Creek Snag

Paddled over to the Post Office...heard Hawk in Flicker Grove...but I was over across Bobcat Meadow in Artist Grove...book came....Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat...young readers' book...dont know if I ever outgrew young readers' book reading...always like the imagistic sentences..and this one has Great Horned Owls described very well!!

quote

"We'll walk Indian file, boys," he said, "and quiet as mice. Tiptoe...Mustn't scare the owl away."

Well, that sounded all right, only you just can't walk quietly in a poplar bluff because of all the dead sticks underneath.

unquote

Shuttled back to Lower Falls and hopped off....El Capitan reported a 'Bear everyday...but not yet today' and 'Hawks crossing over...'....sat awhile at the Deer House....and on the Creek's gravel....listening.. quiet...clip of Blue Jays on the Fallen Cedars...and the Snag pic up...lighting very cool because of the moving clouds...Florida like sky..back at the Cabin relaxed awhile...some tv...and then out to the Creek again...still quiet...diverted at Creek's End by a book reader sitting at Heron Point...and again by Half Stump by an evening stroller...heard Kingfisher at the Bend, and just sat and waited on the gravel.....pic of alpenglow on Half Dome....no luck with Kingfisher....had along the accessory flash...which I couldn't figure how to work...need the directions...but did get some flash pics of Mama Doe and Two Fawns...diverted from Ozone Beach by Bongo Fernando....clip with his playing for soundtrack!...back through the Woods in almost dark..and heard AspenOrCottonwood's raspy call....but just two...and way too dark to see....sunny with the Florida Clouds...pretty pink clouds at sunset..and pleasant when the clouds were blocking the sun...critter pic up in the double A gallery...'curious deer'... just the back of their heads!!..hmmph...but a critter pic nonetheless!!....scenics are good....worth a looksee...brb...

quote

Farley McGill Mowat, OC (born May 12, 1921 in Belleville, Ontario) is a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farley_Mowat

unquote

Blog Page of the Day:

http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/2009/08/hunting-for-answers.html

unquote

Duck Harbor Oak

Paddled back to the Creek at Duck Harbor...sat awhile and worked on a conte crayon sketch...Art Center sells the crayons and they come in a little box with the four colors...which is kinda cool...tientes paper...art papers are like iso in photography...fine grained to rough...Blue Jay came by to looksee...clip...pics too of Blue Jay....no acorns on the Oak again this summer...which is disappointing...Oaks by the Post Office haven't any either...sunny hot blue...not much smoke...and I think they have the fire under control...or nearing that...ones by LA are much trouble...fiddled with the drawing in elements...report of foxes in Midpines...asked about foxes hereabout, and was given old reports from 1991 and 1994!!...crayons work better on smoother paper..and are for drawing bigger too!....but I really like 'three color' drawings...

Backyard Bear

Stepped outside to toss some trash into the Tiki Can...and sighted Bear strolling in the Backyard...clips...Bear is 99...or 66....I was hungry and wanted to go to Breakfast, but got the tripod, and new camera, and tried to relocate Bear....lost track in the Woods...and missed fresh eggs...breakfast burrito had to do...Shuttled over to the Post Office...dinosaurs came...posed them on the log pic... tiny to see....Mallards were in the Creek....followed them back and forth from Duck Harbor to Creek's End...sunny hot blue and sneezy smoke...firefighters still coming to dinner...brb...well...it's giving all the bloggers something to post up about...and an opportunity for sensational pics!...brb...here's a youtub link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g6UzTaokuw

Have thought a good view can be found at Eagle Peak...for a moment thought of an all night jaunt to thereabout last night...only a moment!....could on my day off make that hike...been meaning too anyway...but I dont think it will be that long before it's controlled...and they may well let it become a controlled burn again..somewhat opportunistic they are!...it could just as well have been a lightning strike fire....nonetheless, some are concerned it's creeping thisaway...the possibility of smoke obscured icons during labor day holiday is likely enough motivation to just put the thing out, I'd say...oh!...heard one call from Hawk...somewhere near the Deer House...sat awhile there hoping...Hawk is being illusive...report of Mama Doe and Two Fawns at Lower Falls...no lunch walk...no lunch break!...abreviated by hungry firefighters!

