Insistent little buggers.

Each day this guys get more and more insistent about wanting their food when they want it. Well actually, I get that. It's just that if we don't slide the screen door shut completely they have learned how to use their little hands to slide open the screen door. I guess it doesn't help that I leave the bag of bird seed, within their vision, next to the screen door. Soon I will post a video of their "It's time to eat" behavior.



Ray and I hiked up the Mammoth Crest trail today. I've posted photos on http://gottago.smugmug.com. I was putting captions under the photos when the Smugmug site went down for their routine weekly maintenance. The site will be up after midnight tonight.

Here is a silly photo of Ray at the top of our hike today. The lighting on the photo didn't turn out so I put a solarizing filter on Ray's photo because I like his expression. He probably won't be happy with me.

We are acclimated.

Cyrstal Crag Lake - our dayhike today.

This ground squirrel did not like us being gone for a couple of hours.

My kinda day.

I got up early and caught the morning color on Crystal Crag after I put out the first serving of bird seed. The local market is selling a new kind of mixed seed and it is a big hit with the birds, chipmunks and ground squirrels.
So far the only birds we’ve seen are: juncos, stellar jays and a few black birds. One of the black birds has a gimp leg and basically flops in the center of the bowl bird feeder while eating. Each year Ray and I always look for the bully birds. Well I don’t know if this black bird is a bully, but he sure has a way of non verbally communicating with the very loud stellar jays that keeps the jays at a distance until the black bird decides to give up his bowl.

It’s usually the second day we are in Mammoth that Fatso shows up. Fatso fills his jowels with food, runs down the tree, must bury the food, as he comes right back up for more food. All the chipmunks and ground squirrels that feed from the flat plate on the floor of the porch, not so patiently wait their turn at the feeding plate when Fatso is feeding.
Ok, it’s 10:09pm and I am still in my pj’s. Ray is still sore from packing up his Tahoe and then unpacking it in again in Mammoth. Believe it or not, we bought and carried 21 of the quart sized yogurts up here and Ray had them all in an igloo, covered with ice. That makes for a very heavy carry. Here are a few of our reasons for staying inside the cabin all day:

1. We are not yet acclimated to the 9600 feet elevation here at Wood’s Lodge and get dizzy washing dishes. It usually takes until the 3rd day when we start to feel ok with the altitude. I woke up with a pounding headache from being in the altitude and somewhat dehydrated.
2. I wanted to get my “Food” photo assignment completed that’s due Tuesday.
3. I’m addicted to Word Twist on FB.
4. I can’t stop photographing the birds and squirrels.
5. I am so enjoying not having an agenda.
6. Ray’s hips are really bothering him. He’s so worried he’ll need another hip surgery.
7. Ray wants to get into the first of many books he brought up here.
8. And, because we can.

Tuesdays are 2 for One days at the Snow Creek golf course and every day from 12 to 3pm is half price.
Tomorrow I’d like to hike around a bit, take some morning lakeside photos and evening lake photos by lake at Wildyrie Lodge. Except for a newspaper and the mustard I forgot to bring, I see no reason to go into town.