Hummocks

Artist pic from yesterday...over to Last Chance for late Breakfast....bit rainy...on the way back to the Cabin, a bit snowy!...curled up and snoozed....around two, paddled over to the Village, with the loop through Bobcat Meadow...Mallards about amongst the Hummocks...pics...picked up lunch: tuna, mixed crackers in a bag, orange juice, hersheys...which I haven't eaten yet!...was diverted...hopped on the Shuttle, and even though almost four, thought to go up to Vernal Falls...but at Stoneman Meadow, thought I saw Big Wings...hopped off at Pines stop, but no luck walking past the Meadow....hopped on the Shuttle again, and back to Camp 4 stop.....thought to go out to Two Top Pine Meadow, was hungry!, and sit and eat...but then thought to go to the Fallen Cedar....I'm keeping a sort of running account of thereabout!....Merced is up to the level of the little erosion bench I sit on, and further on the Hummocks are an island....oh!...way faraway pic of Redtail circling over Bobcat Meadow...and sighted too what looked to be three or four Buzz Birds....anyway, thought to go to Creek's End and around back to the Cabin...and at Creek's End, found Coyote's Track....very fresh!...and Does and Fawns resting in the Diversion Channel...reached the little Meadow by the Three Cedars, and startled Big Wings...followed flight into the Woods...but just a glimpse...wanted to follow the Coyote Track...but really wanted to follow Big Wings....and sighted Owl perched high deep in the Woods...clips and pics, but all back lit in low light....didn't want to disturb Owl, but wanted better light, so made a wide roundabout, and was able to sight Owl from the other side of the Ponderosa...and Owl was very sound asleep....pic and clip...picked up quietly, and back to the Cabin...a bit drizzly on the way to Last Chance for dinner...and a bit snowy on the way back to the Cabin!....Winter again, snowrain, cool, cloudy, an occasional patch of blue....report of Falcon circling and hunting over one of the Meadows...but reporter couldn't recall which one!....oh!...while doing the Owl clips, Coyote was howling over by the River...thought to go looksee, but seeing Owl was special....oh!...I set the new camera to auto...thought to get a better exposure of the Mallards....and in the low light, the flash popped up...'clickityclank!'...as it does, and woke Mallards up!....Male flew off, but a bit further on, I turned to see Mallard fly back...

Link of the Day: (an artist with the camera...thanks to Edie's blog for the heads up!)

http://www.artinnaturephotography.com/wordpress/

and link to photog's Owl article:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1771