This year is flying by, it's already June and it has been hot, like July...I bet it snows in August at this rate!

Day 148

Day 149

Day 150

Day 151

Day 152

Day 153

I am going to get caught up...one of these days, but for now here is today's lucky photo of the day! 

Day 146

Day 145

Day 144

Day 143

Day 142

Day 141

Day 140

Day 139

Day 138

Day 137

Day 136

Day 135

Day 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133 134

The last week in photos...

So far the saying has come true April showers have brought May flowers...

Day 121, 122

Finally it's May...

Day 114

When I get stuck for a photo and think there is no way I will find anything to take of picture of I have to slow down and say to myself of course there are a zillion things to photograph. If you look at things from a different angle that will usually do the trick. I don't know about you but I never really realized there was writing on the back of fire hydrants. 

Day 113

I love to try to find patterns in things natural or man made. I happened to see this iron bench outside and antique shop on my way home from work and liked the white against the red but when I got up close the patterns the shadows made were even better, it is kind of nice getting a surprise once you get up close to something.

These wonderfully colorful chairs are all lined up waiting for summer, and I must say I am waiting with them!

Day 108, 109, 110, 111

We had really warm and really cold, warm enough for no jacket and cold enough to snow, and lots of rain and even more wind, so yes it is spring in western New York. Can't wait to see what the upcoming week brings!

Sunset

3 little birds

Liquid gold take off

We had a rare visitor this weekend, an American Avocet, a bird that is rarely if ever found in this part of the world. Not sure how it got here but there is was, right on the shore of Seneca Lake just looking around for some food and enjoying the day. I'm so glad birders are a sharing group, there were emails and posts flying through the air letting everyone know that there was a 'rare bird alert', without those alerts I never would have seen this life list bird.

I ventured out today even though it was gray and a bit rainy, I figured what the heck maybe I'll see something that was worth getting wet to take a picture of. Well I found my favorite bird, a couple of eastern bluebirds were out and about, and it wasn't even raining! The sky had brightened and the blue feathers were bright against the trees, I couldn't miss them. One landed in a pine tree and posed for me, brightening up my gray rainy day.

"If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can't I?" -E.Y. Harburg

Finally the flowers are starting to bloom, they might be all wet because it won't stop raining but they are blooming. Finally adding a little color to the world, and welcome color it is.

"Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful." -Jim Carrey

Well despite the ice on the trees and all the rain it is spring, you can see the trees starting to bud, or trying to. All I can hope for is that April showers do in fact bring May flowers!

Day 98, 99, 100

So it's the first 100 days of the year only 265 left! The year is flying by, which it is, it's funny how time flies by but with the photo of the day it's very interesting to see what has past and compare it to last year. One thing I noticed was that the first flowers in bloom last year was on March 12 a whole month early, this year the flowers are barely sprouting but I am watching for them, every day, I can't wait!

It ended up being a good weekend, it didn't rain today as the weathermen predicted which was great. It was warm and windy which made the lake rough and angry looking. But that didn't stop the sailboats or a few kite surfers, they know how to take advantage and make the wind work for them.

"If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it." -Toni Morrison

Today was the first nice weekend day, start to finish, that I can remember in a long time. I didn't have to wear my coat and the sun was out, the birds are starting to come back and the trees are starting to come alive. There is hope yet that it will actually warm up!

"April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go." -Christopher Morley

A second nice night, I wonder how many nights I can take a photo of the sunset? That is where the sun is actually out and not behind a thick blanket of clouds? I will sure try for three nights that's for sure!

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

A wonderful day! Not all that warm but nice and sunny and a really beautiful sunset, I am glad I took the time and waited around. Sometimes the best part of the sunset is after the sun has gone down then the clouds and sky turn the most interesting shades of blue, pink and orange.

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. -e.e. cummings

It is finally April but the weather hasn't cooperated yet, still too cold for me to go out and look for pictures, so any thing I get right now will be from the friendly confines of my house or my car, with the heat on...high!

Puppy eyes

April 2nd and snowing

Out for dinner

I have been slacking in my photo postings this past week, but I am catching up tonight! So here goes!!

What are those numbers on the phone poles any way? Are they a secret code?

Lovely spring clouds, and for once a blue sky!

A burst of color.

Spring singing!

Late day at the park

Dinner! Any my new camera is awesome!!

Snow geese headed north, at least I hope headed north. I love to watch them in their huge flocks taking off all together. They are a tight knit bunch!

This is spring? It was 17 degrees this morning!!!! Whats up with that? It's March 20th after all, it's time to warm up now.

It's a weird thing when your high school closes, it has been a long time since I attended DeSales but I could still remember what class I had in each room, taking tests, playing sports. It's a bit of a hollow feeling not having that to go back to, the building is still there but it's not the same with out the people who loved the school and the kids, if you know what I mean.

The William Smith crew teams were out practicing today, it was a bit chilly, they are quite ambitious, and quite young.

The first day of spring! And this chubby robin proves it's spring, because you can't tell it from the temperature that's for sure!

So today started out icky but ended quite nice, the sun was all warm and fiery in the sky, you wouldn't know it but it was only about 30 degrees, so it wasn't so warm after all!

It started out so nice today, it was cold but there was a pretty sunrise, I was kind of hoping the weather predictions would be wrong that by the end of the day it would be super nasty out. Well they were right, it rained and snowed and it took me forever to get home from work, the roads were terrible. I can only hope that the weathermen are wrong again, they say it won't warm up until April....a girl can dream can't she.

Well I lied, I wasn't going to do a mass blog again but here I am posting another one. I have become a little lazy these cold winter nights. So I won't make any promises not to do it again, but there is a good chance I will at least until it warms up, to about 75 degrees.

My work toys

Happy pi day!!

Delicate nature

Maple syrup time

Looking for dinner 

I love it when the snow geese move through the area, they are so white and so large in numbers that you can't miss them. You can't help but notice them even if you aren't looking for them, they stand out against the gray and brown of the fields. They aren't here for too long but when they are I always think it won't be long now, things will start to turn green, flowers will start to grow and before too long I will start to complain it is too hot.

So now that the time has changed and it HAS to warm up soon, I am going to get my act together and start posting daily again. I have been taking photos all along but have not felt like posting, so this will be the last mass post...I promise.

Simons birthday, the day I got him and now...a little bit older

Sunset on Seneca Street

Divot in her sunspot

bath time

sibling bald eagles

practice practice practice

That round yellow circle in the center of the picture is...wait for it...the sun!! It does actually exist! I wonder if it will be out again tomorrow, I want to make sure it's not a fluke.

I promise I will get back to the normal one picture/blog a day, I just am not into it right now, maybe if I saw the sun for more than 15 minutes a week I would be in a better mood. So today's post is from the first 4 days of March, not much special but you will notice that the photo for March 4th is of some blue sky! The clouds broke up for about 10 minutes this morning, and again for about 10 minutes in the afternoon. It gave me hope that it might warm up a little in the coming days, I can't wait!

