Lazuli Bunting, Yosemite water craze & obligatory Monty Python reference

 Hey, there peeps!

"I'm not dead! Think I'll go for a walk!" 'nuf said? =D

Lazuli Lifer

Lazuli Bunting appeared on the feeder (Sunday) &

I freaked out SO HARD my hands were shaking.

I'd NEVER seen one EVER & had to look up among the SHOWY birds 

I've never seen to even figure out what it was. WOW!!! =D

Then it took off & I jumped up and down

& DH & I high-fived. 

The Iris Time

A furled purple iris. I love how moody they look.

Polka dots! =D

Those tiny specks make me CRAZY happy.

Just sitting there, looking (& smelling) glorious...

The carpenter bee has returned to its annual haunt of the iris bed outside our window:

Love this giant, territorial creature: it flies laps & dispels other bees

and I'm grateful it's been cutting me slack, so far, as I walk past... =D

I will always adore these flowers & am so glad they like our Mediterranean climate. =D

Yosemite Flow

Have been going to the park (Yosemite) more than usual this spring,

partly for work (poor, poor me) and partly 'cause there was SO much rain this winter.

The waterfalls are CRANKING like MAD and the Merced River

is WAY up so marvelous reflections abound. Fabulous! =D
Yosemite Falls

North Dome & wetlands & a TINY piece

of Clouds Rest & Half Dome. =D

This was just inches south of Southside Drive,

just west of the chapel. Water!!! =D

Speaking of, I tweeted & Instagram-ed videos of Yosemite Falls
that I took with my iPad  &
it got picked up by SFgate & GrindTV ,
the latter in an article called,
"7 incredible videos of the historic Sierra snowpack melt at Yosemite Falls."
Turns out TWO of those 7 are MINE?!? Crazy.
And I only know 'cause the Tweeple alerted me to it.

Hooray, you guys!! =D

Anyhow, that was bizarre & fun. It's totally DH's fault:
he alerted me re: when the river would peak (high flow)
so recommended I drive up, so I did & it was HEAVENLY.


Etc.

Got a few new hummingbird feeders, including this orange one

which just ADDS to the Anna's hummingbird's amazing pink shimmer. Phew!

Color not enhanced AT all. =D

This is DH photographing a small bear we startled on the Valley Loop Trail in Yosemite:

As you can tell, I'm respecting the bear's privacy,

NOT totally being a bear-scaredy-cat. =D

The bear had been ear-tagged but was doing good wild bear stuff,

shredding a downed log for delicious grubs.

With all this winter rain, the grass at our place is OUT OF CONTROL!!

There's ENTIRE DEER there...

And here's the view from my back porch, looking across the grass sea... *sigh*

Some of the grass is nearly as tall as I am (6'). I THINK there's a few

planted plants in the garden amid the crashing waves of weeds... 😁

So, I will be in the valley MOAR this summer since due to my 1st gig this spring,

and the kind woman who hired me, I get ANOTHER gig in early summer! =D

Which means numerous required visits to the park to plan where we'll

meet & stop & walk & what I'll blab about.

Which ALSO means I get lots of steps hiking for research.

In Yosemite Valley.

Which means I get happy.

Again.

HOORAY!! =D

xoxoxobb

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Feeling sore? Yosemite-ice it. You'll feel better.

Teetered carefully around Yosemite Valley, today.

Cold & icy, but lovely, of course.

Still shameless: annotated tour of Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome

 

Shot from Glacier Point of Half Dome (well named, eh?)

and just behind Half Dome on the left is Cloud's Rest.

Also well named, as I tried to show it to Sprout earlier

in the week but it was hosting clouds, so was not visible.

Half Dome and Cloud's Rest on the left,

And to the right, just left of Nevada Fall

is Liberty Cap.

When climbing UP to Nevada Fall

it sure seemed higher that that picture shows.

The scale of this place does that.

If we'd seen this view BEFORE that hike,

Sprout was sure she'd think

"Oh, easy hike. 30 minutes tops."

Hours later... =)

So we hiked the Mist Trail up to Vernal and Nevada falls.

Got SOAKED. Crazy wet from fall mist.

Fun, exciting, envigorating, kinda cold,

made the STEEP stone path a little scary,

but also TOTALLY makes that hike memorable.

Can you see the TINY people?

Click on this to zoom in a bit, if you can't...

Highly recommend. 

That hike is virtually all I remember of my 

1st trip to Yosemite.

That, and staring straight up giant granite cliffs,

mouth agape, stunned into silence.

GORgeous cup fungus we found hiking from parking space

to (the SUPER crowded) Glacier Point.

I LOVE serious glowing orange.

Feels like a life-giving color. *sigh*

The above photo taken by Sprout, bb's co-conspirator/visitor,

from Sentinel Dome, granting a view of

North Dome and Basket Dome on the left

(rounded granite thangs, left of snag),

and Half Dome on right..

Gee, can you spot me, blending in,

wearing ORANGE pants & wearing a red backpack?

I didn't know I glowed like that,

tho' Sprout assures me it wasn't so vibrant in person.

Here's the adorable Sprout, who's hat says "Moxie"

(which I LOVE), bravely tending to her toes.

We got soaked 2 days earlier (Mist Trail to Vernal and Nev. falls)

& hiked for HOURS, so her tootsies were unhappy.

If you look closely, you may see about 5 band-aids. =)

Waterfall in the background is Upper Yosemite Fall.

Sprout is sitting at Sentinel Dome,

which is behind bb (camera girl), to bb's left.

bb hiking back from Sentinel Dome,

walking gingerly over bridge

which is buried in about 4 feet of snow.

Again, glowing...

Sarcodes sanguinea, a.k.a. snow plant.

As mentioned in a bb comment here,

"According to botany.org, they parasitize fungus, but don't kill them.

They are not saprophytes (live off dead material),

tho' they used to be called that."

And, since they parasitize fungus,

they don't need chlorophyll to make energy,

so are free to dash headlong into intense colors

with no concern for being green.

Snow plant was really OUT this last week. NICE.

I heart red, so was super happy.

And in the words of Paul Harvey,

"So, now you know....

the rest of the story."

=)

biobabbler

Mumday from Yosemite Valley & Ahwahnee!

 

bb

Yosemite: stunning as ever...

Yosemite Falls yesterday morning. No one else was there. It was about 7:30 a.m.? And cold. Upper and lower falls. Did you know if there's just one precipitous drop with water pouring down it's properly called a "fall" like Bridal Veil fall? But, this has upper and lower Yosemite Falls, so it's plural. I read that in a secret ranger book somewhere...

A reward for being an early bird at the falls I'd not anticipated. A mist-bow! Really bright and gorgeous.

 

A lovely place.

The dogwood is in bloom. SUCH an elegant plant.

If ever there was a plant that'd clearly gone to finishing school, this is it.

More pics later, after I do a tiny bit of research and, oh, in one day fabricate the divider for my chicken coop, clean out same, get whole chicken situation prepped and ready so MAYBE I get to have a garden this year?

=)

biobabbler

Frazil ice flowing in Yosemite Creek...

 


Check it out!

the biobabbler