Wooly Mule's Ears

Once on the East Side yesterday, I rolled about the June Lake Loop, then up 395 to the North end of Mono Lake at the Park...Road there about turns to Gravel, and dissapears in the distant High Desert Shrub...seemed a good place to look for Hawks and other Birds....did see Kestrel.....but didn't roll out far...returned to 395, and up to Lundy Lake....Wooly Mule's Ear pic thereabout...more pics from thereabout for sometime.....today hereabout: Rain!...and the Merced higher, maybe highest, this morning...clips up of Picket Pin and White Crowned Sparrow at Tuolumne...cloudy sprinkles, clearing in the afternoon, cool....

Cassin's Finch Pair And Comma Butterfly

After Breakfast, and Laundry, gathered the gear, and rolled up to Tuolumne....looked for Marmots at Olmstead Point...no luck...a wonder where Marmots are thereabout....parked at Lembert Dome, and paddled out Marmot Road...One Marmot thereabout...pic...Cassin's Finch Pair on the Road...pics up....made the loop, across Sept 1915 Bridge, out to the Road, and around back to Lembert...nearing Silver, thought to take Dandelion pic....and sighted Butterfly, and increased the effort, and surprised tonight to find from Book, Butterfly is Comma--not sure which one...a new sighting, for me...just as I picked up, gardeners came along with sprayers...."After Dandelions?"....'Yep.".....along the loop: White Crowned Sparrow, Robins, Juncos, Flicker, Ravens, Chickadee, Western Bluebird, Sandpiper, Blackbirds, Clark's Nutcracker, Finches, Yellow Rump Warbler...and while passing the flooded Campground on the Road Side, Male Mallard!...Three Mallards in a flyover, and while taking hd clip of Unicorn, Mallard flew past!!...left off, and rolled down the hill to the East Side...report for sometime...a longlong knockdown gorgeous day!...on return, Mallard Pair out in the flooded Meadow near Pothole Dome....Meadow was brown last week, but today all green...Shooting Stars beginning to bloom beside Marmot Road...sunny with clouds of coming small storm moving in, breezy, mostly warm but soemtimes cool...Tenaya Lake ice free, but flooded over the Beach, and the Rocky Shore West End, where I tried to walk acorss the Snow to get pic.....one patch of Snow was actually a Small Iceberg...couldn't get close without a deep wade...left off, and with the last step from the Snow to the Parking lot, I postholed...one needs caution walking on Snow near fallen Logs, or near Boulders...Snow is often hollowed out underneath around them...no harm done, and a laugh!...Deer about the Meadow, Does and Bucks...lots of Picket Pins,Douglas Squirrel...pics and clips for sometime...lots of Golden Mantle Squirrels crisscrossing the Road on way up and down....and a Mouse scurried across coming up Tioga!....not that many tourists...saw one backpacker gearing up....tent fabric on the Store and Grill, but nothing inside...an odd thought: without the Store and Grill, tourists dont stop at the Meadow!!....some cars parked at Trail Heads (none at Mono, most at Porcupine)....one rock climber at Tenaya....what with the Campground flooded, and Snow covering all the trails, the High Country is getting a respite from summer time crowds!

Western Wallflower

Out and about early for a roll down the hill to Town on shopping errands...just past Catheys Valley, Two Hawks on Windmill...wanted to stop, but traffic behind, and no turn out, and..well, just a mind's eye pic!....and no pics from this morning...after shopping, thought to go to MWR, but just too hot...even for return on Osprey Road....did stop at Happy Burger for tuna and salad and coffee...I'm still sleepy from being a concert goer!...when I got to Oakland, I had like five hours before time, and thought to have a try at locating the Golden Gate Park Owls..I know San Francisco's layout a little bit, and after the travail of crossing the Bay Bridge, I found Geary St. and rolled out towards the Pacific, thinking to find Hwy. One easy...map showed One goes right by Strawberry Hill...but signage of Northern California held true, and I missed the turn...glimpsed the Ocean just a bit, and made a left turn on street that took me to the Park...and up Fulton to a crossover street, and, after checking the map carefully, and counting streets numbers, found One, which is called Presidio, or something, and, and, was much dismayed--no where to Park!..."It's just like the Valley, the whole Town!', I said, relating all this to friend....a walkabout GGP is really on my to do list...anyway, now I know my way around more places, and an early morning arrival a necessity to find Owls, and a place to park!!...oh...the Western Wallflower pic is of Wallflowers on 120 just a bit before Crane Flat...I've passed the Wallflowers several times, meaning to get a pic, and on return from Solstice rollaround, I pulled over....there are still a lot of Flowers in the Merced Canyon, but I haven't been getting Flower pics...a bit remiss...there's a kinda of enertia once rolling in Silver, not unlike when I hike..once I get going, I just dont stop...anyway...oh...on return, saw a White Dove! fluttering over the Road at Bridal Veil Falls...did pull over to try for pic, but no luck, and overheard, I think, someone say a wedding party had brought along Doves...pics of Bridal Veil, which is a very difficult Fall to get a good pic of!...sunny blueblue hot....curious to know how the Wallflower got its name..brb...quote: "and they are often grown successfully in loose wall mortar, hence the vernacular name. "...hmmph, thought maybe, well, it's a name I often identify with!!....after Dinner at Last Chance (on my days off, Lunch time becomes Dinner time), returned to the cabin along the Path...lots of Birds flycatching...Tanagers, Grosbeaks, Robins, Juncos, Phoebe, and Vireo, I think...small dusty Yellow Bird....walked back out to the Creek, and Junco Pair click click clicked at me--must be Nest nearby!....Water too high for walk out to Creek's End...be glad when the Water goes down...enough's enough!!

