The 366 Project: September

 

September had hardly begun when it was already over - at least that's how it felt. It was a busy month.

My friend Kris and I went on some beautiful walks in our regional parks where we saw the first signs of autumn.

At the lake we discovered a huge hornet nest.

Look at that intricate work! Isn't it impressive?

I love to be at the lake early when the water steams and is backlit by the morning sun. Such a beautiful and slightly mystical mood.

It also was a busy month in regards to knitting. I was often sitting in the garden knitting up hats and socks, often with Kibeau as my reliable but mostly sleeping companion.

At the farmers market I could still get peaches and made buttermilk peach cobbler. Next time I will not make it in the cast iron pan because it was a bit of a pain to clean out the baked-on parts, even though my pan is well seasoned and it shouldn't be a problem.

We were very excited that the Mourning Doves came back to their nest and had another brood. I'm happy to say that they raised both babies and about a week ago I saw them taking off. I still see the little ones occasionally in our big tree. The other excitement was that I noticed a bird in my garden that I hadn't seen before. After consulting Merlin and my Sibley and confirming with David, I now know that this is a Black-headed Grosbeak. This little guy is very camera shy.

And of course we're getting closer to the election. Campaing signs have turned up in our neighborhood. I love the cat ones, but I love the handmade signs by children even more. I asked one of my little neighborhood girls whether she would make one for me, and we now proudly display it right next to our frontdoor.

Unfortunately, there was also this:

I have no idea what people who steal campaign signs want to achieve with that. Do they think people would change their mind? Hardly. This behaviour makes me mad, and I would be just as mad if this would have happened with Trump/Vance signs. I wish we would return to respect and civility.

Together with other neighbors we were busy writing letters to voters in states with voter suppression laws to let them know how they can get heir voter ID. That there even are voter suppression laws in a country that boasts about its democracy is shameful.

Last but not least, September is a special month for the Geek and I. 28 years ago we had our first kiss on top of the tower of Stiftskirche in Tübingen. You can see the tower here - taken on a cold but clear and sunny winter day. It was warmer back then on that day in September, but there was a constant drizzle - which didn't prevent us from kissing.

For us it's a reason to celebrate and open a bottle of bubbly. Cheers, my friends!

With all these faces, I'm linking up with Nicole's Friday Face Off.

Out of the Fog into the Sun

 

While in Gualala, we went up to Point Arena for a leisurely hike along the bluffs of the Point Arena Stornetta Public Lands. This is a particularly scenic section of the Northern California coast with steep bluffs and dramatic coastal shelves. Stornetta was added to the California Coastal National Monument  in March 2014. The California Coastal National Monument was established in January 2000 and stretches along the entire coastline of California. I had been at Stornetta a few times before, but always under very grey skies.

It was grey and foggy when we started out this time as well.

But when we left, it looked like this:

We finally were able to experience this incredible place in finer weather. Temperatures were in the 60s - considered warm on our North Coast - and the wind wasn't too wild either. An ideal day to explore this part of the coast.

This is the area where the San Andreas Fault "disappears" into the Pacific Ocean and the geological landscape is fascinating.

Rocky islands were seen further out in the ocean. When we were here in a different season they were teeming with shorebirds raising their young. This time was a different picture.

But no matter what season, the gulls are reliably always there and entertaining us every time. And I never get tired of taking photos of them.

The seals are always there as well, and they are just as entertaining.

I have always liked these "forests" of Sea Palms (Postelsia palmaeformis) that so easily grow on the rocks in the water.

One of my favorite native plants grows in abundance on these cliffs - Coastal Buckwheat (Eriogonum cinereum). I love the suptle pink flowers.

They were growing all over the cliffs.

Talking about the cliffs - they were truly impressive.

In the distance we could see Point Arena Lighthouse, just a couple miles up the coast.

We saw native Seaside Daisies (Erigeron glaucus) and faded pink Sea Thrift which is not native.

I was very happy to see Dudleya farinosa. This particular one is a species native to California (California has 26 species of Dudleya that are native). Unfortunately, Dudleyas in California fell victim to wide spread poaching. Often poaching is associated with white rhinos and shark fins, but plant poaching is actually a very serious problem. Succulents like Dudleya are regularly stolen from wildlands and sold on the black market. Dudleyas were stolen by the thousands from California, worth tens of millions of dollars. In September 2021 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 223 into law that provides important new protections for these imperiled native succulents.

In contrast, I was very unhappy to see ice plants, a non-native highly invasive plant. When ice plant etsablishes itself, it forms a thick mat, choking out all other native plants and altering the soil composition of the environment. In the following photo you can see how it crowds out the Coastal Buckwheat.

Then we saw this - we were wondering what it was. We were first thinking "hamster" but somehow it didn't ring right. After doing some research back home I found out what it is and I still get goosebumps!

It's the Point Arena Mountain Beaver. No, I'm not joking! Aplodontia rufa nigra is an endangered species and considered the most primitive living rodents. Mountain beavers are not closely related to true beavers (Castor spp.) and the Point Arena Mountain Beaver is one of seven subspecies of mountain beaver.

Along the coastal trail we came upon a "cave" (for lack of a better word) that the ocean had carved into the cliffs. We walked around it, partly on a very narrow path.

Here you can see what it looks like and where the sea made its way in. It's fair to predict that sometime this "portal" will give in.

Of course like every decent rocky shore there were blowholes and waves crashing against the cliffs...

... and small bays with a good amount of kelp on the rocky beach.

Slowly we made out way back to the trailhead, stopping every now and then to take in the gorgeous views.

It was a wonderful day. Thank you for reading to the end of this very long post.