A chair made out of driftwood

It's a Mendonoma Coast tradition to gather driftwood. Gualala Regional Park is a wonderful place to find beautiful driftwood and it's legal to take as much as you can carry out. But what do you do with the driftwood once you get it home? I've put mine in the garden, where it makes a nice accent piece. A friend has made candle holders and even a plant holder. But my former neighbor's son, Luke, had one of the most creative ideas. He made a chair. It still sits overlooking a bend in Quinliven Creek, a charming invitation to sit a spell.

Forget-me-nots blooming and one of their legends

The charming blue Forget-me-nots are blooming on the Mendocino and Sonoma Coasts in sunny spots. This wildflower has more than one legend attributed to it but the one I like is this one. A knight and his lady were walking alongside a river when he spotted these lovely flowers on the other side. He lept into the waters, made it to the other side and picked some flowers for his lady love. Alas, when he tried to return the waters swept him away. He just had time to toss the tiny blue flowers to his lady, calling out, "Forget me not!"

Old Growth Redwoods - Sequoia Sempervirens

In the forest are 7 foot tall remnants of old growth Redwoods. The Gualala area was logged of Redwoods in the 1880's. The roots of the trees that were taken birthed second growth Redwoods and the stumps became a haven for plants such as these Huckleberry bushes. A few old growth Redwoods were spared in our area because they have a twisty growth pattern. I'll share a photo of one of those ancients in the days to come.

Windflowers blooming on the forest floor - a touch of loveliness

A group of delicate five-petaled Windflowers survived the rains to bloom in the sunshine today. They are also called Wood Anemone and are members of the Buttercup family. I once touched one and it fell apart! So I am careful to admire them from a distance. In the bottom of the picture is a piece of lichen that fell out of a tree during a recent storm. It feels like spring is finally here on the Mendocino Coast today.

Hidden grotto in a Redwood Forest

Only when the Mendocino Coast receives significant rain does this hidden grotto come to life. With warmer weather to come, this will soon be gone but in its place will be the lovely wildflowers of spring. The first forget-me-nots have begun to bloom.

A new mushroom appeared - Rosy Gomphidius

The Mendocino Coast has had so much rain recently that most wild mushrooms have given up. So imagine my surprise when I saw a group of rosy colored mushrooms under a tan oak, which was surrounded by Douglas Firs. I picked one and oh, was it ever slimy! The lower part of the stem was yellow. I did a spore print and it turned out dark gray. With the help of my mushroom friend, Bev, it was determined the mushrooms were Rosy Gomphidius.

With warm weather forecast I'm so hoping for another bloom of Horn of Plenty and Hedgehogs.

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean or living on the edge!

One of the joys of living by the Pacific Ocean is watching the storms come in. We have two more lined up and then we are promised some warm and dry weather. When the storm let up late yesterday morning, locals headed to the grocery store where we hugged each other and asked how long each other had been out of power. This morning on our walk the beautiful sound of  the song of a male American Goldfinch filled the air. We heard more bird chirps behind us and stopped to let them catch up with us. Soon a flock of Pygmy Nuthatches and Chestnut-backed Chickadees were surrounding us with their calls. Now that's what I call magic time.