So my mood has not improved much, it is still winter but now we have rain along with the snow, and of course clouds lots and lots of clouds. I don't think the sun is actually up there, I think it has gone on spring break to Florida!

I haven't much felt like writing the blog lately, never mind taking photos every day. I think the weather and the grayness and cold and all that have gotten to me, so since I don't have kids to photograph you get to see photos of my 2 dogs and you might see a lot of them in the coming days, if the sun doesn't come out soon that is!

I'm a bit behind in my postings, I was tired last night and then of course put it off today until it is late again, so this will be a short one. i noticed this tree on yet another gray sunless day, not sure why I noticed it now, I have passed it about a million times in the last couple of years. I think I spotted it now because I was looking at the sky wondering if spring would ever arrive, or at least start to arrive and if I would ever see the sun again, to me for some reason this tree looks like it is wondering the same thing.

As you can imagine I have tons and tons of photographs, new ones, old ones, digital ones every kind imaginable. I love them, to see old pics of my family are great and to see the styles of the day it is a riot to look back. I have one of my Grandmother Boncaro when she was about 4 years old, it's and original photo and is 96 years old, it has a wrinkle in it but that makes it even better. There is also a photo of her parents when they were young, they both came to this country from Sicily and they are standing there stiff as boards but it's a great pic, also most likely 100 years old. I also have albums filled with photos from both my fathers youth and my mothers, I love to look at them and I don't even want to tell you how many photos I have taken of my sister, she is 9 years younger than I am so she was my model when I started taking photos. And my 2 nieces, forget it the photos of the two of them are filling up my hard drive on my computer as I speak. I will continue to photograph my family as much as they hate it but the future members of my family have to laugh at us just like we laugh at the past generations.

"Memory...is the diary that we all carry about with us." -Oscar Wilde

Hot cocoa and cookies are the best invention ever, it's the perfect thing on yet another cold bitter winter night, so I think I will go enjoy mine before it gets cold!

"Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate." -Author Unknown

I take out the dogs in the morning which is much easier in the summer than it is in the winter, both for the dogs and me. Usually it takes me longer to get dressed than it does for the dogs to do their business. Actually Simon has it down to just a couple minutes, but Divot for some reason has not figured out that if she smells every blade of grass or flake of snow she is going to get cold, so most mornings it is me and Simon trying to go back in, but we can't because Divot hasn't done anything. And it's Divot trying to levitate herself above the cold ground and looking at me like I am purposely torturing her, but she will finally do something and in we go, and I get undressed and the dogs go back to bed while I finish getting ready for work. They have the life.

"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person." -Andy Rooney

I admit it, I am one of those people who save their change, I put it in a big jar and when it gets full I wrap it up and bring it to the bank, it's like a little present I didn't now I had. I usually buy myself something I had been wanting, or use it for vacation something fun. My Grandfather Boncaro used to keep his pennies, he would put them in cups everywhere, pennies all over the house, in drawers, in little cups on end tables, in cabinets...everywhere. I must have inherited that trait from him. My Grandmother Pioli gave me this little piggy bank way back when I was in high school, more than thirty years ago (holy cow). I filled it with pennies, probably no more than two dollars worth and then put it on my shelf. I have had it ever since, it has followed me to a couple different houses but I still have it. I have no intention of ever 'breaking' it open, it reminds me of all of my grandparents and the little things that I remember about each one of them, fun little things that made each one of them unique and special to me.

"Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven." -Johnny Burke

We have great flocks of crows here in Geneva, at dusk they fly in from all areas and roost in the trees along the lake making a great racket and creeping you out if you happen to be walking by and they all take flight in the dark. They used to land in the trees in town around the houses making a horrible racket but now they have moved down to the lake leaving everyone alone. It is interesting to see them first thing in the morning flying down the lake in search of whatever they search for, food most likely. I see them when I am taking the dogs out, they look like an army going out for battle. I'm telling you they are creepy, but they will be gone to other parts in the spring, they only like to stay here for the winter, which is odd since most of us would like to leave here for the winter.

I was a little lazy last night and didn't feel like posting my POD, I went shopping again and when I got home felt like lazing around with the dogs, so I left the photo thill this morning, or as it has become, early afternoon. I figured I had better do Saturday's since I have to go take one for Sunday!

"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." -Jules Renard

It's finally Friday and at least the sun was out a bit today and made my drive home quite pretty. Even though the whole thing lasted about 5 minutes, it was a nice 5 minutes.

"A cloudless plain blue sky is like a flowerless garden." -Terri Guillemets

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm not all that into Valentines because I am single, all I have are 2 dogs and they don't get out to the store that often so I didn't have any chocolates waiting for me when I got home, I just had their wagging tails and dog kisses waiting for me, which are way better anyway!

"Without Valentine's Day, February would be...well, January." -Jim Gaffigan

It was haircut day! Which can be a bit traumatic if you are not in the right frame of mind, but for me I never mind it. I have the attitude that it will grow so don't get in a twitch about it. As everyone who knows me I do not have the gift of hair patience, that's why it is usually short and easy to take care of, and as everyone also knows my hair has a mind of its own which makes each day an adventure. Believe it or not its an adventure that I don't really mind.

"Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like." -Author Unknown

There is nothing like more to do after a hectic day at work than come home and rub my dog Simon's ears. He has the best softest ears in the whole world, and I love the look on his little face, he goes into a bit of a trance, it's one of the few times he will sit still for any length of time. It is a very calming thing to do, and should be a required activity for all who work.

"Dogs are miracles with paws." -Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

It's a true sign of spring when the peeps start popping up everywhere. I don't like them that much, 2 or 3 a year is all for me, and I prefer the traditional yellow peeps, but I'm not too good to eat a bunny or green chick after all they all taste the same. And I actually like them when they are a little stale, I know weird but they are good! You can be like my brother and put them in the microwave to warm them up, but you have to be careful, a second too long and you have peep guts all over the place.

"It would take over 70 million peeps lined up end to end to reach from New York City to Los Angeles."

A few photos from a nice winter day here in Geneva...

The storm didn't last long and it left everything very pretty, a winter wonderland. But I will be so glad when it melts and the weather is consistently in the 70s! The dogs will too, they are a bit too short for these large snow falls and much prefer grass.

"The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination." -Terri Guillemets

Well we are waiting for winter storm Nemo to hit, but I think it will only be a bit of snow maybe about 10 inches which is nothing, haha! At least we are not in the Boston area they are forecast to get about 30 better there than here as far as I'm concerned. As for tonight and at least the morning I am going to stay cuddled up with the dogs and watch a little tv.

"A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water." -Carl Reiner

I hope these geese are heading north, that they know something we don't and that warmer weather is on its way. The only problem is that there is a blizzard coming, one apparently of epic proportions. The one good thing is that it should be well east of us, we should only get a few inches of snow, possibly a foot which is better than what is forecast for New England two feet plus! Good for them!!

