Tag Archives: The Sea Ranch

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It's an exciting time of year when we see the first mother/calf pairs of Gray Whales. On Monday, several pairs were seen quite close in at Black Point Beach off The Sea Ranch. A friend called Craig Tooley and he got this great photo of a calf.

You can tell this a calf born earlier this year because of his or her stubby nose/mouth area and there are no barnacles yet! Of course the size compared to his/her mom is another clue.

Karen Wilkinson is the friend who called Craig and she got some incredible photos too. I hope to post some of hers soon.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com

oh, today is such a lovely day. Warm - low 70's - and no wind.

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The Doe found a nice place to shelter from a recent storm, under a Cypress tree on The Sea Ranch.

I wonder if she is under there again today, Friday, because it's been pouring rain!

Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

The rain started mid-morning this Friday. Well over 3/4 of an inch so far, and it's still raining as I type this post!

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Marilyn Green found this object washed up on a beach at The Sea Ranch.

Bob Van Syoc knew what it was. I found it eerily beautiful. Bob wrote, “Very beautiful indeed! This is the shed exoskeleton of a Barnacle.  Barnacles live inside a permanent calcareous shell attached to the bottom, but inside of the shell they also have a chitinous exoskeleton (like crabs and shrimp) as they are crustaceans. To grow they must shed their old exoskeleton and then form a new larger one. The shed exoskeletons float around and some wash ashore.”

So, inside the Barnacles' shell is an exoskeleton. And they outgrow it and have to shed it. Who knew? Lucky for Marilyn and me, Bob knew!

Thanks to Marilyn for her ability to spot small, unusual items and for allowing me to share her photo with you here. Also thanks to Bob for his expertise.

Cool this afternoon, with a breeze. We have rain coming in starting tomorrow night. Happy first full day of spring!

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A large, healthy-looking Mountain Lion has been seen twice at Pat Whelan’s home at The Sea Ranch. Pat wrote, “ Our critter cam spotted this big Mountain Lion walking through our yard this morning at 12:50 am, Feb. 22. Elegant, confident and handsome!  We live on the north end of Sea Ranch.” The Cougar paid the Whelans another visit a week or so later. Pat wrote, “Cougar sighting again in our yard on critter cam at 5:30 am.”

As I watched the videos, it sure looked like the Mountain Lion was comfortable in his or her surroundings. It’s hard to tell if it’s a male or female. This is the time of year most Mountain Lions mate. This could be a male here to mate with one or several females over the next few weeks.

Thanks to Pat for allowing me to share this screen shot with you here.

It's raining this afternoon! Good weather for watching the Academy Awards.

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Bill Oxford was photographing Sea Lions off Biehler Point on The Sea Ranch this past week. There was a group of Sea Lions rafting together nearby. Several peeled off and decided to surf the big waves. The first photo show three Sea Lions. I can almost hear their glee!

Another of Bill's great photos of this event will be in tomorrow's Independent Coast Observer in my Mendonoma Sightings column.What? You don't get the paper? You can sign up at http://www.mendonoma.com

Were Sea Lions the first surfers? Could be! But there are other creatures who love to surf, including Bottlenose Dolphins and Western Gulls. And then there are the two-legged variety. Rozanne Rapozo photographed this surfer off the mouth of the Gualala River, not a place we usually see surfers!

Thanks to Bill and Rozanne for allowing me to share their photos with you here. You can see more of Bill's photography, which includes weddings, at his website: https://www.billoxford.com/

Today, 1/31/24 Wednesday, the Mendonoma Coast...and much of California...has been hit by a whopper of a storm. Rain totals vary greatly depending on location. As I type this, Rick's and my gauge is at 3.14 inches and it's still raining. I've had reports of over six inches on the Gualala Ridge. It's a gully washer!