Finding Paradise

WINDOWS to PARADISE

For several years I have been trying to capture this photo. I have headed up to Cayucos to shoot the sunset through the old wooden windows next to the Pier multiple times. Sometimes I have been fogged out. Or the great clouds I was hoping for never materialized. I had a certain idea in my head of exactly what I wanted my image to look like. So when I took this photograph last December, I didn't think it quite hit the mark. It wasn't until I revisited the Pier recently and found that there is now a bright yellow volleyball net in front of the windows, that I realized that I might never have the opportunity to get the shot I saw in my imagination. So I decided to go back through my old images to see if just maybe, I could make due with one of them. I was shocked to find I had already taken my dream shot. How could I have missed seeing it the first time around? It was with excitement and pleasure that I worked and tweaked this image a bit to get just what I wanted. I think the image was there all the time, but now I was seeing it with new eyes. Sometimes I let my expectation for a perfect world get in the way of seeing what I already have.

A few creatures I found in Yosemite

 Marmot

 Swallowtail Butterfly

 American Robin

 Red-winged Blackbird

Squirrel

Yosemite is alive with a variety of different animals. During our visit there last month I was able to photograph a few of them. There is a story in my head and my heart for each of these creatures - where I was, how I felt, and the sheer delight I found while observing them.

Tioga Pass Road was already open for the season so we took a day drive up there to see what we could find. Near Lembert Dome I was very happy to see a whole family of Marmots going about their daily lives. We sat on rocks near their den and waited. It didn't take long for them to get used to us and we were able to be with them and take many (many!!!!!) photos over at least 1 1/2 hours. This handsome Marmot came right toward me and posed on granite rock nearby. I'm still smiling over the whole experience.

There were many lovely Swallowtail Butterflies in Yosemite Valley. But they never seemed to land. They were always flitting about from here to there. I felt extremely blessed when this light colored one landed on a plant close to me. It stayed there long enough for me move in closer and take several shots. It is the only one I saw land during the whole week we were there.

I had been trying to get a decent photo of an American Robin for days. True, I did have some shots, but I wasn't very happy with any them. On the last evening we were in the Valley, I took a walk with my camera along the trail going toward Camp 4. I found a most cooperative Robin preening. I was able to take a number of photos I'm happy with.

Ah, Red-winged Blackbirds. A common, yet striking bird with shiny black feathers and colorful red epaulets. In Spring they seem to be calling constantly. It was a joy to hear them.

These little Squirrels are F-A-S-T!!! This one and his companion raced up and down the trees in a blur of motion. I was lucky to get a shot of him at all.

Taking lots of photos and bringing home memories is fun. But the best part of any trip for me is simply BEING there - observing how everything in Nature fits together so perfectly - breathing in the whole experience -  finding my place in the Universe.