Yeppers, the long-awaited “Snow Plants” episode of Yosemite Nature Notes is out! The above is a screenie, and I wish I could buy a print of it and hang it on my wall. Kudos to Steve Bumgardner for yet again knocking it out of the ballpark! 
Here’s another screen capture of something I’ve never seen in person, a hummingbird attending a snow plant in bloom. Spectacular work, Steve!
I am not a geologist. Sometimes I wish I were, but I’m fortunate to have geologists among my friends, both here in California and in Australia, even. The Cathedral Range has some really beautiful granite, with rectangular and elongated hexagonal feldspar crystals embedded. Add to that some marvelous glacial polish, and you’ve got a visual treat sure to delight any observant hiker. But sometimes you find something really unique, like this 1.5″ dike running in an almost perfectly straight line. As I understand it, at one time the granite that forms the Sierra Nevada range was deep underground, under a vast sea. As the granite rose, it cooled, and sometimes cracked. Magma extruded upwards into those cracks, forming these lines. Fast forward about a gazillion years (I *told* you I’m not a geologist!), the sea went away (dried? drained?) and the batholith tilted upwards, softer rock eroded away, exposing 400 miles of granite, warts and all. Next came the Ice age, with glaciers miles deep, sliding over the rock. It polished this north-south berm along the eastern edge of Lower Cathedral Lake. It also left behind some magnificent boulders!
I’m hoping I can entice Garry Hayes and Gillian Brent here to correct my interpretation of what this line is.
Lower Cathedral Lake, Granite wall and snag.
This image was captured looking south on the granite berm on the eastern edge of Lower Cathedral Lake.
Monday held some bad weather, but bad weather means good photographs. A lengthy road trip to Mono Lake (via Oakhurst!) provided a much needed break from the granite walls, and some wonderful clouds over these delicate sand tufa at Mono Lake.
Weather here in Yosemite has turned decidedly summer-ish. So here’s a nice cool shot of Cascade Creek.
I’ll be finishing up my week curating @TwkUSA today, so stop by and say hello.
From the archives: Winter View of Yosemite Valley.
This week I’m guest-curating @TwkUSA, the unofficial Twitter account for America; This is a pleasant privilege, and I’m enjoying myself thoroughly. In other news, summer has arrived, and with it all the teeming masses here in Yosemite. It’s a far cry from my winter in the Missouri Ozarks. But I’m getting back into the swing of things.
I’m still making my way through my photo library, culling duplicates and seeing my work with a fresh eye; The original image of this conversion was taken in January of 2008. I just finished converting it.
As usual, my images are indeed for sale. Please contact me for prices.
I’ve been doing some photo library housekeeping, and have found lots of images that somehow never were published. This image was taken October 16th, 2007.
It’s been hectic getting back into the swing of a full work-week; Glacier Pt Gifts is open for the season, and so is Tioga Pass Road. I finally made it over the pass yesterday, two days after it opened. Prior to that, I had a request from my co-administrator over on Twitter (@WeRPhotography, a Rotation Curation account) to take over for a guest who was unable to tweet due to a lack of internet on location. So I’ll be tweeting as @WeRPhotography until next weekend.
In other news, a major photography magazine is interested in using one of my shots in an upcoming issue, and I’m rather tickled about that. Yes, I will be paid. That’s if they use the image.
Sadly my Mac Mini is making some distressing sounds, and so I’ve joined the ranks of hundreds of thousands of Americans in debt and ordered a refurbished Mac Pro Quad Core machine. It should be here next week.
Today’s image was captured with my iPhone 4S, and processed using Camera app filters.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Smithsonian Contact: Lisa Eidson
Institution Wilderness50 Media / Publicity Chair
Nature?s Best Email: lisa@wilderness.net
Photography Phone: 406-396-3607
“Wilderness Forever”
Nationwide Photography Competition Accepting Entries
for Smithsonian Exhibition
Raising Public Awareness of Wilderness Lands to Celebrate the
50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act
Washington, DC. – May 6, 2013 – Beginning on May 6, the “Wilderness Forever” public photography competition will accept entries of images illustrating the sheer majesty, diversity, and value of our nation?s wilderness areas. This professionally-juried contest is conducted by the 50th Anniversary National Wilderness Planning Team (Wilderness50), Nature?s Best Photography, and the Smithsonian Institution, and will run through September 3, 2013. Approximately 50 winning contest entries will be chosen for display as large format prints in the Smithsonian?s National Museum of Natural History as part of a 2014 exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. “Photography delivers immediate and long-lasting impact. What better way to celebrate the beauty and diversity of nature than through the eyes of the public and their shared experiences in our wilderness areas,” says Steve Freligh, Nature?s Best Photography Editor-in-Chief, and “Wilderness Forever” contest judge. “We’re excited to share the public?s own visions of America’s beautiful wilderness lands and to educate visitors about the importance of preserving our natural heritage through this remarkable photography exhibition,” says Charles Chen of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The celebration and dissemination of knowledge about America’s cultural and natural heritage is at the heart of the Smithsonian Institution?s mission. Millions of visitors to the Natural History Museum will experience this exhibition representing a centerpiece of nationwide and bringing together the voices of Americans depicting the beauty and importance of these special places. Professional, amateur and student photographers are encouraged to submit their photographs accompanied by personal stories and memories about the scenes depicted. Contest guidelines and entry instructions are found online at http://www.naturesbestphotography.com/wilderness.
Entry Categories are as follows:
• SCENIC LANDSCAPE: Dramatic scenes and unusual perspectives of protected wilderness land, providing expansive views, including plant life: flowers, trees, and other flora in natural habitat. Close-ups, wideopen spaces, storms, sunsets, and other natural views.
• WILDLIFE: Wild animals (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, insects, etc.) photographed within the boundaries of wilderness areas. Animal portraits, behavior, predation, adults with young. (NOTE: No captive animals allowed in this category.)
• PEOPLE IN WILDERNESS: People enjoying wilderness lands: Adventurers, backpackers, hikers, canoers and other activities; groups, families, and individuals in natural settings. Action, artistic perspectives
and artistic compositions (silhouettes, motion shots, creative lighting, portrayals of solitude and primitive recreation etc.)
• MOST INSPIRATIONAL MOMENT: Images of wilderness locations that have a very special story and personal meaning to entrants.
Please join Wilderness50, Nature?s Best Photography, and the Smithsonian Institution in celebrating “50 Years of American Wilderness” by participating in the “Wilderness Forever” photography contest to enter your chance to win a spot in the 2014 exhibition.
Wilderness50 is a coalition of more than 25 non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies that is planning and implementing local, regional, and national events and projects. This coalition is charged with raising public awareness of wilderness and engaging youth during 2014, the 50th anniversary year. Our nation?s wilderness system, now encompassing over 109 million acres, was established in 1964 for the use and enjoyment of the American people and provides many direct and in-direct benefits, such as those relating to ecological, geological, scientific, educational, scenic, spiritual, economic, recreational, historical, and cultural uses and activities. The 757 wilderness areas that exist today are managed by all four federal land managing agencies, the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Park Service. You can learn more about the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and Wilderness50 by visiting our website at http://www.wilderness50th.org or you can follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/50thAnniversaryOfTheWildernessAct and Twitter at http://twitter.com/wild50th.
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A reminder that bears are active and roaming the valley floor looking for food. This handsome bruin was scouting near the Manure Pile, pausing to rip open decaying logs and to make sure I was keeping up at a safe distance. FYI, the color and number of the ear tags on Yosemite bears is random; as I understand it, the Bear Team has a box full of them, and they just grab one when needed. I could be way wrong, of course, and would welcome any input from NPS staff.