"Winter is not a season, it's an occupation." -Sinclair Lewis

Another interesting sunset on my way home from work, and of course I had to stop and take a photo, it doesn't matter that I had a sunset pic for yesterdays photo of the day and if I have the chance and the sun is out for a third straight day, I might take another one tomorrow night too. If I could my whole computer would be filled up with sunset photos, and maybe a few sunrises. I think they are so hard to capture and I keep trying I'm not sure that I have actually taken one that I love, there are a lot that I like but I am still trying for that one I love, and I will enjoy taking them until I get it, or my hard drive fills up which ever comes first!

"We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon." -Konrad Adenauer

The sun is staying up longer now a days, which is so nice. I love getting home in the daylight and when the sun is actually out to see set, and the sky turns a wonderful orange color you can't help but think spring is getting closer. Just the color alone makes me feel warmer!

"When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator." -Mahatma Gandhi

I'm a sucker for the morning sunrises and the pretty light, as long as I am awake. In the summer when the sun comes up way earlier I want no part of the pretty light. I did stop and take a quick photo of the sunrise on the way to work but then as I was heading west I noticed how pretty the blue sky was with the sliver of moon hanging up there, add in the pretty pink rimmed clouds and you have a nice peaceful picture to get you through the day, a Monday.

"The sky is that beautiful old parchment in which the sun and the moon keep their diary." -Alfred Kreymborg

It's Super Bowl Sunday, I don't care so much about the game, I kind of watch for the commercials but this year, at least so far they aren't very good. More importantly Sofie came over today for some eats and to watch the Puppy Bowl, which was much better than the real game has been. And more importantly it made Sofie giggle...a lot, which is the best sound ever.

"Laughter is an instant vacation." -Milton Berle

I have just one thing to say, that groundhog did not see his shadow....phew, I hope he's right an early spring!

Rita: "Do you ever have deja vu?" Phil: "Didn't you just ask me that?" -Groundhog Day

Tonights sunset lasted about 10 minutes, after a day of clouds and snow the sun tried its damnedest to come out at least for a few minutes. I'm glad it happened just as I was walking out from work.

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show." -Andrew Wyeth

Well winter is back, the wind was silly today, blowing a gale all day long, now we are getting snow, yippee. But I have hope, tomorrow is February and as far as I am concerned the down hill side of winter, and it is a short month to boot.

"Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius." -Pietro Aretino

If the whole winter could be as warm as today I wouldn't mind it, I could do without the rain but beggars can't be choosers. The temperature got to 60 today, a one day spring in January. Tomorrow back to reality, wind, low temps in the 30s and snow, oh well one day is better than none.

"The photograph itself doesn't interest me. I want only to capture a minute part of reality." -Henri Cartier Bresson

Fog is an interesting thing, it is almost like liquid, I like fog but not so much to drive in. At least this morning it wasn't so bad, it did mean that the weather was considerably warmer than it has been, also nice. But the fog makes everything fuzzy and soft looking and after the harsh sun on the bright snow a little fog gives the eyes a nice rest.

"The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on." -Carl Sanburg

I love this clock, it was my Grandfathers, and every time I look at it I think of him. It was on his bedside table for as long as I can remember, the clock a lamp, and a little dish that held some change. I remember hearing the loud ticking and wondered how anyone could sleep with that noise right next to your head. It doesn't work right now, it needs to be cleaned which isn't surprising it is more than 50 years old and well worn, but I am going to get it cleaned so I can hear that ticking at night I have a feeling it will put me right to sleep. But I won't set the alarm, that bell would scare the hell out of me first thing in the morning.

"A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart." -Author Unknown

Took a trip to the George Eastman House, it's always inspiring to see exhibits by the great photographers of the past. And it is always so much better to see an actual photograph, taken with film and printed on paper. Today's digital images are great, with incredible detail but give an old black and white photo, grain and fuzziness any day, to me they seem more alive and real. I think it is because I wear glasses and the world seems a bit fuzzy and more inviting to me with out all of the harsh lines and details.

"You push the button, we do the rest." -George Eastman

It was warmer today, if you call 25 warm, so I decided to venture out a little to see what I could find. What I found were a zillion sea gulls all hanging out on the frozen lake, I think they thought it was water but when they landed realized it was hard and slippery. They were having a time of it, trying to take off and land on that ice. They would try to get a running start when they took off which didn't work out so well and when they landed it was even better they would come gliding in and when they put their feet down they just kept on going trying to keep their balance. I could have watched them for hours but after about 10 minutes I was frozen and couldn't feel my fingers, so much for it warming up.

"Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless." -Bill Watterson

Finally Friday!! It was a long week that started out with me being sick then ended with work, not sure what is worse...haha! But on the bright side for the first time all week the temperature rose to a balmy 20 degrees so that was nice. Looking forward to the weekend and a little rest and relaxation.

"There aren't enough days in the weekend."-Rod Schmidt

No not feathers but frost on the front window of my car, and frosty it was. When I left for work it was a whopping zero degrees, zero, nada, nothing, zilch or just plain cold. So now I am going to go get in bed and get my two dogs and cuddle up under a blanket, a quilt and another blanket and have them warm me up till we have to start all over again tomorrow, I hear it is going to be warmer, five degrees, get out the sunscreen.

"Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours." -Robert Byrne

So it was super cold all day, in fact right now as I write this it is 4 degrees, but on my way home from work it was a balmy five degrees. It was so cold that the ice melter wouldn't melt the snow on the roads making it an interesting ride home. Hopefully tomorrow it will warm up, maybe make it to 15.

"Winter is not a season, it's an occupation." -Sinclair Lewis

Well I am still under the weather today but at least I had little Divot to keep me warm and toasty all day. Her job for most of the day along with Simon was to sit on my lap sometimes on sometimes under the blanket. I think they were shocked I was home again and wondered what the deal was. Actually they probably didn't care who was home as long they could sit with them and be cuddly warm.

"Happiness is a warm puppy." -Charles M. Schulz

I hate being sick, it is boring and of course the added benefit of being nauseous all day and night, so this was me all day not eating and sipping on warm coke, yum. So I will add a bonus photo I took yesterday down at the lake

I ran down to the park again, mostly to see if the eagle was around and to see if there were any interesting scenes because of the wind, and it was crazy windy today. But instead as I came around a corner sitting right there in a tree by the road were these 2 red tail hawks sitting in that tree just as pretty as a picture. So I stopped the car and they promptly took off, figures. So I went on my way and went looking for the eagle and other birds, I did see a couple of blue birds but they were flitting around too fast and I lost sight of them. As I was on my way out of the park there were the birds sitting back in the tree, this time I was ready for them, I had the camera out the window and I drove up slowly and was able to get them both before they took off back into the wind. I know red tail hawks are not an unusual thing around here but they are a bit difficult to photograph they keep flying away and to get two in one shot is kind of a cool thing, at least for me it is!

