Shooting stars is one of the common names for the native wildflower Primula hendersonii. They, like quite a few other wildflowers, have bloomed early due to our warm, dry False Spring. They are quite lovely to see.
Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
It's cloudy and chilly on the Mendonoma Coast today. Hoping for rain, and it is in the forecast for early next week.
Peter Baye wrote, "The native milkweed, Asclepias cordifolia, is one of my favorites, common elsewhere, but not around here. It’s toxic to livestock, so ranchers historically got rid of it as much as they could. We need them now for Monarch Butterfly recovery! Fortunately, they spread like weeds once they establish. I’m growing some now.”
Heartleaf Milkweed is this wildflower's common name. It sure is beautiful!
Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Very foggy this morning but the sun is trying to break through this afternoon.
Woodland Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata, is also called Elegant Clarkia. It's a beautiful native wildflower endemic to California.
I read that bees love these wildflowers - nice to know!
Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
We had heavy fog overnight - it sounded like it was raining! But the fog pulled back in the afternoon and, sure enough, there was an ocean out there.
Peter Baye wrote, "Here are photos of the big ‘cheese wheel’ disc concretion about midway along Bowling Ball Beach’s erosion-refreshed cliffs. There is always a new view!"
"Plus, a big earthflow dropped a tree and mass of ice plant down to the shore."
"The beach is gone for now, but will probably return with months of gentle swell.” Peter wrote that the concretion disc was one of the largest he has seen, over 12 feet in diameter and only a foot thick. He described it “like a big coin.”
Bowling Ball Beach is a great place to beach comb after a storm.
Thanks to Peter for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
Wild, wet storm yesterday, Sunday. Today the wind is howling! It is to be clear weather for several days ahead.
Peter Baye was tide pooling recently when he saw this Opalescent Nudibranch.
Nudibranchs are mollusks in the class Gastropoda, which includes snails, slugs, limpets, and sea hairs. Their common name is Sea Slugs, which doesn't do justice to their beauty. John Thompson photographed a Clown Dorid Nudibranch some time ago.
And Loren Adrian photographed a Hopkin's Rose Nudibranch. This particular nudibranch was previously found to our south, but over the past several years, we've had sightings of a few off our coast.
Just a small sample of the beautiful life that lives in the ocean.
Thanks to Peter, John and Loren for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
Sunny, mild weather, though I see the fog low on the ocean. The full moon setting early this morning was quite wonderful to see. Happy Halloween!