Yosemite and More

Took a trip to Northern California, where I was born and raised. spent a little time on the McCloud River mostly near Upper Falls and Lakin Dam.  Lower and Middle Falls just had too many people. In late spring and summer the vegetation along the river takes over, Especially the Indian Rhubarb. Which if you're careful you can eat part of. The Number of wild flowers still in bloom surprised me. Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph. Dave  

I heard about the Butterfly Exhibit at the Chaffee Zoo and since I hadn't been there for a while I decided to go. -note to self, bring water and go early in the day-.  The exhibit will end in June and won't be back. So go now if you want to see them. Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph, Dave

 A while ago I went to the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge and the Merced Wildlife Refuge, here's a mixture of both. Unfortunately many of the wading birds preferred the stubble instead of nice reflective  water. Mom and Dad taking a break.  I really liked the late evening background. I tried to identify this  specific one but there are just so many of them. I think he was trying to hide from me. Two for One. I've taken a lot of photo of Great Egrets but seldom get a decent photo of them in flight. I think this is a Red Tailed hawk, but not sure. This Bald Eagle was very accommodating, I stuck around hoping  to get it's takeoff but it seemed very comfortable right there.    When I first saw this huge flock of birds in the distance I thought they were probably Snowy or Ross geese. Nope they were actually seagulls. Another car went by and spooked them. Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph. Dave

Last week I took a quick trip to Yosemite and then decided to go on over Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. It turned out to be a very interesting day weather wise, from warm and sunny,  to puffy clouds, then rain and a slushy drive on the way home. Mostly I'll share some of the animals I saw in Yosemite, mostly. This female Mallard swam very close, hoping I'm sure for a quick meal. There were a lot of Acorn Woodpeckers, this one kept coming to the same branch, but would fly away if I got too close. I seemed to spend quite a bit of time chasing very elusive butterflies Then on to Mono Lake and some puffy clouds As with most outings sometime you just need to look behind you. It's hard to see the Alkali Flies, they're usually just a mass of black. For California Gulls the Alkali Flies are a major food source. Foreboding of things to come. It started to sprinkle just as I left Mono Lake. On the way up from Mono Basin I saw what was ahead of me. There wasn't  actual snow on the r...

 Went to Yosemite the other day. Really wasn't expecting much in the way of fall colors but was pleasantly surprised. I decided not to concentrate on the iconic features such as Half Dome and El Capitan, with one exception as you will see. I was surprised to see these wild grapes along the side of the road, even more surprised the deer hadn't eaten them. In Yosemite everywhere you look is pretty magnificent. Trouble is sometimes we only focus on the iconic scenes. Sometimes you look up. Sometimes you look down. This butterfly was very cooperative, or maybe just tired. Sometimes you see it climbing up a hill. Sometimes it's next to the road  but you have to walk a little to get back to it. I just thought this was kinda different. Very Old School This bush was just starting to turn. I took a trail I've never been on before, turns out it was the old Highway 41 before they build the tunnel. Photo looks kinda level, it isn't, after about a mile and half you end up near w...