Smokey Day

Had time for an hour or so to walkabout back at the Creek...quiet...and everything orange!...pic of Half Dome from yesterday...couldn't see Sentinel hardly at all from Creek's End...Checkered White clip...Mallards are paddling past the Swath...and the RipRap...and the fallen Woodpeckers' Pole Tree...sunny with some clouds, not so hot but smokier....hungry firefighters came to Last Chance for dinner...one reported fighting the fire for thirty two hours....and it covers now three thousand acres...I haven't looked up blog reports yet...brb....yes...that seems to be about the size of it..'it got away'....cool to see all the different shoulder patches of the crews....like a gathering of the tribes...and it happens every time this time of year....almost a kinda seasonal thing like dogwoods, snow, and waterfalls...if the roads are open Monday, I'll take the hikers' bus up and looksee!!...the A Rooms are back in business...a smallish fall of boulders, as things go about here!....Raccoon at Last Chance after work...small blurry flash pics...but happy to see Raccoon!....

Deer Mousy

After Breakfast, made phone call and researched buying car on web....took up walkabout time...but got back to Creek's End for a little bit...tried a Chinese Brush ink watercolor....but not enough time to work it out...takes time for ink to dry!!...thought to post it up, and pic of smokey Half Dome....but Deer Mousey was posing...pic...actually, Mouseys...it's an invasion...didn't get over to the A Rooms...too hot...sunny hot and smokey blue...I've gotten along for a good long while now without a car...and this 'limit' plays such a big part in things...oh...they're squeaking!

Pencil Drawing

Bandtail Pigeons pic from yesterday morning....paddled back to the Creek and sat awhile by the Pond...right under where Owl was last evening in fact...a favorite spot...there's Grass and shade and a slope to lean back and skygaze!...quiet and no pics...clip is from on the way to Breakfast...at the Creek, made the little pencil drawing...then fiddled with it in Elements....sunny hot blue...reports of pandemonium over at the A Rooms...and a runaway conflagration on the Road to Crane Flat...so quiet and peaceful at work, I thought maybe the off season has started early...tomorrow, up early to go look at the Boulders in the Bull Frog Pond!!...oh!...heard Hawk during the lunchtime sit...which turned into a walkabout looking for Hawk!...but just two short calls...

Edie has the tumblingtumbling boulders covered:

link: http://littleredtent.net/LRTblog/

Sentinel Evening

Paddled out to Rocky Point in the morning...kinda late...sat a bit below the Two Snags...Bandtail Pidgeons perched again....think they live in the live tall Fir nearby...pic and clip...for sometime...day was warming up fast, and went back for Breakfast and a nap...watched tv a bit...have become a Bones fan...napped some more...paddled out for the evening sit at Owl Log...took drawing gear with...and was sitting on the Shingle...charcoal drawing...partially done...and a young German Shepard came bounding across the Creek right at the Point...had gotten off the leash....and owner was in pursuit....protected the drawing...and with the commotion passed, began again, but heard Blue Jays scolding behind at the Pond beneath the Leaning Cedars...Oh!...I thought...Owl!!...set the drawing down..and after some searching, located Sentinel...very cool....clip...and one good pic...all the noise in the clip is my setting the new camera's exposure...1600 iso....after the pic...a string of kids were walking through the Trees opposite...picked up...least they come over to looksee and scare off Owl...should have kept recording, as that happened just from their walking, and I could have gotten good clip of Owl flying off...I gathered things up, and followed Owl...relocated, but Owl took off towards Chapel Bridge...it was Tree to Tree to Tree to Tree to the last Tree somewhere on opposite side of the Merced...much fun...overshot one Tree and went as far as the Woodpecker Tree...would like to get pic of Owl perched there...have seen Owl once fly by the Woodpecker Tree....a quiet day other wise!..but special...six years to the day I started working in the Valley....sunny hot blue..magnificent blue in the morning...tale at dinner from friend about Owls along the Stanislaus...friend's home was by Dairy Farm where Owl Boxes were put up...part of farm was donated as Nature Preserve....brb...well...this is more than I thought to find...and a good article...link: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/16990

Well...I find myself going from blog to blog to blog!...here's another...
http://hedgeshaman.blogspot.com/2007/05/treasures-from-woods.html

and it mentions a book...brb...Farley Mowat, Owls in the Family...amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Owls-Family-Farley-Mowat/dp/0440413613/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251268900&sr=8-1

one clicked!!

Seven Mergansers

No walk in the morning....the little Frogs are still about...clip....this from the beginning of the evening walk...which was mostly a sit at Owl Log....which was in keeping with most of the day spent just napping and watching tv...and not much tv, as all the shows repeats!...anyway....the little Birds were about at Owl Log...and really did get Grey Warbler pic and clip....I guess the other little bird is a Tanager...but not sure at all...and think it might be an Indigo Bunting...doesn't look big enough for Tanager...I had very little luck sighting the little birds...set the new camera to manual focus, 1600 iso, for the branches and low light...Mallards came by...then I saw some fluttering Dragonfly wings by the pool behind the Log...and as I started the clip, the Grey Warbler alighted!...veryvery lucky....I saw occasionally some sawdust floating in the air...a bit mystified by this, until I discovered the Ants...busy as little egyptians....picked up...no hoo hoos, and light gone from Half Dome...and nearing Ozone Beach, I saw two Ducks...that I checked with the binocs...Mergansers!!....I set up the 20x, and through the view saw two more land...very cool...then in the clip the other three arrive...and all together they were Seven...sunny hot blue...still flummoxed by the almost car purchase...

