Ahead of my ability

"We Are So Lucky."

2010-10-10T13:53:00.004-04:00

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about gratitude. I have a lot to be thankful for these days, and I want to make the conscious decision to keep gratitude for these things at the forefront.

I'm not sure she knows this, but I have a friend who is my inspiration in this area. Lou lives in California, as does her daughter Elsie, who is also my friend. I've never met either of them in real life; we became acquainted via an online scrapbooking website. Lou also writes a fantastic blog, and it's here where I often read things that make me teary-eyed when I consider their importance.

Lou hasn't had any kind of an easy life. She has faced trials and tribulations that would overwhelm a lesser person with aplomb and grace. She struggles even now with events that are not completely in her control, but again...her head is high, she shows resolve and calm, and she gets done what needs to be done.

I don't think she has any idea that I draw so much inspiration from her, or that I want to be just like her when I grow up.

One of the stories Lou has told is that she and her mother often shared a refrain in which the call would be "We are so lucky," and the response would be that yes, they were. I want to model this in my life, every day: to focus on the positive aspects, of which there are many.

Andy and I are so lucky to share a deep friendship that predates our and almost even supercedes our romantic relationship. I've never been in a relationship where I'd been friends with the person first. It makes a huge difference. I used to think snide thoughts about people who would say that their spouse was their "best friend." Now, I understand.

We are so lucky to have 3 healthy and relatively happy kiddos. (I say "relatively" because we must keep in mind that one is a teenage girl, and therefore incapable of consistent happiness.)

We are so lucky that, although money is tight and we can't always run right out and get whatever we want when we want it, we have enough to cover all the "needs" and some of the "wants."

Emily and I are so lucky to have weathered the storm that almost overtook us in October of last year.

And last, but certainly not least, we are so lucky to live in a place where we are surrounded by natural beauty, and so lucky to have eyes with which to see it.

One of Those Days

2010-10-06T19:37:00.002-04:00

Today was not a particularly fun day. The internet was out so it was a long morning of trying this, trying that, calling Comcast, trying everything again, and then waiting for the repairman to show up. The good part was that he called when he was scheduled to and showed up on time, and the issue seems to be fixed. Huzzah.

So in the interest of trying to make myself destress, I'll post these pics from July, when I was able to get the kayak out on the man-made "lake" we live on.

If you look on a map, it's actually called "K-Section Pond." To me, it's bigger than a pond generally is, but smaller than a lake. We tend to refer to it as "Lake Turner."

Spikey makes an excellent First Mate.

And here's a shot of our house and the dock and deck (scene of many an enjoyable Friday evening for Andy and I this summer) from the middle of the lake.

We're very lucky to live here. :-)

The Fair is a Veritable Smorgasboard, -orgasboard, -orgasboard...

2010-10-05T18:23:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, we took the kids to the Bloomsburg Fair. Bloomsburg has one of the largest fairs in PA, and Andy and his family have been going there all his life. This means that even though we live 3 hours from Bloomsburg, we made the trip.
The trip up was a comedy of errors right from the moment we left the house. Knowing we'd be gone for 12 hours or more, we had to figure out what to do with the dogs. Spike, the Jack Russell, is very good when left alone, but that was just too long to leave him. Mika, the 6-month-old German shepherd puppy, can't be left alone for one hour, let alone 12. So we had to bring the dogs along for the ride and leave them with Andy's aunt who lives near the fair.

After 2 episodes of vomit and one episode of poop in her crate, we arrived. Somehow, the dog lived to tell the tale.

But all that was unimportant compared to the good time the kiddos got to have.

And I didn't try these, but I think it's proof that they'll deep-fry anything.

Accidental Brothers

2010-09-30T17:46:00.007-04:00

Those of you who've read my blog probably know that I have two kiddos: Emily is 16 and Liam is 10. Andy also has a son, Iain, who is 2 months older than Liam.

Emily and I moved in May, while Liam stayed in Erie to finish out the school year with his dad. When we all moved in together in July, I'll admit I was anxious. The boys had spent time together, and seemed to get along, but living together (and sharing a bedroom) is a whole different can of worms.

As it turns out, apparently, I had nothing to worry about.

The boys have taken to each other as if they've always been together. They refer to each other as "brother," and they're almost always up to something.

It makes me very happy. Iain (the blonde in the photos) has always been an only child, so I worried about how he would take to having two new kids in his life. Given Liam and Em's age difference, life has almost been an "only child" type of experience for him as well.

So it's very nice for me to see them enjoying the fun that having a close sibling can bring. And I'm thinking it's pretty cool for them, too.

Silence and Respect

2010-09-29T11:53:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, I mentioned that two of my favorite subjects (bugs and cemeteries) are abundant here. The bug photos from yesterday's post were all taken in my yard. For cemeteries, I do have to leave the property, but I don't have to go far.

I'll admit that my knowledge of Civil War history is basic at best, but I'm interested in learning more. There are some incredible monuments around the battlefields themselves. I'll share some shots of those in a future post. Many of them are actually quite heart-rending. There is also Soldier's National Cemetery (sometimes referred to as Gettysburg National Cemetery), where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address, only about 10 miles away. More on this one later...I don't really feel that the photos I took there do it justice, so I want to make a return trip one of these days. For today, I'll share shots of Evergreen Cemetery, which borders the National Cemetery and also has much historic importance.

One of the largest graves is of the founder, or as his stone says, "proprietor" of Gettysburg, James Gettys.

The Gettysburg Women's Monument is also found in Evergreen Cemetery. Women of Gettysburg worked ceaselessly taking care of the soldiers who innundated their town. Their homes were turned into field hospitals and they had very little respite from the misery that surrounded them.

Here you can also find the grave of Jennie Wade, who was the only civillian killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. She was shot by a stray bullet while in her kitchen. Her gravestone says she was "making bread for Union soldiers."

And of course, in almost any cemetery with older graves, one can find monuments that make you pause...especially, for me, the children's graves. These are a lost art it seems.

And I'm not sure if this is intentional, but check out the middle spire on this one....not sure if it was intentional, but it looks like a skull to me.

Some Things Don't Change

2010-09-28T09:43:00.006-04:00

I still like to take pictures of bugs. And cemeteries. Luckily, there's an abundance of both here.

A Long, Strange Trip

2010-09-27T11:04:00.007-04:00

9 months. I haven't updated here in 9 months. That's a record, even for me, but my energies have been focused elsewhere. And when I consider the symbolism and meaning for humans of the term "9 months", I can tell myself that I'm giving birth to a new creation, and in fact have been reborn myself.

Nine months ago, I was coming out of a very dark place, and deciding that no, I wouldn't have a nervous breakdown after all. Given the events of last Fall, having mental health issues that would have required professional intervention beyond counseling or some happy pills was a real possibility. I skated right up to the edge of that, but was able to pull back in time with some help.

And how life has changed in the past year. If I'd had a crystal ball and had forseen my future, I still wouldn't have been able to believe all that has happened.

After living in Erie since 1998, I've moved. We're now down near Gettysburg in a tiny town called Fairfield. It's a beautiful area...lots of mountains and we live on a glorified pond that we call Lake Turner. I spend a lot of time pondering the incredible fact that I can drive through the heart of a Civil War battlefield to get to the grocery store.

I'm still not gainfully employed, which needs to change very soon, but it's been nice to have the time to be able to be home with the kids as Andy and I blend our families. He's a wonderful friend, and so obviously the person I should have been with all along.

He also cooks a mean lasagna.

I've been taking pictures again, which has been fun, and I'm interested in interacting with other people again, which is another change. Who knows what the future will bring, but it's nice to find myself enjoying the ride.

Poor Mr. Worthington

2010-01-04T20:06:00.004-05:00

Poor, poor Mr. Worthington.

Ever the vigilant sentry, Mr. Worthington generally resides on the second step leading to my front door.

Right now, though, he's a little overwhelmed by the amount of snow we've had.

And you can tell he's not happy about it, but he never, ever complains.

Patterns

2010-01-03T19:19:00.005-05:00

Wasn't the moon AMAZING the other night? I got out my telephoto lens and tripod and managed to get a couple of really cool shots!

OK, just kidding. That's not really the moon. It's frost on my storm door. But still pretty cool, no?

What drew me to take these shots was actually the different patterns and formations I could see in the frost.

And if you know anything about me at all, you know I find symbolism in almost anything. I think too much.

So the patterns I saw here made me consider patterns in general and how they're found throughout our lives. One of my resolutions (kind of a necessity, really) this year is to be more introspective and not so impulsive. I need to do this in order to identify patterns and stop making decisions that can sometimes be very wrong.
But in addition to that, these are just pretty, I think.

Moving Forward

2010-01-02T19:07:00.006-05:00

Some of the changes that come our way are expected and manageable or even anticipated. For example, we expect to turn from this:

to this. And people are generally ready for it. Hell, some even like it.

But when we turn from this:

to this:

the changes that are forced upon us can be incredibly draining and unwelcome.

2009 was absolutely the worst year of my life, far and away. I'm not exaggerating in the least. Much of what has happened has been bad enough that it would make the producer of a Lifetime movie shake his head and say, "No, not realistic enough. No one would believe that." So at this point, I believe I have two choices.

I can curl up and wallow in misery and self-pity, or I can try to move through grief and pain, and stumble a lot on the way, but eventually, hopefully, get better. I tried the wallowing first. It didn't get me anywhere. So all that's left is the moving forward.

And some days are still incredibly difficult. But these days are coming just a little fewer and just a little farther between. I'm not all better yet, but unlike when everything first unravelled (and then burst into flames), I can see that there will be a day when I do feel better. That's definitely an improvement.

So I'm certainly not at the end of my path....but at least I'm on it.

There's a lot to do.I'm up for it.