"True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable."-Dave Tyson Gentry

It was a day for errands, at least it was a little warm. I understand it is the warm before the cold, I guess by next week it will be hard pressed to get to 20 degrees, but today it was 50 and the birds were out. They were zipping around foraging for food and bits of fluff. I think it's too early to make nests but maybe they were gathering to keep warm. I bet they know whats coming!

"Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius." -Pietro Aretino

Even thought today is Friday it could have been a Monday for me. I just couldn't get going this morning and neither could the dogs which didn't help. So I was late getting going to work and to top it off it was 9 degrees out, nice and chilly. So of course on my way to work the sunrise was especially nice and I managed to see a whole lot of photo opportunities. The light was beautiful and if I had stopped I would have been an hour late, but I did manage to stop for a quick minute and shoot a couple of shots of this farm just waking up, the gold light and the pink clouds were so pretty I had to be a little late to work!

"When you possess light within, you see it externally." -Anais Nin

It started to snow a little today while we were at lunch. But it was so cold that the flakes were kind of big and they didn't melt right away so you could really see the shape and how delicate they are. I started to get mesmerized watching them fall and stick to the window. I wish that snowflakes were around when it was much warmer so you could stand outside and watch them without danger of freezing to death.

"We are like a snowflake, all different in our own beautiful way." -Unknown Author

I love the late day sun, especially in the winter the sun looks weak like it is trying to warm up but can't. Like  it's heater isn't working and it's trying and trying to do it's job. The good thing is the days are getting a little longer each day, even though it's just by a couple minutes they are still getting longer. Pretty soon I will be able to drive all the way home in the daylight, when that happens to me at least winter is almost over!

"One kind word can warm three winter months." -Japanese Proverb

I really really wanted to stay outside this morning and enjoy the view. The sun came out a little and the light was so beautiful, even though the only thing I saw it shining on was a warehouse building, a bunch of parked trucks and the back of the building I work in. So at least it was a pretty walk in from the parking lot.

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." -John Muir

Simon is the A dog, he is the older brother and it's funny how he acts like a big brother to Divot. Actually he pretty much ignores her, most of the time, but they do hang out together and conspire. For example Divot waits patiently while Simon tips over the small trash can in the bathroom so they can rip up tissues. But mostly Simon is my buddy, he is my protector, my watch dog, the dog that comes when I call him, and sits when I ask him. He has soulful eyes that I can't resist and a short stubby little tail that is always wagging. He would do anything to please me and I try to do everything to please him.

"Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails." -Max Eastman

I was looking around for a photo today and came upon this graffiti, usually the graffiti on the trains around here are names and things like that. They are cool and all but this one was especially interesting, I really like it for some reason, I liked it so much I actually stopped in the middle of the road and snapped a picture. It's not what I normally would take for the photo of the day but as I said I like this painting. I wish I could get a really good graffiti artist to come and paint my whole room!

"As the sun colors flowers, so does art color life." -John Lubbock

It was unusually nice today, well not super nice but warmer than normal about 54 degrees so I decided to take the dogs for a short walk down at the lake. Not to long of a walk I mean lets not get crazy, it is still winter and it was kind of windy and of course i wasn't dressed quite right, but a walk none the less. The dogs had an great time, they walked 3 times as far as I did and smelled every blade of grass, tree and rock in the whole park. They were so busy they didn't even bother with other people or dogs at the park. I hope the dogs are tired enough to sleep the rest of the night, because I am.

"After a day's walk everything has twice its usual value." -George Macauley Trevelyan

I was thinking about my dogs, actually I was daydreaming at work thinking how I would like to be home with them sitting in the recliner watching tv. So I thought how would I take their photos, as if they were my kids (which they are, but I mean the 2 legged variety). So when I got home Divot was in a cooperative mood and just sat there and let me take her photo, I think it is the perfect photo because this is all she does, sit there and look at you, trying to will you to give her some sort of treat. It usually works, how could you refuse that face! 

"My little dog -  a heartbeat at my feet." -Edith Wharton

Clouds are great, that is the clouds that float in pretty blue sky, not the clouds that blanket the sky and cover every inch of blue and blot out the sun. But pretty wispy, puffy white clouds are awesome. I think tomorrow it might rain, bummer, but there is always hope for a rainbow!

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

It was another nice drive to work, another pink sky and more sun. It made an ordinary Wednesday a little nicer, as far as Wednesdays go. I wonder if we can make it three days in a row tomorrow. 

"Sadness flies on the wings of the morning and out of the heart of darkness comes the light." -Jean Giraudoux

I have noticed that if the sun is out in the morning I am in a much better mood during the day. And a way better mood when I get a awesome photo of the sunrise, or in this case the pre-sunrise dawn. Even though it was cold and I was as usual running a bit late but I just had to stop and take a quick photo. It is very quiet at this time of the day, just before everything wakes up, which is usually the case for me, I hate to get up in the morning. Hence the always running late to work.

"I'd like the mornings better if they started later." -Author Unknown

A different kind of tracks, and pattern, I like to try to find patterns in everyday places and a fresh dusting of snow on an unused parking lot is always a good place to start.

"I never question what to do, it tells me what to do. The photographs make themselves with my help." -Ruth Bernhard

My two dogs pretend not to like each other, but they really do, I think. Simon is the big brother (the footprint on the left is his) and Divot is the little sister (the right one is hers). They don't exactly cuddle up with each other but they do sit together on a chair, especially is someone is on that chair. They will both tag team you when it is dinner time, each taking turns staring you down until you finally get up and get their dinner. But they are completely different personality wise, Simon is always in motion, jumping and running around, when we go for a walk he leads the way. Divot on the other hand wants nothing more than to sit on your lap, her sole ambition in life is to take a nap so she has the energy to go to bed. On walks she lags behind and would rather be carried, she thinks she belongs to a movie star or something. As most people with pets say, I don't know what I would do with out them, they infuriate me, they drive me nuts, but they make me laugh. I'm glad I saw their little footprints next to each other in the snow, it might be the best picture I have of the two of them together.

"Dogs are miracles with paws." -Attributed to Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

This is one determined squirrel, he tried and tried to get up one of the poles with a feeder on it but couldn't reach them because of the ingenious squirrel guards I put up. (a gallon milk carton with the bottom cut out) It finally figured out there was a pole without a guard so it shimmied up the pole and from the top supermanned it on over to the top of another pole and promptly fell off. But after a couple more tries it finally hung on and managed to reach on over and have some munchies but finally gave up and ran away. It must have thought that it was way too much work for the little bit of food it was managing to get. I guess I am going to have to figure out how to make a new guard for the other pole, the war against the squirrels has begun.

"With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable." -Thomas Foxwell Buxton

So after you get tons of snow what happens, it melts and makes cool icicles on everything and everywhere. I love how they look especially on a sunny day, all shiny and smooth. When we were young we used to have the best time at my grandmothers house breaking them off and licking them like they were super cold popsicles, we don't do that any more which is a shame, it was fun. I do know for a fact that my brother still knocks them off his roof for sport, this weekend I am going out to his house and knock a few off myself!

"Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons." -Author Unknown

Did you ever notice how the geese fly south? In that classic V pattern, each bird taking a turn leading the way so no one bird gets so tired they can't continue. It's amazing to think they just know to do this, they don't exactly come up with a plan and write it down and distribute it among the group so they all know their jobs, they just take off and fly. Around here they are a common sight, some say a nuisance but I like them, I like their honking, if you close your eyes it sounds kind of like a party with a bunch of people talking, well at least to me it does. One thing about geese, they have the right idea, they head south for the winter.

"Happier of happy though I be, like them I cannot take possession of the sky, mount with a thoughtless impulse, and wheel there, one of a mighty multitude whose way and motion is a harmony and dance magnificent." -William Wordsworth

Well I can't believe it but I am going to start this whole thing again. I was so happy to be done that I started again! But this time I have some company, my sister Danielle, her husband Ira and my Uncle Louis are all going to attempt this challenge with me, so that should be interesting. I think this time around things might be a bit different, there will be more photos of the things in my life, objects in the house that are special or interesting, my dogs who always are interesting, at least to me,, maybe even my parents...if they will let me. Also this time around I will take some photos with my cell phone, so that should open up a whole bunch of possibilities for new photos. But don't worry there will still be sunrises and sunsets and of course the lake and birds, all the usuals because I love to photograph those things. I can't wait to see what year 2 brings!

"Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of." -Charles Richards

i love to look for patterns, in everyday things and in nature, every where. They fascinate me, man made patterns are everywhere, the roofs of buildings, the way tires are lined up to be sold, even shopping carts lined up outside a store. Next time you are out and about take a closer look at things, you will see patterns emerge, believe it or not the snow really brings them out. And as a bonus it will give you something to do during this long winter.

"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -Mark Twain

It's the last day of the year, the last day of my year long project to take a photo a day and I can't believe I actually did it. It is the first time I ever made a new years resolution and actually kept it. It was an interesting project. It made me look at everything and I mean everything as a possible photo, because if you think about it 366 photos is a whole lot of photos and I was sort of worried that I would run out of things to photograph, which is silly if you think about it, there is always something to photograph. I enjoyed looking for a different photo everyday, even on very bad days, days when I didn't feel good, rainy days and sunny days. I expect I will continue to look, after all the photo of the day has to continue! 

Here are some little facts about the 366 photos of the day:

There are 40 sunrises and sunsets

There are 18 barns

There are 48 photos of or near Seneca Lake

There are 69 of birds (all varieties, eagles, hawks, falcons, sparrows, ducks, gulls, herons, a turkey, plus more..)

There are 6 of my dogs

6 of my nieces

362 were taken in New York State

3 in Massachusetts

1 in Rhode Island

There are 3 of American flags

6 photos of cows 

3 rainbows

etc...

"Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each day." -Michael Josephson

Me, Divot and Simon as photographed by Sofia Boncaro, age 7...with her new camera.

Finally today the sun came out, and it didn't snow so I was able to get out of the house, which was so nice I couldn't believe it. I wanted to drive around a bit to find a photo for the day but it was so cold and windy I didn't want to get out of the car. But I did drive around and went down to my old standby location, the state park. It was even colder and windier down there, and I didn't get out of the car because as I said, it was COLD. I wonder what the last day of the year will bring, and what kind of picture I will find for my last shot of the year. Well stay tuned...

"Winter is not a season, it's an occupation." -Sinclair Lewis

Well the weather men got the forecast for today a bit wrong, they said 1-4 inches. Yeah right, we had to get 6 easy and it is still snowing out. All that snow didn't slow down the birds at the feeder though. They were out in force digging under the snow to find some munchies. I watched them for a long time and tried to take photos through the front window. I wasn't about to go outside and freeze, so I sat in the front window still in my jammies and took a bunch of photos. This was my favorite one because of the cute little snowflake right on the top of this cute little birds head.

"Snowflakes are kisses from heaven." -Author Unknown

Well today was bar none, the longest, worst, most difficult, frustrating day at work.  But it is over and I have a long weekend and am going to go to bed early. I hear we are expecting a bit more snow this weekend, oh joy.

"I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood." -Bill Watterson

Well it snowed...a lot, in just one night it snowed 18 inches, and that is too much for me. It was too much to drive through so I had to wait for the plow guy to come plow me out. It's too much to shovel, so I shoveled just a small path to my car to be able to get in. It's too much for the dogs, it's higher than them, so i had to make some sort of path for them to go out and do their business, which they didn't want to do because there was too much snow. I have a feeling that as soon as we get this snow taken care of more will be on it's way, I am not going to like this winter, I am going to go south from now on, just like the birds!

"Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours." -Robert Byrne

We didn't get much snow last winter, so we are going to get it all in one night this year, as I sit here it is snowing about an inch an hour they say by tomorrow we should have around 14 inches of snow. Yikes, my dogs are not 14 inches high so that should be interesting. I have already shoveled a little path for them twice since I got home from work and will have to again before the night is over. I guess I don't mind the snow, if we only get these big storms once a year. I know 2 little dogs that are right now trying to figure out a way to not go out until June.

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?" -J.B. Priestley

It's Christmas and we woke up, a bit too early, to a white Christmas, not a lot of white but just enough to cover everything. It made it a picture perfect day to spend with family and open presents and have some fun. 

"May your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white" -Irving Berlin, White Christmas

it's Christmas Eve and I hope your Elf reports back to Santa and you get everything you wish for. Merry Christmas to all!

"May peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!"-Author Unknown

The day before Christmas Eve was a busy one, running errands, visiting and having visitors, not a moment to rest...for a human. But my dog Simon took advantage of the afternoon sun to sit in a comfy chair and take a nap. I was jealous because that is just exactly what I wanted to be doing but by the time I was able to sit down the sun had gone behind the clouds and shortly after it was dark. So before I go to bed, I better finish wrapping!

"Christmas is for children. But it is for grown-ups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts." -Lenora Mattingly Weber

Well winter came in with a bang. Your basic snow storm, nothing huge but enough snow that you had to shovel it and enough wind to blow it around, which means while you are shoveling it blows down your neck and freezes you. So after a long morning of trying to get out of the driveway, then going to get my snow tires put on...a day late I might add...the clouds started to break up and the sun came out. It made for a beautiful evening sunset, the clear sunlight all at the same time turning everything orange and pink and blue. It was cold and the driving not so great but I am glad I took the time to carefully drive around and see the beauty.

"One kind word can warm three winter months." -Japanese Proverb

It's the shortest day of the year, or the longest night depending on how you look at it. I like this day because it only gets lighter from here on out, a couple minutes each day and before long it's still light when I get home from work. Pretty soon the sun will be up before I get out of bed, so no more sunrise photos and more sunsets. Even though it is the first day of winter and there is a lot of winter left it still seems to me that it won't last long, I must be nuts because it can still last 3 more months but still the days are numbered. So on this longest night of the year, i am going to cuddle up with the dogs, have some tea then go to bed and enjoy the dark.