Blue Heron

Before the Allison Krauss concert yesterday, I walkedabout Caesar Chavez Park, which is at the Waterfront in front of the University, on University Street in fact, which I rolled up the hill on when time for the Concert, which needless to say, was knockdown....at the Park, near the end of the circuit I made, Blue Heron came flying low towards me on the Path...(earlier, I'd seen Heron at the Rip Rap Breakwater (pic for sometime)....on the small Hill thereabout, Kite Fliers...a new favorite pic!...Heron was intent on finding food in the Grass...earlier too, I'd seen Gopher Snake by the Path, and I think Heron was looking for Snakes...Snake pic for sometime, and Bird and scenic pics....and more report for sometime of a veryvery longlong day!!....hereabout today, Merced is lowering slowly, but I think High Water has passed...oh...at the Concert, report of Condors over Golf Course in San Jose....and while at the Entrance, in line with the other concert goers, Hawk, Red Shoulder, calling, from Tree Tops across the Road...and later too, just before the Music....

no pics today

Out and about at Sunrise...paddled over to Two Top Pine Meadow...Water as high as yesterday....looking about, it looked like I could reach a vantage to take a reflection pic of Two Top Pine from the edge of the Burnt Forest....was wearing the flip flops, rolled up my levis, and managed to reach a spot with only a few Brier Berry cuts, and Pants still dry....pics...and while returning back on the Wide Asphalt, sighted Mama Mallard with Two Mallardlings...another foray into the Forest, and didn't roll Pants up!....farfar away pics....and then sighted Mama Merganser with Seven or Eight Merganserlings...farfar away pics and clips...different Merganser Family than Mergansers at Sandpiper Beach a few days ago....wish I had the tripod along, Merganserlings were competing for piggy back rides on Mama Merganser's Back...one short faraway clip of this for sometime...dont know but tomorrow I'll fore go the concert trip (four hundred miles about round trip costs in gas what I paid for the ticket, and I lose a day's pay taking the day off, and then there's food and a souvenir, and if I stay overnight (I have to be back to work Sunday), a whopping hotel bill, and it's a really longlong ride!...hmmph...anyway), and lookabout the Meadow until I see the Mergansers....there are very cool pics to take with the Water among the Pines and such.....sunny blueblue hot....

no pics today

Out and about at Sunrise...paddled out to Bobcat Meadow...quiet...Pregnant Mama Doe with Two Yearling Fawns by the Deer House...Water is highest yet, and an inch or two deep at the Path Y in front of the Deer House....sat awhile by the Creek behind the Deer House.....Water up to the top of the Swath Rip Rap...pics...reflection pics in the Meadow...clip of Deer...for sometime...for sometime too, another Pregnant Doe with One Yearling Doe, and One Yearling Buck, that looked very much to be the Two Top Pine Meadow Fawns from last June...another Yearling Fawn trailed behind this group...oh...this was beside the Path at Lower Falls....went to Breakfast, and to the Cabin, and to sleep....and errand in Village took me out again...peddled back and forth...and..and I didn't get much sleep at all!....sunny blueblue hot...

