Teresa Denniston photographed a recent sunrise and you can see it reflected in the Gualala River.
We have a big storm headed our way. Creeks and waterfalls are flowing and it is a wonderful time to be on the Mendonoma Coast.
Thanks to Teresa for allowing me to share her photo with you here.
We have had over seven inches of rain so far from the big storm. The creek that crosses our land has come to life. And this morning the Gualala River finally received enough rain to open to the Pacific Ocean, the first time in many months.
You can see the big opening in the sandbar. The river is running muddy and fast! It was raining hard when I took this photo today.
It's a rare day when I send out two Mendonoma Sightings blogs in one day but I just had to tell you the news. This is sure to help put a dent in the drought. Hooray for Mother Nature!
Robert and Nancy Scarola were walking the public access bluff trail at The Sea Ranch when they saw a Gray Whale.
Robert swears the whale was smiling at them. The whale's head is on the left and its flipper is on the right. The small round objects in Robert's photo are Bull Kelp. There are just a few strands left in the ocean now as recent storms have ripped them from their holdfasts. Some sink but others are tossed up on the beach where they provide food and shelter for various creatures that live on the beach.
A big storm has just passed through. Our seasonal creeks are doing their best impression of mighty rivers this afternoon. We've had 23 inches of rain so far this season, which is an amazing amount.
Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
In less than 24 hours we had 4.9 inches of rain at our house in Anchor Bay. That's enough to cause flooding and, indeed, the Garcia River has flooded Highway One this morning. The seasonal creek the crosses our property was doing its best imitation of a mighty river and was running dangerously fast and very muddy. We were afraid that our golden retriever, Huckleberry, might get too close to the stream so we leashed him up.
I took these photos late yesterday afternoon after 4.2 inches had fallen. Here's Rick and Huck next to the spot on the creek where we usually can jump across - not yesterday and still not today!
In the upper left is the path we usually take to get down to the forest floor. It was a river too!
Here Quinliven Creek rushes underneath the bridge Rick built with his son, Ron, so we could get across in times like these. This is about as close to the bridge as we've seen the creek. It was a little scary going across the bridge!
And below you can see the creek as it looks this morning. It's lower and not so muddy but still running strong.
And amidst all this winter-like weather, a wonderful sign of spring - a Red Clintonia emerges.
After weeks of dry weather, the Mendonoma Coast is being hit by a big storm. And there are two more lined up - another for Friday and one for Sunday night. Our seasonal creeks had gone dry in places during the long dry spell. I know the creek that runs through our property in Anchor Bay, Quinliven Creek, will soon come to life to delight us anew.
In the meantime, here is a photo I took five days ago of the sun setting into a sea of fog. Beautiful, don't you agree?
Here is a link to a photo I took last March of Quinliven Creek after a major storm: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/03/15/huge-storm-is-hitting-the-mendonoma-coast/