Yosemite and More

 I went to Yosemite the other day. It snowed a little before I got there and then rained a little turning the snow to ice. I was hoping for some fog in the valley and wasn't disappointed. It was kinda cold. This is what greeted me when I first arrived at Tunnel View Literally 10 minutes later the fog had changed. Not wanting to miss too much of the fog in the Valley I left and headed down the hill The fog in the Valley shifted from place to place. This is an interesting shot. My polarizing filter cleared up the Merced River reflection but not the fog or haze above it. As the sun hit and warmed up the Swinging bridge it gave up it's moisture  Looking the other way I saw this. Walking along the Merced River I notice this ferocious alligator about to devour a helpless pinecone. While I had hoped my depth of field was better I was still intrigued by the juxtaposition of the old leaf with a new bud along the same branch. The clouds came in and obscured much of the higher elevation.

I recently took part in a Tundra Swan tour sponsored by the  California Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Marysville area north of Sacramento. The swans over-winter on the rice fields that are flooded after the harvest to break down the rice stubble and provide habitat and food for numerous water fowl. More tours are schedules for Dec. and Jan. Since this was an organized tour my options were somewhat limited. When you have 11 cars in a caravan you can't just stop anywhere. In addition, some of the  participants didn't seem to understand that noisily closing car doors and quickly approaching the waters edge spooks the birds and they either take flight or swim away. On the way and making sure I found our starting location at the Mathews Rice Dryers I came upon this scene.  Notice the Swans are only in the middle rice paddie. Different depths attract different  birds and they flood the fields accordingly. In the background you see the Sutter Buttes. The smallest mountain ran