Write About a Tree and it Falls Over: How it was in Yosemite today....

On our last trip to Yosemite in October, we had a delightful time witnessing the contrast between the vivid fall colors and a fresh new coating of snow. I also spent some time photographing a group of acorn woodpeckers working in their tree, an old dead ponderosa at the edge of Cook's Meadow (see the post by clicking here). The tree has been in this spot for a century or more, though it looked pretty unstable when we were last there. I should have known that writing about it would probably in the cosmic picture of things doom it. Here's how the tree looked today; I hope the woodpeckers are okay.

Meanwhile, winter is sort of wrapping up, with some snow in the high country this week, and clouds that were building up as we wandered about the valley. The falls were running nicely, but there was barely a speck of green anywhere (although the foothills are beginning to show a lot of color, especially poppies and fiddlenecks).

Half Dome was a no-show from the Tunnel View, but Bridalveil Falls looked nice, and had a huge pile of frazil ice at the base. Frazil forms when spray from the waterfall freezes and drifts down to the base of the falls.

 Yosemite Falls was also full of water and ice, and the wind was forming nice patterns of mist and shadow on the cliff face.
 In the later afternoon the rain clouds opened up, so we knew it was time to head on down the hill. As we were leaving, we could see the ghostly presence of the Cathedral Spires on the south rim of the valley. Winter isn't quite done with the Sierra Nevada...

And that's the way it was today.