"Welcome, winter. Your late dawns and chilled breath make me lazy, but I love you nonetheless." -Terri Guillemets

I carpool to work with my brother most days, he's a good person to carpool with, at least with me because I don't have to talk to him! Neither of us are morning people so it's perfect, we ride to and from work not saying much, listening to the radio and yelling at the occasional annoying driver in our way. 

"I'd like mornings better if they started later." -Author Unknown

Christmas is getting closer, my mom is making lists of things to buy, most importantly the grocery list! I, thankfully am done with my shopping, well almost... And I haven't even started to wrap anything, well there's still a whole weekend yet to get it all done!

"At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year" -Thomas Tusser

Well it's just one week till Christmas and I for one can't wait! I'm not excited so much for myself, I like to give stuff to people, I always try to find something interesting and different. It doesn't have to be expensive just cool. Even though I like to give gifts getting them is fun too, I better get my letter to Santa in the mail!

"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." -Peg Bracken

It's Monday, joy, Monday and I still have a cold and don't feel like doing anything except drink this big old mug of sleepytime tea and go to bed, which is just what I am going to do!

"Monday is a lame way to spend 1/7 of your life." -Author Unknown

It was rather warm today, almost 50! But with the wind it sure didn't feel like it. Plus it was cloudy again. AND on top of all that I have a cold, so I didn't feel like traipsing about looking for a photo. So I am going to have a cup of tea and go to bed early and hope this cold doesn't get any worse, I have a lot to do this week!

"If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it." -Toni Morrison

I know i said earlier this week that I like the understated elegant decorations, but I lied, I like the light, and the more lights the better. I swear one of these days you will be able to see my house from space just like the Griswolds house in the movie Christmas Vacation. 

"Is your house on fire, Clark? No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights." -Christmas Vacation

I have to admit, I was so busy at work today that I didn't hear about the events of the day until much later in the afternoon. I hadn't heard of them when I went to lunch and stopped at a small park where we often eat lunch. I have seen this playground just about everyday of the past 3 or 4 years, it is on the road I take most often to and from work, but today for some reason I wanted to photograph it of it for the photo of the day. I don't know what drew me to it after all this time but today was the day, and later when I found out what had happened I thought it a perfect picture of the day...an empty playground.

"Children make your life important." -Erma Bombeck

I was late to work this morning, nothing was going as planned, I overslept, the dogs were not very fast outside, I even burned my toast. So i was headed to work, late, and couldn't believe my eyes, the sun was actually out, I just had to stop and take a photo, making me even later, but not much and it was worth it, after all I had forgotten what it looked like!

"I'd like mornings better if they started later." -Author Unknown

When I saw this little bird flying up to the next wire the theme song from the old tv show 'The Jeffersons' came right to mind. I don't know why, maybe I've watched too much tv in my lifetime, but not I can't get that song out of my head! And I took the picture on my way to work at 8am!!

"Well we're movin on up, to the east side. To a deluxe apartment in the sky." -Jeffersons theme song

I love driving around looking at the christmas decorations on all of the houses. I love them all, the elegantly simple ones, the insanely tacky ones, all of them. In fact I always wanted to be one of those people who started in September setting up and spent a years salary on the electric bill for the month of December. But I also would like to be one of those people who have a big old house with a tree in the window and just a couple decorations that are very understated and pretty. I guess when I grow up I will have to have two houses!

"Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year - and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority." -W.J. Cameron

I thought we needed a bit of Holiday cheer today, I mean seriously, with the oppressive gray rainy cold day a little color was in order. So what's more cheery than a bright red ornament? Not much! 

"Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand." -Dr. Seuss

The question these last few days has been, where the hell is the sun? It makes it a little challenging to find a good photo when it is so dark and gray, no color to be found anywhere except brown and gray. So once I got it in my head not to look for color it was a little easier, I started to notice how some of the trees looked with out the leaves. Each type looked so different silhouetted against the overcast sky, you never notice this with all the leaves on the trees, they look interesting like someone took a big old pen and doodles a riot of branches on a white paper. I kind of think it is oddly delicate and pretty. But the weatherman says a few days this week the sun is supposed to come out...sure it is.

"Winter is not a season, it's an occupation." -Sinclair Lewis

Nature amazes me, trees don't have brains but they still are able to protect themselves. This bunch of trees by the road had these crazy long thorns growing out the the trunk, I mean they look deadly, I wouldn't want to get anywhere near them and they were all over. There is no way a squirrel could get up with out risk of perforation. I don't know what kind of trees they are, and what is so special about them they have to have these deadly needles sticking out of them but they must be there for a reason. They remind me of the trees in the Wizard of Oz, and we know how I feel about that movie!

"If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere." -Vincent Van Gogh

Admit it these clouds look like a HUGE thumbprint. Maybe God just wanted to remind us that he is still around and this time of year isn't all about the shopping and the gifts. Not that I am against all that, I like a good gift myself! But we should remember that it's not really about that at all.

"This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone." -Taylor Caldwell

Another lovely sunrise this morning, the mornings are very nice when you can actually see the sun and it's not behind thick gray clouds. I wish my job could be to sit and watch the sun come up every day, watch it travel across they sky among the blue sky and occasional cloud, then watch it set. I would be great fun to try and record all the different colors you see, there would be more than you find in a crayon box.

"Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Doesn't this scene look like it could be in any small town in America? All it needs is snow to make it look all Norman Rockwell like, but I for one am glad there is no snow in the photo! I think there will be quite a few night time photos in the next 26 days, at least there are lots of interesting things to photograph, Christmas time is very photogenic. 

"I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month." -Harlan Miller

It was a lovely morning, blue sky with nice pink clouds floating around. Just before the sun came up they were the pinkest, I think that is why the birds start flying around at that time of day, they want to be up there in the pretty pink fluff. I bet it is fun to be a bird, flying up there looking down on all of us humans, feeling sorry for us that we cannot be in the pink fluff with them.

"Seagulls... slim yachts of the element." -Robinson Jeffers

It was a nice night, that's why I decided to take a photo of the city's Christmas tree, I figured I didn't even need to wear gloves so I wouldn't wait till later in the month when it might be freezing and I couldn't feel my fingers. I like to try to take pics of the lights, it's kind of like trying to get good photos of fireworks, you never know what you will get. But the one came out nice, it was clear and the lake was calm, so clear that you can see Rose Hill Mansion in the background, it's clear across the lake, has to be at least a mile away, it adds a nice touch, without the leaves on the trees you get a good view, you can even see the huge columns on the front of the house.

"The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!" -Charles N. Barnard

I love the smell of fresh Christmas trees and wreaths, it is the smell of comfort, of simpler times. It just smells lovely, like Christmas, or the woods after a nice cool rain in the summer, but it's not as nice as the Christmas smell! Now if it will only stop raining. 

