Has Anyone Ever Heard Silence?



Pinot Happy Beautiful Amazonian Woman

 Well, last night after my bath, I decided to have a night of beauty. After all, I am a beautiful, robust, strong California Amazon, right? I used Pinot Noir for my golden armor. I read until it was time to sleep.




Osprey

 

This morning, I headed down to the South Tufas and parked at Navy Beach for my canoe ride. Luckily, the group going out was small so I got my own personal guided tour and Gondolier named Russ.
 Russ is an expert on Mono Lake and the wildlife there. We saw California Gulls, Fledglings, a Yellow Headed Blackbird, and a family of Ospreys nesting on a  tufa.

The gazillions and gazillions of brine shrimp were clearly visibly as we floated cross the water. On top of the water floated the larvae from the alkali flies once they go into their pupa stage. At the pupas stage, the flies develop a air sac which allows them to go under water. Crazy! Kinda like Waterworld.  Life is so simple on Mono Lake…brine shrimp eat the algae, the flies eat the brine shrimp, the birds eat the flies.



Brine Shrimp

Remember that Mono Lake is made up of salt and baking soda, so no fish live in it. A very simple life. On the land, there are rabbits, rodents some snakes and coyote. The Osprey feed on fish so they will fly up to 25 miles away to the local streams and lakes to get their fish.



Kayakers on Mono Lake

As Russ and I floated along, we were taken by the calmness and quietness that was surrounding us. We decided to just listen and we came to the conclusion that silence is audible. It was magical on the water.



Volcanic Tufa




California Gull Resting On Tufa

Nesting Osprey on Tufa

 As we headed in, Russ showed me some new volcanic action under ground and I m posting a picture of the new mineral spring that was discovered this year. This day was a success and ended with a late lunch and a beer at Bodie Mikes.



New Volcanic Mineral Spring

Tomorrow Destination: Lone Pine / Mt. Whitney