Mixed Pics

Well, in the dog days of summer, I get kind of tired and lazy. I still take pictures but, I don't get around to posting them here. Check out this studly buck. He was nibbling away at the grass that had grown back so well in the burned forest. Wood ash corrects the acidic pH of the western pine forests so that a wider diversity of plants can grow, including grasses that our antlered friends enjoy.

Here's another plant that is enjoying the adjusted soil chemistry. The Washington Lily is one of the showiest flowers you'll ever see, standing at over 5 feet tall. In your own yard, you can utilize wood ash from your fireplace or wood stove to enhance your acidic soil with macro and micronutrients.

Now we come to some serious stuff. I was given a photo assignment to go out and get some pictures of roadside hazard trees. I had less than one day to get a selection of pictures that could be used in court, to convince the court that public safety IS an important issue. I went out and found plenty of dead tree pictures but this one has an example of a bark beetle attck in progress. The whitish specks are clumps of pine pitch coming out the holes made by bark beetles who drilled into the bark and left their eggs to hatch and feast on the key part of the tree. These trees are still green but, will not recover because, in essence, they are "brain dead". Currently, the very liberal 9th Circuit Court has forbid us to cut dead and dying trees, even in the case of public safety. They've referred us back to the lower court to ask permission to do a different thing than our original Environmental Impact Report.

Here's a few pictures from my last Yosemite trip. Below is the rainbow from Vernal Falls. The lone tree on the cliff shining in the sun makes for a striking contrast to the shadowed background. And, who doesn't love a rainbow?

Here's another Half Dome picture with a glimpse of Tenaya Canyon and the the High Sierra. Also, check out the famous overhang atop Half Dome.