Raccoon Days

Dry 'raccoon days' of July have baked Yosemite. August's 'Dog Days' were named in ancient times when the Dog Star (Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major -the big dog) became visible just before sunup. Though we can't see it yet in our deep canyon, this bright star is already rising earlier and earlier before the sun.
Before Canis Major and Sirius rise, the Little Dog, Canis Minor comes up from the east. The bright star in Canis Minor is called Procyon. This is also the genus name of the raccoon. The German taxonomist who gave our raccoon its Latin name in 1780 assigned this animal a ranking slightly preceeding dogs; Procyon means 'before the dog' and this also works with this star rising before Sirius. Therefore, perhaps we can stretch the astronomical story to say that Raccoon Days come before Dog Days. Learn more about the stars in our 10-11 August Tuolumne astronomy program.
As far as terrestrial wildlife, up until recently bears have been relatively well behaved this season; there have been fewer car break-ins than usual.
The Merced River continues to flow about 20% of normal volume. It could keep dropping for two more months but it's already less than half the flow of last year's lowest volume. The photo shows Bridalveil Fall in a wispy state this week.
We have one very modest fire burning in the park. It's near the headwaters of Cascade Creek, just south of Tioga Road and east of Tamarack Flat. Lightning started it in mid-June and it's grown to less than 150 acres over 7 weeks - seems almost as though fire just fits in here...

Interdependence Day

Sierra summer is at its finest now. Heat and blue skies make up our days, the waterfalls shrink, birds quiet down as they taper off feeding young that are fending for themselves, bears with cubs explore opportunities for their own kinds of Yosemite picnics. A little smoke in the air would complete the feel of the season.

The Merced River flows at just over 100 cfs in the Valley - normal for this date is over 600 cfs; a dry winter makes a dry summer and Yosemite Falls is a dwindling presence.
I was up at Summit Meadow along the Glacier Point Road this morning and had that pretty part of the park to myself for a while. Shooting stars, bistort and Bigelow's sneezeweed (yes, that's a fun name to say) are profuse now. Yellow-rumped warbler, Steller's jay, and a Townsend's solitaire added an aural dimension, but the voice of the hermit thrush coming from the dark fir forest is like nothing else in the Sierra. New fencing between the road and the meadow should help protect this sensitive spot.
From the far side of the world: Yosemite's Chinese sister national park, Juizhaigou, reports finding the first fresh panda scat in the park in over ten years. Giant pandas depend on bamboo which blooms, dies off and becomes unavailable for years at a time on a localized basis. Juizhaigou's bamboo has regrown to make it perfect panda habitat again. Perhaps the Conservancy may be taking another group of Yosemite-philes to hike in our two sister parks in China next fall.
Speaking of excitement, we are delighted that legendary Ranger Dick Ewart is leading two Yosemite Outdoor Adventures for people this summer: a 5-day trek from Tuolumne Meadows for experienced backpackers, and an off-trail dayhike to the top of Tenaya Peak. These are special opportunities to experience some of what makes Yosemite such a great place.

Solstice Dreams

Yesterday was our longest day for enjoying Yosemite. A thin trace of smoke from the 234-acre controlled burn near Hodgdon Meadow added dimension to the Valley skies - surely a sign that it's summer.
The Merced River would normally be flowing at over 1400 cfs at Pohono Bridge on this date; today is just over 200 cfs. Yosemite Falls is light, but still photo-worthy; it won't be in a few weeks, and it'll completely disappear in August. Mirror Lake still has water in it -as well as people in it, enjoying the gentle flow for cooling off.

Draperia, Azalea and Spicebush bloom in the Valley. Tanagers and both vireos are still singing; grosbeaks are quieter. Saw Vaux's swift over the Visitor Center yesterday. The Conservancy was a sponsor of last weekend's successful Mono Lake Bird Chautauqua - lots of birds and even more great birders.
The museum has a new exhibit in the gallery: historic landscapes that include Ayers, Moran, Jorgensen, Beirstadt and Obata. It's there to the end of September.
There was a 2.4 earthquake 16 miles beneath Crane Flat on Monday afternoon - an unusual place for this, but the Sierra is very much a living range.
Visitation has been busy but not as busy as last year when lots of media attention to above average waterfall flows drew extra crowds early in the summer.

The Conservancy has a wonderful art course coming up in mid-July: "Tuolumne Meadows Pastels" with Moira Donohoe. It's a great chance to improve some skills in a remarkable landscape.

Summer is On

Memorial Day weekend started with snow and road closures.

The holiday weekend featured the predictable crowded roads and difficult parking in Yosemite Valley and at Glacier Point. It's been an interesting experiment to try separate lanes for cars and buses in the east end of the Valley. I was camped near a quiet meadow where I saw no one, but a bear and a great grey owl. Such is Yosemite.

El Portal was in the mid-nineties all week, all grass and forbs are brown. The Merced River is running at 25-30% of average volume. The waterfalls are shrinking noticeably. Sentinel and Ribbon Creeks barely trickle to the river now, Woski Pond is down to about 30' at its widest point.

