Tag Archives: Rozann Grunig

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On Saturday Rick and I finally kayaked the Gualala River, courtesy of Adventure Rents. They donated this trip to a popular fundraiser for Gualala Arts, called Art off the Wall. Along with art, there are various adventures. I chose this for my prize. Gualala Supermarket donated four delicious box lunches.

I am in the double kayak, awaiting my adventure, excited but just a little nervous.

We went with George and Rozann Grunig; they are in the yellow kayak. We are exploring the lagoon before heading up river, as advised by Wayne Harris of Adventure Rents. In summer months this river is closed to the ocean by a big sandbar, making kayaking very safe.

We found this group of Common Mergansers sunning themselves on a log.

We saw two River Otters. Rozann got a great photo, which I'll share another day. Can you spot the River Otter looking at me on the muddy riverbank?

Any nervousness is now gone and Rick & I are enjoying our first kayak ride.

 Passing under the Gualala River Bridge unveiled over a hundred Swallow nests.

 George and Rozann, more experienced than us, led the way. In two places we did have to get out and walk, as the river is low in spots. We had a dry winter/spring, which accounts for the lower levels. Jan Harris, of Adventure Rents, said, "Embrace your inner child" on the portages. We did and had fun doing it.

 And here Rick and I are, four hours later, happy with our day on the beautiful Gualala River.

Thanks to Rozann for allowing me to share her photos with you here, along with several I took.

To learn more about the river, visit Friends of the Gualala River at: http://gualalariver.org/

To see many beautiful photos of the river and to learn about kayaking, here's the website for Adventure Rents: http://www.adventurerents.com/

Also, I highly recommend the box lunches Surf Super is putting together. You can order your own custom design at http://surfsuper.com/Home.html

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A light-colored Black Bear was seen near Hearn Gulch, then up on the Gualala Ridge and finally off of Fish Rock Road. The bear was foraging for food. When it visited Nancy and Rich Trissel off of Fish Rock Road, they got several photos. It was a foggy day so the photos aren't as clear as we'd like but they beat the one other photo sent to me. That photo was blurry because the photographer was so scared and excited.

Here are several photos Nancy took.

Nancy wrote, “The bear noshed for a good twenty minutes outside our back door. There was a splash of white, a crescent moon, on the bear’s chest. The face was dark, the shoulders and back were blond and the hind end darker. It was wonderful to see!”

Thanks to Nancy for allowing me to share her photos with you here and also thanks to Rozann Grunig who worked on the lighting of these photos to better show the bear.

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Andrew's Clintonia, Clintonia andrewsiana, is a lovely member of the Lily family. They grow in shaded forests. We have a few on our land in Anchor Bay and we cherish them. This Clintonia is about a foot and a half tall.

 In the summer, if a Deer doesn't eat the flower head, the flowers turn into blue berries. Rozann Grunig photographed this Clintonia last year. It's other common name is Blue Bead Lily. Now you can see why!

This is another wildflower that should never be picked. The flowers need to develop into these seeds. They will fall to the ground and, if they find a nurturing spot, will take root. They are very slow to develop. We have several "babies" and, even after ten years, they aren't big enough to flower.

Thanks to Rozann for allowing me to share her photo of the blue berries.

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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

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Rozann Grunig and Patty McBratney were out looking for edible mushrooms early this week on The Sea Ranch. They found a few Hedgehogs and Pigs Ears. We haven't had much rain lately. Rozann mentioned to Patty that is probably was a good idea to always have a buddy when in the forest. Just after that comment she saw this print.

Rozann put her mushroom knife, four inches long, in the photo for perspective. Mountain Lion tracts do not have claw marks, as their claws are recessed while walking.

What to do if you see a Mountain Lion? Make yourself as big as possible. I've always thought hiking in the forest with an umbrella, which could double as a walking stick, would be a good idea. On the extremely rare chance that you did come near a Cougar, you could raise the umbrella over you head and pop it open.

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