Link of the Day (with some good Tanager pics!)

http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/Home/birds-Tanager-Western.html

Rainy Day Fawns

Well, yesterday I tried to buy a car I found online...for a good price...too good I guess...the salesman didn't return calls and email after I thought deal was done....and today I see the dealership has raised the price..and no longer offers it on Yahoos autos at the lower price....hmmph...anyway...it was raining a bit around nine...had Breakfast, then out and about...looked carefully at Deer House Oak Tops...and Pine Tops...all over up on branches...hopinghoping to get a rainy day pic of AspenAndCottonwood...but I haven't been able to find them...no luck too at the lunch sit at the Swath later....did see Mama Doe and Two Fawns at the walk beginning...clip...paddled around Bobcat Meadow...pics....saw Hawk way in distance flying towards Fern Ledge...Does and Bucks in the Meadow...the Deer are grouping together.....Rain was nice...but hardly enough to get me very wet....cloudy warm rain and later sunny with broken clouds....yesterday I was reading new photog magazine...and found group called Conservation Photographers...or something...brb....

Link of the Day (bit much!)
http://www.ilcp.com/?cid=56

Frogs in the shower tonight...pics and clips for tomorrow!!

Hopping Mallard

Too tired to post up text last night!...went to the Post Office...photog magazine came...hopped off Shuttle at Lower Falls and at Duck Harbor sat awhile and read...Mallards came along...up Creek a little, kneeled on the gravel and tried to get the Tanager pics and clips...loud sounds are stones being tossed into the Creek...a family with a dozen kids showed up...it was like I wasn't there!...splashes were in camera view!...picked up....sunny hot blue....magazine has story of the fence being built between Mexico and US....a travesty...group of photogs...Conservation Photographers I think it's called, taking pics...see post above this..I'll try to find them on web....

Owl On Snag

Pic and clip from August 10....paddled back to Creek's End and sat awhile at the Pond..first on one side..then the other...quiet...thought to go to Chapel Bridge and look over the rail for Fish..no Fish..just a fisherman...sunny hot blue with a light breeze...oh..I did see one small Fish scoot under the dark round stones...no pics or clips today...quiet on the lunch sit too... took note of the many Ground Squirrels about in the evening...two ran across the the Twin Cedars....well...they run...pause..run...pause...and runrun....tried to imagine how Owl would swoop down...from the side..the front...the back...it's common for the small critters to move in quick bursts interspersed with pauses and lookout....oh...heard Hawk just a bit after Daybreak back at the Creek...too sleepy to pursue...and overheard tourists out front of the Cabin...'two Fawns back there'....again too sleepy...

Coyote Morning

Pics and clip from Monday morning's walk....this morning..not early!...went back to the Creek and sat by the Pool a long while...Phoebes, Robins, Mallards, Flicker, Sandpiper, Acorn and DownyOrHairy Woodpeckers, Ground Squirrel, Yellow Rumps, Blue Jay, seen or heard....it was quiet....did see some Deer Mice scurrying about behind the Cabin when I came home from work tonight...at work, I mentioned to a tourist, in conversation, that leaning over the Bridges and looking into the water one doesn't see as many fish as before...and they agreed...this after they wanted to know, facetiously I'm sure, if the Last Chance Trout were from the River...sunny hot blue...there are some big Trout...I'll go lookabout tomorrow...Crawdads too...only seen one of those in all the walks...oh...a few captured by Merganser...and dont know why Mergansers haven't been about this summer like last summer...miss the Mergansers.....somewhere I have a good clip of Trout...report on the Hiker's Bus that gill nets were clearing the High Country lakes of fish...trying to restore such as Yellow Leg Frog...

