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...