Today’s Picture Quote
“Let go of the things that no longer serve the greater purpose.”
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE
Drama Along the River – Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 273
The Merced River provided an exciting background for our hike along the Vernal Fall trail. The sound of rushing water paired with the gray overcast sky created some drama.
As we walked along and near the river, I couldn’t help but be captivated by the water’s sound and the beautiful earth-toned hues of the rocks, water and eddies.
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.
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STATUS QUOtes — 20170414
Today’s STATUS QUOtes
“Without a rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Eloquence: The art of saying the proper thing and stopping.” — François de la Rochefoucald
“Men of great talents, whether poets or historians, seldom escape the attacks of those who, without ever favoring the world with any production of their own, take delight in criticising the works of others.” — Miguel de Cervantes
“Dachshunds are ideal dogs for small children, as they are already stretched and pulled to such a length that a child cannot do much harm one way or another.” — Robert Benchley
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE
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Merced River Onward Always Onward* – Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 272
When water runs down a mountain range into a valley to a collection point, i.e. river, it is relentless and because of the recent rains and snow melt, the Merced was a raging torrent in many locations. The photo above is one example of the powerful rushing waters.
There were times around the Sentinel Beach picnic area, near the Four Mile Trail terminus, where it was calm enough for bathing, boating, etc., but other areas were strictly off limits.
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.
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Meta Data – Day 272 YOY – Year of Yosemite
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* As long was there is adequate water from rain and snow melt!
STATUS QUOtes — 20170413
Today’s STATUS QUOtes
“Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion.” — Muhammad Ali
“The price of being the best is having to be the best.” — Terry Pratchett
“The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed —
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.”
— William Shakespeare
“Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.” — Frank Zappa
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE
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Opuntia (Paddle Cacti) – Phoenix, Arizona
“Opuntia is the most widespread of all genera in the cactus family. The genus occurs naturally throughout North and South America from as far north as Canada, through the Caribbean, and down into Argentina. With man’s help, however, this species can now be found world-wide where it has escaped cultivation and become naturalized even to the point of being classified as a noxious weed.”
Source: – https://cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Opuntia
While much of the country is still in early spring, the desert is moving quickly through its yearly spring and toward what most would consider summer. As of this writing, we are still in the sweet spot of a bumper crop of blooms. The native desert plants are taking their turns in showing off.
Most of the year our cacti look like a pincushion holding onto its requisite supply of pins, but hidden in the DNA of each of these organisms is the promise of blooming beauty. Some of the blooms like our pink Opuntia (see photos above and below) look as though they would be more at home floating in a tropical drink.
As pretty as these are, many of the cactus flowers have a prime bloom duration of only one day, but what a bloom it is!
You may know Opuntia cacti. They are the “paddle” cactus family. They have large, flat paddle-like growths that look similar to the ears of a number of Walt Disney characters. The picture below better shows the paddles with the pink bloom atop.
To the left of the bloom are “ladies in waiting,” so to speak. The buds will plump until nature tells them it is their turn to open and show off.
A more common Opuntia would be the yellow variety. We have several specimens in our front landscape.
The pile of paddles above is more than five feet tall and if the truth be told, it would probably benefit from a pruning.
This is a closeup of the flower. Note the buds in the corners of the photo.
Some of the paddles have a cascade of blooms that open on the same day and form an amazing vertical line.
While I am enjoying the wonderful blooms in our landscape, I hope to share more of them with JBRish readers.
You can read more about Opuntias and Paddle Cacti at the link above.
JBRish.com originally published this post
All photographs are Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved
See more JBRish gardening and desert gardening posts here HERE
Vernal Fall View from the Bridge – Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 271
Yesterday’s post showed a crowd gathered above the torrent of water safely poised on the bridge over the Merced River. The scene above is what some of the bystanders were viewing.
This apparently is a popular hike and if you don’t want to hike up the the waterfall itself, this is a picturesque stop and photo opportunity. The day was gray and threatening so we turned around at this point to do hiking closer to refuge should it be needed.
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.
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Meta Data – Day 271 YOY – Year of Yosemite
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Capture date: June 10, 416
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STATUS QUOtes — 20170412
Today’s STATUS QUOtes
“The past is really almost as much a work of the imagination as the future.” — Jessamyn West
“The heart is a very good fertilizer. Anything we plant … Love, Hate, Hope and Joy surely grows and bears fruit. We have to decide what to harvest.” — Unknown
“Beware of endeavouring to be a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed: these are fearful odds.” — Benjamin Disraeli
“The Internet is just a world passing notes around a classroom.” — Jon Stewart
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE
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Birds of Arizona – Killdeer ( Charadrius vociferus )
We were living on our street for more than eight years before I noticed this very interesting bird visiting our neighborhood. At first I thought it was a shore bird that had lost its way, but I soon discovered there were several of these feathered residents.
Off to the books I went and I discovered that the bird was a Killdeer Charadrius vociferus ).
This morning two of them were in and around our yard so I began to stalk them with my Canon SX50 HS superzoom. They were very timid and didn’t want to stay in one place very long.
I was fortunate to get some pictures, but not all of them were as sharp as I would have liked.
Until I saw these photographs, I never appreciated the orange eye ring!
This bird probably thought it was hiding from me by burrowing in next to our somewhat elevated street.
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.
See additional photographs and posts about birds HERE.
Bridge over the Merced – Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 270
As we hiked along the trail leading to Vernal Fall, we came across a bridge which spans the Merced River. As you can see, quite a crowd gathered there to look at the flowing river and waterfall spill. The next post will give you a view of what some of the bystanders were viewing.
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.
*All photographs Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with all rights reserved.
See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.
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Meta Data – Day 270 YOY – Year of Yosemite
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