Mallards And Redwing

After early Breakfast, paddled out to Bobcat Meadow...oh..first over to Sandpiper Beach, and to Two Top Pine Meadow--a High Water looksee!....Water over almost all the Path at Two Top...like a wide River...well, it is a Wide Merced!...and while it doesn't likely get deeper than thigh high to Swinging Bridge, that's too high!...Water is cold and swift, and I think I've read flooding just over your ankles can take your feet out from under you...anyway, I made a tentative wade last year, and thought better of it, and this morning thought to go to Bobcat Meadow for a looksee at the Water....thereabout, the Grasses are so high now it's hard to tell how much of the Meadow is flooded...some Water over the Boardwalk at the Lily Pad Pond...at Sentinel Parking, Mallards and Mallardlings started coming out of the Grasses, disturbing the Reflections thereabout, and the photogs, who all picked up...I sat awhile on the Split Rail Fence, and the Mallards all came into view...Mama Mallard and Ten, and Mama Mallard and Seven...pics and clips...picked up, and just the other side of the Artists' Grove, Redwing fluttered around my head, upset likely with Nest nearby...tried for pics....did get pics when Redwing lighted on one of the remaining Little Pines--a favorite Redwing perch too!...pics up....sunny blueblue hot (didn't seem so hot as yesterday, nor as crowded!)...well, I dont know what's become of the Owlet hereabout....the other day, I watched Blue Jays fighting with Ravens behind the Cabin, and at the Nest under the Eaves at Last Chance, with a sense of dread--Ravens rob nests...Jays do too...sister reports Scrub Jay robbing another Scrub Jay Nest, and trying to track that out with searches, happened on current web report of Owls at Strawberry Hill in SF Park....I...I have ticket to Allison Krause evening concert in Berkeley sat nite, and...well,if I leave here around two am, I should reach Golden Gate Part at Sunrise...and hear the Fledglings...which wold be very cool....and a long Saturday...and it's late again!....I napped after the morning walk until work time, and counted up the number of sleep hours, which seemed enough, but it's not when the 'sleep shift' is split!!...hmmph...

Tenaya Sunrise

Yesterday, rolled down the hill to Town, returned on Osprey Road...report for sometime....this Morning: out and about in the Middle of the Night...and rolled over to the East Side....report for tomorrow!...Five Doe just past White Wolf, Bear at Porcupine Flat, One Doe a bit further along, Buck at Lembert Dome, on return, Two Does thereabout...Deer seem to have a sense how hazardous the Road is, and will pause and look...pics up form Olmstead Point and Lake Tenaya, which still has, or had after today, Ice....sunny blueblue hot...reallyreally sleepy...left the Cabin at three forty five, but find it the best time, as much traffic on return...

no pics today

Out and about before Sunrise...sat awhile out in Bobcat Meadow...quiet...Two Does Two Fawns about....tried to paddle out Lodgepole Point to have a looksee at Creek's End...Water going right over into the Creek blocked the Use Path....some pics...and Up Creek, new Drift Logs at the Twin Fallen Cedars...and the gardners have picked up a lot of the sawn Fallen Oaks from the Windstorm last Winter, so Duck Harbor, when the Creek goes down, might again look like Duck Harbor--least wise how I remember!....sunnyblueblue...report from Mongolia...lots of Raptors--Wolf Eagles on horseman's arms....and Guard Dogs lazing away the day, after a night of guarding against Wolves!

Sandpiper Beach

Out and about before Sunrise...paddled over to Bobcat Meadow...Buck and Does and Fawn about...(Pregnant Doe with Two Yearling Fawns by the Path yesterday), Pregnant Doe and Fawn in the Oak Grove...Mallards in the Ponds by the Deer House, and lots of Mallard flyovers...Dawn Chorus very loud!...took some iso 6400 pics...setting good just to get a pic, otherwise..hmmph....anyway, checked mail, and finished up the walk at Sandpiper Beach...pic up...and there was no one about early on, and I retreated to the Cabin after Breakfast and napped until worktime...same thing at Lunch!...sunny blueblue warm...there's a Redwing Black Bird next to a Fish on Sat. Night Live (a repeat)....forgot that episode...oh, and they are an item!....and my friend got a knockdown pic of the Moonbow...this is a facebook link:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1882349018784&set=a.1179967259679.2025603.1243101666&type=1&theater

no pics today

At Lunch: paddled back to the Cabin, with coffee, and just thought to hide out a bit!...work is hectic, emphaisis on hec, at times....but I thought on last Night's musing in the blog, and realized a word I was looking for was 'airbrushed'....the time exposures of the Moonbows give the Falls an airbrushed look...now, air brushing would seem to be anathema to the f.64 photogs, but it is often seen in Ansel Adams' Daylight pics of the Falls, I'm thinking of the little Fern Spring pic here, which is in shade, and which required a long exposure with the large format camera, but the Rainbow, Nevada Falls pic, has some of the unavoidable blending too--large format cameras are not noted for stopping motion!...Anyway, I did a search, Ansel Adams Airbrush, wondering if Ansel would even use an airbrush in the darkroom, and happened on a great many discussions of the merits of photos altered nowadays in photoshop, and happened too on this great clip about Ansel's home and darkroom....link: (in the opening, one can see Bird Rock at Point Lobos!)

