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It's good to have water for wildlife. Adrian Bennett has a birdbath that subs as a drinking fountain for Deer, in this case, a big Buck.

This is the time of year for the mating season - the rut - of the Black-tailed Mule Deer. They are bound to get thirsty chasing the Does around!

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

It's still quite warm when you are a little ways away from the Pacific Ocean. 85 degrees here this afternoon, down from a high of 97 yesterday. Further cooling is forecast with the possibility of some wet stuff late Friday into early Saturday. I hope so!

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Perry Hoffman got this wonderful photo of a Red-tailed Hawk near the P'da Hau, aka the Garcia River. It looks like the hawk was just taking off. It's amazing to see the strength - and beauty -  in this hawk's wings.

Red-tailed Hawks are year round residents of the Mendonoma Coast.

To  hear their distinctive, screaming call, you can listen here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/sounds

I read on the site that they give this call most often while soaring.

Thanks to Perry for allowing me to share his photo with  you here. To see much more of Perry's photography, here is the link to his website: https://magentaraven.com/

We had another very hot day here. The heatwave is suppose to break tomorrow. My sister, who lives in Point Arena on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific, said it was much cooler there today. The temperature actually hit 97 degrees here today. Good news is that rain is in the forecast for late Friday into Saturday. Bring it, Mother Nature!

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Craig Tooley noticed this handsome Double-crested Cormorant perched at the Gualala River. The bird then took flight and Craig got that photo too.

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website: "From a distance, Double-crested Cormorants are dark birds with snaky necks, but up-close they’re quite colorful—with orange-yellow skin on their face and throat, striking aquamarine eyes that sparkle like jewels, and a mouth that is bright blue on the inside." I like the "etching" on their feathers!

To hear the call of a Double-crested Cormorant, you can listen at this link: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/sounds  Fair warning! Their infrequent calls sound rather like a pig!

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

We had some puffy clouds moving in from the west, making for a beautiful morning. Temps are again mild today and there is no wind. A very nice day!

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The light on the Mendonoma Coast is always changing and often mesmerizing. Tom Marble took a photo of sunbeams amidst the fog, and a Buck in the yard. There's a person standing to the left, looking at the Pacific Ocean and perhaps a reflection of someone else in the blind-covered window.

Tom tells me this house was designed by San Francisco architect Hans Baldauf. It's located on the beautiful Sea Ranch and it's called the Sea Pine House.

Thanks to Tom for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To learn more at the Sea Pine House, here's a link to a blog written by the architect: https://bcvarch.com/about-us/blog-all/blog-community/blog-sea-ranch-exhibition/

Our hot weather left us - don't let the door hit you on the way out, heat! - and it's a lovely sunny day here today, temps in the mid 70's. Perfect!

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Mother Nature must have a sense of humor. She created a caterpillar that looks just like a twig. Peggy Berryhill and Susan Ruschmeyer found one at their home in Anchor Bay. It's a twig-mimic caterpillar in the family Geometridae.

Its head with three legs on each side is to the right. Here's a video Susan took of the caterpillar's unique movements.

Twig-mimic Caterpillar video by Susan Ruschmeyer

This is a first for me! Perhaps for  you too.

Thanks to Peggy and Susan for allowing me to share their photo and video with you here.

Sunny and warm today with no wind. It's supposed to heat up tomorrow, Tuesday and on Wednesday. The Pacific Ocean was flat calm today.