From the Doorway

2009-12-21T19:56:00.003-05:00

We had some snow the other night, though nowhere near the kind of pounding the mid-Atlantic took.

I've been thinking more often about taking pictures lately (a good sign?) and actually took a couple over the weekend at Asbury Woods. (My first since before Thanksgiving.)

Today, I thought about going out into the weather, but decided I could obtain decent-enough pictures from my own doorway.

So I give myself an "A" for effort...or maybe a "B."

Things to be Thankful For

2009-11-26T22:38:00.003-05:00

I will admit that lately, it's been hard not to be bitter. It sometimes feels easier to wallow in self-pity than to focus on the positive when you have to really work to find the positive things.

Every year, Thanksgiving is a reflective time for me, but this year I really had to struggle to identify things to be thankful for. When you're bracing yourself for what seems must be the inevitable, the next rain of frogs or plague of locusts, you're not as able to think about the good things. So I had to work hard to compile these things. To help me, I looked back at a few photos from recent months.

1. I'm thankful to live on Lake Erie, home of beautiful sunsets and other treasures.

2. I'm thankful that I can generally find interesting things to take pictures of, no matter where I go.

3. I'm thankful to live near Presque Isle State Park, where you can drive or hike or go to the beach.

4. I'm thankful for these two kiddos of mine, here in their Halloween gear. Like all kids, they're good at causing some stress on occasion, but I guess I've kept them this long so I can't let them go now. Kind of like stray dogs that you feed a couple of times, they seem to latch on. ;-) As a matter of fact, I'm thankful for my whole extended, imperfect, but supportive family.

5. And lastly (and I really had to ponder this one), I'm thankful that I'm still alive. No matter what happens, my kids need me, and they're great motivators. I may not enjoy what I'm going through right now....as a matter of fact, I may even ponder late at night that nothingness might be better, but that thought is quickly banished. I need to get stronger for them and slowly but surely, I'm trying. And trying is all anyone can ask, isn't it?

Not a Flicker, A Glimmer.

2009-11-22T19:20:00.004-05:00

My usual m.o. when I post a new entry is to go on about how sorry I am it's been so long since I updated. Not this time. People who know me and know what has happened will understand.

These are the first pictures I've taken since mid-October. I've been too deep in a dark hole to consider even trying. As a matter of fact, I couldn't even imagine picking up my camera.

But even when we're grieving, day-to-day life demands that we attend to certain things. And so it was last Tuesday that I found myself outside, raking and bagging leaves. I was feeling extraordinarily tired. Not just from the raking, from breathing. I'd been tired before I'd even come outside.

And then I happened to look up, and I saw this bird.

At first, I had my woodpeckers mixed up, and I thought this was a Flicker. And I thought that was really poetic, because seeing her (I think it's a girl due to the lack of red blaze on the nape) made me think about how life goes on and we get through even that which seems insurmountable....you know, like a flicker of hope.

So I put down the rake and tried to go inside quietly to retreive my camera. I was able to capture quite a few shots as she made her way up and down the branches looking for food.

Later, I decided it would be a good idea to look the bird up online to make sure I had my facts straight. Turns out it wasn't a Flicker, it's a Downy Woodpecker. Now, the name Downy just doesn't seem to have the same significance as the name Flicker would have, but all the same: watching this bird made me want to capture some shots, and made me forget about my troubles for a couple of minutes. I actually felt a small glimmer of happiness and hope. And at this point, that means a lot.

One Leaf in Actions

2009-10-26T21:22:00.004-04:00

Took a walk today and found many interesting shots, but when I opened a few of them up in Photoshop, I decided instead to play with just this one image:

Above would be pretty typical processing for me...kind of pop-ish, saturated, and bright.

My other favorite action to use is A2D's Lomo. I love how it intensifies the greens and the edge burn it applies.

This one is called Indie Jane's Grunge, which was created and shared over at the Two Peas Photography Board by a generous member.

This one is called "Draganizer." I like the grungy feel it has.

This one is "Bright Punch." Appropriately enough.

This one is Midnight Sepia. I like the gauzy feel to this one.

This one is "Acidic,"

and this one is "Photograin." All beautiful in their own ways.

Hot Cat-on-Cat Action

2009-10-19T21:23:00.002-04:00

Meet Tom.

Meet Beckers.

Theirs is a special kind of love.

Sure, they're both males. They're also littermates. Don't judge them.

If two cats love each other, they should be able to show it. Who am I to stand in the way?

And they shouldn't have to be ashamed.

Woolly Bear

2009-10-13T20:53:00.004-04:00

Meet Isia Isabella, or the Woolly Bear caterpillar.

In the spring, this guy (or gal) will become a Tiger Isabella moth. But for now, he's still a Woolly Bear. There's an old wive's tale that the width of the black stripes on either end helps predict the winter weather. Wide areas of black are supposed to indicate a severe winter, while narrow areas of black supposedly foretell a mild winter. This guy's stripes look pretty narrow to me. In any case, one can hope, and I'll take a mild winter any way I can get it.

We found this at Letchworth State Park in New York. More photos of that later, but for today, I wanted to share something a little more full of mystery.

Also, a note: Thanks to all of you for your kind comments on yesterday's post. I appreciate them so much.

Fall(ing)

2009-10-12T16:08:00.002-04:00

It seems that every sporadic blog post I make these days begins with an explanation as to why I haven't updated in so long. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I guess I'll attempt to explain why I've been neglecting photography (a true passion) and posting here.

Many of you know that I was laid off in July. This came completely unexpectedly, and after 10 years of what anyone would consider faithful service to the company I worked for. It wasn't the best place to work, but I counted myself lucky to have a job, and I used to joke with a friend that I was a "lifer." Truly, I probably would never have left unless an opportunity too good to be true had fallen in my lap. I wasn't looking for anything else.

Since that Friday afternoon, I have alternated between feeling scared, angry, bitter, hopeless, paralyzed, and scared again. I don't get enough on unemployment to cover the rent and all the bills, and there's nothing left over for any extras. The help wanted section of the paper is no help. I've put in some applications and sent out a few resumes, but haven't heard anything back. I'm exhausted and feeling pretty pessimistic these days.

I know that attitude needs to change before anything else can happen, and I'm trying. I have many blessings left to count, and more support from the ones I love than a lot of people get when they're in a similar situation. It's just that right now, I feel kind of like this caterpillar, balled up around myself as a defense against what might happen next.

Presque Isle on a Stormy Evening

2009-09-13T14:10:00.005-04:00

A couple of weeks back, I stopped by the beach at sunset.

It was windy and spitting rain off and on.

The sky was intense and full of fast-moving clouds.
And the wind was whipping the water into the kind of waves we don't often see on the lake.

Leaving A Mark

2009-09-09T20:28:00.007-04:00

A few weeks back, we stopped at the Stone Tower in Allegany State Park. I've been visiting this place since I was a kid, and it seemed a lot taller back in the day.

It's up on a hill, and you can see for quite a way even though it's not very tall.

One thing I've always liked about this place is all the graffiti people carve and write on the walls.

Mostly you see declarations of love, or statements that so-and-so was here.

But some of the marks are a little more original.
Since we didn't have a Sharpie on hand, Dave tried to leave our mark the old fashioned way. (Shh, don't tell!)

The person who wrote this must have had a few minutes of uninterrupted time to complete it.

And isn't this what we all want?

The Katydid, and a Secret Shame

2009-09-03T11:58:00.006-04:00

Let me start by saying that when you have to be shamed into updating your blog by someone like dmack, things are pretty bad. I'm not even employed right now, for the love of God, and I can't seem to be bothered.

So, by popular demand (from dmack anyway), here's a cool bug I saw yesterday.

I'm pretty sure it's a katydid, but if I'm wrong, please let me know. Loads of people out there have way more entomology skills than I do.

Dude was just chilling on the stem of a dead flower.
And he's missing one of his antennae....hope he can still find his way around, or sniff things out, or whatever he uses those things for.

Jesus with a Sense of Humor

2009-08-19T09:27:00.006-04:00

At St. Bonaventure Cemetery, I managed to find a few statues and headstones that made me giggle.

This one doesn't seem funny at first glance, but when you look more closely....

Why does it look like Mary's left breast is exposed??

Also, why does Jesus have the body of a baby, but the head of a man? And what the heck is going on under his gown?

Nearby, I found a crypt with some busts on top.

Very realistic...

And very creepy. This one reminds me of the old preacher man from Poltergeist 2: "You're all gonna die in there!!"

And finally....I know it's not intended to be funny, but check out Jesus as Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump.

The Twelfth Station

2009-08-12T17:47:00.009-04:00

The Twelfth Station of the Cross (Jesus Dies on the Cross) at St. Bonaventure Cemetery is built into a huge grotto.

The grotto itself is beautiful and detailed...

but at the stop is a fantastic life-sized sculpture of the Crucifixion.

The Stations of the Cross

2009-08-11T10:56:00.013-04:00

As we were driving home from Watkins Glen, we travelled through Olean, NY, home of St. Bonaventure University. I've driven through before but didn't have time to stop to take pictures at the enormous cemetery there. Luckily, Dave was game, so we took a break so I could take some photos.

St. Bonaventure Cemetery is home to a stunning collection of the Stations of the Cross.
The Stations of the Cross tell the story of the Passion of Christ in 14 steps. It's a common Lenten practice for Catholics to follow the Stations as a reflection of Christ's sacrifice. I'm a lapsed Catholic myself, so my interest in these was purely from an artistic standpoint. They are incredible.

The Stations at St. Bonaventure were constructed in 1926, and they are showing their age beautifully. I processed all of these in my beloved Lomo (A2D, link in sidebar).