Marc Silber Visits Ansel Adams' Home and Darkroom

http://www.silberstudios.tv/videos/marc-silber-visits-ansel-adams-home-and-darkroom/

no pics today

Well, I did take some pics, pics of pics in the latest Museum Show(which is permitted, and if I remember right, government 'publications' are copyright free)...one in particular of Two Top Pine Meadow is for sometime, but I have to go out and get the 'now' photo, which I can put side side by with the 'then', which is 1901 about, by a photog name Peabody....Show has some things I haven't seen, and will take some study!....at Lunch: sat a moment at the Woods, and bit a bit by Mosquitoes...dont know if it's just me, or I've built up some immunity, or maybe these Mosquitoes are not ones to leave behind welts and days of itching, as just for a little while there's itching...anyway...quiet...was so busy with errands, didn't notice much in morning visit to the Village...and after work, took one Falls pic out front, but no Bow, but pic is kinda cool....can see the Stars very well....for sometime, a pic when the Big Dipper is over the Falls...Falls still may be flowing enough in July for more Moonbows...a waitandsee!....oh...now I remember...saw pic of Moonbow and Dipper..brb...which is here...click on first pic....http://www.yosemitepark.com/yosemite-moonbow.aspx

A kinda technical observation of Moonbow pics:

Because of the time exposures, in the Bow pics, the Falls is always smooth, and soft, like a cloud, like the 'soft lines' one learns about in Art Class drawing with a stick of charcoal....one also learns in Art Class about 'hard lines'....where the Rim meets the Sky is a 'hard line'.....during the Day, while the Falls is still pretty 'soft', a Falls photo taken in Daylight has enough detail, that it is in harmony with the Granite and Pines....over the last few nights, having looked at a few hundred Moonbow pics, I keeping finding the jarring contrast of the soft Falls, and the hard lines surrounding....often even the Bow is in sharp focus...oh, that is what I'm reaching for...there seems to be, in photog circles, an obsession with sharpness!!...Moonbow pics, I think, are one instance where sharpness can be set aside--iso 6400!!(a new photo club!)---I'll have to try that tomorrow Night, dont need a Bow to see how things will look....

Moonbow Lower Falls

At Lunch: paddled out to Sandpiper Beach to see how high High Water has gotten...a little less than last year, I'd say....sat, for just a moment, by the Path...one glance at Mosquitoes covering my pants legs sent me back to Last Chance...sunny blueblue day, hot...after Work: took the moonbow camera set up out front...Bow down at the Cascades again...back in the Cabin, made one more try to see if the waterproof camera can take a time exposure....months ago, pushing the buttons, I happened on a menu, with a selection for time exposure...didn't give it much thought, but noted it would be helpful for Moonbows at Lower Falls...so much Spray thereabout, one needs a waterproof camera!...but I lost the menu, and I have looked many times!!!...so I sat on the bunk, and fiddled with the buttons one more time, and by some luck, Providence smiling, I found the menu again!!...checked it outside, and, it worked, though Falls from hereabout too far away...but off to Lower Falls...a crowd thereabout at the View Bridge...noisy too...dont know what all the laughing was about, but imagine it was the Spray...had Rain Jacket on my own self...and out in the Bridge, it was Wind and Spray...pics looked a lot like the ones I took a long while ago with the 12x, but this time there was a big distinct Moonbow that everyone could see arching over the Creek...to the eye, it is a variegated grey...very cool....dont know how the other photogs did...saw a lot of red ring lenses getting wet!....back at the Cabin, in the photo editor, I pushed the brightness(contrast!!...brightness I didn't move...that's what the camera took on auto...I..I really didn't do much, but click the shutter, and try and keep the little porthole lens dry!!) almost all the way to the right (the bar gauge), and made the pic up...monitor on the desktop, that I worked with, is different than the laptop, where pic is darker...well, it is dark!....but it is close to what one actually sees...it's dark and loud and awesome to be on the View Bridge at Night at High Water!!...