Birds and flowers are still plenty active. Two vireos, grosbeak, tanager, a few warblers, 2-3 flycatchers, and the hermit thrush are heard as you get up above the Valley. Seems like we've been seeing more Vaux's swifts in the Valley this season. Azalea is perfuming Valley meadows now, cow parsnip is opening. Dogwoods fade, but are still nice higher up. Noticed a monarch in the Valley this morning, as milkweeds are just starting to open. Pale swallowtails are abundant this year.

Tuolumne Meadows hosts artist Moira Donohoe in a pastels workshop in mid-July; should be nice time to get beauty on to paper with her there.

Farewell to Spring

Despite recent warmth, the Merced River has started to decline in volume already; it's running just below average (while the average is still ascending). We are excited to have our new webcam up, showing you Upper Yosemite Falls so you can keep visual tabs on the flows. We expect that by September this year it'll just be the 'Yosemite Wall' webcam.
Indian, Sentinel, Royal Arch and Ribbon Creeks all still run to the river. Eagle Creek has shrunk back from Northside Drive.
The high country along Tioga Road still has snow, lots of soggy trails, no new greenery - it's too early for dry, comfortable hiking that won't leave considerable impacts. People tend to hike outside wet trailbeds, creating new trails and crushing plants as they're trying to get started. Things will be drier in June and it'll be easier to LNT.
Yosemite Valley is alive with birdsong; yesterday's birdwalk included black-headed grosbeaks (plentiful and loud), western tanager, yellow, yellow-rumped, and black-throated gray warblers, Cassin's vireo, white-throated swift, flicker, oriole, Anna's hummingbird displaying in front of the Visitor Center, and more.
In the El Portal area the Clarkia (Farewell-to-Spring) is in bloom, as is buckeye, Ceanothus, and elderberry. Most of the grass and forbs have gone to seed and are browning. The dogwoods in the Valley are glorious right now.
Check out the eclipse of the sun on Sunday at sunset. We were not sure that Yosemite would be a good place from which to observe this spectacle because good western views from places like the Glacier Point Road might not yet be accessible; this year they are. Crane Flat Fire Lookout and Sentinel Dome will be prime spots.
For more enjoyment of the earth sciences: there's still space in our one-day geology course on June 16. Park geologist Greg Stock is a marvelous communicator and will clarify all those questions you have about Yosemite's origins.

Arrivals

This morning's birdwalk in the Valley had so-so sightings of the bright triumverate of western tanager, black-headed grosbeak and Bullock's oriole. All of these, and the warbling vireos sang loudly in several places. Two species of swift were a nice plus, though we didn't see them well either. The small birds can't be happy that park biologist CB has identified 11 peregrine falcon pairs this season, with 8 known nests. Seven of these are along the Merced corridor between Arch Rock and Little Yosemite. Hungry baby predators will be hatching from eggs very soon, making our peaceful park a rough neighborhood for prey species. The river has dropped a bit since last week's rain; it's possible that it reached this year's peak on the 26th-about a month early. Meanwhile north-draining Sentinel Creek is now flowing in more channels. Indian Creek now flows beneath the Yosemite Art Center. This weekend afforded one of Yosemite's transient delights for visitors: bicycling on Tioga Road without cars. Several dozen cyclists rode the quiet corridor, from both east and west sides, with a good number rendezvous-ing at Olmsted Point. The marmots are standing by to pose for pictures there. Road crews are still working but it shouldn't be long until the pass is open to cars.

It has Sprung

Apologies for the long silence here at a time when so much is happening with the change of seasons in the Sierra.
We had a couple of decent snowstorms last week, now it's very warm.
The Merced River has finally gone to above average volume (at about 1700 cfs overnight at Pohono Bridge) and Table Rock is partly under. Waterfalls are looking quite good. Sentinel, Royal Arch, Eagle and Ribbon Creeks are all flowing into the river. Horsetail trickles into Wosky Pond.
Because our snowpack has less than half of average water content, we don't expect a high runoff this year - very different than last spring. The big melting this week suggests an early peak, too.
Our regular Monday and Thursday birdwalks in Yosemite Valley have turned up lots of singing yellow-rumps and the R2-D2 songs of orioles. Black-throated gray warblers are in, as are black-headed grosbeaks. We haven't seen flycatchers (other than black phoebes) or vireos yet in the Valley, though we know they're nearby.
Flowers in the Merced River Canyon west of the park have been dazzling for the past few weeks: poppies, redbud, birds-eye gilia, caterpillar flower, wallflower, false goldfields, popcorn flower, fiddleneck, cranesbill and dozens of others are still putting on a marvelous show. Buckeyes are green, and the live and deciduous oaks are adding new foliage and dangling their flowers.
Conditions look to be perfect for Dave Wyman's "Spring Light Photography" course, May 17-20. There are a few spot still available; free park entry and free camping are included.
As if we needed one more sign that spring has sprung: Glacier Point Road opens this weekend.