Gable Woodpecker

Shuttled over to the Post Office...walked back with just the 12x along...saw three different Woodpeckers...and Chestnut Chickadee...and that might be one flying in the clip...top pic is still from the clip...pretty amazing it caught the Chickadee in flight!!...sunny cool and very blue...oh...SLIK makes a 'clamp pod'...an attachment that clamps to the tripod's legs, and holds a second camera...'so one can film and take photos' one reviewer comments!...which was my notion in a post back aways!.....immediately sent off for it...was looking for a monopod...got that too!...and a Leki hiking pole with camera mounting thread on the top of handle...and a ball head for the monopod..those are SLIK products....I probably need to get a video tripod...one that the head has a drag adjustment... they all look clumsy and awkward...but I'm getting better with the minididgiscope...part of the problem is when tilted up it wants to flop back...it's out of balance...when I'm sighting straight on it's okay...report of small Bear track in Bear Log Woods...(have to get pic of log that looks like Bear..it's a friends favorite, and requires the right lighting to manifest, or so they say when they saw my incredulity when shown it one evening!...it's in the trees between Two Top Meadow and the Road)....and a report of a discussion with a 'big' Bear in the middle of the night on the loading dock of Last Chance...subject: a bag of trash!...dont know but that Bear won...but I haven't the full report and particulars!!...see here and there by the Creek only one Deer's tracks...dont know where they all are, and only recent sighting of Deer were the Buck with Does at Lower Falls a couple days back.....

Acorn Woodpecker Home

Rode the Shuttle over to the Post Office...large size paper for the new printer hasn't come yet...walked back...checked out the Creek for fallen trees...there's a few..one small Oak now across the Creek...and reported the Cracked Oak on the Deer House Road...maintenance crew was driving by....feel better having reported it...for sometime is the collection of fallen-from-storm trees pics I have...it goes back aways!...when I got back to the Cabin, I sat a long while on the edge of the bunk...two episodes of Charmed...contemplating the Printer...which is huge....I snagged a little end table...from neighbor who snagged it from somewhere!...and the Printer looked at home on it...but it sat in the middle of the Cabin!....so I thought and thought and and gazed at the dishevelment...the floor gets cluttered so quick!...books packs clothes boots shipping tubes....the vacuum cleaner!...and of course the nightly accumulation of packaging trash...which Deer Mousy dearly loves to rummage through!...that goes out each morning...but I'm something of a packrat when it comes to periodicals, books and clothing...'Simplify!' Thoreau said, giving Buddha the toss...yeah, right...anyway...a light bulb finally went off in my head, and I thought to set the Printer on a long plastic storage box that holds my old snapshots under the bunk...and I'll store the Printer there and slide it out when in use...of course, what's on top of the box now, all my art papers, will migrate to the floor, I thought, and sighed!...but anyway!, with that solution in mind, I geared up for a late afternoon walkabout...the late sun was shining, and at Ozone Beach, Mallard was bottoms uping, and I took some pics and clips with the 12x, the light beautiful on Mallard's feathers....and set up the minididge...just as I got it ready, Mallard decided to paddle right over to my side of the Merced...and began foraging the bank...about ten feet away!!...so I left off with the digi, and tried for some more pics with the new camera...never could get things right...Mallard always too close to the snow covered bank...but it was fun!...picked up and started on the Big Loop counterclockwise...light was mostly gone...took the sunset pic at Two Top...and went across Chapel Bridge to Cook's..where there was almost still some light...the Sun plays through the Cathedrals in the late evening the way it does through the South Wall and Sentinel...at the Woodpecker Tree, I sighted the minidigi on Acorn Woodpecker busy finding those little grubs...and then noticed one was at Home in the hole near the top...pics and clip...while recoding a good friend happened by...and I had them look through the binocs...clip is a bookend to the one I posted of the White Headed Woodpecker!....picked up and went to dinner in the Village...pizza and garlic bread...Shuttled back to the Cabin...and the Printer...oh..I spent all evening installing and getting it to work!...and after doing a few favorites on some four by six art cards I have, it now resides under the bunk...and everything else is on the floor!...a remarkable accumulation!...sunny blue hazy and cool...

