spring

Slow For Butterfly Migrations

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I love that there is a time of year when our community is asked to please slow down on their commutes in order to save butterflies. The California tortoiseshell butterflies (a different species than the one pictured above) are doing their annual migration across Hwy 140 just outside the Yosemite park boundary. In 2010 extraordinary numbers … Read more

April is Poetry Month and other Goings Ons

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April is almost over, and I’m just getting around to collecting some ideas about in one place. Being busy is good, but if someone could slow the clocks down and give me a chance to catch up again that would be nice.

In addition to the big things (Easter, Earth Day etc.) There were a bunch of interesting things going on to distinguish the month (as if the beginning of wildflower season wasn’t distinction enough around here). I don’t know if they are interesting enough to actually get me to participate – which is probably why it took me so long to mention them – but definitely interesting enough to get my head going around a bit. Helping out with the Yosemite Sentinel brings a lot of these random events to the surface, and is one of the most rewarding things about working on it.

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Spring Snow

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Yesterday, the National Weather Service was calling for a winter weather advisory in effect starting at 6pm, and it started to rain, hard, at my office in the Valley about 5:45pm. When I drove up to the house from work, the snow level was right at the Wawona Tunnel. I drove in one end in … Read more

Village Grill Opening Tomorrow

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The Village Grill is opening tomorrow with a great new menu, and today people from NPS and DNC were invited to a ‘tasting’, and a chance to take a look at what changes have been made to the menu. Chef Gover, who they have brought in this year to manage the Grill in addition to the Yosemite Lodge Mountain Room and the Food Court, presented a few of the changes that he put into place before we all stood in line for our food. The Grill is the closest source of calories to my desk (excluding the vending machine in the lobby), so I end up eating there fairly often during the summer months. I like absorbing a little sunshine while eating outside on the deck (even if it does frustrate me when people feed the wildlife). So, I’m glad that there seem to be some big new improvements in the menu.

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Yesterday, spring. Today, sledding in the street.

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Yesterday, it was spring – warm weather, wildflowers, sunshine. This morning, I woke up and there was a kid sledding down the street in front of my house. Just a reminder that weather can change quickly in the mountains, and just because the calendar says it is now spring, doesn’t mean diddly squat in terms … Read more