Link to Frog story..

http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/frog.htm

Mountain Bluebirds

Pics and clip from yesterday in Tuolumne....Shuttled over to the Post Office this morning...and back to Lower Falls...hopped off and walked through the Deer House Oaks...much in the fashion of going through Owl Woods...looking for Owl!....at Creek's End I sat awhile under the Leaning Cedars...Phoebes...one Mallard...quiet...then sat awhile at Duck Harbor...the same..quiet!...so no pics...except back at the Cabin I took some pics of the Dogwood seeds and leaves...some of the leaves are turning...tomorrow I'll go look at more Trees...and pic up trash too...been meaning to take a plastic bag along on the walks...tourists have been messy of late....oh...heard one call from Hawk...and that was it for today!...sunny hot blue with light breeze....report of Doe in the Merced by Happy Isles Bridge...two Coyotes on the bank...Doe stood in water up to her stomach...refusing to budge!...this tense drama lasted a good while..until tourists moving in for pics broke it up....saw yesterday in Bridal Viel Meadow, Mama Doe and Two Fawns...dont know if same as hereabout...report of Hawk, seen from trail between Fern Spring and Bridal Viel....likely Redtail...oh..the lunch visit to the Swath Rip Rap was quiet too!...one pic of Ground Squirrel!...oh...some visitors across the Creek at the Deer House were pointing to this and that like real estators...wonder what's up!!?...reported the illegal tent at Creek's End...a safety thing....Bears about...

Link of the Day
http://alternativephotographynews.blogspot.com/2009/07/will-dunniways-dirty-hand-collodion.html

Evening Bear

Went up to Tuolumne....Meadows are drying out...and dont look to have had much of a Flower Bloom...which is disappointing..thought to get some more pics and clips of Flowers and Butterflies like last Summer....Marmots not out on the Dirt Road to Soda Springs...lots of cars and hikers though!....sat awhile at 1915 Bridge...just upstream on the right bank a favorite spot....saw Picket Pin scurry across the Bridge...and hurried over with the 20x on the tripod...I have old low res clip of Pins crossing...thought to get better one...and when I got there, saw Hawk in the Cerulean Blue Sky...smoke from the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne fire has lightened up the normally deep blue sky over the Meadows...tried for clip...but Hawk too high up....went back, and gathered up the gear...it was too warm to sit in Sun...so went over to another favorite spot...in the shade of a few small Lodgpole Pines out in the Meadows...the walk along the Road had been very quiet, and it was quiet in the Meadows too....but was content to sit back and enjoy the views....Mountain Blue Birds showed up...and I got some good pics and clips...was going to put them up tonight...but too sleepy!....some Pin clips too...Bluebirds, Pins, Hawk, Deer, Nutcrackers...maybe some Juncos...Blackbirds...Raven...it was quiet!!...back in the tourist noisy Valley..I had late lunch at Last Chance...some TV...and some napping!...and then geared up for Owl and back to the Creek...sat awhile at the Twin Fallen Cedars....but quiet....sat awhile at Lodgpole Point on the Merced's bank...digi clip of Phoebe...saw a Tree sway up the Point...went to check...but quiet...and a tent at Creek's End!...hmmph...had thought to sit awhile at Owl Log...picked up, and being diverted, thought to go out through Bobcat Meadow..and check for mail....at the Artist's Grove, I found something like Mushrooms on a Pine...pic...and looking at my pocket watch that hangs from my camera bag, I realized I didn't have time to go to Post Office..so headed back...and startled Bear out of the Apple Tree on the River side of the Boardwalk...missed this clip...didn't press record button!...have done this error twice of late...lost some Owl clips....it's hard to keep one's wits!....anyway, I did get some clips of Bear moving through the high grasses...and watched Bear swim across the Merced just below Sentinel Bridge...water too deep here to wade!...but clip is taken in way too low light....a couple walking by had seen Bear earlier...'he ran out from the Old House, and went the way you had gone!'..they were photogs, photographing Half Dome in the gloaming while we talked...and took note of my gear, I'm sure!...I had heard a loud branch break sound when at the Twin Cedars....and later, the Tree swaying, I'm thinking, was Bear....Oak Bear, I think..tag and collar....a very nice Bear!...so, in the sometime que is Coyote and Mountain Blue Birds and some scenics!....maybe tomorrow's post...sunny hot blue, hereabout and thereabout in the Meadows...nearly everyone on the Hiker's Bus raised there hand when asked if they saw Bears in the Valley...didn't see any on ride up or back...on the Bus, tourist photog bedeviled me with question about cameras...and we were scolded for noisy competition with the narration...twice!...'move to the back of the Bus'...hmmph!....