Two Top Pine Meadow Hawk

Got up early to gather in the Printer...brought it back to the Cabin, and after Breakfast it started to snow..so put the skis on and went out to Creek's End...snow is so hard and frozen it was tough skiing....made it as far as Ozone Beach when it began to RainSnow...so took the skis off and walked back to the Cabin on the Path......and with the SnowRain I just decided to walk...over to the Village through Cook's...at the Village, I wanted to take the Shuttle to Siberia to shop for winter boots...but only one Shuttle...going back to Last Chance...second one had chain problems!...so back to Last Chance...oh...to make a long day short!...I shuttled all over...looking for boots...looking for critters...one trip to Siberia just to take pics of broken Oaks...and the Leaning Pine at Stoneman Bridge has broken and fallen over into the Merced!...which is really tragic...it was a Photogs' and Artists' favorite...by the time I took a pic of it flopped in the River, it was getting on towards sundown...but I walked...with new boots from the Village!...back to the Village and out through Cook's once more...when I got to Chapel Bridge the sun broke through and splashed light on Half Dome...pretty dramatic!...pic...up till then I hadn't even stretched out the tripod legs...and in fact, didn't until I came upon Brown Creeper by Swinging Bridge...did get some pics of the sun over the Cathedrals...for sometime...it's a pretty walk with the storm clearing, over Chapel Bridge to the Chapel, and along the Road to Swinging Bridge...looks like Bierstadt's Winter oil of the Cathedrals...I mean, it's the one painting of his that really looks like what's here!!...sun was almost gone as I crossed the Bridge...and on the Path ahead Hawk flew across..just a few feet ahead...and Hawk flew out into Two Top Pine Meadow to the Cottonwood that stands alone out in the middle...I should try to describe this scene just with words, rather than pics and clips!...just words sometimes do better...for sometime!...I set the 12x on the tripod and let it record...for more than five minutes!...while I tried to get close with the new camera...the call in the clip I thought was Hawk...but it was Flicker...didn't know this until Flicker flew out of the Cottonwood to another Cottonwood by the Rockpile...tried to show with a still...Flicker is the tiny spot in top left of the Tree...and Flicker was calling so loud the call was echoing...oh...it was a marvel!!...I had time to go back and get the 12x, and time for one pic and short clip with it before Hawk flew off towards the Path...and Hawk is Martin of course, the juvenile Redshouldered...from yesterday, and last year's Martin Luther King Day....it was a snowrainy rainsnowy day...but not too cold...and began to clear at sunset...if the day seems hither and thither...it was!...but those five minutes or so out in Two Top were special!!...oh...early on took some Raven clips...for sometime...oh!...some very blurry pics of a new Woodpecker...by the Visitor's Center...well...new to me!...has a black barred back and about the size of Downy...will i d....sometime!...oh!!...report of two 'big' Bears mating out in Owl Woods!!

Winter Blue Sky Hawk

The Fierce Sparrow was by the Merced shore under Chapel Bridge...by the Broken Cottonwood!...and I'd just finished taking pics and a clip...and I was cold!...nose and finger tip numb cold!....out in Sentinel shaded Cook's Meadow, I'd checked my key chain thermometer...it was eighteen degrees!...at ten thirty!...this is very unusual in the Valley...and to warm up I leaned back on the Bridge railing...soaking up the sun peeking past Sentinel...and gazed downstream to Creek's End...and along came Hawk flying in the Beautiful Blue Sky right towards me!...
I thought to hurry to get a camera for a pic...but decided to just watch...expecting Hawk to fly overhead...and Hawk perched instead in the Alder Tree over the Bar just a ways out...or maybe a Cottonwood...have to check!...anyway...I had time then to take some long distance pics with the new camera...I was about to use the 12x for a handheld video...the minidigi was on the tripod...but instead decided to try for a didgi clip...I took my eyes off Hawk just for a moment to make adjustments...and looked back..and back..and blinked...and I have no idea where Hawk flew off too!...I checked every Perch Tree from the Chapel to the Deer House and out in Cook's and even back over to the Oak Grove...where this walkabout had started...I went around Cook's almost completely twice!....but Hawk was off somewhere unknown...and it looks to be Martin...which I haven't seen since last President's Day..the Juvenile Redshouldered Hawk...doing up the post, I was reminded of some more of the 2007 Xmas Eve clips...and include them with the Fierce Sparrow and the Frenetic Squirrel from today...the shaky Squirrel clip reminds me a bit of Last Chance Tourists!...it was a fine walkabout...until looking for Hawk I saw the broken Oak behind the Deer House..the Oak 'limbs' are often like entire trees...and one has fallen right over the power or phone line that connects to the Back Porch...the grape like vine is knocked down!...oh...it's such a fine part of photos of the old House as it grows across from the Garage to the Back Porch...and will be missed...maybe when the the Workmen clean up they'll re-hang it all!...got pics of another limb on the Deer House Road that is dangerously cracked...for safety, hazardous trees along Roads and Paths are felled...it's very sad to see them break off...as the Oaks aren't regenerating at all...the few protected ones in the Oak Grove are more a showcase than a substantial effort to help the Oaks...for sometime, still, is a post up of the article I found about the Kellog Oaks hereabouts...it seemed to suggest that the Indians planted groves...or that the Oaks propagate as Groves...I'm very curious to see how all the little ones survive about the Deer House, and else ware...there were lots from last Spring's bumper acorn crop...and the Deer hardly troubled them...or the Tourists' trampling...I may have stepped on one or two ...a fine morning...and things have quieted down...mercifully!...sunny blue and eighteen degrees in the Sentinel shade!!...oh...Flicker was calling, and playing Hawk!...way up high on one of the Deer House Oaks!!...report of lots of slip and slide falls on the ice...wear shoe chains...