Moonbow Falls

After Breakfast, rolled out in Silver as far as the Roadblock on Tioga....discovered at Crane Flat that indeed Tioga was open to Olmstead Point, but for Bicycles!...which is very cool, and next year, I take a Bike up...returned to Big Oak Road Trail Head, where I had stopped earlier....oh..and I almost continued to Hetch Hetchy, but the high Water in the Valley drew me back...at Big Meadow, went down the Road thereabout a little ways, and basked in the purple Lupine...lots of Flowers blooming, and a hike up the Trail thought on, but too hot...returned, and met traffic jam just past the Tunnels--Road work...and once in the Valley, napped at the Cabin....out and about in the afternoon, and peddled over to Siberia...bought new boots...and at Dinner thereabout, persuaded friend to try and get some Moonbow pics...and together around ten, we set up where I was Last Night...Last Night's spot taken, but to the right another spot....tourists thereabout patiently waiting, and much disappointed when the Bow began to appear, tourists didn't know that Moonbows are hard to see even close up, and where we were was a farfar away view...only way to see Moonbows is with the long exposure that cameras can do, and our eyes cant!....Moonbow not quite as distinct as Last Night, and friend a bit disappointed too!....'there will be another Bow tomorrow!'...I think....there are so many places to view the Falls, one cant be sure which will be the best....returned friend to Siberia, and myself to the Cabin...photog out front, and took some more pics out front my own self too....Bow was at the Cascades...pic up...and bit of puzzle...an hour earlier Bow was at the Cascades from the Vantage at the right of Swinging Bridge....left off, tired and hungry....put two pics up to the Blog, then went out to get snacks...photog still about, and Bow in same place...this almost a half hour later....more puzzle!...then I looked at the Moon, and an old memory came back...one day going by Lower Falls I saw a Rainbow at around Noontime, and noting where the Winter Sun was, thought that when the Moon was there, there should be a Moonbow...well, the Moon was there tonight, and I scurried over to Lower Falls where the Promenade begins, and took the pic up....very cool....sunny blueblue hot, water high...for sometime, a few pics from Big Meadow....for now, sleepy, but the midday nap helped!!

Moonbow

After Breakfast. paddled out to Bobcat Meadow....quiet...returned to the Cabin and napped most all day!...one foray out for Nachos and Hotdog from the Cone Stand, a beginning of Summer ritual, usually after I've hopped off the Hiker's Bus coming back from Tuolumne...but no Bus for awhile yet, though I heard Tioga will open this weekend...heard too that one can get as far as Olmstead Point now...will try that tomorrow with Silver!....around about ten thirty, located a headlamp from the dishevelment, and thought to paddle out to Four Mile Trail, or, as I realized on the way, to Ayer's View by Swinging Bridge...Sky looked promising for Moonbow....but at Two Top Pine Meadow, Meadow, and Path, flooded....Moon was peaking over Sentinel. so, diverted by the Water, hurried back to the Cabin, hopped on the Bicycle, and went the long way around to Swinging Bridge...photogs all lined up along the Road across from the Chapel...and Chapel Meadow flooded, reflecting the Falls....at Ayer's View (Thomas Ayers did the first charcoal/graphite drawing of the Falls hereabout), parked the Bike aside a Ponderosa, and tried for pics...hard to focus, no marking to go by on the lens' bezels, and wide angle lens is kit lens that came with newer camera...anyway, frustrating to take pics at Night, but much fun....a fine evening, a slight breeze at times, warm, sunnyblueblue during the day, puff clouds, hot....

Merganserlings Four

At Lunch: Violet Green Swallows over the Path, and on the Ground beside it, so sat awhile thereabout...tried for pics, and tired to swat Mosquitoes away--not much luck!...with a little time, continued to Sandpiper Beach...Water level much like the last two or three days...and over by Ozone Boulder, sighted Mama Merganser and Four Merganserlings..pic and clip up....sunny blueblue clear for Moonlight Green Dragon Ride tonight, warmer....clip is very near same time same place as Yesteryear's clips of Merganserlings at Sandpiper Beach.....and first Merganserlings I've seen this Season in the Valley....Mergansers are at Merced Falls...think I reported that from one or two visits thereabout...Swallows may have been after Termite Ants, which in their turn, are after some of the Roof Rafters at Last Chance!

