Have you heard about Horsetail Fall? Every year, for a week or two in February, it lights up for a few minutes near sunset into a brilliant red that reminds longtime Yosemite-goers of the old firefall. And we happen to be here at just the right time! Are you ready? Here’s what it looks like:

Well, that’s what it looks like during California’s fourth drought of the 21st century, anyway—which is totally not because of global warming so stop saying that. Still, at least there was plenty of sunlight, so we saw the color change even if there was no water. The previous day had been so cloudy no one saw anything.

When we made plans for this vacation, I was naturally figuring on snow. So we got out the thermal underwear, the mittens, and the tire chains. But the snow never came. A few days ago the forecast for this week was so warm I started wondering if I should even bother packing long pants. In the event, the weather turned a little colder, but still in the 40s and 50s. That’s bad for the planet, but pleasant for us.

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

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