Rounded spines

I haven't had a chance to post this mystery close-up photo.  Do you recognize what animal this is?

 

Below is an expanded view.  Perhaps it will start to look more familiar?

 

These are close-ups of the spines of an Ochre Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus).  The spines are made of calcium carbonate and are external projections of the sea star's internal skeleton.  Most of the time, we're used to seeing the spines from farther away, scattered across the surface of the sea star:

 

It's fun to see what the spines look like up close!

Stepping out

  

Well, after receiving almost 3 inches of rain in the past 24 hours, I stepped outside to see if any salamanders were out and about.  It didn't take long to find one!  In the photo above, note the expanded tips of the toes — a feature that's apparently helpful for climbing.

 

This is a fairly large Arboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris), the most common salamander in our backyard.  I'd estimate this individual was ~15 cm (~6 inches) long.

I'm so glad they're finally experiencing some rain!

A fish of a different stripe

 

Here's another nice little fish that we encountered in the rocky intertidal zone on 1 January 2018.  My best guess?  I'm leaning towards this being a Striped Kelpfish (Gibbonsia metzi).  But I don't have any experience with this group, so please let me know if you have a different opinion!

Green on the horizon

 

This is a good time of year to watch for a green flash on the horizon at sunset.  This one showed up through a narrow gap in the clouds tonight, 6 January 2018.

Sheltered from the storm

 

We got lucky tonight.  While driving home from work, we spotted this beautiful Barn Owl (Tyto alba) perched in a tree along the roadside.  Eric is always encouraging me to have my camera ready in case we see something interesting on the drive home.  But I'll admit — I'm often lazy and I leave the camera in the back of the car with everything else where it's hard to reach.  This time I heeded his advice, and it was worth it!  :)

P.S.  We received ~0.4 inches of rain today.  Let's hope for more tonight!

Orange dots

 

Glass-spined Brittle Star (Ophiothrix spiculata) photographed in the low intertidal zone along the Sonoma Coast on 1 January 2018.

 

What a marvelous night...

...for a moonglow

 

Moonglow Anemone (Anthopleura artemisia), photographed on Bodega Head on 2 January 2018.  This species often emerges from sand and gravel in the low intertidal zone.  Click on the photo for a larger version and check out the varied patterns on the tentacles!