natural beauty

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 57 (California ground squirrel)

Jeff

California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)

At times it was hard to tell whether we were enjoying the wildlife or they were studying us. Many of the squirrels at Yosemite appeared to be more curious than afraid. Perhaps they have been acclimated to the presence of people or a worse scenario would involve their previous feedings by visitors. At the Grand Canyon we were surprised to learn that more people were injured by squirrels than any other animal; bites!

Yosemite is the home to no less than six different types of squirrels including the California ground squirrel pictured above:

Belding’s ground squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi)
California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)
Golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis)
Chickaree (Tamiasciurus douglasii)
Northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)
Western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus)

Unlike a number of squirrel species, the California ground squirrel has a spotted pattern in its fur which is quite interesting.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 57 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture time: 1:57:22 PM
Capture date: June 5, 2016
Exposure: 1/15 sec @ f/13
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Nikon D3300

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 56 (Half Dome in Black and White)

Jeff

Half Dome rendered in black and whiteHalf Dome as seen from the Olmsted Point parking area

As stated in prior posts, Half Dome, the icon of Yosemite National Park, peeks out from many vantage points . This was initially a color photo, but because of the lighting and the lack of clouds in the sky, the picture appeared too flat. I believe the black and white rendition presents it more accurately; amazing!

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 56 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture time: 9:49:39 AM
Capture date: June 7, 2016
Exposure: 1/500 sec @ f/5.6
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Canon SX50 HS

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 55 (Green Horsetail)

Jeff

Equisetum hymale segmented grass 

Light coloring Equisetum hymale

Equisetum hymale is an interesting wild, yet ornamental segmented grass. It is also known as Horsetail or Scouring rush. The sun filtering through the woods illuminate the stalks so they appear to be lit from within. They are very pretty in this presentation.

The photograph was taken during our hike around Mirror Lake at Yosemite.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 55 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture time: 11:42:21 AM
Capture date: June 5, 2016
Exposure: 1/15 sec @ f/13
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Nikon D3300

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 54 (Vernal Falls)

Jeff

Vernal Falls 

Vernal Falls

The day was overcast and less sunny than previous outings, but still beautiful!

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 54 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Canon SX50 HS

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 53 (Purple Wildflower)

Jeff

Brodiaea elegans - purple wildflowerBrodiaea elegans a beautiful purple wildflower

While hiking at Hetch Hetchy along the Wapama Falls Trail we saw a number of pretty wildflower. These purple Brodiaea elegans blooms against the backdrop of the brown hay-like growth created a lovely scene (IMHO).

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 53 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 52 (Taft Point Trail Ski Markers)

Jeff

NOTE: Two pictures are posted today because they are related to the “story” below. These will only count as one of the YOY picture posts, i.e. Day 52. There will be no YOY post tomorrow, but will resume on 8/15/16 (+/-).

Ski trail marker mounted high on a tree 

Two trail markers mounted high on a tree along the Taft Point Trail

While hiking along the Taft Point Trail, it was unusual (at least for me) to look up and see what was mounted on the tree above. Did you notice them? I must confess that I am just speaking from conjecture here, but I interpret these as being ski trail markers. The blue sign (see below) definitely has a skier on it.

I am also going out on a limb (pun alert) by suggesting that the yellow marker (see below) is also a trail marker of sorts and is intended to stick out from the tree as it appears that there is a mounting flap that is broken which would be able to hold the sign horizontally so it can be seen from a distance.

If any readers know for sure, please confirm via a comment below. If my assumptions are incorrect, please help me clarify for JBRish readers.

Close up of ski trail marker mounted high on a tree 

Two trail markers mounted high on a tree along the Taft Point Trail


The snow must get awfully high to have these trail markers elevated so or perhaps they do this to prevent vandalism, etc.!

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 – No Metadata today as these are just simple jpeg snapshots to report

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 51 (Lembert Dome)

Jeff

Lembert Dome from parking area 

Lembert Dome as viewed from one of the parking areas

I have posted pictures from Lembert Dome prior to this, but I thought it would be a good idea to show the entire dome. I will post more pictures of the trail and some scenery as we ascended to the very top in the future. This image was captured near one of the parking areas.

NOTE: Lembert Dome elevation is 9,449′

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 51 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture time: 4:54:14 PM
Capture date: June 7, 2016
Exposure: 1/80 sec @ f/16
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Nikon D3300

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 50 (El Cap and Half Dome from Tunnel View)

Jeff

El Capitan and Half Dome as seen from Tunnel View 

A Warm glow was settling over El Capitan and Half Dome as seen from Tunnel View.

We had stopped at Tunnel View prior to this, but the light was more inviting as we cam upon this scene at this time of day and we were compelled to stop once again. El Capitan can be seen in the upper left with Half Dome close to dead-center. It is awesome to see both major icons of Yosemite in this orientation.

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 50 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 49 (Morning at Yosemite Falls)

Jeff

Morning at Yosemite Falls 

We started this day by walking to Lower Yosemite Falls

How wonderful is this? We started our day by walking to Lower Yosemite Falls to view this spectacular show of force and beauty. At our room nearby, we were able to hear the falls all day long. At night it lulled us to sleep!

“Yosemite Falls (2,425 ft)
Flows: approximately November through July, with peak flow in May.

Look for the ice cone at the base of the upper fall during winter and for roaring runoff April through June. Yosemite Falls, one of the world’s tallest, is actually made up of three separate falls: Upper Yosemite Fall (1,430 feet), the middle cascades (675 feet), and Lower Yosemite Fall (320 feet).

You can see Yosemite Falls from numerous places around Yosemite Valley, especially around Yosemite Village and Yosemite Valley Lodge (formerly Yosemite Lodge). A one-mile loop trail leads to the base of Lower Yosemite Fall (the eastern side of the loop, from the shuttle stop to the base of the waterfall, is wheelchair accessible).

It’s also possible to hike to the top of Yosemite Falls as a strenuous, all-day hike.” – (source)

NOTE – I looked at the webcam this morning (8/9/16) and I could not see any water flowing!

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 49 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture time: 7:44:44 AM
Capture date: June 5, 2016
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Focal Length: 18mm
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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 48 (Taft Point Fissures)

Jeff

Taft Point Fissures 

The Fissures along the Taft Point Trail

I must confess that it is difficult to portray this physical phenomenon in a two dimensional picture, put fissures are large crevices (or cracks) in rocks. They can be very dangerous as they often intersect areas close to trails and form a hazard for hikers.

Naturally hikers need to be vigilant at all times, but when hiking with children, one needs to be doubly aware. Can you see the large crevice with the two small boulders that have fallen in the crack? That could be a person wedged in there. To make matters worse, some areas near the edge of the fissures have small shrubs along the perimieter which might camouflage them a bit.

Of course there are warning signs alerting hikers of the dangerous fissures and to alert families to hold children close.

NOTE – If you haven’t discerned the fissure, look at the picture below. The arrows point to the walls of the fissure and the red-orange ovals show the boulders that are wedged in the crack.

Taft Point Fissures Annotated 

 
Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

 

JBRish.com originally published this post
*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 48 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture date: June 9, 2016
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Nikon D3300