Tag Archives: Rick Jackson

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Rick and I are fortunate to have trails weaving their way into a mixed forest. Huckleberry, our golden retriever, demands two walks a day, rain or shine. So we hike the forest every day. It's wonderful to see the light slanting through the trees.

Craig Tooley recently captured a beautiful photo that speaks to the serenity and beauty of a forest.

I'd certainly take this path...would you?

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

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Rick and I were traveling down Highway 1 a week ago Tuesday and the fog was hovering bluff-high. With the morning sun shining on the fog, a beautiful fogbow formed. Rick was able to pull over and I tried to get a photo. My auto focus wouldn't focus on the fogbow, much to my frustration. Then Rick told me to switch to manual and I got this photo.

Fogbows are also called white rainbows. Now that I've finally seen one, I can move on to my next goal - to see a Moonbow! With autumn approaching and the first of our rains, there is a chance to see this very rare occurrence. The moon needs to be full or close to full with showers opposite it. I would dearly love to see one.

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Rick and I were enjoying the beautiful Thursday morning, looking at the wildflowers and hoping to see some Gray Whales. We were just south of Black Point Beach. There's a rock where a few Western Gulls are nesting. As we approached, a squadron of Brown Pelicans flew by, almost at eye level. It's our first sighting of them this spring.

These are adult Brown Pelicans. You can see their white heads.

At this point the Pelicans headed towards land and they gained altitude before heading off to the north.

They are air surfers! It is always thrilling to see them as they glide across the sky.
To see a close-up of an adult Brown Pelican, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2012/04/26/brown-pelican-splash-down-as-photographed-by-siegfried-matull/

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Last week Richard Kuehn took Rick and me to a very special spot on The Sea Ranch. We were told to be quiet as we made our way out to a point where we could observe the nesting Pelagic Cormorants on the protected bluff face. Below is a female sitting on eggs with her mate next to her.

 And a resettling of the female allowed Rich to get a photo of her eggs. It looks like four eggs are in the nest.

There were perhaps a dozen or so nests and the males were coming and going, bringing food to the nesting females. It was magical to observe them and not disturb them in any way.

To hear their calls, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pelagic_cormorant/sounds

Thanks to Rich for allowing me to share his photos and for showing Rick and me this spot. I will share a few more photos of this place soon.

Bonus sighting - the first Wild Rhododendrons have begun their bloom. Rick and I saw the first bloom yesterday, Thursday, April 25.

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Bishop Pines trees are loaded with pollen. Rick touched one gently while we were hiking at Gualala Point Regional Park and look what happened! Can you see the puff of yellow pollen? Our golden retriever, Huckleberry, was watching it too. This pollen affects a lot of people, setting off their allergies. We have a storm coming in Tuesday so that will help knock some of the pollen down...I hope.

While on the bluff trail, we stopped to look for Gray Whales. We saw someone had made a driftwood heart.

At the same viewing spot, this twisted tree shows the affects of the wind.