Link of the Day: (I can never seem to get days off for this!)
http://theeasternslope.blogspot.com/2009/08/parsons-lodge-13th-annual-poetry.html

Twin Cedars Owl

Sun was up, but did get out and about early....took a different route, over to the Creek and the Deer House...took some pics I like of the House in the morning light....and one too of Chapel Bridge...for sometime....heard Kingfisher, maybe two!, at Chapel Bridge....very long distant pic....walked out along the Merced's South Bank, hopeful to catch up with Kingfisher...but no luck...Deer crossing River at Half Stump...clip for sometime...the morning light on the opposite North Bank is wonderful....will do this route and time more often!....a good Creeper pic at the Aspen Grove...at Swinging Bridge, I came back along the River...so backtracked...some tourists were watching Mama Doe and Two Fawns at Ozone Beach....not sure though...didn't see them clear my own self....back again at Chapel Bridge, I heard Hawk call way across Bobcat Meadow...and made that loop....and right back again to the Deer House, over the Creek, and to Breakfast....thought I might see Owl in the Deer House Oaks like last night...and was disappointed...needn't have been!...soon as I got to the Swath Rip Rap on the evening walk, (after napping and tv!!), I heard Owl...and once down in the Creek, looked upstream to the Twin Fallen Cedars....and there Owl was!......Owl sat a long while, and I took many low light pics and clips...some in HD...the last, a Big Wings take off into the Forest...I think Owl is AspenOrCottonwood , but could be Sentinel...it's a unique scene at one of my first personally named Creek landmarks, and I put it on the mast!!....oh...Coyote was upstaged by Owl...morning clip of Coyote catching Ground Squirrel...for sometime....pic of Chicaree at Swinging Bridge too...and some morning scenics...all for sometime!...sunny hot blue....cool morning warming up around ten.....only one call from Hawk..so no luck...thought to go to Tuolumne for overnight hike...glad I stayed in the Valley...tomorrow I'll go to Tuolumne for the afternoon....Owl on the Twin Cedars pic is too big for the mast....took it down...will work with it to make it smaller...oh!...after Owl flew off, I happend on One Bat flying low over the Creek...very low light pics and clips...for sometime!

Deer House Owls And Hawk Calling

Well, by accident, I knocked over the Swath Woodpecker Pole Tree...pic for sometime...was trying to sit down on the Rip Rap and reached out to brace my self...and over it went...sat awhile disconsolate!...and this was an evening lunch time visit to the Creek...perked up when I heard Owl call from the Deer House Woods...I'd just been there in the morning walk....at the end of morning walk, after a quiet sit by the River...and only a glimpse of Big Wings at Creek's End..and no pics...at the end, I thought to look at the seeds on the Dogwoods in the Backyard...they're falling off...which is disappointing...I'd hoped to get pics of the Birds feeding on them in the Fall....related, is that some of the Black Oaks...notably the big one at Duck Harbor, haven't any acorns...and the Bear Clover few berries...at the end of the walk...seeing and thinking these things...I heard Hawk!!...way back across the Creek at the Deer House...I've gotten to where I can pretty much tell direction and distance from a Bird's call...and I didn't know what to do...work time was nearing..but off I went...I set the 20x to record...wanted the call's sound...on the tripod over my shoulder, as I hurried back to the Creek...and it's a neat clip!...clip of moving Tree tops with Hawk's call!...for sometime...I crossed the Creek to the Deer House...and looked about, but no luck....I started back...and just where I filmed Deer House Doe the other day, I heard Hawk really loud...and looked into the Woods...and saw...Owl!...a real surprise...Hawk was calling at Owl...but I couldn't see Hawk..so set the 20x to record, the clip up, and worked around with the new camera....tried to be quiet, but there's just too many leaves...Owl's swiveling head is noting my progress!....in the clip is a brief Big Wing flight of what must have been Hawk leaving...Owl left soon after....I was six minutes late for work!....now, back to the lunch visit: I picked up from the Rip Rap, and crossed the Creek...Owl's call, Aspen or Cottonwood, pulled me over to the Twin Fallen Cedars, which I noted are impossible to walk across now, and back across the Creek, around again to the Rip Rap, and across the Creek again...and there, finally, I spotted Owl, not the one calling...Owl in the morning looks to be Sentinel...Mama Owl...and this evening Owl does too...and one might make out the Ground Squirrel in Owl's claws..I didn't see that until I reviewed the clip...and I'm glad I didn't try to get closer for pic...the clips aren't filled with a lot of action!...not many of the clips are...but I find them cool...sunny hot blue with a breeze...some scenic and flower pics from the day....was ten minutes late back to work from lunch!!...looked a bit silly in work clothes...and wished I'd seen Hawk...I've suspected Owls and Hawk are having a turf quarrel...Hawk's call at odd times...and Owls' moving roosts....the evening sighting was about six thirty..not that late...the morning one of Hawk and Owl around one thirty...and a fungus or something on Last Chance Oak...the Dogwoods there are fine...I need to go around and look at the Trees...and feel very sorry I knocked over Woopeckers' Snag!!

