Below: The paper has been folded and cut.  I followed the instructions about how to fold this into a bitty book.  Instead of using a glue stick where suggested, I used double sided tape.  This paper was very thick so it was hard to work with.  My hand cut square wasn’t so square so I did a little trimming once it was folded.

Once the ‘book’ was folded I chose photographs  to tape inside.  The book is 3 inch square with the colored side as the outside of the book and the white backside of the photograph as the pages.  I sized the photographs small enough to leave room for writing.  The photographs were taped in with double sided tape then painted around them with iridescent paint.

I then found a website that showed how to make an origami box.  I chose another of Vincent’s photographs to make the box.  The book was wrapped in tissue paper then tied with hemp cord.  Rather than making a lid I tied the box  in a 9 square grid pattern with more hemp cord in a coordinating color.

David, little Lulu and I met Franka Gabler, Terry Robinson, and Nancy Robbins at Olmstead Point to photograph during the May 20 solar eclipse.  The weather was perfect, no clouds in the path of the eclipse and comfortably cool.  I thought it was going to be hot, especially since the Merced River canyon was 90 degrees.  Lulu is proving to be a perfect traveler.  She napped in her carrier almost the entire 2 hour drive to our destination and doesn’t get sick on the winding roads. 

Just outside of Midpines where 140 begins the drop down to Briceburg, a tow truck, highway patrols and another vehicle were busy at a pull out with a drop off edge.  When the road turned enough I could look back and see the roof of an RV just over the sheer drop off.  The trees must have been holding it in place to keep it from continuing the plunge to to bottom.  That must have been an E-ride ticket!

Later on our way to Olmstead Point not far past White Wolfe, we noticed an object in our lane sitting in the path of the passenger wheel.  It looked like a log had fallen off a truck and was standing on end.  David slowed as we approached the object until we were fairly close, then the upper half of the log nonchalantly swiveled toward our direction and stared at us.  It was a marmot that had been sitting up on it’s hind quarters staring at the other side of the road.  In his slow bored way, he turned to the close side of the road then slowly walked away.  It was quite comical.

We arrived at Olmstead Point around 3, ate lunch in the car and watched the people that came and went.  I wished Franka was there already when we were eating so she could hold Lulu.  The day before we’d attended the annual Yosemite Western Artists picnic and Franka held Lulu the entire time.  Lulu has suddenly become aware of FOOD when we eat and goes bananas trying to get to the tasty non-dog food.

This car was interesting.  They slowly unpacked the car until they were surrounded by all their gear.  I couldn’t tell if they were reorganizing or looking for something. This was just the beginning of emptying the vehicle.

Franka and Lulu.

I knew we weren’t going to experience the darkness of an eclipse since we were too far south of the eclipse path.  I did hope for nice lighting on the landscape during full coverage of the sun, well, as full as it would cover.  I decided I wanted to be on the dome above Olmstead Point so I could view Tenaya Lake and Half Dome.  I started up the dome before David since he walks faster and I wasn’t sure where I wanted to set up my camera.  When I stopped to look for him and wave so he could find me, I noticed the activity of this bird.  This was the first time I’d seen a Black-backed Woodpecker. 

I found the flattest place of the steeply sloping dome for the views I wanted and so Lulu’s carrier wouldn’t roll down the slope.  The wind was quite chilly so I wrapped her soft carrier with my jacket.  She slept through the eclipse.

Lulu’s carrier and tripods.

The lighting didn’t change much at full coverage.  The landscape looked a little warmer in color but if one hadn’t been aware of the eclipse I’m not sure they’d have noticed a change.

Tenaya Lake at full eclipse. 6:37pm

Half Dome at full eclipse.

Eclipse over, time to play.  Terry posing for me. 

A bottle of wine appeared when the eclipse was over, courtesy of Terry.

Franka and David.

Franka sitting, David, Terry and Nancy below (and Lulu).

My long shadow ending at the group.  I like the patches of glacial polish in the foreground.

It was a strange day for animals.  First the marmot and the nice sighting of the wood pecker.  It was still light when we all departed Olmstead Point.  The sunset didn’t develop into anything interesting to photograph.  At 9pm we reached the Oak Flat Road/140 intersection.  When we were deep in the Merced River canyon we talked about how we’d never seen deer along the narrow 140 road.  Not too long after there was a large object blocking our entire lane, a dead deer.  That was a strange coincidence. 

After passing through Midpines a short while later we suddenly saw a large tumbling bird falling from the sky illuminated by our headlights.  It fell from above the left lane in the direction of the right lane.  It reminded me of a bird being shot out of the sky.  We immediately pulled over and walked back down the highway so we could see if it needed help or at least remove it from the road.  I was sickened when a bus and a couple of cars came along as we quickly moved down the highway with the flashlight.  If there was a chance for the bird it was probably hit by one of the vehicles.  We never found the bird or even a single feather.  We turned around and drove back down the highway but the bird had disappeared.  It was one of the strangest events I’ve ever seen.  I wondered if an owl would catch food midair and tumble??  Do owls mate midair like hawks??  It was an interesting way to end the evening.  David was on alert driving  the rest of the way home – what else was going to appear in front of the car???