Winter Blue Sky Downy Woodpecker

Walked out to Two Top Pine Meadow...on the way kept hearing Downy Woodpecker...in fact, nearly everyday I hear Downy's chatter...but Downy's seldom seen!...on the way back near Ozone Beach I found Downy in the bare tree branches along the Merced...took lots of pics!...but very hard to get close and a good pose...and clip was best I could do too...with these bright sunlit days ahead, I hope to get better clips and pics!...very pretty little bird...one almost-with-wings-spread pic...sunny cold and very blue!...walked back and forth to the Post Office before breakfast...new printer has arrived...but cant get to it 'till Monday...which will give me time to make room for it!

Oak Grove Hawk

I was on the way to the Post Office...and Antlered Buck with Does came gamboling down from the Rocky Slope at Lower Falls...took a long clip from the other side of the mini Meadow....Deer then started up the Path to Lower Falls...along with the Tourists!...so I followed....caught up too late to see the Does cross the View Bridge...but Antlered Buck was there...clip and pic...by now not enough time left for walk to the Post Office...so just continued the Path Loop and came out to the Oak Grove by Bobcat's and Bear's Appletrees...looked up and saw, as I thought, 'that's not Raven, that's Hawk!'...on the highest branch of the highest Oak...and it's Woodpecker Tree Redshouldered Hawk!....the 12x was set up on the Tripod...took pics and clips...branches and distance a difficulty...set up the minididgi...some more pics and clips...I moved out to the Path and Road for a sun behind me angle...and found a place in the Oaks Grove where I could frame Hawk with the Falls in the background....more pics and clips...work time approaching and I went over right under the Tree Hawk was in and with the new camera got a few blurry pics of Hawk in flight...Hawk flew off towards Fern Ledge....even blurry, very cool to see Hawk's wings undersides....kinda cloudy and cool and tried to rain...maybe higher up a little snow...good to see the Deer about...and Hawk!

Azalea Frost

Took some more Frost pics...this time of the Azaleas by the Boardwalk by the Artist's Grove...Bluebird clip is from thereabout last New Years...it was a short walkabout...a loopdloop through Cook's after a prolonged talkabout at Breakfast!....Tourist report of Bear across the Road out front early this morning...two day old report of Bobcat on the 'links' in Wawona...'hopping'....saw Bear 6 on a Web Log report by Vernal Falls...oh...and I think I heard a different Hawk....just one calling...four long whistling calls...but far away while I was at the Creek Bridge...sunny cool and terrifically blue...a Xmas Eve report of Bear behind the Cabin...think I saw a Rabbit track yesterday at Creek's End...or a very big Grey Squirrel...and one Deer track through the Backyard...some good reports in the weblogs...go to google blogs search: well, here...:)...the Valley I mean...sometimes adding a critters name, or something like 'snow' brings up ones buried...