Link of the Day
http://geology.com/articles/yosemite-rockfall.shtml

Deer Crossing

Got up with Blue Jays call...and out to Two Top Pine Meadow before the sun reached the Pine....along the way, at Creek's End...Mallard clip...walking along the River, I got diverted by sleepers in sleeping bags....happened upon Two Point Buck in Owl Woods...clip...recording of new bird sound...Doe clip by Swinging Bridge...at Rocky Point, I settled down and set up the 20x on Falcon's Snags...drank an Orange Juice while waiting...Medium Size wings landed in one Snag...Bandtail, I thought...and it was..Bandtail Pigeon...risky thing to do to perch in Falcon's Morning Tree!....lost another tightening screw for the digi bracket...and at a loss to keep the waterproof in place...but figured out to wrap the wrist strap around the bracket....the strap can be attached to all four corners of the camera with a neat little bayonet twist like mount...I need to get four of these!...I think I can rig it so the waterproof can be held to the scope with them...by rubber bands...little bungee chords...need to do something...bracket is falling apart without screws...digi clips of Bandtail..good practice....picked up, and at the Road, Buck crossed...at the Crosswalk!...have friend who was enchanted by a small herd of Deer crossing at Lower Falls crosswalk...'like they knew!'....back to the Cabin along Rocky Slope...long line at Ranger's Kiosk for Camp 4 campsites....free entry this weekend...lots of daytime tourists...Breakfast...then to sleep...another split shift night!....woke up with time for a half hour back at the Creek...and on the way back to the Cabin on the Dirt Road, sighted One Fawn...clip up....dont know where Second Fawn, or Mama Fawn, were...and dont know how they stay together!... Fawns will call...have that on last summer clip....sunny hot blue...but cool in the morning...and really balmy and nice tonight...cricketscrickets....sky was Magnificent Blue above Eagle Peak...but no Falcons...report of Mountain Lion at River's Edge at the base of the Grade up to Mid Pines...I was asked what I'd been seeing lately....Owls, Falcons, Bears...then was one upped big time!!!...oh!...Humming Bird hovering in the sunlight over the Swath on way to Creek...wish I could have gotten clip!...cant find indiviual wrist straps...accessory package has neck and lanyard staps...over a hundred dollars!...but for snorkeling and such these would be needed....devious to make special gizmos for attaching straps!!

Link for today:
http://www.birddigiscoper.com/2009/08/creek-corridor-chopped-liver.html

Plato quote is knockdown!!

Two Squirrels

Squirrel clip from two days ago...the lunch time clip....pic from today...Duck Harbor...happened to notice the reflection...and this will be a place to check in Winter for scenic pic...the white pipe on the right...it has counterpart on the Creek's left...the Tiki Outlet Pipe, which is large...I've never been sure what they do!...oh...now and then water pours out of them..but clean...hmmph...brb...

quote
3.4.2 Close Yosemite Lodge and Camp 4
This alternative consists of postponing sewer repairs pending the completion of further
NEPA analysis for lodging and employee housing in the project area. This would
necessitate the closure of the Yosemite Lodge and Camp 4, both of which depend on
the existing sewer line. Future planning for the Yosemite Lodge area is not likely to be
finalized for many months. As a result, Yosemite Lodge and Camp 4 would have to
remain closed for a prolonged period of time. This closure would be a significant adverse
impact to visitors. This alternative would not meet the park's objectives for this proposal,
which include ensuring adequate sewer service to visitor overnight accommodations
(both camping and lodging), in accordance with approved plans such as the General
Management Plan (GMP) and the Concession Services Plan (CSP). Therefore, this
alternative was dismissed.
3.4.3 Move Sewer Line out of Floodplain
The NPS determined that there is no practicable or economical alternative for relocating
sewer utilities for the Yosemite Lodge and Camp 4 areas entirely out of the floodplain.
This is because sewer utilities for these facilities must connect to the Yosemite Creek
sewage lift station. This lift station is the only lift station in Yosemite Valley that pumps
sewage out of the valley to the waste water treatment plant in El Portal. Since this lift
station is in the floodplain, there is no feasible way to locate the Yosemite Lodge and
Camp 4 sewer utilities completely out of the floodplain. Therefore, this alternative was
dismissed.

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:-HwulBZHux8J:www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/upload/1998-1009yosemitelodgecamp4sewerfonsi12-4-98.pdf+sewage+lift+yosemite&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
unquote

Kind of ironic that the most lucid depiction of the 'necessary situation' is brought up by a search of these little pump houses! Tracking down who in the NPS determined these dismissals would be a step to take to find out just the why of things, which is often obscured...cards are being held close to the chest!! One more try to see how these things work...brb...well..I cant find it....these are questions that can be answered in an eye blink by someone familiar with these pumps...

