a Vole in its beak. I wonder if it was the same Vole!

And here on a recent sunny day, Dash is contemplating the cosmos...and the Pacific Ocean. What a dog!

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

Rain is predicted for tonight, and some dark clouds passed by earlier. But this afternoon the sun broke through, temps in the low 50's. Humpback Whales were seen off Point Arena this morning, six or seven!

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Dash gets around and he loves noticing Nature. At the recent minus tides, Dash pointed out this Abalone which had been left high and kind-of-dry during the low tide event.

The Abalone looked healthy. It was waiting for the tide to return and perhaps bring some kelp for it to eat. I see another Abalone in this photo, under the reddish kelp in the upper right corner.

In the next photo, there is a lot going on! Chris photographed an Abalone with a Crab possibly trying to attack it. A big Ocher Star, Mussels, Purple Urchins, Turban Snails, and a Sea Anemone. Looks like a party, an intertidal party!

And here's a bonus photo of Dash, enjoying the Douglas Iris blooming at Gualala Point Regional Park. This time he was with his dad, John Wall.

Thanks to Chris and John for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We had rain yesterday late afternoon. 0.15 inches in our rain gauge, 49.70 inches season to date. 50 inches is our average so this is good news for those of us on wells.  Today is sunny but there is a very strong breeze. There is no reason to brush your hair if you are outside today on the windy Mendonoma Coast!

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There is a special spot on the Salal Trail, a public access trail that starts in the first parking lot of Gualala Point Regional Park. Once you walk along the trail which is beside Highway One and the Sea Ranch Golf Course, you turn westward and the trail brings you to this. John Wall and his dog, Dash, recently visited the Salal falls.

Dash is a very discriminating dog, and he says this spot is just perfect!

Thanks to John for allowing me to share his photo with you here. Here is a link to a previous post that gives you a little more direction for finding this trail: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2015/07/29/enjoying-the-salal-trail/

We are in another long dry spell. Thank goodness for the early rains, but we surely could use more of the wet stuff. In the meantime, the weather is mild. There was fog over the ocean this morning, but it's pulled back now. Nothing but blue skies today!

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The trouble-making thunderstorms California experienced last month brought an unusual cloud formation over the Pacific Ocean. Ned Alpers called it a “cloud-island.”

Jim Garlock saw it in Gualala and wrote, “I just looked outside and thought a new land mass had sprung out of the ocean. It was a cloud that has now disappeared, but it was certainly a strange view.”

John Wall saw it too. He wrote, “I saw this really interesting and unusual cloud formation as I was driving south by Stewart’s Point. It was worth pulling over to take a pic even though it got me stuck behind a Winnebago that wouldn’t pull over! [The cloud formation] made me want to dial up “Islands In the Sky.’ What an amazing place we live in!”

Scott Gasparian took a look at the photos and sent me several links that explained this rare phenomenon. It was a type of Arcus cloud called a Roll cloud, or a Morning Glory cloud. They can be created by downdrafts of thunderstorms.

Thanks to John, Jim and Ned for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Heat wave on the Mendonoma Coast! Might I tell you I do not like the heat? It's nearly 30 degrees hotter today than yesterday. At our home in Anchor Bay we are at 90 degrees this afternoon.