Tanager

Female Tanager pic up from Wednesday, I think, at the Oak With The Branch That Arcs Over Half Dome...out and about for Sunrise...Picnic Bench in Bobcat Meadow is back up by the Deer House, so sat on the Stonework over the Culvert at the T in the Paths....Planet, Venus?, was rising over Half Dome...very cool...tried for pic, but Planet moves and streaks in the Time Exposure...anyway...Dawn Chorus a bit quieter...and Meadow quiet...wondered if Owl catches Bull Frogs, and wondered where Sentinel might be...and when enough light, picked up for looksee, and glimpsed Sentinel move from one Branch to another...left off, no pics, and paddled back towards the Cabin...time still before Breakfast, so continued along Rocky Slope...Camp 4 snoozing...everyone for that matter...didn't see anyone until I came out of the Burnt Forest (thought to go out in Two Top Meadow, but blocked by Ponds) by the Path...standing there one can hear both the Falls, and Sentinel Falls...very cool!...paused for a looksee at Sandpiper Beach.... Water way over Ozone Boulder...and to Breakfast, and to Cabin, and back to snoozing my ownself!!....clear, in the morning, I think, overcast in the afternoon, green dragon moonlight tours tonight, warmer....there might be a good chance for Moonbows at Lower Falls...something I've wanted to do, is go up to Glacier Road, and hike out to the Rim near Sentinel, and try for a Moonbow pic from that vantage.....have to locate my headlamp in the dishevelment....oh....the Little Pines around about and in Flicker Grove, Little Cedars too, have all been 'logged' by the 'gardeners'....this to preserve the Meadow...this happens in Tuolumne too....Meadows would be filled in with Trees if this didn't happen....before people intervened, Pine Forests throughout the West were subject to periodic natural fires, which thinned the Forest understory...efforts have been made of late to mimic what Nature did on her own, with mixed results....logging would help, but the loggers want the old growth trees, and it's the recent small tree growth that is making the tangle....what's to be done?...I dont know, but I've heard in Germany, the Forests are sorta swept of debris by the citizenry...dont know but a small crew of year round gardeners could keep the Valley in shape...instead, what happens, crews of volunteers sweep through once a year or so, and do a patchy job here and there...anyway, I'll miss the Little Pines....in Winter, Snow Covered, they were terrific accents in photos, and fine Tip Top Perches for Bluebirds, Juncos, Song Sparrows, Blue Jays, and occasional Grey Squirrels!!....a few are still about for Winter Frost Pics....at Bear Village, a half dozen Tiki Huts have appeared, likely in anticipation of the yearly gathering of the Tribe, or Tribes--there's a continual dispute as to which Tribe was in the Valley, Paiute, or Miwok...at Lunch: peddled over for a quick looksee at the Nest Tree..quiet, no sighting...

Mt. Hoffman

Pic up from Monday, from Glacier Point....today, after Breakfast: paddled over to Sandpiper Beach...Merced over Ozone Boulder...sunny blueblue puff clouds, warmer...at Lunch: paddled over to Sandpiper Beach...Merced over Ozone Boulder...but both times, just!...Water not so high yet as last year...but, consider pic of Hoffman, I think there is more Snow in the High Country now than when High Water arrived last year...report of Quail on Tamarack Trail...and maybe Golden Eagle over Big Meadow...Mama Doe and Fawn in the Backyard this morning...tried for pic of Wood Pee Wee at Lunch, but too faraway...will try again...Mallard about, Robin, Sandpiper, Little Birds...Downy Woodpecker Chics piping near the Cabin...

Kingbird

Pic up from rollabout Tuesday....Kingbird, new bird, for me, was posing on the Barbed Wire along the Road at Buzzard Cliff Pond...Redtail Hawk Nest thereabout has been empty for several weeks...Eyeasses fledged and flew off, I imagine...today, at Lunch: peddled over to check the Nest...thought I glimpsed Sentinel on Nest, well hidden in the Branches...sunny blueblue warmer...Meeting Room at Last Chance readied with Sleeping Cots tonight for refugees from Housekeeping...Merced is getting higher....

Owlet

Late morning, skipped Breakfast, and paddled over to the Village, with a stop and looksee at the Nest....no luck, but friends thereabout reported Owlet out on a Branch earlier...bit disappointed, and continued...Mallardlings at the Lily Pad Pond, and further along at the Azalea Pond...Female Tanager near the Oak With The Branch That Arches Over Halfdome...pics...Tiger Swallowtail fluttering about....returned through the Oak Grove....sunny blueblue warm....at Lunch: last Evening, while sighting Owlet sleeping, the Mosquito's attacked me in force...it's the time of season when the Lunch walks and sit awhiles become mosquito problematic!!...I thought on this at work, and got to wondering if in the little time for lunch, I could get out to the Nest, take a clip, and get back in time...with the help of my bicycle, that's just what I did!!..and Owlet was out on the Branch!!.....very cool....and a new favorite pic...and only a couple bites...Mama Doe and Fawn in the Lower Falls Mini Meadow as I peddled by....friends reported that a Weasel has been sighted in Bobcat Meadow....and report of Deer out in Two Top Pine Meadow...another friend has now six pics or so on his film camera, Bobcat, and tonight, Deer, and maybe, someyear, these will be developed!

