Early Spring Flowers

Top pic, down the hill a bit from Hornitos, following pics from Hite Cove Trail....After early Breakfast, paddled over to the Village, mail and grocery errand...lots of Little Birds, but no time, needed to be in Mariposa for another errand!...but on the rollalong thataway, paddled out Hite Cove Trail...too early for the Bloom, just a few Flower pics ...and after the Mariposa errand, rolled out Osprey Road as far as Buzzard Cliff Pond...Mama Hawk on the Nest...sighted seven or so Hawks, Redtails, One Kestrel...returned through Catheys Valley and back to Mariposa...tuna, fries and chocolate shake at HB....sunny overcast warm...oh, a short walkabout too in Mariposa, and almost a knockdown pic of Buzzbird atop a snag, but Buzzbird flew off while newer camera collided with the bill of my hat!...tomorrowmorrow, a whole day to explore Osprey Road....reports of Bobcat last few days, Deer by Cascade Falls, Deer in Bobcat Meadow after dark on return.....thought to set up, and take digi pics of Mama Hawk, but realized Nest is too close to the Road...cars going by okay, but Hawk would fly off on seeing me on foot normally...that kinda close....sighted about six nests, all clustered between the Chinese Wall and Welcome to Hornitos sign, on South side of Road...Hornitos is a curio....on the sometime for a walkabout visit list...made a U Turn at the Mariposa Fairgorund and happened to read the Morman Bar History Sign...first the Mormans, then the Gold Hunters, then something about Blue and Grey votes, and Lincoln nixing the whole thing, and then, oh!, the Indians were first by a few thousand years!...will get pic of sign...brb...



well, I had things a bit wopijogged!

Mosquito Camp

Slept in...time changed, after all...sunny blue with a few clouds, warm, overcast tonight, I think!...at Lunch: Mallard Pair across the River from the Ozone Cottonwoods, Robins about, quiet---Lunch time too early now!....last Night, searching for old pics of Vernal Fall and the Two Top Pine, I happened on a Muybridge pic that looks to maybe show the Two Top Pine Meadow Pine, maybe...most old pics I see of Meadow (Leidig), it's a cow pasture...Muybridge's pic is captioned, 'view from Mosquito Camp', and it looks to be where I sit awhile at Lunch--Ozone Beach!...Tall Distant Pine in pic looks to be in the right place to be Two Top Pine...my pic taken sitting at Ozone Beach Cottonwoods...oh...no pics this morning, and just pic up, and souvenir pic of Mallards....Trees are obscuring distant view, of course, in my pic, but about an inch over from the left edge, one can see the matching Ridge of the Cathedrals....Wall on right edge is, of course, Three Brothers, obscured by Trees in old pic....but reflected!....old pic looks to be taken in late Summer or Fall--eroded Merced banks visible during low water....I tried to search for any history notes on Mosquito Camp, but search word 'mosquito' brings up too much...

What about Japan?

Well....what do you want to know?"

A hug, and a tear

Song Sparrow And Mallard Pair

Early Breakfast, and after Breakfast nap, still time, and paddled out to the Hummock Ponds...lots of tourists about...Fawn at the Pond Oaks...pic....Fawn went back into Flicker Grove for a rest...I sat awhile on the Fallen Branch...quiet...Acorn Woodpecker,

Blue Bird call, Blue Jays, Ravens, and one by one Deer came over from the Road, past the tourists, to where the Fawn was resting...Does, Fawns, Two Young Bucks, one with just one 2 point Antler....souvenir pics...took some pics of tourists with tourists' camera with Buck in background too--tourists delighted to Indian walk about the Grove taking Deer pics....sunny broken hazy clouds warm...At Lunch: Mallard pair right by the Ozone Beach Cottonwoods...pics...and Three, it seemed, Song Sparrows, One Sparrow singing...pic up....blurry, but first Sparrow of Season sighted!

no post up pics today

Photog friend (Armand) took pic...I'd seen Snow Rabbit on way back to the Cabin after work, and thought to take pic in the morning...some Asian kid tourists made Rabbit to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit...Rabbit was in the Courtyard of Last Chance...Today, after late Breakfast, Shuttled over to the Village, paddled back to Bobcat Meadow...Deer about the Oaks at the Hummock Ponds, Eleven Mallards too...sat awhile thereabout...on return, sighted Five Deer by the Muir Redwood...Mama Does and Fawns...pics...Blue Jays, Robins, Ravens, Acorn Woodpeckers....sunny blue puff cloudy overcast warm...at Lunch: sat just awhile at the Ponderosa With the View of Half Dome....Cottonwoods were too close to noisy bunch with too noisy boombox--my work friend neighbors!...hmmph...talked a bit and joked with my American Japanese friend at work, like usual, and didn't think to ask about Japan, and feel remiss...but it often happens hereabout that things just roll along as usual, the outside world, outside...

