Tag Archives: Anchor Bay

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The rains of this week have brought several wildflowers into bloom. One is the delicate Windflower, Anemone oregana. It is also called Western Wood Anemone or Oregon Anemone. It is a California native, though it is also found in a few other western states, including Oregon. It's a perennial herb. The juice from Windflowers can cause skin rashes. Who knew such a lovely little wildflower had a bite?

The petals are so delicate that if you touch them they might fall away. So now we know to look but don't touch. These wildflowers just bloomed on our property in Anchor Bay. They are quite small, perhaps two inches tall, and are on the forest floor near Quinliven Creek.

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It's no secret we've had a fairly dry winter - at least so far! Last night we had a beautiful sunset, which was accented by a very short green flash. Here's a photo just before the sun set, taken from our deck in Anchor Bay.

Today we are enjoying spring-like weather. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom in the forest. Redwood Sorrel, Oxalis oregana, has just begun to bloom. The leaves are purple underneath and they close if the sun hits them. Yes, they love the shady forest where they reside

In the top of this photo you can see the distinctive, splotchy leaves of a Fetid Adder's Tongue.

And I'm happy to report that the northward migration of Gray Whales has begun. On Sunday five Grays were seen, two of which were Calves. Hooray for our Gray Whales!

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Even inside my home in Anchor Bay, one-half mile away, I can hear the roar of the Pacific Ocean. Huge swells are hitting the Mendonoma Coast and the crashing waves create a salty mist that drifts across Highway One. The swells are also creating some great surfing conditions.

Yesterday morning I photographed a nearly full moon in the western sky at sunrise. You can see the swells, one after the other. One friend described this as the ocean looking like corduroy.

 As Craig Tooley likes to say, the edges of the day are a great time for photography. Below is the setting sun shining on the ocean. It's a golden staircase to the unknown.

And what it looked like last night as the sun set into clouds. Beautiful, don't you think? No sunset is alike!

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Yesterday Rick and I saw our first Trilliums of the year on our property in Anchor Bay. Western Trillium, Trillium ovatum, is always a treat to find. But never pick one! It can take years for the plant to recover.

 Below is a Trillium just unfolding.

The flowers are white when young and turn pink as they age. Ants distribute their seeds, as they do for many other plants. Everything is connected - we just need to learn of these connections and respect them. Mother Nature knows what she's doing!

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The Mendonoma Coast is just starting to dry out from the series of storms that hit us late last week. We received nearly ten inches at our home in Anchor Bay! Tom Eckles photographed storm clouds mixed with the setting sun - just spectacular.

Thanks to Tom for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Tom's photography, here's his web site: http://www.tomeckles.com/