Tag Archives: Craig Tooley

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Scoliopus bigelovii has two strange common names - Fetid Adder's Tongue and Slink Pod. They are our earliest blooming wildflowers and they are found on the forest floor. The tiny, exquisite blooms come up first, with the stem barely cupped by the emerging leaves. The blooms are only about an inch or so high, so they are quite hard to spot. I recently showed photographer Craig Tooley where they were blooming on a neighbor's property.

They are members of the Lily family. The flowers will be long gone when the leaves fully emerge. If you find the large mottled leaves in the spring, note where they are growing so you can look for the flowers next winter. Rick and I always started looking for them on Christmas Day, and this year I found the first one on Dec. 26th.

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

Much of the Mendonoma Coast has no power. The towns of Gualala, Anchor Bay and Point Arena are without power since yesterday's storm. I am posting this with the help of a backup generator. We had a wild and very windy storm, which was the culprit for the power outages. Many trees are down. It will be several days before power is restored. The rain totals for yesterday's storm was 2.45 inches, 29.95 season to date.

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We've had a series of storms hit the Mendonoma Coast. Craig Tooley photographed one of the storm clouds as it approached.

There is a lot of motion in this photo of Craig's!

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: http://www.ruffimage.com

Thursday night/Friday early hours saw a good storm move through. At 7 am this morning, there was 3.40 inches in our rain gauge. More rain to come, but the weekend is looking dry for the New Year's festivities.

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Craig Tooley was thinking of fairies when he photographed a mushroom that looked like a tiny parasol. He wrote, “Undoubtedly you recognize this Fair-a-sol mushroom. Used by fairies and other magical forest creatures to accessorize for gatherings or just to keep the harsh sun off.  I know that they are not often seen but it is getting close to New Year's, and you know how those fairies love the New Year’s celebrations.”

We think this mushroom is in the amanita family. It is lovely how the edges have formed little "curtains." Fairies must certainly use mushrooms like this!

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

Some overhead clouds  today which should make for a beautiful sunset. A little warmer today, which is nice! No rain predicted through the weekend.

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Rozanne Rapozo caught this American Kestrel just as it landed. It's fun to see its wing feathers and tail feathers extended. Kestrels use their long tails for balance.

Craig Tooley found this Kestrel staring down a Northern Flicker.

Kestrels are North America's smallest falcon. They eat insects and other small prey. They have an unusual call, rather excited notes, and you can hear it here at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/sounds

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

It's been cold here, it was 37 degrees this morning. As we take a break from the rains, passing clouds bring beauty to sunrises and sunsets. There is little wind and the ocean is calm. In other words, an exquisite, lovely day here on the Mendonoma Coast.

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Black Phoebes are insect eaters so this flycatcher Michele Melio photographed might be on the lookout for a passing bug.

Black Phoebes make their nests out of mud so they need to be close to a water source. Those who reside year round here have the Pacific Ocean, a handful of rivers, and many seasonal creeks for their needs. They have a whistling call that you can hear at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Phoebe/sounds

Here is a closeup of a Black Phoebe, this one taken by Craig Tooley.

Thanks to Michele and Craig for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

It's a cool, sunny day. Fog covered the Pacific Ocean for a while and there are some clouds passing by. Dry weather is predicted through the weekend, with rain the first of the week.