Last weekend I posted a Postcard from Yosemite showing the cables that you use to get to the top of Half Dome. Lexi commented that the view might be rather terrifying. I suppose if one stands on the very edge it could be. The first time I went up I stood maybe 30 feet from the cliff’s edge and noticed a hand pop up over the side, then a foot, then a leg, and finally the climber who had just climbed the face of Half Dome.
Nullius in Verba 
What an extraordinary landscape. It looks as though the ground is breaking through the scrub. Nice photo of you, Norm.
Lexi,
We’re seeing soil being formed. The heating/cooling of the rock by temperature fluctuation between day and night cause cracks and fissures. Water gets into these crevices and freezes, breaking more rock. Birds, other animals, and the wind bring in organic material and seeds. The seeds may find enough moisture and nutrients to survive, just as those scrubby plants are doing.
I enjoy looking around up there. One feels alive atop that place.
Fantastic views, Norm. I love a bit of geography in action.
K