some yosemite for your weekend
My friends back home reported several inches of snow that fell a few days ago in Colorado. I might have felt that I was missing out except we got snow in Yosemite early this week. It melted out quickly enough, but spring is a little behind schedule as the blooms in the valley aren’t nearly as far along as they were this time last year. Regardless, the dogwood blossoms are starting to peak, the waterfalls thunder as the high volume of runoff cascades in feathery sheets down the granite cliffs of Yosemite valley, and there are delights at every turn.
dogwoods dotting the forests
blooms
jeremy walking in the woods
pinks (these weren’t in the wild, but i can’t resist pink dogwoods)
morning mist along the banks of the merced river
some sort of berry flower (not salmonberry)
stellar’s jay
among the pines
new lupine in a burn zone
snacking streamside
The western foothills are starting to transition from green to gold. Driving west from the Sierra Nevada through California’s central valley we passed fruit stand after fruit stand. Each one entices with hand-painted signs boasting juicy, fresh-picked strawberries and cherries. We rejoiced in a taqueria that served solid Mexican food and partook of some wine tastings. It’s been a good trip, but I’m looking forward to getting home soon. See you on the flip side. Have a great weekend!
oaks in the foothills
perfect weather
the zin bin
roses adorn the rows of grape vines
May 14th, 2010 at 6:05 am
IT’S A BEAR!
I love the pictures, it must be lovely to live bear such beauty.
May 14th, 2010 at 6:06 am
Ha, I meant near*.. clearly my mind is on the bear.
May 14th, 2010 at 6:52 am
What gorgeous shots! I particularly like pictures nΒ°4 & 5!
Cheers,
Rosa
May 14th, 2010 at 6:58 am
Lovely photos–thanks for sharing them with us.
May 14th, 2010 at 6:59 am
I love the bokeh in the foreground of that shot of Jeremy. Beautiful photos. (And that last photo of the rose! What a gorgeous contrast of the red!)
Wei-Wei
May 14th, 2010 at 7:59 am
absolutely gorgeous pictures Jen. I just love them. Thanks for sharing.
May 14th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Very jealous of your trip! Especially the fresh fruit and wine tasting at the end ;-)
The morning mist on the Merced is lovely.
May 14th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Yosemite is a photographer’s paradise, no doubt! You did it justice, Jen.
May 14th, 2010 at 8:52 am
Girl, you are SO talented.
Your photos made my day.
Many heartfelt thanks
May 14th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Beautiful pictures….thanks for sharing. I am inspired to get a SLR now…I have quite a few old Nikon lenses, any suggestion for a camera…not too heavy duty. Thanks Jen.
May 14th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Wow. How could anyone not be so completely in awe of the world and its beauty, looking at these pictures?! Makes you wonder how anyone could be in a hurry to destroy it.
May 14th, 2010 at 10:24 am
O
M
G
“morning mist along the banks of the merced river”
In love.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Beautiful photos, Jen! Your photos are all that I miss about Cali.
May 14th, 2010 at 11:25 am
WOW… all the photos are amazing, but the morning mist is even more spectacular!
May 14th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Wow, stunning! You are so much more patient than us, we’re always trying to get a picture of those bloody jays, they are so bouncy! Love the bear picture, bit scary but very cool!
May 14th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Fantastic. Nice to Jeremy and he looks so happy. I cannot imagine seeing bears outside of a zoo. Do Americans, when driving in the country, see as many bears as we see kangaroos ?
May 14th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Stunning photos! I’m not sure I would have courage to take out my camera if I saw a bear! :) Your work is so inspiring.
May 14th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Love the mist! Can’t wait for you to come back home soon!
May 14th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Great Photos! Thank you.
May 15th, 2010 at 2:14 am
Beautiful – bear looks hungry though.
May 15th, 2010 at 10:17 am
I love, love, love these photos! The morning mist one is amazing.
May 15th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
these photos are stunning. you have a great eye.
May 16th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Oh my god! Such stunning photos, Jen! Mother Nature is great! So are you!
May 16th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
All of those photos are perfect. My favorite is of the bluejay. Wow.
May 18th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Starring at your photos is almost taking a deep breath into a different medium of “poetry”! So love it!
I am incredibly jealous looking at those dogwood images! I absolutely love dogwood but I cannot grow one here, in Texas. I killed one! It doesn’t like Texas’ soil and Texas’ weather, to say the least!
Thanks for your post, as always, it is very inspiring!
May 19th, 2010 at 6:06 am
Yosemite is my favorite national park! Absolutely breathtaking everywhere you turn. Great shots!
May 19th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Hi jen! I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now,and have been contemplating starting my own blog for some time now. Well the time has finally come. My photography is nowhere near as beautiful as yours, but i hope you can take some time to check out my blog!
May 22nd, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Glad everyone enjoyed the photos :) Thanks for stopping by! xo
Snowanh – there are some decent entry level dSLRs in several different brands. If you want to use your old Nikon lenses (of course, if they’re quite old, they won’t communicate with the camera and you’ll have to probably manual focus) then there are a few Nikon models that might work for you. Check dpreview.com (check out the d3000, d5000, d40, etc.)
Jenny – long lenses are very very good for shooting animals that have big claws and big teeth :)
Barbara – oh, I don’t think so. Bears tend to be more elusive in general. I saw so many kangas killed on the road or roadside when we drove from Alice Springs to Red Centre. I dare say our bears are far less visible. xo