Bill Oxford noticed a low fog approaching the part of The Sea Ranch where he lives. The sunbeams mixed with fog created these lovely photos.
Bill is a professional photographer and I always appreciate it when he shares his talent with Mendonoma Sightings. You can see much more of his photography at this link: https://www.billoxford.com/
Today the dawn brought...rain! Not a lot, but it's definitely rain, about a tenth of an inch.
Eric Zetterholm and Amy Ruegg were charmed by this baby Brush Rabbit near their home on The Sea Ranch. The little fellow or gal was hanging out with a pair of California Quail. In the first photo, the bunny is with the male quail.
Here is a couple more photos where the bunny is with his/her new friend, the male CA Quail.
Eric calls this Brush Rabbit his "morning Bun." It doesn't get much cuter than this!
Thanks to Eric for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
It's HOT here on the Mendonoma Coast today, way too hot! 94 degrees this afternoon here in Anchor Bay. It's cooler, of course, on the ocean bluffs and beaches. A friend told me it was 72 degrees at Bowling Ball Beach this afternoon.
Sunday night, May 15th, brought a celestial phenomenon, a total lunar eclipse. The Moon glowed red and orange, hence it’s often referred to as Blood Moon. Barry and Kathryn Weiss went to a suitable spot on The Sea Ranch to witness and photograph the event. Barry wrote, “So there we were, at the end of Piper’s Reach waiting for sunset. Friends driving by us would stop and ask if we were okay or did we need any help. ‘No, just waiting for sunset.’ ‘Waiting for the eclipse.’ They’d respond, ‘Oh,’ and then drive off. So there we were, freezing our…let’s say feet…off and then we saw it. When I examined my photos I saw that I might have captured the planet Jupiter in it.”
I sent Barry’s photo to sky watcher Mel Smith. Mel believes Barry photographed a star, not the planet Jupiter. Mel said if the eclipse happened during the Zodiac sign of Scorpio, which it did, then Barry photographed Antares. Mel said, “I’ve never seen a star next to an eclipsing Moon before.” There appears to be another faint star on the right side of the Moon.
Diane Hichwa also drove to view the eclipse. As the eclipse continued, she drove past a Raccoon that was huddled in a culvert.
Diane wondered if the Raccoon was scared by the event. When the eclipse was over, the Moon returned to its normal color and the excitement was over.
Thanks to Barry and Diane for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
It's very warm here today, after a warm day yesterday. Hot up on the ridge! Bring back our fog!
Joe Cassetta was in the right place at the right time. Near his Sea Ranch home, around 7 p.m., he saw this Doe give birth to twins. The tiny Fawns are still wet from their birth.
Here they are beginning to explore their mother and begin nursing.
About a week later, Joe spotted the family again, and look how confident the Fawns look now!
Remember to watch for these little ones when driving the coast's roads. If a Doe crosses the road, wait a minute to see if a Fawn...or two...or even three might be following her.
Thanks to Joe for allowing me to share his photos with you here.
Sunny, warm and WINDY! The Pacific Ocean is full of whitecaps today. Upwelling, igniting the marine food chain, is surely taking place courtesy of this northwest wind.
I have two x-rated sightings for you. After all, it is Spring and love is in the air. Chris Pechal wrote, "Birds do it, bees do it, and apparently if you are lucky, you might see butterflies doing it. I ran across these Margined White Butterflies mating." Chris found these butterflies at The Sea Ranch, perched on a Foget-Me-Not blossom.
Sara Bogard photographed a pair of Black Oystercatchers mating on the bluffs of the Point Arena Lighthouse Peninsula.
While not actual mating, I did see a mating dance. Just after dawn on Tuesday, I saw a male Anna’s Hummingbird rise high in the sky, then plummet down, pulling up before he crash landed, then hovering in front of a tree, giving out a chirp that I’ve learned comes from his tail feathers. He was performing his mating dance to a female perched in the tree. As I watched, he performed his dance several more times. I hope she was as impressed as I was.
Thanks to Chris and Sara for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy beautiful day on the Mendonoma Coast. More rain coming in tomorrow afternoon, Monday, according to the predictors!