Tag Archives: Mary Sue Ittner

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Mary Sue Ittner once again trained her camera on the beauty at her feet. First you will see Cream Cups, Scarlet Pimpernel, and California Poppies.

And then Goldfields  and Earth Brodiaea.

Plus Sea Thrift, Dudleya and Meadowfoam.

I will share two more of Mary Sue's photos tomorrow. These were taken at Salt Point State Park.

Tomorrow's event is titled "Discover Our Lands." Along with Laura Baker, I will be leading a nature walk at noon on the less-explored northern parts of the Lands. It's free and the walk will take about an hour. We meet in front of the gift shop. Hope to see some of you! Below you will find all the details.

The Point Arena Lighthouse and Friends of the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands, in association with the Ukiah office of the Bureau of Land Management, will present Discover Our Lands on Saturday, June 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This event is intended to celebrate the Point Arena-Stornetta Unit of the California Coastal National Monument and educate visitors about the varied features and sights it offers.  All Discover Our Lands activities will start at the Point Arena Lighthouse, located at 45500 Lighthouse Road in Point Arena.  Admission to the event, Lighthouse grounds, Gift Store and Museum is free. Guests wishing to climb the tallest lighthouse on the Pacific Coast can do so for a discounted Tower Tour price of $5.

This event will feature several guided walks on the less visited Northeast quadrant of the Point Arena-Stornetta Lands, bordered by the Garcia River and the Lighthouse property.  Several local experts in various fields will educate guests on what the Lands have to offer. Themes of the various walks, which will occur throughout the day, will include the cultural significance of the Lands to the Pomo people, native plants, the many species of birds on the Lands, geology of the Lands, and the various flora and fauna that inhabit the Lands.  Birding and geology specialists will also be in the Lighthouse Tower to discuss what can be seen from that vantage point.  In the Whale Watch Room inside the Fog Signal Building will be an expert on marine debris and its environmental impact, and outside on the grounds a seabird expert and a birding enthusiast will have spotting stations with scopes and binoculars to view the winged inhabitants, visitors and passersby of the Lands.   Jeanne Jackson, naturalist and author of Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year, and Laura Baker, naturalist and ecologist, will lead a nature walk on the bluffs at noon. The Mendocino College Coastal Field Station will also be holding an open house in conjunction with Discover Our Lands between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The Lighthouse staff and volunteers will be offering homemade Lightkeeper’s Strawberry Shortcake and brownies for sale and Tracy Du Pont of Pier Chowder House and Tap Room will be selling their award-winning clam chowder throughout the event, or until it runs out.    Children 16 and under will be able to choose from a wide variety of kites at 25% off in the Lighthouse Gift Store that can be flown on the Lighthouse grounds (BLM regulations do not allow kites on the Lands).

For more information, contact the Lighthouse staff at 707-882-2809, ext. 1 or visit PointArenaLighthouse.com. To see the other hikes, here is a link to the event:

http://pointarenalighthouse.com/discover-our-lands/

http://pointarenalighthouse.com/discover-our-lands/

 

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Mary Sue Ittner photographed the charming Siberian Candyflower, Claytonia sibirica. It's a member of the Purslane Family.

Candyflower grows in moist, shaded areas. The petals have been described as pink candy striped.

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

While a fog bank lurks over the Pacific Ocean, we are having a breezy, sunny day. The coast is full with visitors, including many abalone divers who were excited to dive for red treasure, especially with the morning's minus tides.

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Cream Cups, Platystemon californicus, are blooming now. They are members of the Poppy family and are found on sunny  areas. This year we are having a wonderful bloom of them, as Ron LeValley found out.

Mary Sue Ittner also recently photographed them, from a different angle.

Their sunny faces are sure to make you smile! We are smiling on the coast today as the strong winds that blew for the past two days have moved on. It's a perfect time to enjoy all the spring beauty on the Mendonoma coast.

Thanks to Ron and Mary Sue for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To see much more of Ron's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://levalleyphoto.com/home/

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Alder Creek is at the northern border of Manchester State Park. It is also where the San Andreas earthquake fault heads out to sea. Bonney Ely recently photographed the creek, full with all the rains we have had this year.

Alder Creek Road used to be our public access road to the north end of the park, but it washed out some years ago. I sincerely hope the County of Mendocino will consider rebuilding this road, but currently it seems to have been abandoned. Here is a photo Mary Sue Ittner took of the abandoned road.

Yes, you can walk in from Highway 1, but it is a long hike. Ceanothus, wild lilac, is blooming on the left.

Thanks to Bonney and Mary Sue for allowing me to share their photos with you  here.

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Mary Sue Ittner recently photographed the bluffs at Black Point Beach while on a hiking jaunt with the Thursday Ramblers. This is a  wonderful place to see native wildflowers, and some non-native, very colorful flowers too. The flowers in the foreground are native wildflowers called Goldfields, Lasthenia californica.

Goldfields are blooming in profusion on many coastal bluffs. The Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands are another good spot to see them. They are members of the Sunflower family. Here is a close-up photo Mary Sue took of these flowers.

Thanks to Mary Sue for allowing me to share her photos with you here.