A few Monday Mono pics: the east side of the Sierra

 Traipsed to the east side this weekend.

Didn't take a lot of photos, as it was rainy or sleety, much of the time.

However, I did get a decent shot of Black Point, one of my favorite Mono Lake features.

The cloudiness softened the lighting, in a place that, when sunny, can be BLINDING.

We'd planned on photographing golden aspens,

but they were not yet golden.

So, hung out at Mono Lake instead.

This is the sort of weird, beautiful view of Mono-Inyo craters that you get around here.

Which makes me inordinately happy.

However, I also have to STARE at the beautiful cattails and tule

in the peri-Mono Lake environment.

So gorgeous!

Oh, and earlier this summer we were here,

and some power birders (w/spotting scope) showed me

the osprey nest, which you can still see

on the little island in the middle of this photo.

(hm... blogger is making this very purple. Ah, well.)

Can you imagine being born, and THIS is the first scenery you behold?

Wow.

And to the left a wee bit, a pretty little squall across the lake.

Driving to Mammoth Lakes, this was the car's view at a rest stop.

I love the tiny, upside down forest vignettes in the water droplets.

So, before we left, we jammed to Minaret View,

a place with one of my favorite views of all time...

Which was totally socked in. =)

But, you can sort of imagine it via what is, no joke,

one of my favorite interpretive displays EVER.

Just a metal cut out, mirroring the amazing craggy skyline here,

labeling each little peak & naming it.

A simple, accurate and durable display.

Show me the data. Love it.

Last: where is the snow line?

If you turn your back on the view of the Minarets, you can see this. Pretty nice. =)

K. That's it.

Hope your week is a delight. =)

xobb

one more aspen hit

Because, tho' I went from the Pacific (see header)

to pronghorn antelope in one (glorious) day

this last weekend, I'm not feeling blog-posty.

So, here's this. =)

xoxobb

pointillism, schmointillism: aspen art

nature's pointillism

When I was in high school I got into pointillism

when both my English and French classes

were in art history mode.

And, there was Georges Seurat,

painting in such a strange way.

It was weird. And beautiful.

And I couldn't stop staring.

Le Chahut (1889-1890) by Georges Seurat

Last weekend, pointillism was everywhere.

And I couldn't stop staring.

Of course, cameras cannot fully convey this experience.

Those trees shimmer.

Each tiny leaf wiggles to and fro,

in the faintest of breezes,

flashing brilliant colors this way and that.

*sigh*

And, the "shshshshsh" sound is amazing.

(like the Seurat detail shots in text books...)

We'd stopped near Lee Vining,

seeing umpteen trucks pulled over at a really nicely lit group of trees.

Thought it was a photography class.

Nope.

Just two dozen photographers very quietly staring at

and shooting this amazing phenomenon.

The power of that beauty yielded a respectful silence.

People tip-toed here and there,

breathing it all in,

grateful to witness such a glorious exhibition.

=)

xobb

aspen attack

Yesterday afternoon we scoped out the aspen action

in the Mono Lake area in eastern California.

Today I walked into the above aspen forest,

surrounded by possibly the most beauty

I've ever experienced in one place at one time.

I took 6 big steps forward,

then lay on the dirt & leaves,

and stared up.

gah!

[ed: bb left unexpectedly before completing this post. We assure you that she will post more aspen photos (accompanied by the usual blather) once she has recovered her faculties. We apologize for any inconvenience, and for her lapse in professional conduct.]

seediness, corn boo-boo, + more Sierran shots

 
1. Garden "to do."
 

the seeds, not the nap

(not sure I have room, for everything, but...)

While my Nikon was out...

2. Corn timing = oops.

So, I had heard one thing re: how to tell corn is done. Well, that wasn't happening (corn ears pointing down) and it's now October, so I took a peek. And it looked fully developed.

So, then I grabbed my favorite gardening book (why didn't I do this 2 months ago?!?) and it said the corn is ready when the silk is dry.

!

The silk has been dry for WEEKS. ARF!

So, I picked an ear. Cut the kernels off the ear, cut up a few tomatoes, and sauteed them with onion. But, as the corn kernels started to exfoliate the pan, my heart sank.

I tasted one kernel. ew. WAY past eating-fresh mature; hard and pasty. ICK. As a matter of fact, the chickens are eating that entire meal RIGHT NOW.

So, it looks like my (I believe Hopi) corn will become corn flower, which is fine, as that was part of the excitement of getting blue corn. Nevertheless: it's beautiful.

Now I just have to figure out: a) how long I have to keep the corn on NOW for it to get super done and dry, and b) how much rain at this point is too much?

I have no idea.

Looks like it's time to hit the books, again. =)

3. a few more pics from this weekend

View east from Tioga Pass Road in the Mt. Dana vicinity--on the way to the fee booth, headed OUT of the park (east and down toward Lee Vining).

 Ellery Lake

Outside Yosemite. One freaky year, Bear actually got to ice skate here. Normally the road is closed in winter, but for some reason, it opened (uh, probably the snow on the roads melted...), so he got to cruise around this landscape on frozen ice. Too cool. I LOVE all the different colors on these mountains. Rainbow rocks.

Very nice beaver dam in Lundy canyon.

As mentioned, BEAUTIFUL fall aspen colors--amazing. But, was raining, so my camera hid in the car.

 So, why do we bother to drive to the east side?

These are the cinder cones south of Mono Lake.

I adore these cinder cones. I've painted probably 6 things in my life, but these are among them. A pretty good description of the freaky area that is the Mono Lake region can be read here.

If you ever get the chance, and haven't been, PLEASE do yourself a favor and go. It's bizarre, stark, and to me, irresistibly magnetic.

bb