Station I: Jesus is Condemned to Death

Station II: Jesus Receives the Cross

Station III: The First Fall

Station IV: Jesus Meets His Mother

Station V: Simon of Cyrene Carries the Cross

Station VI: Veronica Wipes Jesus' Face with Her Veil

Station VII: The Second Fall

Station VIII: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

Station IX: The Third Fall
Station X: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

Station XI: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Station XII: Jesus Dies on the Cross

(Note: The Twelfth Station is built into a beautiful grotto with a statue of The Crucifixion on top. More on this tomorrow.)

Station XIII: Jesus' Body is Removed from the Cross

Station XIV: Jesus' Body is Laid in the Tomb

In the pines

2009-08-08T20:00:00.003-04:00

As we reached the top of the gorge trail at Watkins Glen, we decided to walk back through the woods.

We were away from the water, but were rewarded with lots of new things to see, like this waystation for hikers...

...and this building. I guess it was a storage facility, but it looked like a house.

Dave liked what he called the "troll door" around the back.

As we continued down, we saw this bench, which looked like an alter to me.

And this one, apparently designed to accommodate many.

Dave and I talked about how pretty this place would be in the winter, but I imagine the paths get pretty treacherous.

Just before we made our final descent, we saw the parking lot. It was still early so there weren't many people. That's my car in the middle of those three there.

Name that Bug

2009-08-06T21:06:00.002-04:00

As we were walking up some of the hundreds of stairs at Watkins Glen, we spied this strange beetle.

He was black with an iridescent, almost coppery sheen.

He was pretty docile, not trying to get away, even when I picked him up to move him to a safer location so he wouldn't get smushed.

Anyone know what he is? I looked at a couple of online guides but couldn't find anything similar.
Special note to DMack, regarding your query in yesterday's comments: No, they are not matching Chucks! Mine are grey lowtops and his are black hightops. :-P

Watkins Glen State Park, Part 2

2009-08-05T21:28:00.004-04:00

The beauty of Watkins Glen State Park, even on a grey day, was almost indescribable.

These two shots are pretty indicative, showing how we were constantly looking around at all the scenery.

We came to a spot where you had to walk behind one of the waterfalls.

And as we continued on the path, we found another.

This one was much closer, and being that it was a very muggy morning, Dave took advantage of the cool water.

Editor's Note: This last shot is being posted specifically for my friend and neighborhood curmudgeon DMack. Ain't love grand?

Watkins Glen State Park

2009-08-04T18:32:00.004-04:00

On Sunday, we woke before the sun was up. There was rain, but not too bad. We tore down camp, found a spot for breakfast (read: coffee) and hit Watkins Glen State Park.

The gorge trail extends for more than a mile and overlooks some 19 waterfalls. It was stunning, even in the grey conditions.

There are staircases and pathways cut through the stone....all very dark and mysterious.

And at every turn, you are rewarded with the most gorgeous views.

Camping in the Wilderness

2009-08-03T20:55:00.005-04:00

This weekend, Dave and I drove up to the Finger Lakes National Forest in central New York. We planned to camp, and we knew camping was allowed most anywhere in the forest. Beyond that, our plans were rather...fluid.

As we arrived, we happened upon an actual campsite. Unfortunately, it was full...full of people who actually planned ahead. So we pressed on and ended up finding a clearing where we could set up our tent.

While Dave got busy doing manly stuff like getting wood and building a fire, I found a salamander and a toad! Of course, photo ops ensued.

The poor salamander was actually hiding in the fire pit. Lucky for him we found him before the fire got going!

Almost as soon as I moved the salamander to a safer location, the toad came along.Alas, he was just a toad.In the end, Dave got the fire going and we settled in for a very nice night. It was slightly creepy being completely alone in the middle of the woods, miles from anywhere, without even cell phone service. But it was exhilarating too.

Lazy Summer

2009-07-19T20:43:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, D. and I took a drive to Cook's Forest.

We had an awesome time. More fun than a state park should allow, in fact.

Snapped a few shots, but to be honest, taking pictures wasn't first and foremost in my mind, so you're missing all the best parts.

All in all, I'm enjoying my days and nights lately. Maybe even over-enjoying them.

Strange Days and the Passing of Time

2009-07-03T10:17:00.010-04:00

I have no excuses besides some laziness for not posting anything here in over a month. Time just has a way of accelerating sometimes, doesn't it?

In the past 6 weeks, I have been (mostly) more happy than I have in the past 12 years.

baby geese with guardian, Presque Isle, late May

Dan has moved out. The sad part of that for me is that Liam is staying mostly with him for the summer. This is good for Liam and I know Dan will take decent care of him. It's just that Dan and I differ widely on what is appropriate and not appropriate for an eight-year-old boy, so when Liam comes back to me full-time for the school year, I'm sure I'll be faced with a very spoiled kid. No matter, though, I'll face that when I come to it.

In the meantime, I busy myself with working and taking pictures...

Waterfall at Wintergreen Gorge, Early June

and I have found a friend to have adventures with. (This would be a big part of the reason for my current state of happiness.)

At Rimrock Overlook, early June

Meanwhile, the kiddos seem to be adjusting just fine. Less tension is always a good thing for everyone.

At Cook's Forest, mid June

Emily and I are getting on well...she's attending summer school for Geometry so she can move on with her current math track in the fall. Her pierced lip still bothers me some.

At Presque Isle, mid June

And I am adjusting to this new sensation of calmness. I think this is what life is supposed to be like. The song I chose for this entry is called "Light and Day" by The Polyphonic Spree. One of the lines is "just follow the day and reach for the sun." Good advice, right?Sunset, late June.

On Finding a Violet

2009-05-19T09:05:00.006-04:00

I was melancholy on Sunday and thought maybe I'd head out to Edinboro to hear some music at the bluegrass festival they had going on. But as I was heading into town, I pulled off the road at the old cemetery instead.

Old graves here, with the symbols of the 1800s...willow trees, draped urns...

and holding of hands.

Simplicity...

and grandeur...

And always the children's graves. Here's Little Bayard Swift.

And most touching to me, Our Little Nelson T.Died in 1871...only 5 years old...
and I can still visit his grave and take photographs of the violet that blooms from his headstone.
I never made it to the festival.

This Girl

2009-05-18T03:00:00.003-04:00

This girl is fifteen years old.

Next year at this time, she'll be driving my car.

She is generally a willing participant when I want to take photos.
She loves music and drawing. She still eats Spaghetti-O's with hot dogs.

She's always up for a road trip or a walk through a cemetery with me.
She is the heart of my heart.

This is the Forest Primeval

2009-05-11T21:42:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, Em and I took a ride to Allegany State Park and circled back via Kinzua and Warren. Across from the Kinzua Dam, there's an access area where you can hike among boulders and a long waterfall.

We didn't climb very high; we didn't have to.

The forest smelled like spring and new growth. Everywhere you turned, you could find more pockets where the waterfall was streaming out around the rocks.It was so beautiful and peaceful, I found myself wishing for a moment that I could be a leaf or something, and just let myself get carried away.

A Cardinal Sin

2009-05-05T07:32:00.002-04:00

Couldn't sleep last night...I dozed in fits and starts and finally got up for good at 3.

5:30 am found me at the corner of 2nd and State, thinking I'd take some shots of downtown as the light started to come...maybe the workers filtering into Hamot...maybe that courtyard behind Modern Tool Square with all its secret spots.

And then the camera beeped at me to tell me that I was an ass for not bringing an extra battery or checking to see how much battery life I had left before I left the house. So I hung my head in shame and drove back home in defeat.

Abstract Art

2009-05-03T16:59:00.002-04:00

So last weekend I stopped by Asbury Woods and made my way around the boardwalk to the swamp. As per usual, there were frogs, ducks, turtles, etc. But what I found more interesting this time was the intricate array of patterns in the algae and duckweed on the water's surface.
I love the reflection of the light in this one, and the dead brown leaf in the center.This one looks like a painting to me.

And this one is maybe some kind of weird Rorschach test.
And okay...I was at the swamp. So maybe one frog.

Seeing the Light

2009-04-29T20:48:00.003-04:00

Clarity is always a good thing, no? And often it takes some time. I felt the need to clarify for those of you who read here that my divorce is not a cause for sadness or sympathy. I mean, I guess it's a sad thing that it failed because it's sad for my son. One could also argue that it's tragic when any marriage fails, but in our case, we really didn't have much business being married in the first place, so I think it's more of the universe righting a wrong

Anyway, I think right now that things are coming into focus in my life.

I'm not sad at all for myself...I'm excited.

I can't wait to see what's next.

File under What's New

2009-04-28T20:06:00.008-04:00

I've been absent since Easter...lots of real-life drama. I'm about to take the train to Tammy Wynetteville and get a d-i-v-o-r-c-e. Dan's found a situation with a friend where he can move out after school is out for Liam, so there's some progress on that front. I've been taking lots and lots of pictures...I just haven't been posting anything here.

So what's been new?

1.Sunrises

2. Masses of violets and fresh green grass

(*see the teensy little inch worm on the top of the leaf in the middle left of this shot?)

3. New buds coming out on the trees and bushes

4. Gorgeous sunny daffodils

5. Bright green duckweed
And even though they've been taken before, even old pathways look fresh now.

Hot Peep Show after dark

2009-04-12T22:03:00.004-04:00

So imagine all the Peeps in their factory, lined up row by row.

They have their little Peep conversations...business stuff.

But maybe after dark, the Peeps like to cut loose. They get out for happy hour. Maybe they even make a Soul Train.And Peeps don't discriminate. Two boy Peeps or two girl Peeps are totally accepted. And what happens later, in the privacy of their own home, is nobody's business but their own.

