Tag Archives: Grace O’Malley

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It's rather startling to see this, but it is a treat. Grace O'Malley photographed a Sun Halo. What's interesting in Grace's photo is the pyramid shape in the middle of the Halo.

A Sun Halo is a ring or light that forms around the sun as the sunlight refracts off ice crystals present in a thin veil of cirrus clouds. It often predicts rain within the next 24 hours.

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

No Sun Halo today. We actually saw some fog form out on the ocean, and that is a harbinger for spring! It's been sunny with light breezes and temps in the 60s. Perfection!

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We are receiving a lot of rain today. This morning there was 1.6 inches in our rain gauge, 15.50 inches season to date. And it's raining this afternoon as I type this. During a previous storm, Grace O'Malley photographed the beautiful sight of an approaching storm.

Grace also photographed storm clouds approaching the mouth of the Russian River at Jenner.

There are mushrooms popping up in many places. Matsutakes are still appearing. Here I am a few days ago with a nice haul of these choice, edible mushrooms. Rozann Grunig took the photo.

Thanks to Grace and Rozann for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Rain, intermittent sunshine, gusts of wind...it's a wait-five-minutes kind of day!

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To see a green flash is said to bring you good luck. May seeing Shari Goforth-Eby's photo of a recent green flash do just that!

A basket full of of wonderfully edible Golden Chanterelles, as found and photographed by Alex Kun, is the perfect addition to a holiday meal.

And while we've had sunny, dry weather for some days now, we long for more rain. Here's rain showers over the Pacific Ocean as photographed by Grace O'Malley.

You can see we do have much to be thankful for!

Thanks to Shari, Alex and Grace for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Sunny and mild today!

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Grace O'Malley wrote, "I was at The Sea Ranch Ohlson Barn near dusk and observed two pairs of turkeys engaged in battles.  I learned from the internet that in the fall, male turkey flocks (collectively called bachelors or mobs) are full of squabbles, dominance displays, even fights - all establishing who is at the top of the literal pecking order.  One turkey had inserted his beak and part of his face down the opposing turkey’s throat, and they wrestled in that position for minutes."

"I tried to break them up and they just ignored me." Here is Grace's video of the fight.

Two male Wild Turkeys fighting - video by Grace O'Malley

Usually the Tom Turkeys are slowly moving around, strutting their beautiful feathers. It's interesting to know this fight for dominance goes on in the autumn.

Thanks to Grace for allowing me to share her photo and video with you here.

Another clear, mild day, temps in the mid-sixties. The horizon is clear this afternoon so there might be a green flash at sunset!

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The long-lived generation of Monarch Butterflies has arrived on the Mendonoma Coast. These are the butterflies that migrate south, living up to seven months, and they are known as the Methuselah generation. They are looking for plants on which to feed. So nectar plants, particularly native nectar plants, are very important to them here on the coast. Here are some recent photos of these large, beautiful butterflies.

These photos were taken in different locations and the Monarchs are feeding on different flowers. The photos were taken by, starting with the top -  Tempra Board, Craig Tooley, Eric Zetterholm, and Grace O'Malley.

I thank all these photographers for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

The best way to report your sightings of Monarch Butterflies in the autumn is to either send them to me and/or post your sighting on iNaturalist. The experts monitor Monarch sightings on iNaturalist. You will be contributing to their study of these butterflies that have struggled mightily in recent years. Here's hoping this will be a good year for the Monarchs.

Once again, the day started off gray and cold, with a moist fog bank greeting the dawn. It pulled back somewhat but it is still over the Pacific Ocean and may well in on the immediate coast in places. Temps in the low 60's.