The estimated time the tour would pass through Mariposa (14 miles north bound on Hwy 49 from our turn off) was 12:40.  We wanted to make sure we had a good viewing spot so we arrived at the pull out at 11.  Our new puppy, little Lulu, accompanied us in her carrier.  She was such a good trooper for this mini adventure.  I brought my lunch and art supplies, David brought snacks and a book.  We were the third vehicle to arrive but by the time the race was near there were many more vehicles.  I had downloaded the AMGEM app onto my phone so we were able to track the progress of the race.

Looking down the category 3 climb.  The beginning of the bridge that crosses the ravine is the distant road.  This is taken with my telephoto at 1:09

Same scene without telephoto.

The break away group are little dots in the distance just before they reach the bridge where the climb begins.  1:26

Break away group passing by.  1:28

The peloton. 1:30

Looking at the back of the peloton.

I was aware that the race experience is only minutes long and the waiting is considerable but it was worth the entire process of the event.  I enjoyed the down time waiting and it was fun to see the riders of the race as well as all the riders before and after the race.  Watching them ride up that long, long, long grade made me grateful for my car.  I have a bike, I don’t ride anymore, I prefer to be in a climate controlled vehicle or on the back of the motorcycle. 

I have decided that there were more cars than riders after watching my first live race.  There were lots of cars ahead of the race, between the break and peloton and certainly following the peloton.  I opted not to post the car pictures, except for the sweep car : )

David and the ‘Sweep’ car.  It has two brooms on the grill. 

Little Lulu patiently waiting.

About a month ago I started group messaging some girlfriends from high school after we’d found each other on Facebook.  We decided we should have a mini reunion.  After discussing the reunion with my younger daughter,  we invited my girlfriends to lunch at my daughter’s house.  My daughters offered to wait on us as my Mother’s Day gift.  They prepared a beautiful space for my girlfriends and I to spend the afternoon getting caught up with each other’s lives.  I cooked and easy meal of faux quiche, fruit salad and broccoli salad.  My older daughter made strawberry pizza for desert.  We also had a little champagne with cherries in the bottom of the glass – we had to have a toast!

There were five of us talking and laughing and getting reacquainted.  The stories that were told could create a few years of scripts for a television show.  I have to say thank you to my  daughters for giving me a wonderful day with my  special girlfriends.  Thank you girls, Bea, Lynnette, Connie and Diana for making this happen.  We definitely need to do this again SOON!!  Also, thank you Beatrice for the beautiful bracelets, Diana for the gorgeous roses and mixed nuts (I’ll get your vase back to you), Connie for the chips and dip and Lynnette for the Orange Works ice cream.  I had all kinds of questions I forgot to ask of each of you – time went by so quickly.  Next time!!

The temperature was in the high 90’s but we middle aged women stuck it out and stayed outside from noon to 5.  Between the umbrella and the shade cloth we kept most of the sun off of us.  Michelle’s roses and peonies were beautiful.

My girls getting things ready.

Someone wasn’t very happy when her mama went to the store.

SUNDAY

Early the next morning.  Diana’s flowers and silence around the table.

I guess all that silence was too much.  I had decided I wanted to see Michelle’s friend’s Mini Dachshund puppies.  I had been contemplating a puppy for a while.……who can say no to such adorable dogs?   Sunday we picked up a female puppy.  Happy Mother’s Day to me.

Michelle and the puppy.

My ‘dog whisperer’ son in law.  The puppy LOVED him.

Me and Lulu.

Claudia and David

After booth duty we left for Yosemite.  Last night was the biggest and brightest full moon of the year.  We drove around the park photographing until we met up with Claudia and Michael Frye just before dark.  Half Dome still has a little snow on top.  The meadows and oaks are lush with vibrant greens. 

The park was crawling with photographers.  We found a good parking place between Cooks Meadow and the Pizza place.  The four of us walked to dinner, back to the cars to grab our camera gear, then headed to the parking area near Sentinel Bridge.  The moon had just risen and the photographers were shoulder to shoulder along the parking lot edge and path across the meadow.  Michael and David stayed at the parking lot while Claudia and I walked along the path and over the boardwalk.  I thought it was a little scary to walk behind the photographers on the boardwalk since they could step back from their camera and knock you into the meadow or pond.

I’d never photographed in the dark or a lunar bow.  The day before, I had Dave teach me what settings should work with my camera.  I shot my G2 in raw, at the widest aperture, the longest exposure possible and generally 400 ISO.  I was quite happy with my results.  I installed Lightroom on my computer today so working with that software was a first as well.

Yosemite Fall and the bumper to bumper line of cars, parked and moving.

The redbud are past their blooming peak and the poppy bloom has migrated up the mountain sides towards their crests.  The canyon is still a beautiful drive with the orange patches, greens of grasses, various oaks and shrubs leafing out, lupine and the lingering redbud.  The river is swollen with the melt of last weeks heat wave.

While driving the canyon we noticed large clouds over Yosemite.   The clouds were wonderful all afternoon so I photographed the iconic places – with clouds.  The heat wave has revived the valley’s waterfalls.  The bears are definitely active, we saw a large one off South Drive.

