Morning sky

  

Such interesting clouds yesterday!  

Morning view from Cotati on 22 July 2026.

Color in the clouds

  

The rainbows continued today (22 April 2026).  Here's one that appeared high in the clouds over Sonoma Mountain at the end of the day.

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. 

Over the hills

  

 Sunrise over Bodega Harbor, 12 March 2026 

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. 

Pearlescent lining?

  

I walked out the door at lunchtime and noticed unusual high clouds right away.  It felt like there was potential for something interesting to appear in the sky, so I brought my camera with me to eat lunch.

Sure enough, within a few minutes, the light started to look interesting off to the side of the sun...some iridescent clouds started to appear! 

Almost five years ago I photographed iridescent clouds for the first time (see post called "Iridescence in the air?" on 7 June 2021), but I wasn't sure when the conditions would be right to see them again.

Here are two more photos.  Note that the colors are more pearlescent and pastel shades, rather than following the colors of the rainbow. 

 

 

 

 

P.S.  Here's a brief description of iridescent clouds from the Cloud Appreciation Society (along with a gallery of other examples).

Green on the horizon

  

Wasn't sure if we'd see one tonight, but there it was, glowing green on the horizon.  Photographed from Bodega Head on 28 January 2026.  [You can click on the image for a slightly better version of the photo.]

Every one is different

  

Sunset from Bodega Head, 21 January 2026
 

We bid you goodnight

  

Sunset from Bodega Head, 10 January 2026
 

Well-defined

  

Eric looked up just after sunset tonight and noticed the craters on the Moon looked particularly sharp in the crisp evening air.  Photographed from Bodega Bay on 29 December 2025.  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

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.

Flashy time of year

 

 

This green flash photo is from last week, but perhaps it'll be a reminder to keep an eye out for green flashes around sunset at this time of year.  (Just don't look at the sun until it's almost entirely below the horizon.)

Sunset watcher

 

 

The sunset was quite something tonight (2 December 2025), and we weren't the only ones watching!

 

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) perched on top of a CODAR antenna that monitors ocean currents.

 

And here's a close-up of the owl in silhouette against that purple sky: 

 

 

 

Eastern sky

  

Sunrise from Cotati on 4 November 2025 

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

Morning pairing

  

Waning crescent Moon on the left and a bright Venus on the right.  Photographed from Cotati in the early morning of 19 October 2025.

And here's a close-up of the Moon:

 

 

A little rain, a lot of color

  

An amazing rainbow between Bloomfield and Valley Ford this morning (14 October 2025).

This was a full rainbow, but I could only get photos of either end.  

Above is the east end, below is the view to the west:

 

 

So bright! 

A little rain, a little color

  

A rainbow appeared briefly to the east when we got home from work tonight (13 October 2025).  

Looks like we received ~0.5 inch of rain in Bodega Bay today.  

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.