Not with a Bang, but a Whimper

2009-04-11T11:49:00.005-04:00

So.A lot of you who read this blog don't know me in person, but some of you do. If you've been reading for more than a few months, you can probably pick up on the fact that things run pretty hot-and-cold between my husband and I. It's been better for the past 6 months or so, but apparently our run is up. Truth be told, we are an incredibly bad match for one another and have stayed together all these years out of a combination of fear of the unknown, misguided attempts to keep things going for the kids, stubbornness, pity for each other, and some weird version of love (or co-dependence), I guess.
Nothing major has happened...we had a fight that most couples would weather in a couple of hours, and it ripped the scabs off the all the old wounds, revealing all the cancer that's long been festering underneath. There's no point in going on. We've been pretending for far too long already. The thing is, when one so-called "partner" in the relationship has been unemployed with no intention of trying to find any work for over a year, that "partner" is kind of shit-out-of-luck when it comes to having any money to get the hell out of the family domicile.
So.
On the Saturday before Easter, I find myself feeling somewhat bittersweet but hopeful in this season of renewal. I'm cool with having a roommate for a couple of months, as long as he can get his shit together. If he starts making my life any more miserable than he needs to, I can play rough too, but there's no need for that right now. For now, I'm going to look forward to the day when I can finally take a deep breath.

I didn't even get struck by lightning!

2009-04-08T22:14:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday afternoon, I stopped by the Russian Orthodox First Church of the Nativity. Maybe it's because I didn't actually go inside, but I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't even struck by lightning for walking on to the property!

In all seriousness, it's a beautiful church. It's perched on a bluff overlooking the bayfront. Apparently the original church, which burned in 1986, was built there because the original Russian immigrants who made up the parish worked on the water.

I've always loved iconograpy and Eastern Christian artistry. It's very different than the representations we see in Western Christian art. Look how Jesus looks like a little grown up man here. I love that.

And I'm not even going to get into what it looks like Mary is laying in in this one.

Mom, why do you look like you're in an autopsy photo?

2009-04-07T19:47:00.006-04:00

I was playing around with my camera last night, mostly just fooling around with different settings. When I saw these shots, I decided that I actually liked some of them and I might like to make a little series with some weird processing in Photoshop. Most of these make heavy use of my beloved Lomo action by A2D, as well as some different Virtual Photographer filters.
I thought they looked kind of cool, but Em says I look dead. Oh, and she also pointed out that you can see every line and flaw in my face. I told her that was kind of the point and she just shook her head at me. Moms. What's a teenager to do?

At the Tracks, and a small bit of housekeeping.

2009-04-06T21:16:00.005-04:00

Another stop I made yesterday was down at the train station. We have a very unused train station here. The two passenger trains that have service in Erie are to Chicago at like 1:30 in the morning, and to New York City at something like 4:30 in the morning...maybe later? The train station is open from midnight to 7:30 am, if that's any indication.

So I wasn't expecting to see any big crowds of people up there at 3:00 on a Sunday. What I did find surprised me and made me a little sad. There were a couple of these huge carts, like in the picture below:

As I walked around this one taking pictures, I saw something kind of disconcerting...a pillow.

Judging by the amount of cigarette butts and footprints, this spot gets used pretty frequently.

So if you're sleeping in a bed tonight, you're pretty damn lucky, you know? No matter what else might be wrong.

Editor's Note: I wanted to say thanks to everyone who said how much they admired that I would go up to a stranger and ask to take his picture. I do it all the time! Ain't no thing but a chicken wing, people...the worst they can say is no. What I usually do is approach someone and say, "Would you mind if I took your picture? I'm studying photography." They're usually happy to oblige, although a lot of times they wonder why I'd want to photograph them in particular, in which case I make some corny joke about beauty being in the eye of the beholder, or tell them how interesting they are or something to that effect. So, to all of you who say you have wanted to do that, I wholeheartedly challenge you to do so! I think you'll be proud of yourselves if you do.

Also, in the comments on yesterday's post, "Anonymous" said they don't know how to get ahold of me and can't find my email address. Well...gee, Anonymous, do I know you? Or do you just want my email? I tell you what, I'm feeling spunky, and Gmail is pretty good at blocking spam, so I'll play along for a bit. Shoot me a line at aheadofmyability@gmail.com if you'd like.

Lost in Plain Sight

2009-04-05T20:21:00.005-04:00

I went downtown to take pictures today. It was refreshing to get away from the house, and to just be alone for awhile. I took pictures up at the train station, took some at the Russian Orthodox church I've always meant to stop at, and even stopped at a tattoo parlor on a whim to inquire about getting an old messy tattoo I have covered up with something new and pretty.

My last stop of the day was down at the bayfront and there were a lot of people out fishing and enjoying the sunshine. Off to the east pier, I met Michael.

He seemed surprised when I approached him to ask if I could take his picture. He asked why I would want to, and I answered honestly that he was interesting.

Although it seemed pretty obvious that he was homeless, I asked if he lived around here. He said he slept in his van at night and hung out at the dock or the park during the day. I asked if he was aware of City Mission to get help and he said yes.

Part of me wondered if he wanted to tell any more of his story, but instead, I thanked him for letting me take his picture, and I told him it was nice to meet him, and I shook his hand and I walked away.

Dichotomies

2009-03-08T19:03:00.007-04:00

I had the occasion to take photographs twice this weekend. Yesterday, I took some shots of sweet little Madison. You may remember back when she was just a name on her mom's belly, or maybe you remember when she was nestled in a basket like a cute little bug.

Well little Miss Madison is growing up! She'll be one in May, and I got to take a few (hundred) shots of her yesterday. More of those to come this week.

Today, we drove down to see my grandpa. Bumpa, as I call him, helped raise me. I lived with him and my gram for a time while I was growing up, and he's definitely more of a "dad" than a "grandpa." He's in his eighties now, but still very independent and "with it," as the kids like to say. Bumpa has also been blind in his right eye ever since a firecracker accident when he was a kid, but he has always functioned just fine.Except he had previously been diagnosed with both glaucoma and macular degeneration. Not great when you rely on only one eye. And last week, he woke up one day to find that he couldn't really see anything that was further away than about two feet.

So suddenly, the family patriarch who still helps some of us with our taxes, needs a magnifying glass to see his checkbook. The man who taught me how to drive and still ferried his sister around to her doctors appointments and shopping trips, can't drive his car anymore.

As has always been his tradmark style (indicative of many of the Great Depression/World War II generation), he is accepting of this new hand that's been dealt to him and loathe to complain or feel sorry for himself. We combined our visit today with a shopping trip, which was a nice way to spend time together. And as usual, even though he has tried to love it out of me and show me the way all these years, I have enough bitterness and angst for both of us.

Warming Up....just a little....

2009-02-07T20:16:00.002-05:00

It may not seem like it, but Spring is coming.

We had a veritable heat wave today with a high close to 50 degrees...maybe over? It's 46 as I type this. I had to work until noon and then we took a drive to Allegheny in New York.

To be completely truthful, sure, I could see much the same scenery around here (snow, ice, creeks), especially at this time of this year since we weren't hiking or anything, but I just needed to get away for awhile.

So we stopped for lunch at this fantastic greasy spoon (I can practically feel my arteries clogging up as we speak) and then drove around the park for a couple of hours, stopping for photos when the opportunities presented themselves.
The kids got to see the same jarred fetal deer I've been horrified and fascinated by since I was a kid. (In the Administration Building Museum, I mean ... it's not something I carry around with me or anything.)And even though we didn't see anything spectacular, it was nice to get out and take some pictures again.

On Hiatus

2009-02-01T18:24:00.003-05:00

I'm taking a break for a bit.

Every day I think, "I should really post something to my blog." And every day, it feels like some chore I want to shirk. And I don't want it to feel that way. I want to want to, you know? (Did you just think of Cheap Trick? Yeah, me too.) Anyway, I'll be around when I feel better. I'm up to 3/4 of the eventual dose I'll be taking of the Topomax, and the side effects can kiss my ass. We'll see if they prove to be worth it in terms of helping the migraines. Until then, huggles and snuggles, okay?

Winter Blahs

2009-01-23T19:08:00.004-05:00

I got 'em.

I got 'em bad.

I can't seem to muster much enthusiasm for anything. A lot of this has to do with the fact that it's been extra snowy and COLD here. We've officially made it into the top-ten snowiest winter list, I believe. If not, we're very close. Today, it got up to around 40 degrees and I felt giddy, like it was spring or something.
Another little whiny spot in my life right now (one of many, I assure you) is that my migraines have been getting more frequent. I'm having 2-3 a week, which really sucks. As an aside, if you know me, this has nothing to do with the condition for which I had the brain surgery in 2006, so that's a plus. Anyway, the neuro decided that it was time to try a nasty little drug called Topamax. So far, I'm only on half the dosage I'll be on within a couple of weeks and I'm already getting some of the not-fun side effects, like tingly hands and feet and a foggy/doped up feeling. Why can't I get the good side effects, like weight loss??
These icicles look like teeth to me. The teeth of some really mean monster. Teeth that will hurt when they bite.

Cold-Weather Sentries

2009-01-15T19:43:00.004-05:00

Consider if you will the lowly Canada goose.

There is an overabundance of these birds here. Mostly, they're poop machines, although they're pretty to look at sometimes.

Last week we saw a bunch on the ice when we stopped for pictures.

You can see how most of them are hunkered down and huddled together.
But there's one guy at the front of the pack...like he's standing watch over the rest.
And who can blame him for having his head tucked back under his wing? It's pretty damn cold out there.

The Word of the Day is "Texture."

2009-01-12T18:34:00.002-05:00

Well, technically it's not the word of the day; it's the theme of the week. Texture. There's a big trend right now of adding texture to photos either via different filters or by merging photos in Photoshop. I plan to play with that later this week. (Like most trends, I'm no early adopter.)

In truth, I looked at a tutorial today and actually did add some texture to a couple of pictures, but as I was playing around, I noticed that a lot of the shots I've taken in the past few days already have some good texture all their own. In the above, it's in the clouds.

