I think of The Prince, Agaricus augustus, as a summer mushroom. With the dry weather we've been having on the Coast, this mushroom has bloomed early.
Mark Hancock recently photographed a group of them on the Gualala Arts Center grounds. In the first photo you see Mark's hand to give you the scale.
Gifts of the forest! Thanks to Mark for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
Last week Friends of the Gualala River and I hosted Gualala River Sightings at the Gualala Arts Center. People were invited to send in their favorite photos of our favorite wild river and its environs. Over 120 photos were sent in. I'm happy to be able to share the winning photographs with you.
Best above the river was taken by Peggy Berryhill:
Best in the river was taken by Rozann Grunig- kayaking under a full moon.
Best alongside the river (micro) was taken by Bryant Hichwa - icy morning leaves:
I will share more of the award winning photographs with you tomorrow. Many thanks to the talented photographers here
Sus Susalla is the Executive Director of the Gualala Arts Center. A few months ago the Art Center had a class called, "Introduction to Night Photography." Sus took the class and just look at the results.
What a spectacular photo! The Point Arena Lighthouse shines in the night sky. Thanks to Sus for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Cook's Beach is one of the many accomplishments of the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy. Irene Leidner is project chair and did a wonderful job in bringing this coastal access to us all. She is being honored tonight at Gualala Arts Center and Rick and I will be there to cheer her accomplishments.
This past weekend, after a small storm blew through on Friday, was especially beautiful. The ocean was calm with no white caps. Cathleen Crosby photographed Cook's Beach and has graciously shared it with all of us here.
You can see that it is a lovely pocket beach, protected from the wind. It's a perfect place to let a friendly dog play on the beach and in the waves.
To read how to find this pocket beach, here's a previous Sightings post: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/02/12/cooks-beach-a-beautiful-pocket-beach-just-north-of-gualala/
Sus Susalla and Liz Redfield photographed the eclipse as it was seen reflected off of several different surfaces at the Gualala Arts Center. This first photo is of a sculpture by Robert Holmes that resides in the gardens of the Art Center. The eclipse is reflected on the legs of the sculpture.
And below you will see the eclipse multiplied on the surface of one of the parking areas of GAC.
And below is when Sus held his camera up towards the sun, something he knows he shouldn't have done, but look at the beautiful photo he captured.
Thanks to Sus and Liz for allowing me to share their unique eclipse photos with you here. To learn more about the Gualala Arts Center, the heart of our town, here's the link: http://gualalaarts.org/