Under The Road

Out and about early...rolled down the hill to Town, and in between, and after, errands, visited Great Grasslands State Park, and rolled back up the hill on Osprey Road...at the Park, was able finally to get close to Birds, Cliff Swallows, that make Mud Nests under Road Bridges...the first big Colony I saw was on nearing the Charizzo Plain on the Second visit--Big Freeway Underpasses covered with Mud Nests and Swarming Swallows...and I've seen Swallows along Osprey Road when ever crossing a Bridge over Irrigation Canals...at the Park, the Bridge, I learned from an old fisherman, crosses the San Joaquin River, and after parking Silver, I threaded through the Willows along the Bank, and found some Pipes to sit on right next to the Bridge...Cliff Swallows everywhere!!...pics and clips...and a New Bird, as I finally id what Swallows I was seeing from the Books tonight!...picked up, and walked out the Path along the River, passed the fisherman'...'path dont go far'... which it doesn't!....Grassland has several units, and this one may just be a little one for Boat launching...I'm curious to know what it would be like to 'mess around' in a Boat on the Lakes and Waterways hereabout!!...many Snowy Egrets about...Great White Egrets, Blue Heron...Little Birds I need to id from pics...Redtail Hawks..Redwing...old fisherman had said...'you wont see many Birds'...he was sorta right, I could hear more Birds than I could see...I retorted, 'ya catch'n many fish?'...'nope, river too high or something...'...left off, finished the second errand, oil change for Silver, in Town...walked over to Downtown while this was being done...there's a new Art Gallery in the Square with the Clock...kinda cool...Building across the Street is renting Lofts for Artists...would be nice to have a Studio, even if I only used it maybe one weekend a month...maybe more in Winter...could share, or somethng...anyway...on Osprey Road, counted New Ospreys...Three Young Ospreys on the Upper Pole, Two Young Ospreys on the Bridge Pole..Adult Ospreys on the T Pole, and Bass Fishing Snag Tree...couldn't see Young Ospreys there, but couldn't sight very well!!....back in the Valley, did sight One Owlet snuggled down sleeping...dont know where Mama Owl, Sentinel, was off to...Sentinel, annoyed, dive bombed one observer friend....that's a level of annoyance I never saw or heard of before in previous Nesting, though Great Horned Owls are notorious for being protective...Sentinel might get too annoyed and abandon the Nest, which is a little Bowl between Branches....but I found a fine far away spot where I can set up the scope and observe, and not be observed observing by the tourists, or Sentinel!... and not have to answer, 'watcha looking at?'....more report of today for sometime...there's a growing backlog..oh!!...found the Nest in the Broadleaf Maple near the Cabin where Chicks are constantly peeping...Chicks aren't Tanagers, as I thought, but Downy Woodpecker Chicks...and Nest is a Hole in one of the Multiple Trunks that has broken off--Hole about three feet down from Broken Top...and, I should have know this, as Downy had Nest just like this Nest at Creek's End Two Seasons ago (which, sadly, Bear discovered...)...sunny blueblue morning, overcast clearing to blue in the big valley, sprinkles tonight hereabout, warm...'river pretty high?'...'lot higher than yesterday, warmer today...'a few more warm days, it's going to get a bit higher, I'd say'....'imagine so, lots of snow in the sierra'....

White Faced Ibis

Out and about early....paddled out to Bobcat Meadow, little late for the Chorus, and another morning-after-rain...Song Sparrow clip by the Azalea Bushes, which have just started to bud and bloom...crossed the Road thereabout, and was returning through the Oak Grove, when I sighted Big Wings flying from all the way over by the Merced towards me...thought maybe Owl (sighted with binocs a bit before), but flight was different....camera settings all wrong for flight pic, and hurried to reset....was able to get a few farfar away low light pics of Big Wings, White Faced Ibis!!...very cool...web report of Ibis out in El Cap Meadow several weeks ago, and said to be first sighting of Ibis in the Park...lost sight, and made another circuit of the Meadow, but no luck, and very curious as to where Ibis flew off to...would like very much to get good pics...returned to the Cabin....Tanager Nest peeping when I left, and when I walked by going back, but I can't sight it...might be on the top of a Broken Branch in the Broadleaf Maple...Breakfast at Last Chance, and a nap...late Lunch snack, and geared up, and rolled in Silver up to Glacier Point Road...thought to walk out one of the Rim Trails, but Roadsides Snow Covered!!...lots of Snow still on shaded Slopes....so continued to Glacier Point...friend who works thereabout, reported Mount Hoffman covered with deep Snow...Clouds moving across the High Country, and about Half Dome....scenic pics...clips of Golden Mantle Squirrel, and Bird I need to id...Clouds cleared in the distance for a moment, and some Hoffman pics for sometime....on return, parked at Bobcat Meadow...Mallards, and Mallardlings at the Ponds, thick with Grasses now...whole Valley is very green, and others, not just myself, are noting the thickness of the Leaves....visited Owl...Sentinel off somewhere, but Owlet on the Nest...short clip, in very low light, of Owlet, back turned...reports have it that there are Two Owlets...cloudy, almost clearing sometime, cool...