Here, you can see the windswept ripples in the snow.

And the choppy ice and snow here.

Here, you can sense the clapboard texture of this old barn. It's not as dramatic as it would be if this were a closeup shot, but I didn't feel like tromping all the way through that field in knee-deep snow. Sorry.
And this is my favorite...the marble on the angel's face, with her cape of snow.

Peace and Quiet

2009-01-11T20:55:00.004-05:00

I thought about heading down to Presque Isle yesterday, after the snow slowed down, but as I was headed there I saw the cemetery and thought that would be interesting. I wasn't disappointed.

It was deserted, and so silent and full of snow.

There were some remnants of the holiday...

And I can't help it. I know it's blasphemous. But doesn't it look like Jesus is about to get in a snowball fight?

A Desolate Beauty

2009-01-07T19:45:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had an ice storm.

Dan and I headed down to Presque Isle for a slippery photo shoot.

The sun was bright and causing the ice to glitter so prettily.It even made an old dead milkweek plant look beautiful.

Over Troubled Water

2009-01-05T21:31:00.003-05:00

Last week we took a walk through Asbury Woods down to the bridge over Walnut Creek.

The water was pretty high due to all the melting snow.

My partner in crime came with me, too.

We desperately need a couple more sunny days like this! Warm temperatures would be nice, too, but I won't hold my breath.

Weekends off

2009-01-04T18:08:00.004-05:00

My job is one that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Allowing that it's open every single day isn't to imply that it's important, though. It's nothing serious like a hospital, or a news organization, or anything like that.

I work for an inbound call center. Heaven forbid someone need to call about their credit card statement, or ask for Pennsylvania tourist information at 11pm on a Sunday or 1am on Christmas day and we not be there. We're there.

It's a rule of employment in my department that most employees have to work at least every other weekend. I did for years and years. For the past few months, though, I've been in the new hire training area. This means I'm needed during the week, not on Saturdays. If I had to work Saturday, they'd have to give me a day off during the week, thereby cutting off their nose to spite their face.

I found out Friday that starting next week, I'll be going back to working every other weekend.

I suppose that things could be worse....I could have to work every weekend. And the weekend I have to work is only 1/2 a day on Saturday mornings, so that's definitely better than it could be.It'll just give me less time to hang out with the fam...
and less time to take pictures to play with, like these.

**Edited to add: Since I've had a couple of questions in the comments, this is a rock and bubbles in a small stream. I thought it was neat looking with the bubbles.

Ready, Set, Go.

2009-01-01T20:19:00.003-05:00

It's a new year. Time for fresh starts and all that.

Do you subscribe to the theory that if you tell others about your resolutions, you'll be more likely to keep them? I don't know...I've always felt more that telling others about my resolutions will more likely lead to shame because those others will know when I fail, but whatever. I thought I'd share a couple of photography-related resolutions here.

Keep up with the POTD. In a perfect world, I'd actually post every day, but realistically, we're probably talking 4-5 times a week.
Learn more about my camera. I'm somewhat ashamed to say that I've had the Nikon since October, and I'm still leaving it on Auto most of the time. The Nikon isn't made for Auto. If I want to leave a camera on Auto, I should go back to my little Kodak.
Practice more portraits and learn more about settings and processing for these. I was unhappy with the last portraits I took; so unhappy I haven't shared them here or elsewhere
Save up for a fisheye. I love that look!

As for the non-photography resolutions, I'm not telling. That way no one will be the wiser if I don't follow through!

2008 Year in Review, part 2

2008-12-31T20:40:00.012-05:00

Here are the rest of my favorites of 2008. As a special little bonus, I added one of my all-time favorite songs: Harry Connick Jr.'s version of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve." Turn up the speakers, listen, and then kiss someone.

July

My first good fireworks shots, over the Bay.

August
The Cohen Building on 12th Street

September

Octagonal church on Route 6

October
Autumn at the Niagara Falls Gorge

November
Dan taking pictures at sunrise, Presque Isle

December

One of my favorite ornaments, Santa as a crescent moon.

I hope everyone has the happiest New Year possible. I'm home eating spinach dip with pumpernickel bread. At midnight, I'll watch the ball drop with a toast of sparkling grape juice, wild child that I am. Whatever you're doing, be happy and be safe!

Favorites of 2008, Part 1

2008-12-30T20:45:00.006-05:00

I decided that for the last 2 days of 2008, I'd post some of my favorite shots from this past year. I had a really hard time narrowing it down to one shot per month, so I wish I'd thought of doing this 12 days ago so I could have posted 3-4 shots from each month. Oh well...such is life!

January

The swamp at Asbury Woods

February

Snowy tree in the backyard

March
A big wet beaver (at Presque Isle)

April

The Standpipe

May

Magnolia(???) tree at Walnut Creek

June

Emily's 8th grade graduation portrait, Presque Isle

Tomorrow: July-December.

Although it's been said many times, many ways...

2008-12-29T20:45:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas to you. Albeit a belated greeting, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a great day here at the Smith household.

Here's the tree after Santa had made his stop...

Liam's favorite stocking stuffers: Slim Jims and a Hershey's Special Dark bar.

When you were a kid, did you go for the biggest present first, or try to save the best for last? Liam's an impatient type, but I fooled him. The big gift was hidden back behind Mommy and Daddy's stuff.

Em got mostly cash and dvd's...she was happy. In order to further my own enjoyment, I wrap the cash in odd denominations in various size packages. I'm not above shoving canned goods or other supplies inside a box just to add some weight and heft to it either.
Dan's favorite present was hilarious....I had to order it from Home Shopping Network. It's that Big City Slider Station, endorsed by the always-apoplectic Billy Mays. It makes 5 little burgers at once. Joy!
After Mom and Dad were done opening our gifts, I prolonged things by getting up and putting the turkey and ham in to cook. Then I pulled a "Christmas Story" bit on them and "found" a couple more boxes back behind the tree while I was cleaning up the wrapping.They were pretty darn excited about the Wii....the thing hasn't gotten much rest since Christmas day! Hope all of you had a wonderful day in whatever way you celebrate.

Sheepish and Guilty

2008-12-15T18:55:00.003-05:00

Time sure does have a habit of slipping by, doesn't it? It's been two weeks since I last posted, a fact I'm almost embarassed about. Not that it really matters that much in the grand scheme of things, I suppose, but I feel like I'm being lazy by not getting on here and keeping up with the blogs of the other people I like to read.

I haven't even taken any pictures since those last ones of the tree that I posted. These shots were taken on Nov. 4th at the Peninsula. This may look like a lighthouse, but it's actually part of a pumphouse for the old Waterworks. (The sign on the side says 1908.)

In other news, we continue to have crappy, grey weather and it's still dark when I leave work. We had one nice sunny day over last weekend and I was busy doing other things. I wanted to go get some wintery nature shots.

This weekend if the weather is decent, we're planning a drive to Hamburg NY. They have a big Christmas light display at the fairgrounds and you drive through. I'll definitely take some pictures there.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like....

2008-12-04T22:03:00.004-05:00

Christmas!

I practiced some macros this week on my Christmas ornaments.

I love Christmas ornaments.

Unwrapping them all one by one is truly one of my favorite parts of the holiday.

My tree is a mish-mash. I could never be one of those people who has a themed or color-coordinated tree. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Since my birthday is right before Christmas, I usually get at least one or two new ornaments on my birthday, so a lot of these are from my growing-up years.This is the first year we've had a fake tree. Well...I take that back.

The year I was 6 or 7, apparently we were so poor we couldn't afford a tree. A neighbor lady gave us one of those aluminum jobs with the colored light wheel at the base. I wish I still had it because they sell for big bucks on eBay!But anyway, this is the first year I've had a fake tree of my own choosing. Getting a real tree got to be too expensive and too much of a hassle. Last year after Christmas, I happened to find a 7 1/2 foot Martha Stewart tree that was 90% off....I only paid $30!
So an artificial tree it is. And even the doubters in my family have admitted that it looks really nice! Plus, it lets us put the tree up much earlier than we normally would.Besides, any tree that has my Nana's angel tree-topper on it is fine by me.

Tap Tap Tap...is this thing on?

2008-12-02T19:24:00.004-05:00

I haven't posted in over a week, and I haven't really taken any new pics either! On Thanksgiving, I didn't take pictures of the family or the spread...I just wasn't into it. The one thing that did strike my fancy was taking a few shots of my nephew David.

David turned 1 in August. He's a sweetie!

He was great about sitting for pictures....And I finally got to use my teacup!

Last night, I took some pictures of my tree and some favorite ornaments. I'll try to post those tomorrow....or a week from now.

At Rest

2008-11-23T18:50:00.005-05:00

First, a quick apology for not having posted in the past several days. I don't really have much excuse, except being tired and mildly busy. Also, this snow and cold weather and the early dark have a kind of depressive effect on me, so that when I get home all I want to do is laze around with a book and a cup of coffee!When we drive, we almost always look for the blue highways. (An aside: that's a great book, by the way, Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. It's a memoir of his travels around the country by back roads...the so-called "blue highways" on the map.) I always like the blue highways on trips. What the heck do you get to see from the interstate? Nothing but median and billboards. When you're driving on a regular road, you have the chance of seeing something like a sign that says "Pet Cemetery" with an arrow. And you can choose to turn down that road on a lark, just to see what you find.

I'm almost always one to take the turn down the side street and see what we find. On the way home from the toy museum, we came upon a huge pet cemetery. Seriously, this place had more acreage than a lot of the human cemeteries we've stopped to visit. The graves we found were no less touching or sentimental than anything you'd find in a regular cemetery.The cemetery has been open since 1919, but we didn't find any graves older than the 1960s or so. Unfortunately, the place was positively swampy from the rain, which made exploring kind of difficult.

