California Toad

Woke up early, with maybe the thought of going to Mariposa, anyway, and thought to look up how to enter photos in the Fair online, then looked up something about the Oil Spill, Norwegian Seafloor Landslides, and Methane Pockmarks...sheesh...after an hour or two, went back to sleep, and slept until like three...paddled over to Last Chance...croissant and salad and orange juice...and hopped on the Shuttle to check mail....oh...a diorama on Letterman, of guest on Letterman holding a diorama!...very cool, and reminds me to track down where the old Museum Dioramas went...oh, and after mail check, I went to the Museum...it has sorta the show that it had when I first came to the Valley...Paintings and Photos and things from early Valley Times...paddled back through Bobcat Meadow, past tour groups, photogs and ranger talks....and out Lodgepole Point, where I haven't been for awhile...the Plant growth from the wet Spring is very lush--Use Paths overgrown....Mallards at Creek's End amidst the rafters....walking back up the Creek, sighted Merganserlings9!...pics up....and out front of the Deer House, sat awhile...Trees here and there are like Baby Bird nurseries...can hear Chics piping, but cant locate...lucky pics of Grosbeak with Fledgling....back at the Cabin, picked up tuna and snapel and apple juice and panda licorece at the Store, and geared up, and, almost out the Cabin Door, but episode of Bones on I haven't seen, so sat a bit, and got a late start to El Cap...thought was to Owl Prowl thereabout...walk out quiet...unknown Bird pic up from along the way...and I reached El Cap Bridge at eight...just about right...paddled over to the locale across the Merced from where I saw the hoo hoos from the Hikers Bus two weeks back, and sighted Antlered Buck, or one very similar, that I missed pic of back then...tried for clips and pic, but light too low, well, I still might put up one sometime...Buck's Antlers were huge!...sat awhile on Beach...Two Mallards came by...pic...picked up, put the Headlamp on, and started back...looked back at the Meadow, one Star or Planet shining...pic...over on El Cap two climbers' Lights....aways along picked up Eye reflections of Three Bucks with large Antlers with my Headlamp, and a Doe....a marvel....further along, heard a stirring in Duff beside the Trail...after some Headlamp searching, located what I thought was Bullfrog, but id tonight, it's California Toad...very cool...and wish I'd taken more pics...Toad was sorta crawling, rather than hopping, which helped me in id--that's how they move...quiet the rest of the way back...Moon Shadows when I would turn off the Lamp...back in time for the Good Wife...part anyway...no hoo hoos, but a new critter, Toad, and maybe new Bird...and glad to be out and about...night walks in the Summer are cool...literally...and I like the locale by the Merced where I was at El Cap...usually things feel a bit alien thereabout....oh...Bats about...tried for flash pics, but no luck....