Tule Elk

Bull Elk in Velvet, Point Reyes National Seashore

hPoto of bull tule elk in velvet
The Life Cycle Continues

I was out at Point Reyes recently.  The male elk are all sporting new antlers covered in velvet.  They’re also still shedding their lighter-colored winter coats.  This bull was in the Tule Elk Preserve.  He was in a group of about 20 bulls.

I didn’t get a clear look at all of them, but three of them, and possibly a fourth, looked like they were suffering from diarrhea.  That made me wonder if they had early-stage Johne’s Disease, which leads to death.  For an earlier discussion of Johne’s Disease at Point Reyes, click here.

Landscape

Point Reyes Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of Ten Mile Beach.
A Portion of Point Reyes Beach, Looking North

Point Reyes Beach begins at the Lighthouse area and runs for 10 miles in a northerly direction.  It is also called Ten Mile Beach (no surprise) and The Great Beach.    A better name might be Caution Beach because it can be a dangerous place.  A number of people have died along this stretch due to sneaker waves.  I believe it has also seen a number of shipwrecks.  I witnessed the crashed remains of one myself roughly 25 years ago.  I spoke to the survivors.  They were starting out on a voyage around the world.   They started from Oregon or Washington, I don’t recall for sure.  They didn’t get far, but the family survived.

Landscape

Tree-Shrouded Entry; North District Operations Center, Point Reyes

This is a photo of the long entry to the North Ranger Station at Point Reyes.
Shady Lane

I drive by this entry road every time I go to Point Reyes National Seashore.  I often think to myself that I should photograph it.  I finally did.  I don’t know exactly what goes on there, but I see Rangers go in and out so I assume the Park Service Rangers have an office there.  There’s no sign saying “Public Welcome,” but then there’s no sign saying “Stay Out” either. Some day I’ll have to go in there and find out more.

Landscape

Tree and Rock; Petaluma, California

Photo of cows grazing at sunset near an oak tree that looks like it grows out of a rock in Petaluma, California.
It’s a Rock Tree

It looks like this oak tree is growing out of the rock.  It isn’t of course.  But they’ve shared the same spot for many years.  They’ve seen many cows come and go.

The scene has been the subject of many photos.   I think the first one I saw was by Lance Kuehne.  You can see his vision of it here.   Recently, I saw one by Marty Knapp.  You can see his version, complemented by the moon, here.

You can find the scene a few miles west of Petaluma on the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road.  It’s on the left side as you drive west.  I drove by it many times on the way to Point Reyes National Seashore before I spotted it.  I’d like to try shooting it again.  A moon would be a nice addition.  I think I’d move a little to the right and use a wider lens or stand farther back.  It would be nice if the cows were there and arranged in the most aesthetically pleasing manner.  Maybe I’ll do it.  Maybe.

Landscape

The Mustard Plant; Napa and Sonoma Counties

Photo of mustard plants which are common in vineyards in winter.
Sonoma Vineyard with Mustard

One of the visual treats each winter and spring in the North Bay is the mustard that covers the ground in so many places.  It is especially common in the grape-growing areas of Napa ans Sonoma Counties.

Mustard is not native.  It was brought here by missionaries when they were scouting for mission sites. They carried mustard seeds in a sack slung over their backs.  Each sack had a small hole in it.  As they walked seeds would fall out and later grow.  Thereafter, it was easy to return to the sites previously chosen for missions.

Wine growers found mustard beneficial.  By planting it in their vineyards the plants held soil in place during winter rains that might otherwise erode soil around the roots of the vines.  The growers then began celebrating the colorful plant during the slow tourist months of February and March.  Visits to the wine country increased.

The mustard plant is also high in phosphorus.  When the vines start to leaf out the mustard is plowed under.

Uncategorized

Lamb; Petaluma, California

Photo of a lamb.
Baaa!

Last spring I went out on the local roads looking for young goats and sheep to photograph.  I found some kids.  Click here to see one of those kids.  I also found a ranch that raises miniature horses. Click here for a picture of one of them.  However, I learned I was too late for lambs.

This year I went out looking a bit earlier and found a large flock of sheep with many lambs not far from my home.  Here’s one of them.  The sheep were watched over by a very large guard  dog.  It had a white coat and weighed about one-hundred pounds.  It looked like a very light-colored yellow lab on steroids.  I think it was a Maremma breed of protective dog.  As I got out of my car to photograph, the dog came toward me to check me out.  After a few sniffs he decided I was harmless and he let me pet him.  He wasn’t just for “show” either.  I had seen a coyote about a quarter mile from where I stopped and parked to photograph.

It was nice to see that this Sonoma County rancher used a guard dog (or dogs) to protect his sheep instead of the poisons and leg traps used on most ranches.  Unlike the other counties in California (and other States), neighboring Marin County has a policy of not contracting with the Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services Unit to kill any and all predators by use of poisons and steel traps.  Instead, it encourages sheep ranchers to use non-lethal predator control methods such as dogs and appropriate fencing to keep coyotes away from sheep and uses the money it would have paid Wildlife Services to subsidize the ranchers in the acquisition and use of non-lethal coyote control methods.  It has worked extremely well.  Coyote-caused deaths are down in Marin from the Wildlife Services days and the County has been spending less than it did when it contracted with Wildlife  Services.  Plus, non-target species (raptors, foxes, bobcats, badgers, weasels, domestic dogs, domestic cats etc.) aren’t being killed in Marin like they were in the Wildlife Services days.  I wrote about Marin’s program in this blog.

I wish Sonoma County would follow Marin.

Bobcat

Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a bobcat loping across a meadow.
Gopher-Getter!

I went out to Point Reyes today.  It was a beautiful day.  The temperature was in the mid-60s and the place was very crowded.  It was a slow day for me photography-wise.  Fortunately, near the end of the day this male bobcat saw me and decided I needed some cheering up.  So, he decided to walk toward me rather than make the normal quick exit in the opposite direction.  Thanks “Bob.”