I managed to get some shots from the paths, though.

Most of the graves had pictures of the pets, which was very sweet.

I did happen to see a couple of living animals while we were there...several white tailed deer came out of the woods to munch some grass.

And lastly, speaking of animal pictures, here's Liam's 2nd grade school photo. Isn't he the funniest ham you've ever seen?

Hideously Cute

2008-11-18T19:55:00.004-05:00

Or maybe cutely hideous.

The toy museum had a small display of these Palmer Cox "Brownies." I was enthralled.

Check out this band...look at their ugly, adorable little faces! The best one is the tuba player. Doesn't he look like he's peeved because he has a big round butt in his face?Best advertising slogan ever: "It's that after taste!"

I think my favorites were these two.

This Post Brought to You Courtesy of Two Dudes

2008-11-17T18:15:00.004-05:00

OK, I complained last week about how I don't get to take many pics these days due to my work schedule and the lack of light. Luckily, Dan took some shots today! All of these are his.As you can see, we got a significant snowstorm last night. Remember the snow pictures from last week? Well, all that snow was melted, so this is all fresh. We got about 6 inches or so here in town, and some areas in the snowbelt got around 10 I guess.
This is the flowering tree in the neighbor's yard. Our lilacs looked similar, very bowed by the weight of the snow. Dan shook them off, and hopefully no major damage was done.
I don't know why he didn't get a shot of our other neighbor's house; their small tree was split right in half by the snow!
And lastly, here's Liam coming home from school. He digs his new skeleton hat...it has eyeholes like a ski mask.

During the storm last night, we actually had THUNDER AND LIGHTENING. That's pretty unusual, even in a freaky weather area like ours. My work pal Pete happened to be taking some shots of the snow and got it on video. Check it out!

Where Little People Go to Retire

2008-11-16T19:49:00.003-05:00

We took a drive yesterday to the Fisher Price Toy Museum. I took a lot of pics...I'll share them ad nauseum over the next few days, but I thought I'd start with my absolute favorite part: The Little People toys I had when I was a kid.When I was a kid, Little People were actually little. Not like those giant things with arms and legs the kids today have. If you were dumb enough to put one in your mouth, you deserved it if it got lodged in your windpipe, I guess.There were four of us kids in my family, and we were all born just two years apart from each other, so we mostly liked the same kind of stuff at the same time. I guess that was nice for my mom because she could get one toy and we'd all play with it.

We weren't very well off, so I know a lot of our toys came from the thrift stores and yard sales. But one lucky day, the Little People Fairy came down from Fisher Price Heaven and blessed us. A lady up the street had kids much older than us, and they'd outgrown all their kid toys. We ended up hitting the Little People jackpot!

All of a sudden, we had enough Little People sets to build a whole town! There was the A-Frame house, so exotic!

There was the camper, with its cute little charcoal grill, and the molded seats were the Little People could relax.

There was the airport, with the helicoptor and the jet!

There was the school bus. (He's out of focus here, but remember the sad and mad Little People? We always assumed they were the bullies)

There was the school, which I loved, and by God, SESAME STREET! With Hooper's STORE! (In the display here, poor Mr. Hooper is taking a rest. At least that's what they told Big Bird.)
See the swing set and merry-go-round? We'd always have "accidents" where the Little People would fly off their swings or off the merry-go-round and have to go see the "school nurse," which was the Little People lady with the blonde chignon. Remember her?But my favorite thing was the castle! I loved that thing!See that turret on the right where the prince is standing? There was a nice little trap door. I used to make my little brother stick his arm down there and he'd get stuck. I swear I did that to him multiple times. Apparently he wasn't a quick learner.

Maternity

2008-11-13T19:06:00.004-05:00

I took these shots a couple of weeks ago for my friends R. and D. who are expecting their first boy very soon. To be completely honest, I wasn't 100% impressed with the shots I got this time, but I got a few good ones. If anything, it was definitely a good learning experience.

What do you think for this one, black and white, or color?

Flashback: Walnut Creek, 10-16-08

2008-11-12T19:22:00.005-05:00

I didn't get home tonight until almost 6pm, and of course, it was very dark by then. No opportunities to take new pics, so I had to browse through the hard drive to find something I hadn't shared yet. I settled on these shots from the Walnut Creek Marina at the foot of Manchester Road that were taken in mid-October.

The marina is situated at the mouth of Walnut Creek, where the creek empties into Lake Erie.

It was getting close to sunset, and the wind was really strong.

The waves were building as we took a few quick shots.It was a beautiful, if chilly, fall sunset.

A 4-Letter Word

2008-11-10T20:28:00.003-05:00

THIS is what I woke up to this morning. Can you believe it? SNOW! On November 10th, no less!

OK, ok, so it's fairly normal for us to get a little snow by this time of year. For some reason, this one just hit me "right in the breadbasket" as Gorilla Monsoon used to say. Maybe it's because I know we'll be having snow off and on (mainly on) until March or April. Oh, and plus it was all warm and sunny last week. There are still leaves on some of the trees! Right in the breadbasket.

Oh, to be 8 again. Liam woke up an hour before his school bus pickup and begged to go outside and play before getting ready for school. Of course, even though I don't like snow much, I can still appreciate its beauty at times.

Gray Days

2008-11-09T17:29:00.004-05:00

The end of daylight savings time kind of stinks for photography. I work until 4 or 4:30...sometimes a little later. It gets dark here at just after 5 now. That doesn't leave much time for taking pictures in the evenings.

Couple this with the fact that it was absolutely beautiful all week long...sunny skies, highs in the upper 60s/low 70s....until Friday. Yesterday and today have been gray and cold! As I write this, it's 41 and they're predicting some snow for tonight.

The photo above is from early October, on our wild goose chase to the Franklin Apple Festival, or whatever they call it. (It was a wild goose chase because we got a late afternoon start, then took a wrong turn, and by the time we got there at just after 5pm, everything was closed down.) Anyway, they had a pretty fountain in their park.

To avoid sounding like too much of a whiner, I'll borrow a page from my friend Rumplesnat's blog and list 5 things I'm grateful for today:

A king size bed so Dan and I can sleep in what seems like separate zip codes when we want
Cheddar Chex Mix
Having enough money to pay the bills
Finding a couple of pretty pieces for my Thanksgiving table on clearance for $5 each
Old Tom and Jerry cartoons on DVD.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, whether it was gray or not!

The Tears of a Clown

2008-11-06T19:18:00.006-05:00

Dan Rice has been described as "The most famous man you never heard of." He was "America's Clown" in the years leading up to and just after the Civil War. A circus performer and later circus owner, he was great friends with Abe Lincoln, earning the title "Court Jester to the President." He also inspired Thomas Nash's conception of Uncle Sam as we know him.

Rice wintered his circus in Girard, PA, about 15 miles from here, in the 1850s and '60s. (An aside: I've always thought that odd. Weren't circuses usually wintered in the warmer south? Anyway.)

A trip to the Girard Cemetery yields this treasure.

Nestled in this tiny cathedral is the form of a sleeping infant.

The monument is to Lottie, age 6 months.

Lottie was the daughter of Dan Rice, only six months old when she died in 1863.

It's a testament to the human spirit, or perhaps the human tendancy to push things deep inside, that Dan Rice could continue to make Americans laugh when inside he must have been grief-stricken.

Why did the turkey cross the road?

2008-11-05T20:18:00.005-05:00

Why, to get to the other side, of course!

As we left the Presque Isle yesterday morning, we came across a group of turkeys near Beach 8.

We've seen turkeys at the peninsula many times, but usually back in by Thompson's Circle or Beach 11's parking lot. Also, most of the time they're pretty skittish and run into the brush as soon as you see them. This group wasn't too shy! We pulled into the parking lot and the turkeys headed out toward the road, where they happily moved back and forth, hunting and pecking through the leaves.
I was surprised at how close they let me get... but then this biker rode through and they didn't even get their feathers ruffled!

And this shot is slightly out of focus, but I loved the wings! (Showoff!)

And finally, a shot of a face only a mother turkey could love.

And now for a bit of housekeeping stuff. I got tagged the other day by a fellow POTDr. Here are the rules. 1. Get the book you are currently reading. 2. Turn to page 56 and find the 5th sentence. 3. Type the next couple of sentences.

So I'm reading a memoir by Azadeh Moaveni called Lipstick Jihad.

"The barriers here were overwhelming, in your face, physical and visual. There were walls and partitions, dour billboards and angry-looking pasdars, around at all times to enforce them. I wasn't sure which ones I preferred, or perhaps better, which ones I despised least."

As part of the tag, I now have to tag 5 people and you have to answer on your blog. OK, so you don't have to. Spoilsport. So sorry, my victims are Lou, Bojosmom, Jackie, Angela, and Amy M. Hope you haven't already been tagged!

Finally, thanks again Danny for your sweet and well-thought-out comment! I wish you had a blog so I could visit! You mentioned pics of the local area. I'm always trying to think of someplace new to go, so if you have something in mind, feel free to let me know!

Partners

2008-11-04T19:50:00.003-05:00

part·ner
Pronunciation: \ˈpärt-nər also ˈpärd-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English partener, alteration of parcener, from Anglo-French, coparcener
Date: 14th century
1.archaic : one that shares: partaker 2a: one associated with another especially in an action; associate , colleague b: either of two persons who dance together c: one of two or more persons who play together in a game against an opposing side d: a person with whom one shares an intimate relationship; one member of a couple 3: a member of a partnership, especially in a business; also : such membership

Since I began to get more interested in photography, Dan has shown a real interest also. He's got some real aptitude for it, too, without being interested in the technical side of things. He just like to take interesting shots. And a lot of them are really good!

