Bobcat in Our Bodega Bay Backyard!

As I was tidying up the house yesterday afternoon, I glanced out the window and saw a huge bobcat sitting in our backyard! Not out in the open space where we usually see them, this guy was sitting right where I'd been playing with our dog about ten minutes earlier. I ran and got my husband and the camera. (Unfortunately the battery was low so the photos came out soft and overexposed.)

Then the strangest thing happened! When my husband went out on the deck to photograph the bobcat, instead of ignoring us like they usually do, this one got up and started trotting right toward us. For a moment, I thought he was going to leap right up onto the deck and attack us as though we were paparazzi! Then at the last second he abruptly turned right instead, and ran alongside bushes underneath us. Wow, I'd never seen that behavior before. I wonder what was up? Bobcats usually seem disinterested in humans and if we give them plenty of space, they calmly go on about their business. This guy was different. Maybe he had been harassed or hurt by someone?



Just before disappearing around the side of our house, he stopped to glance back up at us.



Hoping for another glimpse, we ran to the front door just in time to see him crossing the street. He wasn't pleased to see us again, he looked scared. He didn't strut off slowly the way so many others have done. This guy was spooked and took off running. How sad, I wonder what happened to him?



I don't recall seeing this particular bobcat before. Last spring, a litter of three were born and raised in the ravine nearby but they haven't been around for a few months. Maybe he's one of them, just more mature now? He's much larger, his coloring is lighter and less spotted, no ear tufts, and he had longer "ruff," fur on the sides of his face. For comparison, you can see other bobcat photos from previous posts here and here. What a wild experience, I LOVE living in Bodega Bay!!!

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Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival Coming Up!

There's a lot of buzz about about this year's Fisherman's Festival! This annual community fundraising extravaganza will be held April 17 & 18 10am-5pm at Westside Park in Bodega Bay. Everyone's talking about it, I think it's going to be huge this year. Tons of local residents and businesses are either volunteering or donating something, or both, it's amazing. They have a website and a Facebook page with more than 1,000 friends. Here's some of their promotional copy:

The Bodega Bay community will celebrate its 37th annual Fisherman’s Festival packed with music, food, and entertainment. A favorite attraction is the wine tasting booth, featuring more than 25 Sonoma County wines. Food booths have something for every pallet from lamb or oyster barbeque to local fish and chips, to vegi burders, salads, and sandwiches.

Live music and entertainers perform on the band stage all day Saturday and Sunday. Artisans and vendors from all over California and beyond offer a wide selection of arts and crafts.

The festival has its origin as a celebration of the start of the Salmon fishing season and the annual Blessing of the Fleet. Saturday will feature a golf tournament at Bodega Harbour (707-875-3538) and at the Festival site itself a wooden boat challenge where participating teams build a vessel and then compete in a boat race.

Sunday morning will feature the blessing of the fishing fleet, when decorated boats parade out of the harbor to receive a blessing from local clergy. A flower wreath is cast upon the waters honoring the fishermen lost at sea. The festival is a great venue for kids, with a play area for face painting, spin paintings, games, free kit lessons, pony rides and llamas (and guest pets) on parade. There will be a drawing for raffle prizes from local merchants.

The Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival is a nonprofit organization run by local community volunteers under the leadership of chair Ginny Bassi. All proceeds of the festival benefit local service and volunteer organizations.


Our family went to the Fisherman's Festival for the first time last year and LOVED it! We posted a write-up and photos here.

Bodega Bay Community Benefit for Grandmother Raising Quadruplets

This Saturday night we're going to a wonderful community event here in Bodega Bay. You may have read about Marilyn Collins, a grandmother who is singlehandedly raising eight-year-old quadruplets since the passing of her daughter last October. After the Press Democrat wrote a feature article in January, A Grandmother’s Life Alters Course, a number of locals came forward and planned a fund-raising dinner to help out.

Saturday, March 20, 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Bodega Bay Grange Hall, $10 ($5 for kids under 12) will get you live music, a dinner of clam chowder or pozole stew (spicy Mexican dish) with all the trimmings, and my personal favorite, a silent auction!

