Coast Lilies have begun to bloom - a splash of loveliness on the Mendonoma Coast

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.

The Gualala River is finally closed off to the Pacific Ocean

The wild Gualala River did finally close to the Pacific and is now full. You can see from the photo below that the river is particularly beautiful right now. What a nice place to put a bench! When you enter Gualala Point Regional Park you will come to a parking area on the left. Park, cross the road and walk towards the river to find this bench.

Rick and I, with our golden retriever, Huckleberry, on leash walked down to the beach and all the way to the north end to see what it looked like. This is where the river usually is open but you can see the sandbar has built up enough to close the river. It won't open again until there are enough winter rains.

Rick is looking at the river from the sandbar. Once closed the river is extremely safe for kayaking and other water sports.

Here's a photo of the river on the left and the Pacific Ocean on the right - and a glimpse of Huckleberry's back.

It's very windy today but this weekend is suppose to be fantastic weather-wise. It would be a great time to visit and see some of these places for yourself.

Cliff Swallows - they are magnificent builders!

Robert and Nancy Scarola recently witnessed several Cliff Swallows building nests in a tunnel on The Sea Ranch Golf Links. There was, of course, a muddy area nearby.

Here's one of the Swallows with a bit of mud, headed back to the nesting area. These Swallows fly so fast it was difficult for Robert to get this photo.

 It looks like several nests are complete and occupied, as Robert's photo shows below.

Birds have to be among the most hard-working creatures on earth. Many migrate, some thousands of miles, twice every year. Then comes nest building, which in the case of these Swallows is a bit of mud, one bit after the other until the job is complete. Then they have to feed their young, tirelessly bringing insects back to the nest. It's easy to take them for granted but they are inspiring. Thanks to Robert for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

If you have Swallows build a nest in an inconvenient spot - say over your front door - please don't destroy the nest. Tack up a cardboard box so it will catch the waste. No mess for you below and a guarantee of a fun sighting in the weeks to come.

A beautiful Bobcat, as photographed by Andy Moore

Open meadows are where it is possible to have a Bobcat sighting. Andy Moore had his camera ready when a Bobcat was spotted hunting on The Sea Ranch.

Andy's photo shows the tufted ears of this Bobcat and its wonderful markings. This Bobcat looks very healthy indeed. Thanks to Andy for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Check out Andy's great web site at: http://www.andystreasuretrove.com/

Venus transitting the sun today - the rarest type of eclipse known

Frank Drouillard sent a link where you can watch today's eclipse. Venus will be crossing the sun, an cosmic event that will not occur again for over one hundred years. Here is the link to NASA where you can view it on-line: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

A late storm passed through yesterday. This morning's sunrise reflected off the clouds in the western sky was beautiful. The nearly full moon was an extra bonus.

Is that an Orca fin in the clouds? Cloud watching this morning was great fun. One cloud looked just like a boletus edulis mushroom. 

Rare wildflower blooming on my neighbor's land - meet Little Prince's Pine

I love this little wildflower. Little Prince's Pine, Chimaphila menziesii, has begun to bloom in a sunny spot in Anchor Bay.

It's a perennial herb and a native of California though it is found in other western states. It is growing in sandy soil at the 600 foot elevation. This small pink wildflower is a rare sighting on the Mendonoma Coast.

Water bottle with Asian characters found at Manchester State Beach

The Japanese tsunami debris is still supposedly several months away from the West Coast but Gary Humfeld can't help but wonder if this water bottle might be from that catastrophic event. Gary found this at Manchester State Park beach.

We first need to determine if the characters are Japanese. When a large buoy was found a month or so ago, it turned out to have Korean characters on it. Here's the link to see that buoy and a smaller one found by Gary.
http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2012/04/asian-buoys-found-washed-up-on.html. And to see a lightbulb (!) that washed up on our Coast, here's that link: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2012/04/ushio-light-bulb-washed-up-at.html