And seeing how much of the last 10 years we spent tearing each other down, it's really special to finally be on the same path, bahaving like real partners.

Hope

2008-11-03T20:33:00.002-05:00

My friends Lou and Elsie like these old gravestones with the upward-pointing finger. Elsie said once, "They seem so...optimistic!" I decided to use this one to symbolize the hope I have for tomorrow.

I turned 18 in December of 1988, so the first presidential election I was eligible to vote in was in 1992, and I voted for Bill Clinton. I've voted in every election, including the non-presidential ones, since I was eligible. That being said, I've absolutely never once felt as much hope for our country as I feel right now. I truly believe that Barack Obama has the best intentions and ideas of both candidates, and an infectious enthusiasm that we need right now. Say what you will about how he doesn't have enough experience...look at what experience has brought us in Washington for lo these many years!

I won't turn this into a political commercial; Lord knows we've seen enough of those lately. I will just ask that, no matter who you're voting for (and I hope it's Obama!), please get out and VOTE. It's never been more important, or for me, more meaningful than it is this year.

The Randomizer

2008-11-02T18:38:00.009-05:00

Busy, busy, busy here at the Smith house.

Since I haven't had time to get out and shoot much, I played with the camera around the house a bit.

I'm still learning the ins and outs of the focus and depth of field with the new macro lens, but so far, I'm pretty happy!All the flowers and leaves in this post are along the perimeter of the house.Most of the trees here are past their peak, and leaves are starting to fall more and more. They're still just as pretty on the ground, though.

And last but not least, here's a little belated Halloween treat for you. My friend Jackie and I attended a Halloween party last night....we went as Sonny and Cher. (That's me as Sonny on your left. And no, my eyebrows are not that bushy in real life. I used mascara on them!) The dark humor side of me thought it would be funny to go as Sonny with a head wound, but good taste won out. Well, as good as it gets on Halloween, anyway. Hope you all had a good weekend!

The Fountain at Night

2008-10-30T21:25:00.005-04:00

This fountain is downtown in Perry Square. I've had pics of it on the blog before, in some of my shots of Em. Last week, I took a few shots at night. I love the lights...
and the reflections.
The water changes every few minutes, from a fine spray to a more forceful one.
A quick note: I found a couple of my pictures on another person's blog. I never thought I needed to worry about that, but I guess it can happen to anyone. I decided that I'd better start watermarking my stuff. Hope it doesn't detract too much!

Liquid Thunder

2008-10-28T18:51:00.010-04:00

Behold, the majesty that is Niagara Falls!

Imagine the roaring water rushing over the incredible precipice, thousands upon thousands of gallons every minute.

In pictures like these, it's easy to see why no one has ever survived a plunge over its terrifying heights! (Note: No one has survived a plunge over the American Falls. Several people have survived going over the less-rocky Canadian Falls. --ed.)

Oh...wait. Those are just the rapids.

Watch your step!

These are the American Falls as seen from Goat Island.

And here we are in all our bulgy glory.

To the west of the American Falls is a smaller falls called Bridal Veil.

See the little yellow ants down there? Those are the people on the Cave of the Winds tour I mentioned yesterday.

Here's one attraction I'm too scared to try: The Maid of the Mist boat! It goes way to close to the falls for my comfort level.

No, I prefer to look from a safer distance.

And on a somewhat-unrelated note, I managed to catch a very rare moment of brotherly/sisterly love while we were leaving.

Leaf Angels, Rainbows, and Tacky Backdrops

2008-10-27T22:15:00.005-04:00

As I am often wont to do, I got sidetracked by cemetery pictures for the past couple of days. I still have some Niagara Falls pictures to share, including actual pics of the falls themselves. Today, though, I thought I'd share some funny shots.

Well, except for the rainbow. That's not really a funny pic. Unless you imagine a leprechaun down there guarding his pot of gold, I guess.

For funny, you have to look at the shots of the kids posing in front of the cheesy backdrop for the "Cave of the Winds" tour. This is a tour where you take an elevator to the base of the falls and walk around all upclose and personal-like. In my opinion, much better for a hot summer day than for one where temps are in the 50s. We had fun with the photo op, though!
Liam is the king of the boardwalk.This is Em's "Aaaaaah, I'm falling!" pose. Don't ask.
In further "Don't Ask" news, you remember jumping into a leaf pile as a kid, right? Sure you do. But I bet you never laid down on a public path in the middle of a giant tourist attraction, er, I mean Natural Wonder and made yourself a leaf angel. I should have taken pictures of some of the looks they were getting.And there you have it...just as pretty as the more traditional snow angel, don't you think?

Eternal Vigilance

2008-10-26T19:25:00.005-04:00

We drove through Randolph, NY yesterday on our way to Salamanca. It was cold and a bit rainy, so when we saw this cemetery I thought maybe we'd just drive through. I'm glad we did, and of course I had to get out and get some pictures when I saw this stone.Willie Lee died in 1866 at the age of 9. He has been immortalized as a sleeping child, with some playthings and books surrounding him, and his dog keeping watch.I found this so touching I was moved to tears.

We all need someone this vigilant watching out for us.

Symbols and Statements

2008-10-24T19:00:00.008-04:00

One of my favorite aspects of cemeteries besides the ornate headstones and statuary has to be the symbols and statements you'll find.

You'll find the simple...and the incomprehensible.

You'll see lots of people who are finally "at rest."

For me, the children's graves are always the most touching...

and sometimes horribly sad.

Some are ornate...and others are hopeful.

Sometimes forthrightly hopeful...

sometimes pretty optimistic.

There's the symbolic...

the artistic...

the creepy.

There's beauty...and also things that make you smile.Some are poetic.
Some are exceedingly simple. I found an "S" for Smith...

and a reminder that January 20th is coming!

Impromptu Weekend Part 4: Hallowed Ground

2008-10-23T20:22:00.006-04:00

On Sunday, after checking out of the hotel and enduring a crappy breakfast, we stopped at the Drummond Hill Cemetery and Lundy's Lane Battleground.

I really like cemeteries anyway, so I would have liked to have stopped no matter what, but this place was special in that it was apparently also the site of the "bloodiest battle of the War of 1812," fought on July 25th, 1814.

I loved the old wrought-iron fence, and there were a lot of really old graves.

I loved this large one identifying the mother and father, while the children had small stones on either side.
I saw lots of the 1800s theme of willow trees and the optimistic index finger pointed heavenward. (I might as well warn you right now...I took so many shots, this topic will stretch into tomorrow's post as well.)
A lot of the oldest graves had fallen and were laid out flat on the ground.

The battleground monument was at the front of the cemetery and it was touching. (More detail tomorrow.)

I turned around at one point and caught Liam in a reflective moment, appreciating the beauty of the architecture. (If you think that sounds a little deep for an 8-year-old, you haven't heard much about Liam. He's a different breed like his mom.)

Stay tuned tomorrow...I have more to show you.

Impromptu Weekend Part 3: Water (and other things) at Night

2008-10-22T20:22:00.005-04:00

As evening drew near, we headed over to our hotel to get checked in and rest from the drive and the garden walk.

Our room was one that was set up around a big courtyard, with lots of live plants, a play area for kids, and a pool. (Liam's main draw for the trip.)

The kids decided to take a dip...

but Dan just dangled his feet in the water. (And I didn't even get that far.)The two of us had enough fun just watching the kids.After we got dried off and had some dinner, we headed out to see the falls. Our path took us down Clifton Hill, which is the main tourist trap on the Canadian side.I like the garish lights and the noise and the tackiness.

I mean, really, how could you not love to see Frankenstein's monster holding a Whopper?!?
We also saw the new SkyWheel, but didn't go on. Just too dang cold. (Not to mention pricey! $13 per person. $54 for all of us to ride on a ferris wheel? Not.)
When you get to the bottom of Clifton Hill and cross the street, you're directly across from the American Falls. They're so pretty when they're lit up at night.

I got a couple of fuzzy shots of the skyline on the Canadian side...

As for the Canadian Falls, I didn't get a close shot. We approached, but as we got closer, the mist from the falls was so heavy it was almost like a steady rain. I didn't want to risk getting my new baby wet! So a distant shot will have to do!

Impromptu Weekend Part 2: The Gardens and the Gorge

2008-10-20T19:49:00.010-04:00

The butterfly conservatory is on the grounds of the Niagara Falls Botanical Garden. It was beautiful even at this time of year, but I have a feeling spring would be the best time to come.

Still, they did a beautiful job with the landscaping.

(Em's in this funny habit lately of jumping into my shots at the last minute.)(Especially for Pete: Proof that the whole family came along. I know, we're not in a "Family Feud" type-pose. Give me a day or two.)The gardens are right across the street from the gorge. This section of the gorge is down river from the falls and the whirlpool area.

It was especially pretty with the fall colors.(Look, Pete! It's the kids!)
(They get tired of pictures pretty quickly.)
We headed upriver and stopped where they do the Whirlpool AeroCar rides. Heck NO I didn't get on that thing.

Here, the river takes a sharp bend, creating a whirlpool off to one side. They also have these huge jetboats that go across the whirlpool. (And no, I didn't go on that either.)

Apparently there are trails that go down through the gorge and you can stand at the water's edge. Em wanted to go until I reminded her that when you walk down, you have to walk back up. That black dot in the bottom center of this picture is a person.

We stood on the platform and watched as the AeroCar made its journey across the gorge and back.

And after I once again silently gave thanks for being on solid ground, it was time to head over to our hotel. The pool was calling out to Liam.

Impromptu Weekend Part 1: The Butterfly Conservatory

2008-10-19T20:45:00.006-04:00

If you've read my blog more than a couple of times, you probably know I'm a pretty impetuous person. On Friday at work, I decided it would be nice to head up to Niagara Falls for the weekend. I found a decent hotel deal on the Internets, packed some stuff on Friday night, and off we went on Saturday. Our first stop once we got across the border was the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory. (It's all about priorities. The falls are open all night...the butterfly conservatory closes at 4:30!)