Yosemite Falls

Bridalveil Falls

El Capitan

Saturday when we were in the park for Jeff Grandy’s reception at the Ansel Adams Gallery,  we didn’t notice the dogwood flowering.  Monday, two days later,  they were noticeably beginning to bloom.  Stop by the gallery and see Jeff’s beautiful photographs from his ‘Unfiltered’ series.  Michael Frye wrote about Jeff’s exhibit here.

David photographed his specific rock then we went up to Tunnel View to wait for the sunset.  We were hoping for color but the clouds in the west blocked the sun too much.  It was still a beautiful sunset.

The clouds over the tunnel were dark and threatening.  The air was perfumed with a very heavy odor of rain.

For a brief moment the cloud above lit up with color giving an added little bonus to the evening.

The Grand color over Half Dome.  This was it, two little clouds turned pink.  It was a perfect ending to a perfect day for the two of us.

We returned to the Hite’s Cove Trail yesterday.    Gold was discovered in Hite’s Cove in the 1860’s.  We’ve never hiked to the end of the trail but we’ve hiked far enough to see rusted relics from the gold mining era.  Now Hite’s Cove is know for the abundance and variety of wild flowers.

We met fellow Google+ photographers John H. Moore and Tony Payne in the parking area when we arrived.  John had posted the vehicle he’d be driving and David had seen his picture online.  We introduced our selves then headed for the trail.  Vincent Goetz was already at the head of the trail photographing, of course, poppies.  Vince left us early for other destinations while John, Tony, David and I photographed along the trail.  Though we knew  G. Dan Mitchell and  Michael Frye would be out photographing as well, we never saw either one of them.

Vince is on the hillside, Tony directly in front of me, John in long sleeve white shirt and David is visiting with a neighbor.

  The little wildflower, Bird’s Eyes.

Poppy and Bird’s Eyes.

We parted ways with John and Tony and continued up the trail.  This was the next spot on the trail with a good coverage of poppies.

Below: Redbud and blue Fiesta Flowers.  There were many varieties of flowers blooming, blue dicks, miniature lupine, silver bush lupine, Caterpillar Phacelia, Chinese Houses, Shooting Stars, Goldfields, Indian Paint Brush, Popcorn Flower, I saw one Live Forever and I saw Twining Snake Lily buds so it won’t be long until they bloom as well.  There were lots of other flowers I couldn’t identify.

Looking down the canyon to the trail head on our way out.

The flowers were fully open when we returned to the trail head.  Poppies and Popcorn flowers carpet the hillside down to the river.  This section of the trail has a steep drop off and is only a person wide on a majority of the trail.  I’m simply looking down to the river from the trail.  I accidentally got to toe of my boot in one picture.  I don’t mind the narrow trail and steep slopes but I do wish there wasn’t so much poison oak.  It’s right along the trail where it can easily be brushed.

A hillside of poppies on Highway 140 near Slate Bridge.

I was a bad photographer, shame on me, I didn’t get my tripod out of the car at all – I wanted quick access back into the car.  There were lots of mists and it lightly snowed a good deal of the time we were there.  Below: Raven and Bridalveil Falls in light snow and mists. 

Raven and El Capitan.

From Valley View on our way home around 10am.

The poppies are still blooming in the canyon.  The red bud is beginning to bloom as well.  Another photographer said Hite’s Cove has a lot of flowers.

The center of the light area wasn’t what my mind had seen so that led me to the next pastel experiment.  I used scraps of pastel paper, this one is Art Spectrum’s black, 5”x13”.   ‘Night Calls’ seemed an appropriate title.

I chose these colors for the second experiment.

This is more how my mind saw the light center of the first image….but not quite.  This is Art Spectrum’s white pastel paper, 5”x8.5”.   Two names for this one, ‘Where Are We Going?’ and ‘Fingerprint’.  I’ll have to try again…..playing is such hard work!

I took my knitting, current book and watercolors but I hardly touched my watercolors and never opened my book.  I did knit while the the TV was on, we don’t have television reception at our home.  I always think it’ll be great to watch whatever I want but the sorry truth is that there’s hardly anything interesting to watch.

I did have the pleasure of spending lots of time with my older daughter while I was there.    After enjoying one evening drinking and visiting, I  spent the next day recovering.  I wallowed in being able to vegetate in front of the television with the dogs or soak up the sun on the patio.  I had thought I’d take a ride in the foothills to see the progress of the wildflowers but never did.

I started a watercolor study of Shirley poppies while house sitting, which I finished painting today.  The vivid color, papery petals and grey green leaves were too inspiring to leave them be.  I took several macro photographs then moved on to sketching them in pencil before painting with watercolours.

Watercolour study.  10×14 inches

When I was at my daughters’ a few weeks ago for an appointment, this little guy was in her Crepe Myrtle tree.  He was alone in the Crepe Myrtle again during my visit.  I’ve learned he’s a Western Yellow-rumped Warbler.  I also enjoyed watching a pair of Scrub Jays building a nest in the orange tree.