Owl

Out and about before Sunrise....Deer in Bobcat Meadow...pics and clips for sometime...following Deer, happened on Owl...pics and clips...left off from Owl when photogs started to arrive in the Meadow...some photogs were photographing Deer on the Path, and I diverted all the way around the Meadow, and back through the Oak Grove...more Deer, and scenic pics...nearing the Cabin, sighted Tanagers, and heard Tanager Chics in Nest...clip for sometime...more Deer behind the Cabin...pics...and to Last Chance for Breakfast...returned to Cabin and napped until worktime...rained last night, clearing in the morning, clouded over again in the afternoon, and more rain tonight..at Lunch: sat awhile at Sandpiper Beach...Six Male Mallards by the Boulders, and Mama Mallard with Two Mallardlings at the Ponds...pics and clips for sometime...oh, a long Day!...but a great Morning to see Owl, and hear report that Sentinel has Nest with Owlet!!....report of Bear at the Burnt Forest....oh...while doing clip with the newer camera, I can adjust the shutter speed, and I'm scratching my head as to how I missed this all this time!!...clips in very low light are possible...

Camel

Out and about before Sunrise...tried to get a Dawn Chorus clip...sat at the Picnic Bench out in Bobcat Meadow...the Bench looks to be a 'bone of contention'...usually it's up at the Deer House, but gets moved out to the Path T Intersection, then returned to the Deer House....every five minutes or so I'd take a few seconds of video...nearly all the snippets, which I intended to link together, are pitch black...newer camera isn't good at this, or I'm doing something wrong....the point and shoots used to do this, this being a gradation of darkness to sunrise, with the increase of Bird calls...those I did get...anyway, I'll have to try again...use the 50 mm 1.8 lens maybe...while it was still dark, I turned back from looking behind me to see Fawn looking at me from just a few feet away...flash pic..Fawn was curious to know just what sort of critter I was!...Mama Doe came along, and Deer walked over to Chapel Bridge...when there was light to see, Owl swooped down from a Tall Pine to the Meadow...a silent swoop, as Owls do!...with empty Claws, Owl flew over to the Deer House Oaks, and perched awhile...faraway pics, not enough light, though it seems I would have gotten that pic with the digi...anyway...picked up and returned to the Cabin, and napped until worktime....overcast in the morning, drizzly all afternoon, and tonight Falls are very loud, so much rain maybe in the high country, warm...at Lunch: sat awhile at Sandpiper Beach...Six Deer at Cottonwood Bend...Does and Fawns I think...report of Seven Bucks out in Two Top Pine Meadow...Sandpipers, Junco, Song Sparrow, Raven, Mallard, Robin, about...in the Morning, first calls seemed to be chirping Grosbeaks, then Song Sparrows, and Robins...Redwings, Mallard, and lots of Violet Green Swallows...very late, Acorn Woodpecker...and I didn't hear Blue Jay, but left off around five thirty (saw Blue Jay on return by Lower Falls)....oh...pic and clip up from rollaround on Tuesday...

Before Dawn, Fawn sees

Maybe me, or something, there

On the Picnic Bench

Merganser

At Lunch: sat awhile at Sandpiper Beach...friend happened along, and I tried to id Birds and Bird's calls...Song Sparrow, Wood PeeWee, Sandpiper, Robin, Little Birds, Grosbeak, and Merganser came along...I went to the Merced's Edge by the Willow, and tried for steady clip...but not much luck!...overcast, warm...Male Merganser came by furiously flying upriver...oh...report of Owls...

Doe And Three Fawns

At Lunch: Sat awhile under the Cottonwoods at Sandpiper Beach...heard a sound, and glimpsed Doe over beyond Ozone Boulder...looked down to set the newer camera settings, and heard the sound again...turned about, and there was Fawn, and another Fawn, and another Fawn!!!....pics and hd and avi clips...Sandpiper, Raven, Acorn Woodpecker, Song Sparrow, Violet Green Swallows (lots). about...sunny blueblue warm...friend has taken up Bee keeping in Midpines...two day old report of Small Bear by Lower Falls....

Tanager

At Lunch: Just across the Road outside Last Chance, sighted Tanager hopping about an Alder Sapling...not often I see Tanager so close...pics...could have been more, but tourist happened along, and apologized...I pointed out the Yellow Rump Warbler Flock just across the Road...continued to Sandpiper Beach and sat awhile on Ozone Boulder...Junco, Song Sparrow, Mallard, Sandpiper, Robin, Acorn Woodpecker, about....sprinkles, cloudy, warm...Merced is staying pretty much within it's Banks...oh..Tanager listened to the camera clikclikclik, turning this way and that....

Oh, Tanager hears

The camera clik clik clik

Head turning, posing

Goats

After early Breakfast, rolled down the hill to Town...and rolled back up Osprey Road....some surprises along the Road, like pic and clip up!...more report tomorrow....sunny blueblue warm...Bear Jam near Bridalveil on return, but couldn't see Bear...Deer in Chapel Meadow...