Dennis Latona entitled this photo "Peanut Face."

Dennis Latona recently visited the Fort Bragg area and sent in several photos from his visit. The first is Peanut Face, a Western Gray Squirrel.

And here are a couple of masked bandits - Raccoons - out looking for trouble or, more likely, food.

And finally a Striped Skunk drinking from a water dish. If you put out water, you might be amazed at the wildlife that comes to it.

Thanks to Dennis for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Dennis' nature photography, here's the link to his website: www.pinenutz.com

A big Abalone was found by Louie Ozenne

Any Abalone ten inches or more is considered a trophy abalone. Here is what one looks like.

Paul Weston took this photo of one happy hunter of red treasure. Paul wrote, “[Here is a photo] I took of Louie Ozenne with a 10 1/4 inch Abalone taken on the outside of Schooner Gulch. The depth was between 25 and 30 feet. Louie was thrilled; his normal passive personality actually changed to one of an extrovert. Congratulations, Louie!”

Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photo and congratulations to Louie on his feat!

A beautiful morning on the Mendonoma Coast.

Craig Tooley was out early with his camera. Sunrises on the Coast can be magnificent.

You can see the big fog bank out over the Pacific Ocean. It's keeping our temperatures nice and mild.

There is a touch of autumn in the air. Autumn can bring us beautiful clouds as storms to our north slowly begin tracking south. Beautiful clouds like these that were also taken by Craig.

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

A Northern Harrier, as photographed by Ron Bolander.

Ron Bolander was working at the Point Arena Lighthouse when he saw this raptor coming in from the west. He had his long lens on his camera and captured this photo.

You can see the distinctive white patch at the base of its tail. This hawk has an owl-like face that helps it hear its favorite food - mice and voles. Its facial feathers direct sound to its ears, just as an Owl's. Add this hawk's sharp eyesight and you will see why they are successful  hunters of small mammals.

To hear the sound of a Northern Harrier, here is the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_harrier/sounds

To see a photo of a female Northern Harrier, here is the link: http://mendonomasightings.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-female-northern-harrier-as.html

Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

We are often blessed with beautiful clouds on the Mendonoma Coast

Don Spear had his camera when he was headed north of Gualala the other day. He was captivated by the cloud show.

I thank Don for allowing me to share his photos with you here so we can see these beautiful clouds.

A much more common snake was seen but it sure bothered our golden retriever, Huckleberry!

Garter Snakes are common on the Mendonoma Coast. They can be several feet long. They eat snails and banana slugs and pretty much everything else they come across as they are carnivorous. Luckily for Huckleberry, he is way too big to attract this snake's attention.

Huckleberry does not like snakes or reptiles. I've seen him jump up into the air and BACKWARDS when he sees one slither along. Recently Rick and I spotted a Garter Snake on a forest path. As you can see, Huckleberry saw it too.

The snake is in the right lower corner. And Huckleberry's fur is standing up on his back. A fun photo for you today!

We're not suppose to have Rattlesnakes on the Mendonoma Coast but look at these two rattlers.

Rattlesnakes prefer warm climes than the Mendonoma Coast. There are legends of a rattlesnake hitching a ride on a logging truck and falling off near the ocean. Perhaps that is what happened here. But there were two of them spotted within a week.

The first one was seen near a road at Gualala Point Regional Park by Kathy Bishop.

It was identified by Gary Nafis as an adult Northern Pacific Rattlesnake. It appeared to have been run over by a vehicle and it soon died.

However another adult was seen several days later at the south end of The Sea Ranch. Jim Merryman photographed the head and the tail.

I wondered if these extremely unusual sightings of rattlesnakes could be because they are searching for water. Gary Nafis told me they don't drink water. He said, “Rattlesnakes get most of their water from food, which they’re always looking for until they find it and go underground to digest. They often need to travel out of their usual home territories in their search, which could be happening here. Both snakes are adults, so it’s not a case of juveniles looking for a place to settle.”

Jim said about an hour after his sighting he saw a White-tailed Kite with a snake the same size as the rattlesnake so perhaps the Mendonoma Coast is once again free of rattlesnakes.

To see Gary Nafis' fascinating website about amphibians and reptiles, here is the link: californiaherps.com

Thanks to Kathy and Jim for allowing me to share their photos with you here.