Tag Archives: Anchor Bay

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You'd expect to find Prince mushrooms on the Mendonoma Coast in summer. And, in fact, they are fruiting. But with the unusual heavy rain we received the end of June, we've have autumn mushrooms fruiting now - King Boletes, Chanterelles, a lone Sweettooth Hedgehog and several Cocorras. Now a Dyer's Polypore has fruited, at least a month earlier than normal. Is this the new normal? Time will tell. Nan Brichetto photographed this beauty Saturday in our forest in Anchor Bay.

This fungus helps the forest by decomposing dead wood. It is prized by dyers of yarn. When young, like this specimen, it dyes yarn yellow or orange. As the polypore ages it will dye yarn a warm brown.

Thanks to Nan for allowing me to share her photo with you here. I will enjoy watching this mushroom evolve and plan on sharing photos for you to see in the weeks to come.

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Manzanita bushes are native to California. We have several different types on our property in Anchor Bay. This big specimen is peeling, something manzanitas do every year.

Once the manzanita has done shedding its outer bark, smooth and silky bark remains. It's almost impossible not to run your fingers along a red branch once the peeling is done. When the bark peels, it's difficult for insects and other organisms to stay attached to the bush. So it is partly a defensive mechanism.

Manzanita bushes, with their beautiful branches, add beauty to the Mendonoma Coast.

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Andrew's Clintonia, Clintonia andrewsiana, is a lovely member of the Lily family. They grow in shaded forests. We have a few on our land in Anchor Bay and we cherish them. This Clintonia is about a foot and a half tall.

 In the summer, if a Deer doesn't eat the flower head, the flowers turn into blue berries. Rozann Grunig photographed this Clintonia last year. It's other common name is Blue Bead Lily. Now you can see why!

This is another wildflower that should never be picked. The flowers need to develop into these seeds. They will fall to the ground and, if they find a nurturing spot, will take root. They are very slow to develop. We have several "babies" and, even after ten years, they aren't big enough to flower.

Thanks to Rozann for allowing me to share her photo of the blue berries.

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Just a few sprinkles came down but the clouds were amazing. Here's a photo I took from our deck in Anchor Bay just before sunset.

Quite unusual cloud formations filled the sky, while the horizon was clearing. I saw a double green flash at sunset.

We have more rain in our forecast, which is welcome news after the nearly dry months of January and February...and March hasn't been much better. Let's do a rain dance!

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A strong storm hit the Mendonoma Coast late yesterday afternoon. High winds and drenching rain were finally the story of the day. This morning we had a rainbow day. I waited until the rainbow reached Fish Rocks.

 There's a hint of a second rainbow on the left.

 And a photo of some of the dramatic clouds this morning.

All of these were taken from the front deck of Rick's and my home in Anchor Bay. The Pacific Ocean is very turbulent and loud. The sound of crashing waves can be heard even inside our home and we are a half mile away. Amazing!

We received 1.4 inches of rain. That was enough to get Quinliven Creek going again. With the lack of rain over the past two months, there were several places where creek went underground. We're used to that happening in May, not February! We are very thankful for the rain.