Tag Archives: Quinliven Creek

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We've had nearly fifteen inches of rain since February 1st at our place in Anchor Bay. It had been so dry, the rain was especially welcome. Seasonal creeks came to life and the sound of them is glorious. Craig Tooley photographed one this past week.

The creek that crosses our property is now running clear. Quinliven Creek brings Rick and me much joy.

A certain golden retriever loves the creek too. Here Huckleberry is leaving one of the many ponds, not caring in the least that he is soaked.

It finally feels like winter. We are having brilliant sunshine today. Mushrooms are popping up in abundance. I will share some photos of them soon.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: www.ruffimage.com

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We have had over seven inches of rain so far from the big storm. The creek that crosses our land has come to life. And this morning the Gualala River finally received enough rain to open to the Pacific Ocean, the first time in many months.

You can see the big opening in the sandbar. The river is running muddy and fast! It was raining hard when I took this photo today.

 
Here is Quinliven Creek - it is always wonderful when it comes to life. I love the many cascades.

It's a rare day when I send out two Mendonoma Sightings blogs in one day but I just had to tell you the news. This is sure to help put a dent in the drought. Hooray for Mother Nature!

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The rare and endangered Coast Lily, Lilium maritimum, has begun blooming on the Coast. It is native to California and in fact is found no where else in the world. It is found only on the North Coast and especially in Mendocino County.

These lilies grow on long, slender stalks and their bloom is quite short. They need moisture, growing in boggy conditions. These are blooming now on a neighboring property in Anchor Bay, next to a spring box. They are growing among huckleberry bushes.

I collected seeds from these plants last year and scattered them alongside Quinliven Creek, which crosses our land. I see at least one plant came up this year - no flower but I'm thrilled to successfully encourage one to grow down by the creek. Perhaps more will join it next year.

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In less than 24 hours we had 4.9 inches of rain at our house in Anchor Bay. That's enough to cause flooding and, indeed, the Garcia River has flooded Highway One this morning. The seasonal creek the crosses our property was doing its best imitation of a mighty river and was running dangerously fast and very muddy. We were afraid that our golden retriever, Huckleberry, might get too close to the stream so we leashed him up.

I took these photos late yesterday afternoon after 4.2 inches had fallen. Here's Rick and Huck next to the spot on the creek where we usually can jump across - not yesterday and still not today!

 In the upper left is the path we usually take to get down to the forest floor. It was a river too!

Here Quinliven Creek rushes underneath the bridge Rick built with his son, Ron, so we could get across in times like these. This is about as close to the bridge as we've seen the creek. It was a little scary going across the bridge!

 And below you can see the creek as it looks this morning. It's lower and not so muddy but still running strong.

 And amidst all this winter-like weather, a wonderful sign of spring - a Red Clintonia emerges.

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Yes, Horsetails are ancient plants. In the time of the dinosaurs, they grew as trees more than a hundred feet tall. They have evolved to survive in modern times when the dinosaurs obviously did not. They now grow one, two or even three feet tall. The first signs of Horsetails have appeared in and on the banks of Quinliven Creek at our property in Anchor Bay.

Horsetails are also called Scouring Rush and were used for scrubbing pots. Equisetum is their Latin name and they have medicinal qualities. Native American peoples used these plants to stop bleeding.

We have a big storm coming in late tonight. Last night's sunset showed the first clouds of the storm. Batten down the hatches!