A Sierran Tree Frog And A Night Heron Pay Me A Visit.

Hi folks,

I came out of my shack before sunrise the other morning and spotted what looked like to be a person in a nearby tree. 

I whipped out my camera and zoomed in to get a better picture of what turned out to be a Night Heron that was probably looking for a place to either go hunting for food along the river or go hide from the coming daily heat. 

I zoomed way in and upped my exposure to get a little detail of the bird.

On another day while I was taking a shower I noticed a tiny visitor on the ceramic tiles next to my feet.

The Sierran Tree Frog is very tiny as you can see it compared to the nearby screen on the window.

I wanted to leave you folks with something calming from up here so here is some video of the Merced River flooding.  This video is just the tip of the iceberg of some of the motion pictures that I have captured during this spring runoff of the Merced River as it comes blasting out of Yosemite Valley. Enjoy!

A Covey of Mountain Quail and Other Critters of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Hello folks, I promised I would be dutiful and keep blogging my photography as much as I can so, here I am with some pictures of some animal life up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

I will start off with a covey of Mountain Quail that were working their way through some thick forested area right where I am working in Yosemite National Park. In the above image a mother Mountain Quail watches over her covey of chicks that are perfectly camouflaged in the forest.

A couple of baby Mountain Quail take a break from foraging for food.

The chicks huddled together for a short stop to rest in the heat of the day.

I love the colorization of the chicks feathers as they transition into summer colors. 

The mother constantly observes the little ones and I noticed that she did not eat unlike the chicks that constantly pecked at everything that moved.

She was constantly on alert and was checking me out in this photo.

Can you count how many chicks are in the photo? I counted six or seven in this covey.

There were also many other creatures up here in the mountains that come out of nowhere like this beetle.

California Root Borer Beetle

This is a California Root Borer Beetle that was riding in the back of my work truck for some reason. I have no idea how it crawled into the vehicle. Maybe it dropped down out of a tree?

I have also been bumping into some serpents up here with a couple of run ins with some gopher snakes as they sit on the road for the end of the day warmth of the hot road.

Flower Pods Bursting in El Portal

Eagle Peak in El Portal, California 

   Hello Folks, well I've finally decided to start blogging my photography once again after a long hiatus. I figure I might as well start with my local surroundings in El Portal, California which sits right down the road from the world famous Yosemite Valley. The ragging the Merced River cuts right in front of my studio apartment in this glaciated granite canyon of unholy furnace like temperatures during the day where only the setting of the sun sets us free from the heat.These next few images were shot with my cel phone and I think look pretty good. Enjoy!

                -Richard

   On my days off from work I take hikes up behind my "shack" onto this steep craggy rock hill. Where I seem to be never let down for a lack of subjects for my cameras to capture. 

On several of the hikes, I kept checking in to see what was going on with this strange bud that was growing up on the hill behind my place on Eagle Point. 

 

I was finally rewarded for my efforts when on my last hike there the pods had burst with these lovely seeds attached to a white frayed feather like thing that was waiting for a soft wind to carry it away.

Here is another type of seed bloom coming off of a tree.

And finally, instead of my usually bombing you folks with dozens and dozens of pictures to review, I shall keep it short with these final two images. And, I am going to wax a little silliness with my story about a spider in my shack.

       I spoiled a spider’s buzz.

I have known for some time about the spider living underneath my dresser cabinet right next to where I like to lay my head at night to sleep. I’ve knocked down its web and when I'm not looking it builds it back. So, I know it’s there. I have no energy to move furniture around after work so, I only think of it when I notice the rebuilt web which, I knock down again and leave the battle at that. No need to go after the critter at this point". Well that ended the other night, when I came home and turned on the light and there it was as big as day. Not real giant but big enough for me not to allow it to stay any longer that was for sure. It was one of those low to the ground hunting spiders; It moved really quickly and it postured like it might jump at me when I tried to capture it with my frisbee. Almost like it was ready to fight for the right to stay in my room. I had better aim the second time as I dropped the large disc again this time trapping it.  I then slid part of the Groveland Gazette under the my frisbee so as not to hurt the spider and I put the little monster out on to the gravel road in front of my shack so it could go about it’s own way no hard feelings and all that. I was feeling pretty good about myself for about ohhhh about a half a day when the next evening I spot a large cockroach on my bathroom floor. I quickly dusted it with some Ajax powder as it scurried away underneath the jam of the door hoping it might poison the nasty thing. Later that night, I woke up with the bastard crawling on my head and face. I slapped it onto the floor turned the light on and crushed the bastard under that same Groveland Gazette newspaper I used to capture the spider. It dawned on me at that moment that I probably should have let the spider stay because it was obviously after the roach. Thing is though, I don’t want spiders crawling on me at night either and I had yet another big roach crossing my floor today.

I came across these spider webs on my hike and noticed a spider in each web hiding inside it's little evil hole for some unsuspecting thing that might get caught in its web.

Yosemite National Park and Life in El Portal, CA

 Hello Folks,

it has been a long long time since I posted. Now that I am back working in Yosemite National Park again, I feel motivated to be artistic once again with my camera. I took a short bike ride today down the hill from where I live in El Portal and wanted to capture a flower that I spotted after work coming back up the mountain. Does anybody know what this yellow flower is called? I've looked in a couple places and can not find it.

Chile Pre Vote Party for New Constitution; Faces of the Left

 Hello Folks, I went out last night to the huge gathering of Chilean celebrating the vote this Sunday for the new constitution where many of the greatest Chilean musicians and bands played for half a million people. These people are very positive that the election will go in their way and hope for a new future for all Chileans and for a few left over gringo foreigners like myself and my friends that managed to survive here during the pandemic which came after the year of civil unrest. Enjoy!

There was love in the air.

This is the Santa Lucia Metro entrance just around the corner from where I live.

The music venue was just outside the metro station and had half a million people in attendance.

One of the young Chileans that set up next to me and my buddy to listen to the music and enjoy the sights and sounds.

The crowd was constantly on the move. I guess most people could not find a low wall to lean up against like myself?

Street vendors were selling everything from beer to cheap home made moonshine. We got out of there after a few hours and before any problems could surface from all the drinking.

It was a giant sing along of half a million folks.

I do not know who these ladies were but they were up on the stage and people we waving to them.

Iphones still kept people's attentions as they sought to find friends and family in the giant crowd.

Standing room only.

These guys work any large gathering or protest and offer first aid.

Looks like I got spotted taking someone's image.

A woman with her child on a bici(bicycle). I can relate as I travel everywhere via mi 'bici'.

And on the outskirts of the event were the new arrivals to Chile the Venezuelans vending some kind of meat which is illegal here but the police seem not to give a hoot. I am not judging here just observing. They recently started to show up with these mobile cook stations instead of a shopping cart from the locale grocery store(s).