Two Top Pine Falls

Toptop Vernal Fall Pic snagged from wiki commons...a curio...Two Top Pine looks to have been 'photoshopped' out...(I can see I'm going to have a problem adding pics overtime!...I can move pic to the bottom, where it belongs, but it's a lot work, cutting and pasting...hmmph...)

Top pic: Watkins photo--captions above--from Southby's book...
Second pic: tinted photo purchased on ebay--date and photog unknown (detail in Falls (Fall!) indicates a camera that could do that!)
Third pic: painting by Thomas Hill, date 1889, oil on canvas



The Two Top Pine is just a Snag now, a magnificent snag, it could be said....hiking past the Old Tree, I've often wondered what it was like before....somewhere I heard, one year the Top was snapped off by Lightning...I'll post some more pics hereabout, with some notes too....Falls are Vernal Falls, of course....Indian name: "Piwyack"....(Dome at East End of Tenaya Lake is called Piwyack too..or...an-o-pah (little cloud) was the local name of the fall before rechristened as "Vernal" by Lafayette Bunnell, a member of the Mariposa Brigade in 1851.^{[4][5]....hmmph})

After late Breakfast, paddled out to the Hummock Ponds...Eleven Mallards about...pics and clips...Violet Green Swallow, Ravens, Robins, Redwing, Blue Jays, Acorn Woodpeckers....Mama Doe and One Fawn crossing the Road by Lower Falls Crosswalk...sunny blue to quickly cloudy overcast, breezy, warm...at Lunch: sat awhile at Ozone Beach Cottonwoods...quiet...Ravens soaring, Robins piping , Blue Jay chattering...

Eleven Mallards

Paddled out to the Hummock Ponds with mini donuts and crangrape, sat under an Oak in the shade of the Trunk, snacked, and counted Mallards on the Pond--Eleven Mallards all together--yesterday Mallards were scattered about...and today, Mallards were enjoying the Sunshine, preening, napping, splashing about....Ravens, Blue Jays, Acorn Woodpecker, and Pileated Woodpecker call over by the Merced....yesterday, Redwing call...oh, and Brown Creeper on Cedar in front of the Cabin, and Kinglets about....sunny blue some high scattered hazy clouds...at Lunch: Robins, Ravens....the Robins spread out, each atop, or high in, a Tree, and sing a little melancholy tune, which can be heard in yesterday's Coyote clip...quiet at lunch, so quiet I picked up and went back to Last Chance and sat with friend for remaining time...

Cottonwoods Coyote

(Yesterday's Flowers: Wild Radish, Fiddleneck, Red Maid)

The cayote is a living, breathing allegory of Want. He is always hungry. He is always poor, out of luck and friendless. The meanest creatures despise him and even the flea would desert him for a velocipede.
- Roughing It

http://www.twainquotes.com/Coyote.html

After Late Breakfast, bran flakes with milk and chocolate croissant, Shuttled over to the Village...paddled back to Bobcat Meadow...Eleven Mallards on the Hummock Ponds...continued to the Cabin, and nap until late afternoon!....gathered the gear, and after a late snack at Last Chance, chocolate croissant and coffee...took a danish and the coffee to Ozone Beach, and sat and snacked at the Cottonwoods....quiet...lots of Robins...too, lots of Robins on the morning walk....I had a full size Happy Cheese Burger at Happy Burger in Mariposa yesterday, with curly fries, and chocolate shake--I was hungry--didn't eat all day yesterday after Breakfast!---and the Burger fed me for days to come!....at the Cottonwoods, tried for pics and clips of Evening Clouds and Light curling around about Sentinel's Peak....and heard a whistle from a photog over by the Ponderosa With the View of Halfdome, who was doing much the same with their view of Halfdome...and Coyote was on the way towards my spot...long hd clips...avi rendering up, and pic from clip....Coyote walked pretty much the Path I walk at Lunch...sunny blueblue warm...Twain quote was on TV tonight--ncis....velocipedes pic from wiki--wondered what one was!!

Sentinel

Each crack a report

And rolling falling thunder

Pale dust fine as silk