According to Deanna Osborne, one of the organizers, the outpouring of community support has been amazing. The event is being sponsored by the Bodega Bay Grange and Rotary Club of Marin Sunrise, and local businesses and residents have donated dozens of generous prizes for the Silent Auction.

Just look at these items, and this is only a partial list to whet your appetite. I can't wait until they open the bidding!

• One Week Timeshare in Las Vegas (Yes!)
• 4 Giants tickets
• Private VIP wine tasting and garden tour plus a magnum of 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (I want this!)
• 2 nights stay at Bodega Coast Inn
• 2 nights stay at Bodega Harbor Inn (my parents stayed here and loved it)
• Stay at vacation rental house, "Bella Casa" (we've stayed there, it's right across from Portuguese Beach!)
• Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa, 1 night stay plus 1/2 hour horseback riding
• Two nights at North Cliff Hotel in Fort Bragg
• 2 rounds of 18-holes of golf from The Links at Bodega Harbour
• Kayak rentals from Bodega Bay Kayak
• Dinner at Terrapin Creek Restaurant plus a bottle of wine (I want this too)
• Lunch from The Dog House (yippee, my daughter will be bidding on this one!)
• Two pizzas from Diekman's Bay Store (best pizza in town, get the garlic sauce)
• Dinner from Dinucci's Restaurant
• Lunch from Island Deli
• Meal at Lucas Wharf Restaurant
• Whale watching from Bodega Sports Fishing Center
• Crab Trip For Two from Fish on Bait and Tackle
• Trip for Two on Miss Anita Fishing Charters (fishing, whale watching, bird watching, eco-tour, or harbor cruise)
• Books from Copperfields Bookstore in Sebastopol
• A series of 3 1-hr massages from Yoga Bodega Studio
• Gift bags from Second Wind Kites
• Autographed baseball, card, & photo by Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, 2005, playing for Cleveland Indians

Plus clothing, fine art prints, paintings, jewelry, handmade dolls and many other exquisite items by local artists!

And if that's not enough to coax you, I should mention that the desserts included with the dinner are being donated by local restaurants including Bluewater Bistro, Terrapin Creek Cafe, The Sandpiper, and Brisas del Mar, plus more baked by talented volunteers. With my sweet-tooth, that alone is worth the price of admission.

Remember all this fun is for an important cause, the proceeds go the Lisa Collins Memorial Fund to help Marilyn raise her four grandchildren. Their mother Lisa was diagnosed with a rare cancer and died suddenly last fall, and the five now live together in the two bedroom house that was meant to be Marilyn and her husband’s retirement home in Bodega Bay.

Dedicated volunteers have been working hard to plan, produce and publicize this event. In fact you can catch Deanna this Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. on KRCB-FM 91.1 spreading the word and drumming up additional support!

Tickets are available in Bodega Bay at Business Services Unlimited, the Sonoma Coast Visitors Center, Bodega Bay Elementary School and Tomales Elementary School. For more information, contact Deanna Osborne at 707-875-2798.

Paragliding at Goat Rock Beach

Click photos to enlarge.

Inspired by Lisa Mann's post in SonomaontheCheap.com, my daughter and I headed up the coast to see the seal pups at Goat Rock Beach, just north of Bodega Bay.

We never made it because we were distracted by another fascinating sight. Along the road out to the beach parking lot, we came upon a paraglider perched on a cliff above the ocean. Captivated by his enormous, colorful "wing," we pulled over and waited for him to launch. Our patience was rewarded and we watched in awe as he lifted off and began soaring silently above the rocky cliffs.







He rode the gentle winds back and forth above our heads for about ten minutes and my daughter shot this video clip:



At one point when he saw our camera, he swooped down for a close-up. We were certain he was going to land on the roof of our car when he asked "Close enough for ya?" Then he grinned, pulled on his suspension lines, and floated back out over the ravine.







I've since learned that Goat Rock is a very popular site for paragliders. It must have excellent wind conditions as well as spectacular views. Of course my daughter, always up for a new adventure, immediately wanted to know how she could learn to paraglide. The only place I found that gives lessons is down on the peninsula. Does anyone know of any paraglide trainers here in Sonoma County? Not that I'm signing her up or anything...

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