Mysterious bee creature

  Mysterious, hovering, bee-like creature.  We found several of them holding still in formations in scattered patches of sunlight.  They were striped like bees, and not wasp-ish (well, I didn’t ask them about their politics or religion), but a passerby suggested that bees don’t hover, flies do.  So they may have been faux-bees!

Tharp Log

  Tharp Log near Crescent Meadow, Sequoia National Park. The very large sign at the site clearly stated the name sans apostrophe or "s."  Yes, I know.  It's so unnatural!

Burl-esque.

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, California, USA It's rather Burl-esque, wouldn't you say?   Get it, get it?   Wow, tough crowd.   How has nature been amusing you lately?  

Oh, deer!

  Mule deer (I think) along the trail.  Oh, we were SO excited!  Too bad the deer wasn’t as excited to see us.  Absolutely refused to pose.  Drat!  We should have remembered the go-to call for would-be wildlife photographers: “MONKEY!”