It was sunny hot blue..and only a half hour walk...housekeeping gobbled up Time...and now it's late again!!...hmmph!!

Deer House Doe

Clip up is from yesterday....did get back to the Creek for a bit today...forestalled housework until after work...which has made for a long day!...and late post up...at Creek's End, Mallards were sleeping under the Leaning Cedars...then swam and dove a bit...saw White Headed Woodpecker...and Robin..same spot under the Cedars...all on a clip....quiet otherwise...and quiet on a short visit to the Creek at lunch time...Bear came by tonight..tapped at the window and rattled the venetian blinds...likely wanted the bar of soap left on the sill!....sunny hot blue....Deer Mousy is being annoying....

Deer Creek Crossing

After a late Breakfast...Breakfast is getting later and later!....paddled back to the Creek......at the Swath, I looked over to my right, and glimpsed Mama Doe and Two Fawns milling about the Tiki Temple....which is in the midst of a jumble of unused pipes, an old truck, and such....it's not that big, or unsightly....painted cedar bark dark....and I take little notice of it on my walks...but it's there and hums and smells sometime...so I thought to take clip of the Deer there...but couldn't figure how to get close without spooking them...they wouldn't go far, but they wouldn't have the curio background!....so what to do...I went down the rip rap for another angle...but they were behind trees and everything...so I took a chance and back tracked and went across the Creek at the shallow at the Swath...where I often cross...and found a good spot next to Azalea Bush on the opposite bank...did get a clip with the Temple as backdrop...but for another time...actually, I have lots of Deer clips like this...one favorite...it's winter, snow, and a Doe, curious, is looking inside one of the giant cement pipes, which is upended on it's side...anyway!...Mama Doe and Two Fawns came across the Creek...see clip...pure gold...pure Creek!....I set the 20x t0 record, and took out the new camera...but all the settings were off from last night trying for after dark Bear Cub pic....but I had the foresight, from being clumsy trying to use two cameras and missing the clip of the Mama Bear and Two Cubs wading the Merced, to zoom back the 20x so that it caught the Fawns crossing...albeit tiny...both tikied in the Creek...and I edited that out...when Mama Doe stood up, I thought it might be from me fussing with the new camera....and I thought to sit down...maybe Mama Doe would sit back down!...no...instead she started walking right towards me!....I'm on the ground, and the 20x high above on the tripod...I lifted it all, and unlocked the legs so I could splay them...and that brought the camera down a bit...like only a foot over my head!...and Mama Doe just ignored all this...so I started a clip using the swing out lcd screen to see....and that worked...very well...I really really like this clip!...and I got two more good clips today!!....at the end of the walk...I looped out to Bobcat Meadow and back to the Deer House...I get sorta pushed around by tourists...two were at Creek's End...so didn't stay...and two on a favorite log at the Deer house..so didn't sit...but at the Deer House, Mama Doe was standing alone near the Creek...and then trotted over to me...oh...I'll put the clip up tomorrow...she's either looking for her Two Fawns.....or being very wary...ears turning this way and that...hard to describe...the Deer House is in the background...anywayanyway, and at lunch at work, I crossed over the Road to the Climbing Slope....and sat and had lunch...a peaceful break from Last Chance...where pushing is common!...and two Ground Squirrels were standing up and eating the grasses...have to see that clip too....for tomorrow...I may not walkabout tomorrow...need to put books on the bookshelves and houseclean...inspection Friday...did some tonight while doing upload...whenever I move books I stop to read them!...so it takes awhile!!....sunny hot blue with light breeze....report of Bear at Camp 4....and same reporter, on trip to Oakhurst, saw Mountain Lion cross Road after dark....

Link for today:
http://yubanet.com/life/America-s-Top-100-Family-Campgrounds-Announced-by-ReserveAmerica.php

Running Fawns

Got out sorta early....Fawns were running about next to the Cabin...clip up...paddled out to Two Top Pine Meadow...quiet...whole day was quiet...repeat of yesterday....midday, stayed in the Cabin to avoid the heat...out again in the Evening to Two Top again...this time to stay until Sunset...quiet except for Mallards and Sandpipers...and Three Does and Two Bucks at Beaver Bend...got some good clips of Deer..for sometime...on the way back, in near darkness...heard, and saw the flash, of the bangitybangstick...Rangers chasing Bear away at Swinging Bridge....when I got to the Path the commotion was over, but I saw Bear Cub on the opposite bank of the River, taking a drink....I tried for a pic, and didn't expect much, but I did get two tiny dim Bear Cub pics....for sometime...sunny hot blue with the light breeze...very pretty in the Meadow....

