Moonlit Serenade...

"Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars."

J.R.R. Tolkein

Linking to Weekend Reflections...

and the Weekend in Black and White...

The Woodpile...

"Every man looks at his wood pile with a kind of affection."

Henry David Thoreau

When we lived in Glendale...TheChief prided himself on his woodpile resourcefulness!!!  

We had plenty of wood each winter to burn our little fires in the fireplace to our heart's content.

When we bought our place up here...we realized that a pellet stove is much more efficient 

for actual warmth...so we replaced the old woodburner with a new efficient 

pellet stove...

There's still a flame...but I think TheChief misses his woodpile!!!

(This is the woodpile at our special place in Sequoia!!!)

Linking to the Weekend in Black and White...

Autumn Leaves...

"Swinging on delicate hinges, the autumn leaf almost off the stem."

Jack Kerouac

Fall is coming and going quickly up here...

The color just barely started, and already the leaves are turning brown

and dropping quickly...

Something about an early freeze, too much or not enough sugar in the leaves...

the gist of it is, fall color seems to be especially fleeting this year...

Sharing with Skywatch Friday...

Guess Who Wanted to Come for Lunch???

Either this guy was scoping out the premises for signs of good food...

or he came to play with Kelly...

What's your bet on???

"You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you.

You have to go to them sometimes."

A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Linking to Camera Critters...

And one more time to Our World Tuesday!!!

I don't know about you...

...but I want this lamp!!!

One of the fabulous details at Double Eagle Spa in June Lake...

Our Little Corner of the World...

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen

or even touched - 

they must be felt with the heart."

Helen Keller

I think even Helen Keller would recognize the beauty of this day...

It's a wonderful world we live in...

(sorry about the advertisement in the you tube selection...

but who can resist Louis Armstrong's 

enjoyment while singing his hallmark song???)

I'm a Happy Girl!!!

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

Roger Caras

Linking to Macro Monday, I Heart Macro, and Camera Critters!!!

The Footbridge to Adventure...

"Do not go where the path may lead,

go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Linking to Sunday Bridges...

More Details!!!

"It's the little details that are vital.  Little things make big things happen."
John Wooden

Another detail in our special place in Sequoia...

This patio cover was built recently...a new addition to 

a stately old lodge...

Linking to the Weekend in Black and White...

In Search of Camelot...

Petrea, at Pasadena Daily Photo, is holding a contest in honor of her soon-to-be

published book.... Camelot and Vine

The contest is to submit your interpretation of Camelot...or something that

looks like a castle, or is English...etc...you get the drift...

Sooo...being in the mountains...there's not much in the way of castles

or knights, or shields, or really much of anything that could 

depict Camelot...

But w-a-i-t!!!

We've got majestic mountains!!!

Sooo...your job is to help me pick the best pic to submit!!!

Sooo...what do you think???  Which one looks more like Camelot???

Let me know in the comments section!!!

Linking to Skywatch Friday...

A Bear Huntin' We Will Go!!!

TheChief called me the other day and told me there were bears about...

I followed his directions...

but I don't think these were the bears he meant...

I kept looking...

Then...I saw them...  

Yeah...there were two cubs along with this big girl...

Ever see a bear sleeping in a tree???

OK...sooo...I didn't find the bears on my own...

First, I found the "Bear Whisperer"...

Our own Steve Searles...

Animal Planet and Steve have produced several programs about the bears in Mammoth

and about how Steve works at re-educating them...

Here's a sample of one of the programs that have aired on
Animal Planet in the past...
The segments still run occasionally so keep an eye out for
The Bear Whisperer!!!

Mundane Meanderings...

"To me, photography is an art of observation.  

It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place...

I've found it has little to do with the things you see 

and everything to do with the way you see them."

Elliott Erwitt

Linking with Black and White Wednesday...

To Every Thing, There is a Season...

...Our Little Corner of the World...

In just a few days, Summer will turn to Fall, and the leaves will begin to turn...

After Labor Day, the crowds thin...parking is easy...

and the locals are settling back into one of our favorite seasons...

the Fall "shoulder season!!!"

The air is getting crisp...

the bears are getting restless looking for food...

and those of us who live here year round take a few deep breaths 

in between the tourist influx of summer and winter...

This is when I especially love living here!!!

Linking to Our World Tuesday...

Texture in the Forest...

"I search for the realness, the real feeling of a subject,

all the texture around it... 

I always want to see the third dimension of something...

I want to come alive with the object."

Andrew Wyeth

Linked to Macro Monday...

and  i heart macro...

Deep Shadows...

"When there is much light, 

the shadow is deep."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Also linked to Sunday Stills...

These Shoes Were Made for Walkin'...

Somebody forgot their shoes for the big hike!!!

Well, I Suppose...

...since it's Friday, I should really be posting a shot like this one of 

a beautiful sky and some awesome clouds...

But...what I really want to post is "the rest of the story"

to yesterday's post of the lake going down the drain...

The lake may be down...but it didn't keep these two from having a good time!!!

Yep...that's Diego...remember him?  He's the little tyke that hid underneath

Kelly's belly on the 4th of July...

Yep...he's nearly as big as Kelly and only about 5 months old!!!

They get along pretty well...

Instead of finishing each other's sentences, they help each other carry

sticks into shore!!!

Diego may still be a youngster, but he knows when he's had enough...