Tag Archives: Anchor Bay

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A week ago I took these two photos of the sunset from Rick's and my Anchor Bay home. I thought the streaks in the sky were particularly interesting, especially in the second photo.

To see several other recent sunsets, here are the links: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/10/28/two-photos-of-sundays-magnificent-sunset-by-gary-klein/ and http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/10/24/a-spectacular-sunset-photo-by-coastal-photographer-ron-levalley/

Our lovely, warm autumn weather is about to end with a coldfront due to arrive tomorrow. The good news is the rain will certainly re-start the mushroom season. There is always a silver lining!

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Matsutakes, Tricholoma magnivelare, are just beginning to appear. They come up in the same place, year after year, near our property in Anchor Bay. The first three made an appearance a few days ago. They are growing in sandy soil underneath a mixed conifer forest with manzanita and huckleberry bushes nearby.

The Matsutakes found in our area, the Pacific Northwest, are also called White Matsutakes. They have a wonderful aroma...like cinnamon. There is no other mushroom like it. Yes, another wonderful gift in the forest from Mother Nature.

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On Friday a Sandhill Crane was seen by Mel Smith just off Highway One by the Garcia River flats. Last year about this time two Sandhill Cranes danced in the air in front of my Anchor Bay home. I don't think people would have believed me, as I'm not the most experienced birder, except I got several pictures. Sandhill Cranes are rare visitors to the coast.

I felt very fortunate to see and hear them - a wonderful gift from Mother Nature!

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I was sitting on our deck reading when a fairly large bug flew into the side of my face. It flew down to the brick deck and rested in the mortar between two bricks. Rick and I had never seen anything like it before. The antennae are longer than the bug's body.

I sent my photo to bug expert Will Ericson. He wrote back, "Oh, that's cool. I haven't seen these in Mendocino before, always a pleasant surprise. This is a Monochamus sp. in the family Cerambycidae." Will told me they are wood-boring beetles and act as essential decomposers of dead trees. They are also known as Sawyer Beetles.

I thought the photo below was interesting with the shadow.

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Coccora mushrooms, Amanita calyptroderma, are just poking up through the forest duff on our Anchor Bay property. They appear in the same place, year after year. A mushroom expert friend, Bev Vogt, identified them for Rick and me some years ago. She declared this part of our property, "Coccora heaven!"

In the days to come, the white you see below will adorn a golden-colored cap. These are edible, indeed considered choice by some. But with the creamy white top removed they can be confused with the Death Cap, Amanita phalloides. As the name implies, it is deadly poisonous.

I wouldn't eat a Coccora unless I had picked it myself. They are quite beautiful to look at. I will post a photograph here when they are in "full flower."