The conservatory is in a giant greenhouse, filled with tropical plants and hundreds (thousands?) of free-flying butterflies.

I have no idea of the names of all the different varieties we saw...but they were all amazingly beautiful.

I'm still learning the ins and outs of the telephoto macro and the shallow depth of field, but for the most part it was okay!

And one of the coolest things about the place is the way the butterflies will just land on you. (This is one of about 15 shots of different butterflies landing on Em!)Hope you all had a good weekend too! Parts 2-? coming up next!

12th Street Part IV

2008-10-15T18:37:00.003-04:00

The Newco Electric building sits at the corner of 12th and Myrtle. I'm not sure what this building used to be, because it's old. What drew me to it was the mass of vines.

The vines creep from the west; from the east side of the building, they're not apparent at all, and they haven't yet engulfed the front...

but they're gaining on it.

The vines, a lush green all summer, have begun to look like they're on fire with crimson and orange.

It's a beautiful thing.

Lens update: My lenses finally came today! I'm highly impressed so far with the 70-300. I have a newbie-stupid confession though. I don't exactly know what I was thinking...the Nikon came with an 18-55 mm lens and for some reason, I ordered a pair of Sigmas and one of them is an 18-50. (duh!) So in other words for the not-so-dslr-inclined, I basically duplicated the same lens. I'm sure the Nikon VR will serve me a bit better than the Sigma, so I imagine I'll probably sell the Sigma somewhere. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them!

Good Day, Sunshine

2008-10-14T20:33:00.004-04:00

I guess it's the new camera. Usually, I'm a chronic snooze-button-hitter every single morning. We're talking so bad I set my alarm for like 45 minutes before I actually have to get out of bed. But this morning, I woke up on the first alarm and decided I had time to go try to get some sunrise pictures before work.

As I drove onto the peninsula, I could see the moon setting over the water and had to stop for a couple of shots.

Then it was on to the East Pier to try to catch the sun's appearance.

When I first arrived, there was just a hint of red and pink and orange at the bottom of some low clouds. The sky above them was already clear and bright.

I managed to get a couple of shots of the lighthouse as the sun came up further. And all too soon, it was time to head back home and get ready for work.

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!

2008-10-13T20:13:00.003-04:00

IT CAME! IT CAME!!

My new baby, the Nikon D60 came today...woo hoo! Sadly, by the time I got home from work and charged up the battery, there wasn't a ton of light left to get out and take pictures, but I managed to snap a few!

This being my first outing, I'm still learning the ins and outs of the lens and the focusing. (I found myself trying to push the non-existant "Zoom" button a bunch of times, and I didn't take it off "auto" yet.)
As the light began to wane, we zipped down to Presque Isle for a couple of sunset pictures.All in all, I'm pretty happy but I've got a lot of learning to do! (Of course, that's a big part of the fun for me.) Tomorrow, I plan to get out an hour or two earlier and get some more practice in. Thanks to stupid old UPS my two extra lenses got misrouted so they probably won't arrive until Wednesday. Bah!

'Tis the Season

2008-10-11T20:41:00.010-04:00

I had a sick kiddo on my hands yesterday, so I had to stay close to home. When I wasn't cleaning up puke, I took a little break and got out in the yard to take some pictures of our Halloween decorations.

I love decorating for Halloweeen. As a matter of fact, I have more outdoor Halloween decorations than Christmas decorations!

Along the front of the house is the assorted cast of characters...Frankenstein, Dracula, ghosties and witches. And then there are the spooky headstones.
These guys guard either side of the front porch.(Spike's watching out the door to make sure everything's okay out in the yard.)
And watch out for Marcus the Carcass right out front.
But I think the scariest thing out in the yard is Liam in his new Halloween sweatshirt. (Thankfully, he's feeling much better today!)

Stalking the Man in Brown update! My camera is on track to be delivered Monday...CURSE you, UPS for not delivering on Saturdays, or else I probably would have had it today!! The lenses still say Tuesday but they were in Philladelphia early this morning and it's only 8 hours from there to here, so I'm crossing my fingers for Monday as well. Squeal!!

I pushed the button

2008-10-09T20:08:00.003-04:00

I'm finally doing it...I'm joining the ranks of dslr users! Just this past March, I bought the Kodak z812is. It's a great camera and allows for total manual control, but I really wanted to be able to use interchangeable lenses. So I've been saving and doing research for what seems like months....and I finally pushed the order button on a Nikon d60 last night!

The camera I'm getting comes with an 18-55mm lens and also has a little package that includes an extra battery and a Nikon bag. I ordered it from Cameta Camera via Amazon and I think I got a pretty good deal!

Of course, I wanted to be able to explore some other lenses and stuff, so I decided to add a Sigma lens package. The lenses I'll be getting are an 18-50 and 70-300mm. I could have spent a little more now and gotten a Nikon 55-200, or waited until I saved enough to get a longer Nikon lens (and I still can) but the reviews I've seen on the Sigmas seem pretty positive, and for under $200 for both lenses, it's worth a gamble to me.

Hopefully my new toys will be here early next week. I'm going to have to make some time to play with them and I'll be sure to post some results!

The Powers of Observation

2008-10-07T20:17:00.002-04:00

At the peninsula, I found this pretty beetle on a milkweek plant. I thought he looked pretty cool and colorful, so I snapped a couple of shots.

So yeah, neat shot, neat beetle. I was ready to turn away and find the next cool thing....

when I saw this:
There were TONS of them. At least, I think they're all the same type of insect? Maybe not. They all look similar except for their size. I thought maybe they were at different stages of their life cycle or something. But what do I know? Damnit, Jim, I'm a photographer, not an entomologist!
And I guess the moral of the story is that it always pays to take one last look around.

Fences

2008-10-06T22:31:00.004-04:00

As you drive along Route 5 in New York State, you'll come across a parking area somewhat west of the Dunkirk/Barcelona area. It's a pretty place...this is what it looks like as you walk past the picnic tables. You can walk all the way down to Lake Erie.

When you get to the edge, you'll see a fence. This keeps you from walking off the cliff, which I guess is about 50 feet high or so, give or take.

When you look through the fence, you'll see the beautiful lake...but at a distance. On Sunday, I didn't want to be fenced in and kept at a distance. So even though the edge beyond the fence is only about five feet wide or so, Dan and I found a gap at one end and slipped through.

What I saw when I looked over the edge was incredible:
The lake was so crystal-clear. I've never seen it so clear. Plus, the lake bottom around Erie is mostly sand or small rocks. I never knew there were spots like this, with great slabs and chunks of rock. It was like looking at a creek.
These pictures come the closest I could come to showing the scale of how high we were.
In the distance, I could see the cliffs of the surrounding shoreline.And here's a spot where the bluff gave way. Hopefully no fools like me were standing there at the time!But the shots I got were so pretty...And believe me, I did my best to stay safe!

Random pieces of Fall

2008-10-05T22:26:00.003-04:00

Last week when we took a walk at Presque Isle, we visited Graveyard Pond Trail. Since the overall color of the trees is still pretty spotty, I took a lot of macro shots...random pieces of Fall, if you will.

(Note: Apparently I was wrong last month when I thought I might have seen the last bees of summer!)

Presque Isle on a Blustery Day

2008-10-02T17:51:00.003-04:00

We took a walk down at Presque Isle this afternoon. It's not all that common for Lake Erie to get big waves, not like the ocean or anything, so it was pretty awe-inspiring to see this today.

The sky was beautiful, with lots of fluffy clouds, and the sun was ducking in and out and creating some really interesting light patterns. The waves would crash against the breakwalls and create these huge jets of spray...and I wasn't quick enough to capture them, but there were two dumb seagulls who thought the breakwall would be a good place to land, and they got doused.And we weren't the only ones who braved the cold winds today. I saw one other person enjoying the show.

The Brave Ones

2008-10-01T20:44:00.006-04:00

Last Saturday while running an errand downtown, Liam wanted to stop by the dock. We were lucky enough to find our local firefighters running a training exercise, rappelling off the Bicentennial Tower.

I have a special admiration for firefighters, more than any other public servants. They're a special breed, I think.

It was a crappy day for photos, though...very cloudy!

We hung around a watched for 15 or 20 minutes and I was really taken with how human these guys seemed. A couple of them were kind of hesitant to go off the edge (understandably so), and you could hear the man at the top of the tower giving them instruction and encouragement, while the guys below watched carefully and cheered them on. I didn't hear anyone razzing anyone else, which impressed me.

In general, everyone on the ground was pretty intent on the ones coming down the ropes...

but we all know that training can be tiring, and one might need a rest from time to time.

Nebo Chapel

2008-09-30T19:55:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, we stopped by Nebo Lutheran Chapel along Route 6 in Mount Jewett. Actually, I drove by and saw this from the road. I immediately turned the car around because I had to take some photos.
The chapel was built by immigrants in 1887 and is patterned after a church near Stockholm, Sweden.
There were lots of Swedish names on the tombstones in the churchyard and a mix of older and more recent graves.
Unfortunately, there was a pretty steady drizzle right then, so I didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked.
But I did find this beautiful stone...it looks like a seashell cradling the baby.

Wind Damage

2008-09-29T19:59:00.006-04:00

Our roadtrip yesterday included a stop at Kinzua Bridge State Park. This is the place that used to be the site of the world's highest railroad viaduct. A tornado knocked it down in 2003.

It was actually pretty neat to see the remains of the twisted steel girders and the still-bare and gnarled trees.

I have to admit that I was a little bummed that you couldn't walk out onto the bridge any further, though. It would have been cool (and scary as hell) to stand out there.