Layers of sunset

  

Layers of sunset, from Cotati, 23 August 2026

Among the mint flowers

  

Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus), laying eggs among mint flowers in our garden, 2 August 2026. 

Morning sky

  

Such interesting clouds yesterday!  

Morning view from Cotati on 22 July 2026.

Red sky at night...

 

 

...sailor's delight.  

 

A saying that certainly held true last night and today! 

 

Sunset from Cotati on 11 July 2026. 

 

Sunset rainbow

  

After off and on rain showers for most of the day (12 April 2026), Eric spotted a brilliant rainbow to the southeast of Cotati at sunset. 

One Mourning in March

More warm air temperatures = more butterfly sightings.  Today (8 March 2026) I was in Cotati and came across a few Mourning Cloaks (Nymphalis antiopa), example above, and a couple of Pipevine Swallowtails (Battus philenor). 

Shadowy Moon

  

Lucky that I looked at the Moon when I did early this morning.  I checked a little bit later to try to see the Moon emerging from the shadow and it was completely fogged in!

This photo is from a little after 3:30 a.m. PST. 

West Coast from above and below

  

Air temperatures reached a balmy 65-70°F in Cotati yesterday (1 February 2026).  I took a quick look for butterflies in the afternoon.  Here's a West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella) from above (above) and from below (below).  :)

 

 

Christmas bow

  

Such dynamic weather today (25 December 2025).  Frequently the conditions were different on either side of our house.  Sun on the east side and rain on the west side led to a bright rainbow this morning.

Fall colors

  

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) in Cotati on 26 November 2025.  

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Sunbathing

 

 

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) sunbathing in our garden today (9 November 2025), with wing and tail feathers spread wide.

The hummingbird was perched on a tomato cage in a sunny corner.  Also fun to see a little hummingbird shadow near the base of the fence:
 

 

 

 

Eastern sky

  

Sunrise from Cotati on 4 November 2025 

(You can click on the image for a larger version.) 

Berry gathering

  

Heard some Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) calling in the parking lot at Oliver's and looked up to see a large flock feeding on berries.  

There was a mix of juveniles (above) and adults (below):

 

 

Other species were attracted to the activity, too.  Here's a Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana): 

 

 

East and west

 

 

Rising moon to the east (on the left) and setting moon to the west (on the right).

 

The moon rise photo was taken ~7:30 p.m. on 6 October 2025, while the moon set photo was taken ~12 hours later at ~7:15 a.m. on 7 October 2025.

And here's a close-up of the moon rise so you can see some of the details:

 

 

 

A beautiful Harvest Moon!
 

Moon journal

  

Last week I showed a waning crescent, but tonight (26 August 2025) there was a beautiful waxing crescent in the western sky after sunset.

P.S.  Finding the moon on any given day always makes me smile.  Partly because it reminds me that keeping a moon journal was one of my early lessons in making daily natural history observations.  Looking for the moon every day and tracking its phases is a great way to connect to the rhythms of the Earth and the Moon.  If you want to try it, here are some basic guidelines from NASA for a moon observation journal.

Parade of planets

   

Have you been awake in the early morning this week?  There's a wonderful "parade of planets" visible in the eastern sky.  

Above, the crescent moon with Venus to the far right.  

Below, Jupiter is also visible high in the upper right corner of the photo:

 

 

And here's a close-up of that wonderful crescent moon:

 

 

 

Our view of the eastern horizon is somewhat obscured, but if you live high enough you might be able to add Mercury to the parade in the very early morning hours.

  

Sunset wave

  

Sunset from Cotati on 21 July 2025.

End-of-the-day treat

  

A Bushtit for you!  This one was searching for prey among the moss, bark, and leaves on a tree in the Oliver's parking lot in Cotati. 

Satyrs and dragons

  

 Satyr Anglewing (Polygonia satyrus)

 

 

 

Close-up of a California Darner (Rhionaeschna californica)

 

Both photos from Cotati on 4 May 2025

 

Hidden treasures

  

Each spring, when Eric turns over the soil in our garden, he finds small, often shiny objects that had been buried in the soil.  Shown above is the collection of objects he discovered in the soil last weekend.

We think this is the work of local California Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma californica).  Interestingly, some of these things aren't from our yard, but more likely from other yards in the neighborhood.

I tried to find more information about why jays might have a penchant for shiny objects like these.  Although I found quite a bit of information about jays caching food items like acorns (a note that we also find peanut shells in our garden), I couldn't find too much about hiding non-food objects.

Do you also see jays hiding shiny trinkets in your yard?