•

I'll let Mark tell the story. He wrote, "Hi, Jeanne!  On my way back to the Lighthouse from S&B Market the other day my eye was caught by an explosion of pink in the Evergreen Cemetery off of Mountain View Road.  I pulled into the cemetery and there were Naked Ladies everywhere!  I walked around the grounds taking pictures and looking at some of the headstones from the 1800s, and at the far end of the cemetery a fox decided to join me on my walk.  It stopped by one of the headstones and looked at me as if to say, aren't these flowers amazing?

Amazing, indeed and it's fun to see the Gray Fox! Naked ladies are non-native bulbs. By the time the flower stalk comes up, the leaves are gone - hence the naked  lady. They aren't invasive so we are free to love them.

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

After yesterday's downpour, we had a sunny, cool day today. The horizon looks clear so perhaps there will be a green flash tonight at sunset. Hope so!

•

I heard rumbling, the rumble of thunder. I looked out at the ocean and saw this rain cloud headed right for Rick's and my place!

Here's a short video of thunder, followed by a video of the downpour.

Thunder and rain by Jeanne Jackson

Downpour by Jeanne Jackson

 

•

There are only two birds that roost together overnight - Vaux's Swifts and the tiny Pygmy Nuthatches. Here is a photo take by the late Ron LeValley showing one of these birds headed face down a tree.

Last year a group roosted in a birdhouse on the north end of our house. This year they are in a Bishop Pine tree in our parking area. I've noticed on previous days that the nuthatches don't come out until they hear the Wrentit's call. But when I set up to photograph them this week, there were no Wrentit calls. They were VERY wary coming out, as you can see in this video.  I have it posted on the Mendonoma Sightings Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063067277149&sk=videos

Hope you enjoy seeing this!

We had 0.35 inches of rain overnight. More to come.

 

•

Kate Bloch noticed this Great Egret in the Russian River on a misty day.

Copyright Kate Bloch 2023

Here's what Kate wrote, "In the darkening afternoon, as the intermittent rain and fog blocked much of the light, what looked like an ivory statue appeared in the shallows of the Russian River near Jenner.  When I exited the car, I could see it was a lovely Great Egret."

Great Egrets are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast!

Thanks to Kate for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

Kate seems to have described today's weather. It started out foggy but a light misty rain is beginning to fall. More rain to come tomorrow, Sunday. Bring it, Mother Nature!

•

This photo from Allan Hogle made me laugh. The sun is setting while he is waiting to get through the construction project on Highway One. All of a sudden the two lights turn green at the moment the sun is setting...a unique, double green flash!

Here's a photo of a more traditional green flash taken a while ago by Allen Vinson.

Thanks to Allan and Allen for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It's quite overcast today and oddly warm - temps in the low 70's. Rain is in our forecast for the weekend. More Boletus edulis have been found and the first Chanterelles too. Hooray!