Tag Archives: Bob Rutemoeller

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Bob Rutemoeller spotted this lovely butterfly which had landed on one his wife's native plants. The butterfly posed for Bob, showing top and bottom views. It is a Lorquin's Admiral Butterfly.

The host plant for these butterflies is willow. I purchased a wonderful waterproof booklet for butterfly identifications. It's titled Butterflies of Central and Northern California by Jim Brock. It shows the caterpillars of each butterfly too. I got mine at the Four-Eyed Frog Bookstore in Gualala. My favorite independent bookstore has a sale starting today...hint, hint! Here's a link to the Frog: http://www.foureyedfrog.com/

Thanks to Bob for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

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Bob Rutemoeller and Sandy Hughes both noticed this big moth resting at the Gualala Post Office. It's a Western Cecropia, or Giant Silkmoth.

Harm Wilkinson photographed a Ceanothus Moth just a block or two away.

They each have the distinctive white markings on their wings, but the colors are different and the markings on the bottom of their wings is different. Still, at first glance, I would have thought Bob's moth was a Ceanothus. We are seeing wild lilac, Ceanothus, in bloom right now, which always attracts Ceanothus Moths. They are quite large and exciting to see. The Giant Silkmoth is a rarer sighting for us.

Thanks to Bob and Harm for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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With our delicious early rains, the Gualala River opened on October 26th this year. Yes, the big sandbar that had closed the river off to the Pacific Ocean was finally breached. Eric and Annie Mills watched as it opened. But this year, for a while, it opened in two places, a very unusual occurrence.

First, let me show you what the river looked like just before it opened, as photographed by Bob Rutemoeller. It was full and flooding into its floodplain.

before-the-gualala-river-opened-by-bob-rutemoellerEric noticed the river breach the sandbar at the north end, just a tiny rivulet.

gualala-river-beginning-to-open-by-eric-millsAnd then it opened a little to the south, a much bigger opening.

gualala-river-breaks-through-a-little-south-of-the-north-end-by-eric-millsWithin a few minutes the pent up river was pouring out to the ocean. Steelhead that had been trapped in luxury in the river were sent into their briny destiny. Snags and branches shot out the opening. It was quite a spectacle.

gualala-river-opening-to-the-pacific-ocean-by-eric-millsThis year the river opened on a sunny day, another unusual occurrence! It's usually raining when it opens.

Here's the after photo, taken by Bob Rutemoeller.

after-the-gualala-river-opened-by-bob-rutemoellerWe've had more rain, so the river isn't this low now.

Thanks to Eric and Bob for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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I took this photo of the Gualala River from the Gualala Bluff Trail just before the rains came. You can see it was very low and the sandbar is huge.

the-gualala-before-the-storms-10-13-16Bob Rutemoeller photographed the river after the rain, an amazing difference. The Gualala River has been closed to the Pacific Ocean by a huge sandbar for months. With enough rain, the river will burst through the sandbar, but that will have to wait for another day as the river is still closed.

the-gualala-river-after-the-rain-by-bob-rutemoellerFor now, we have sunny, warm weather. This would be a perfect time to kayak or canoe on the Gualala. But once another storm brings rain, you won't want to be anywhere near or on the river. It's an amazing spectacle. Here is a short video taken by Dane Behrens a few years ago when the river opened. It's titled "Standing Waves." Tree trunks, steelhead, pretty much anything in the river gets thrust into the ocean at an extremely rapid speed. Fun fact: when the river is closed by the sandbar, the mouth is called a lagoon. When it's open, it's called an estuary.

Thanks to Bob and Dave for allowing me to share their photo and video with you here.

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Bob Rutemoeller recently photographed a beautiful Leopard lily, Lilium pardalinum. They are also called Tiger lilies.

Leopard Lily by Bob RutemoellerYou can see in Bob's photo that there is a bud in the background. This tall lily puts out multiple blooms. I have some growing near our place in Anchor Bay. They can grow several feet high. Never pick the flowers, though! They need to develop seeds in the flower head so they will grow again next year.

In my book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year, I have a fun fact about this native wildflower: It you smell a Tiger Lily, you are sure to get freckles.

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