•

I love Cedar Waxwings but I don't see them very often. Ron Bolander recently photographed one of these beauties.

Ron also found a White-tailed Kite resting on branches. Nice!

And a female American Kestrel in flight.

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

The weather is sunny and mild today. The Pacific Ocean has calmed down after all the storms. Last night a friend and I witnessed a green flash at sunset. These dry days are so welcome after all the rain. Crews are working along Highway One today, clearing downed trees that were pushed to the side of the highway. Lots of heroes here on the Mendonoma Coast!

•

Craig Tooley and Rita Peck visited a local beach. Craig wrote, “We were walking along the beach and discovered this Crab, trying to escape from the big waves, I guess.”

Then a bad boy or girl appeared, a Common Raven. The Raven spotted the Crab and nabbed the Crab for its dinner.

Craig wrote further, “I guess this Raven heard that crab was the thing to have as part of a New Year's celebration.”

I was curious as to what kind of crab Craig had photographed so I send his photos to Bob Van Syoc. Bob wrote, “The crab looks like Cancer antennarius, a Rock Crab that lives in rocky (duh) intertidal reefs.”

ah, the food chain in action. It's not always easy to watch!

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

A smaller storm is hitting the Mendonoma Coast this afternoon. When it is done, the forecast is for sunny and warmer weather. We need it to dry out!

•

Paul wrote last Thursday, "Beautiful waves all day but awful windy to try to photograph. I braved the wind this evening and thought you might enjoy seeing what the wind brought us. However, hope the wind is gone tomorrow."

Wish I had a recording to share with you, as the waves were booming - oh, the sound was so loud! It felt like the Mendonoma Coast was shaking from the force of those waves.

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

We have one more storm coming in tomorrow, Wednesday, a smaller storm. After that the weather is forecast to be storm-free for the next seven days. We need to dry out a bit. I've recorded 43.65 inches in our gauge, season to date. A "normal" winter at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay is 50 inches. So we are having a heck of a winter so far!

•

Gary Levenson-Palmer captured this beautiful sight.

Lots of white water, and perhaps some sea foam. Thanks to Gary for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Still many power outages but we've had a break from the rain today. More raining beginning tonight. Wow!

•

Don't get close to the bluff edge, especially after all the rain we've had here on the Mendonoma Coast. Roxanne Holmes didn't get wet with this crashing wave, but it was a close call! You can see a big wave forming behind this crashing wave.

Gail Jackson went to the Gualala Bluff Trail and got these photos.

It's pretty thrilling to observe the power of the ocean at moments like these.

Thanks to Roxanne and Gail for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It's raining as I type this. So far this season I've recorded 37.15 inches. 50 inches total is a normal winter, to give  you perspective. I'm on day eight of no power, and I've run out of propane for my generator. But I'm getting help to keep the generator on for short periods of time with 5 gallon propane cylinders. Wood stove is going, and a certain kitty I adopted loves laying in front of that stove. Many others here on the coast are in a similar predicament. We help each other as we can, and we smile through the experience...because, really, what else can you do?