Owls And Bears

Thought to sleep in, day off and all, but got up early and Shuttled over to Siberia for Breakfast....Shuttle back took the long way around, and by the Stables sighted Mama Bear and Two Cubs...Bears look like the ones on first trip to Tuolumne at Crane Flat...hopped off at the Stables, and tried to follow and relocate...but lost Bear....and found myself out and about with only the 20x...and nothing to drink or eat....so made the walk back from Mirror Lake junction...along the Horse Trail which goes along the Rocky Slope...Trail is covered with horse manure...which propagates the annoying little gnats which bedeviled me all the way back to the Village!...them and the heat too....by the time I got back to the Cabin, I was worn out...did stop for awhile at the Creek....at the Cabin, I went to sleep...woke up...got some nachos and soda from across the Road...and watched TV until things cooled off enough for a walkabout....had in mind to go to Two Top Meadow and stay there until dark....got as far as Ozone Beach and there Blue Jay was taking a bath at the River's Edge...this right where I lost the Teleconvertor....and where too is knockdown view of Half Dome...a pleasant enough spot, I thought, to just sit awhile...and across the River, the Last Chance Two Fawns showed...clip for sometime...they gave cause to sit awhile longer, and Buck came by...clip...and a raft, with five aboard, happened to get stuck between me and an Acorn Woodpecker I was didgiscoping....I dont film tourists...but this was precious, and wish I could...somewhat like two days back, when a family hopscotched one by one across Creek's End!...the Fawns left off resting when the Buck crossed the River...neat clip...for sometime too!...and while all this was going on...I'm hearing maybe Owl calling over in Owl Woods...I picked up, and debated which to do...Two Top...or Owl Woods...chose the Woods...and when I got to the Diversion Channel, Aspen and Cottonwood swooped up into a Black Oak...Calling and Snapping their beaks...tried for clip...but no luck...but did keep one in sight...clip...Owl flew to another spot...and I followed up the Channel...and saw Owl on the Snag...and went all thumbs...but got a clip...left the 20x to record while I unpacked the digiscope...when I went to remove the 20x, I saw both Owls were on Snags!....clip....the one up...then I set up the digi...keeping hope they wouldn't fly off...and got just a few seconds of clip with the waterproof....which I forgot to add to post up...not much to look at, but it shows the change in the color of Owl's feathers.... Owls flew off during the digi clip....and I followed up the Channel...took a clip of young Buck...partly to record Owl's call...even sat at Owl Log and recorded the Calls...seemed appropriate!....paddled back to the Cabin in the almost dark...and to the Calls of Owl!...very cool....sunny hot blue...report of Jam at the Road side of Two Top...maybe Bear...and report of Owl in past morning diving on Raven....Aspen and Cottonwood have grown up!!

Little Birds

Did laundry, cleaned house, then went back to the Creek...sat by the Pole That Measures Water Level...it's an ambitious pole, with markings higher than the '97 flood it looks like!...a shady spot...a good log to sit on...but the Tiki Temple behind is humming and smelling!...so picked up and went right down to the Creek's edge....some cobbles make a ford hereabout..and the Little Birds were perching and hopping about...now...the top one may be a first sighting for me...a Grey Warbler....but not sure....next one is a Song Sparrow..I think..then looks like Yellow Rump Warbler...and Robin and Black Headed Grosbeak.......and last it might be Tanager....Phoebe's were about...and maybe Kinglets...never know what's making the peeps high up...Acorn Woodpeckers... Blue Jays, but no pics of these...sunny hot blue...

Creek's End Bear

Almost lay back on the bunk after Breakfast, but thought 'I can do that by the Creek!'...and did...found a shady spot near the Tiki Outlet Pipe...which is by the Pool...set up the 20x on the tripod with the legs retracted...just in case a critter came along...and one did!...Bear crossed the Merced right at the Old Branch and Owl Log...very cool...a kinda bookend to Mama Bear with her Two Cubs....Kingfisher was flying back and forth up and down the Creek...just wont 'hold still'!...will keep trying for pic....forgot yesterday to report Two Fawns right behind the Cabin...clip...sunny warm blue with breeze...a fine summer day..see clip up...but can tell the season is changing..cooler in the morning...leaves sound dry rustling in the breeze...which reminds me to check for acorns tomorrow...the Oak Branch Over Half Dome has new acorns coming in...Dogwoods have their new bracts...

Owl Log Mallards

Sat awhile at Owl Log...repeat of yesterday...Mallards waddled right over again, and this time went under the Log!...clip up...Violet Green Swallow is from yesterday....sunny with some clouds.... hot in the sun, but pleasant in the shade, or when clouds came over...

Blog of the Day
http://misadventuresofmacandbeardog.blogspot.com/