Tag Archives: beneficial

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Peter Baye wrote, "Here's the underwater fish-eye perspective on the Wigeongrass canopy, reaching up like a vine growing through submerged dead tree branches - which these are, mantled in green filamentous algae."

"The bubbles in the Wigeongrass are pure oxygen produced by the Wigeongrass leaves getting sunlight under water. They can actually saturate the water column with oxygen by day.  May not be pretty to us, but the Gualala Roach and Steelhead juveniles love it!”

It will reach the surface in the lagoon soon. It’s not harmful; it’s beneficial. Watch for it!

Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

No wind today. There are some high clouds drifting by, and it's a nice, warm day on the Mendonoma Coast.

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Cathleen Crosby recently photographed the Gualala River -  it now sports a greenish tinge.

The river is still closed to the Pacific Ocean by the large sandbar and it has turned a beautiful green. I’ve learned from fly fisherman Charlie Ivor that this is called “Steelhead green,” and it means conditions for finding fish in the river can be excellent. Phytoplankton, single cell algae, along with a small amount of suspended mineral sediment, are turning the river water green. It’s very beneficial, helping to feed fish and other river inhabitants.

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

We are waiting for a pretty good-sized storm which is supposed to begin around 4 pm. We'll take it! I'll report soon on the rain totals. I'll also be watching to see if this storm opens the river to the ocean. TBD!

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Craig Tooley wrote, "This Little possum is one of those creatures I don't often get the opportunity to see and even less of an opportunity to photograph. Some people don't care for them, but as I was brought up on Dr. Seuss it reminds me of characters of my childhood. I managed to get a few pictures of it as it was foraging around some landscape lighting, much to my delight!

Opossums are marsupials and they quite beneficial in the environment. They prey on cockroaches, rats, and mice, and...THEY EAT TICKS! One Opossum can eat 5,000 ticks a season. You can read about their role to play at this link to the National Wildlife Foundation: https://blog.nwf.org/2017/06/opossums-unsung-heroes-in-the-fight-against-ticks-and-lyme-disease/

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

Craig's photos are featured in our book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year, which is available at the Four-eyed Frog Books  https://www.foureyedfrog.com/ or on the homepage of this website. It's a beautiful book that will bring you visually to the Mendonoma Coast.

ooo, today is just a beautiful day. The birdsong this morning was a balm. We are at 75 degrees, light breeze and nothing but sunshine today.

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Are you afraid of arachnids? Craig Tooley isn’t. He wrote, “The Harvestmen are back. They’ve actually been back for over four months. I just had not gotten out to get any pictures. They are really quite amazing, though I’m not sure exactly what they are eating.”

Craig’s photo shows a cluster of Harvestmen, a non-venomous arachnid also called Daddy long-legs. They are actually quite beneficial to a house. They are omnivores, eating insects, other spiders, aphids, dead insects, fungus, and more. They form clusters for protection.

Craig got a close-up of a couple of Harvestmen. He found the lead one was smiling at him!

Hope this photo makes you smile!

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

It's a stunning day on the Mendonoma coast. We are sad, though, that all the beaches and parks have been closed. Even the Point Arena Pier closed to everyone except the fishermen with boats. We'll get through this...together.

Spring doesn't know...

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Craig wrote, “This is a Hoverfly called a Margined Calligrapher. It’s feeding on one of those non-native dandelions.”

They are quite beneficial in your garden. The larvae eat aphids and thrips, and the adults feed on a variety of flowers, pollinating them as they go.

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

Now starts the three-day holiday weekend. It looks like the weather will be stellar. Yesterday, Harbor Porpoises were seen off Fish Rocks and then off the Point Arena Harbor. Brown Pelicans are here in  abundance, always a joy to see.