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." -Norman Vincent Peale

For some reason I can't think of anything clever to write tonight, maybe I'm too tired, it has been a long busy day. So I will leave you with an interesting quote...

"All photographs are there to remind us of what we forget. In this - as in other ways - they are the opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter remembers. Because each one of us forgets different things, a photo more than a painting may change its meaning according to who is looking at it." -John Berger

Today is the last day of November, only 31 days left in the year, 31 more photos, I never would have thought I would get this far but now there is just one month left. I wonder how I will feel the last day of the year, relieved? I bet there will be relief but I also be that I will still continue to do a photo of the day, it's a habit now, and I enjoy it, it keeps me off the streets!

"If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera." -Lewis Hine

Today was a nice day, the sun was out, the sky was blue, the water even bluer. It was windy but even that didn't matter too much. But even with all the nice weather that wasn't the best part of the day, the best part was getting my new phone! I love the new toys and have to control myself or else I would be in the poor house, just with a lot of cool stuff.

"You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy." -Eric Hoffer

I have always been fascinated by the willow trees that line the north end of Seneca Lake. I have no idea why they are there or how long they have been there, I just know they have been there forever. They are lined up like guards, for almost 2 miles and when the wind finally manages to blow one of the old ones down a new one is planted in its place, which is nice, there will be the big old trees guarding the lake for generations to come.

"For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver." -Martin Luther

I couldn't believe these guys were out fishing today. That takes dedication, it was only about 35 degrees and a little windy, but they were out there fishing away, I bet they were having the best time out there in the quiet on the lake with no one to bother them. If it weren't so darn cold I might have considered it myself.

"There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind." -Washington Irving

Another day, another sunrise, another photo. Sunsets are still my favorite but this time of year sunrises are hard to beat. Mostly because the sun comes up so late I am actually awake for the sunrise.

"With each sunrise, we start anew." -Unknown

It was a quiet day today, the lull after the eat fest of Thanksgiving. Not much was going on, it was cloudy and cold, the kind of day to stay in and watch tv. But I ventured out, I had stuff to do, one thing was to find a photo for the day. I saw this lone bird hanging out by its self and thought of all the zillion seagulls around I wonder why this one went down to the state park and stood on a pole. I mean there are crowds of the birds in parking lots all over town. Then I realized this bird was just doing what a lot of people wanted to do today, be alone after battling all the crazies shopping!

"By all means use sometimes to be alone. Salute thyself; see what thy soul doth wear."-George Herbert

Today we had all the weather you could want, except for warm. It was windy, sunny, snowy, cloudy, did I mention snowy? After this past week which was kind of warm the wind today kind of took your breath away, even the dogs were shivering. I think it is going to be a cold winter, that does not bode well for me walking these dogs at 630 in the morning.

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." -John Ruskin

So I was up early today, early enough to go shopping, but I didn't, I had to go to work. But since I was up so early I got ready and got out of the house in time to see this awesome sunrise over the lake. So I guess it's a good thing I didn't go stand in line to get in a store, I would have missed it...I can always go to the store but rarely am I up early enough to see the sunrise.  

"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in." -George Washington Carver

Today is Thanksgiving, a day to give thanks. I'm especially thankful for a lot of things, my parents, my brother and sister, my dogs and good friends. Also stuff like a warm house and comfy bed, food to eat, the beautiful blue sky today, so as I sit here in a bit of a food coma I am thankful for everything, especially the fact that the hawk in the picture took off and flew toward me and I was paying attention.

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues." -Cicero

So how can a day have so many hours in it? Today has been the longest day, at least 48 hours long! Maybe it's because I am looking forward to tomorrow and a day off in the middle of the week, a day built around eating. The only bummer is that I have to work on Friday, but for now I will be thankful for the day off!

"All that we behold is full of blessings." -William Wordsworth

I was flipping around on the tv looking for something to watch and I couldn't believe it, To Kill a Mockingbird was just starting. I don't even mind that there are commercials, it's such a good movie. In fact to me it is the best movie I have seen. And as is usual the book is better, I love the book enough to have read it at least 15 times, possibly more. For a while I would read it every summer vacation. I'm not sure why I like it, there is no action, no great love story, no vampires, none of that nonsense. It is just a book about a single father trying to teach his kids about tolerance and honor. In fact that father, Atticus Finch, was voted the greatest hero of the movies of the past 100 years. He didn't need massive guns or explosions to save the world, just his principles.

"If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." -Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird

The only thing that made this morning tolerable was not the fact that it was freezing out, but the lovely sunrise. That and the fact that I actually got up and out early enough to see it and not be late to work, which is a miracle especially on a Monday.

"I can see the orange haze on the horizon as the morning exhales a yawn, and seems to be ready to rise." -Jeb Dickerson

It was such a nice day that I should have done so much, but I was so lazy that I didn't do much at all. I had every intention to do a whole host of things, not that I could name any of those things right now. But I did take the dogs out for a while, filled the bird feeders, then took photos of the birds eating at the feeders, which is always a challenge. I went to get gas and stopped at the drugstore, I desperately needed some chocolate, then home again. Then for my biggest challenge of the day, I tried to take a photo of the dogs for their Christmas card. Every year the hardest part is coming up with something for them to wear, but I think I accomplished my mission. Then dinner and in my pjs by 6:15pm, so for the rest of the evening I have been sitting in the recliner with 2 dogs snuggled up with me waiting for it to be time to go to bed.

  "A Sunday well-spent brings a week of content." -Proverb

Well it was a super busy, long day today and as a result I am way tired and going to bed early! The opening of my first show was a great success and much thanks to all who came!

"I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks." -William Shakespeare

When the moon is like this doesn't it remind you of the Cheshire Cat? It's up there looking down on us just smiling away as he should be, it was such a nice night. Speaking of night, did you ever notice how the night seems to arrive from the top down and the day seems to arrive from the bottom up? I know you are thinking what are you talking about, but if you notice the dark night sky comes down on us all, you can still see the last bit of the sunset for a long while after the sun has set. All along the horizon there is a orange glow until the dark purple blue sky covers it all up like a blanket.

"The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand." -Frederick L. Knowles

It looks like I am going to have to be very creative these last 46 days of the year. I can't always go looking for a photo at lunchtime and by the time I leave work it is dark, so on my way to work it will be dark, so I guess I will have to take some photos of the dark. I have always loved the Miami Motel sign, it cracks me up we couldn't be farther away from Miami yet there is it in all it's neon glory the Miami Motel, when you drive by in the daylight on the roof are green dolphins statues. No self respecting dolphin would be caught dead way up here in the north. In fact the way this winter has started out I kind of think I should head to the Canandaigua Motel, I hear there is one in Miami Florida.

"Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat." -Author Unknown

I have been sitting here trying to come up with something witty to write for today's entry but I can't, it was an ordinary Wednesday, middle of the week day. So I will attempt to find an interesting quote to sum up the day. 

"Tough and funny and a little bit kind: that is as near to perfection as a human being can be." -Mignon McLaughlin

So today I had exactly 12 minutes to find a photo, at least one in the daytime. Since it gets dark before I leave work and this morning it was miserable on the way to work, and I couldn't go at lunch because today is my little brothers birthday and I took him out to lunch. So I had 12 minutes from the end of lunch till the time I had to be back to work. I took the long way back to work and noticed the corn fields blowing in the wind and thought what the heck, it looks kind of cool and I bet in black and white it might look better. When I got home and looked at the picture it really was more interesting than I thought, but you really have to look at it. You can see the neatly spaced stalks broken and blowing in the wind,  how graceful the leaves look, to me I can really see the motion and the chaos. But if you look it's not chaotic at all.

"Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds." -George Santayana

It was a slightly calm day for a Monday, unusually warm, if the leaves were on the trees it would have looked like a summer day. This year is rapidly coming to an end, I mean next week is Thanksgiving then Christmas and New Years and the year is over. It will be over in 49 days I have to find 49 more photos to complete a year. I won't get ahead of myself, I will just worry about tomorrow and what that will bring.

"While there is perhaps a province in which the photography can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see." -Dorothea Lange

Every time I see these ducks, northern shovelers, I laugh, to me they look just like Daffy Duck, which reminds me of the Looney Tunes cartoons which are my most favorite. They put any cartoon made today to shame, yes they were a bit violent but they are cartoons and wicked funny cartoons at that. There is just something about the fact that they are made the old fashioned way, hand drawn nothing fancy just the cartoon and a voice, in the case of these particular cartoons just one person making all the voices. But the best part of watching them is that I am instantly brought back in time sitting on our couch laughing with my brother and sister while we watched. 

Daffy Duck - "What a fantastic view." Bugs Bunny - "Unless you're in the audience in which case you've been staring at an elephant's behind for 30 seconds."

Another busy weekend day, even though I don't think I did that much, it just seems like I did. Now tomorrow I am going to try to do even less, which might be hard because it is actually supposed to be near 70 degrees. I won't know what to do with myself! I think I will go for a drive and look for photographs!

"The camera can photograph thought." -Dirk Bogarde

I've decided that if you are up to see the sunrise, no matter what time that is it's too early. So as a result I am too tired to write much tonight, instead  here is a photo of said sunrise...goodnight.

"The sky is that beautiful old parchment in which the sun and the moon keep their diary." -Alfred Kreymborg

I am finally done! All the photos have been framed. Which might not sound like a lot but I have been framing photos little by little since April. I am so happy to be done! The photo show is a week away and I can't wait to see the photos hung up instead of leaning against the wall on the floor.

"It's weird that photographers spend years or even a whole lifetime, trying to capture moments that added together, don't even amount to a couple of hours." -James Lalropui Keivom

Can you tell what this picture is? Well I'll tell you, it's the frost on the front window of my car this mooring. Yes that's right, frost a hard frost darn it all. When I got up the temperature was 26 degrees, ouch. That is a bit too cold for me this early in the year, I'll tell you who else it's too cold for, my dogs, they did not appreciate me dragging them outside this morning. But take heart, this weekend it is supposed to get to the high 60's, possibly even 70! Open up the pool!!

"Welcome, winter. Your late dawns and chilled breath make me lazy, but I love you nonetheless."-Terri Guillemets

For all those who live in my area, this is a photo of the sun! Yes the sun, it was out today, not for the whole day but for most of it, here's hoping tomorrow brings more of the same. It makes the short days much nicer when you can see blue sky and the sun.

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." -Anthony J. D'Angelo

Well I saw blue sky today, there was a hole in the clouds about the size of a quarter, and I was lucky to be outside when it happened. I was even able to get a quick photo. I read today that we haven't had appreciable sunshine in ten days, yikes that's longer than I thought. But have been assured by those same weathermen that tomorrow there will be sun, in fact it is supposed to be mostly sunny. Stay tuned, we shall see!

"The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it be? It is the same the angels breathe." -Mark Twain

Well I had to get out of the house today, I really wanted to go check out Montezuma, to see what was happening if anything. Well it was slightly sunny when I left home but by the time i got out there it was...snowing. So to say the least this weekend was not the best in the weather department. But I was glad to see some action, There were eagles and hawks harassing the many ducks, a deer walking along eating grass and a couple of cattle egrets hanging out with some cattle. So it was a nice day after all, despite the snow.

"There is little chance that meteorologists can solve the mysteries of weather until they gain an understanding of the mutual attraction of rain and weekends." -Arnot Sheppard

Well it was day 8 of cold, cloudy, rainy, weather, but I won't complain too much, you notice I am still here, I didn't have to get in my car and drive south till I found the sun. The sun came out all right, for about 3 minutes, no lie, 3 minutes. I almost didn't know what it was. But the rest of the day was cloudy and a bit rainy, but mostly it was windy and cold, the start of winter I think, but hope not. Tonight we change the clocks, fall back, now it will be dark at five o'clock, I will want to go to bed at 7:30.

"A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition." -William Arthur Ward

So today was the 7th day of gray rain, so believe me when I tell you, I better see the sun when I wake up tomorrow or I am going to get in the car and start driving south till I see it. I wonder how far I will have to go till it gets warm, like 80s warm.

"Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, "I'm going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that's tough. I am going to snow anyway." -Maya Angelou

It has been a long week of weather this week, it has been gray and rainy since Saturday, with a hurricane thrown in for good measure. I actually though the sun was going to come out tonight at sunset, the clouds actually broke up for a few minutes and you could see some blue sky. But it only lasted a few minutes, I never actually saw the sun but it did turn the clouds a pretty color...other than gray that is.

"Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry and umbrella." -Terri Guillemets

It's Halloween! Watch out for all the ghosts and goblins out looking for some sweets! I hope I get some!

"Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night." -Steve Almond

It's dinner time and these cows were hungry. You can tell because it was raining and they were standing there in the rain eating like there was no tomorrow. That is until I stopped, then they had to see what I was doing, if maybe I had some more food for them, something better than what they were eating. Cows are such pigs.

"When a cow laughs, does milk come out her nose?" ~Author Unknown

Today's photo of the day is courtesy of hurricane Sandy, it was dark all day and by the time I left work it was raining and windy. I actually thought I might have to take a photo of the dogs today but for some reason i decided to pick up the camera and shoot out the front window of the car while I was at a stop light. I thought it came out kind of cool, all blurred and wet. It's a small miracle that I got any photo at all today, I was able to take 2 shots and then the battery on the camera died, I forgot to charge it last night...it's kind of like running out of film...you only do it once.

"On cable TV they have a weather channel -24 hours of weather. We had something like that where I grew up. We called it a window." -Dan Spencer

I'm going to admit that I didn't get out of my pajamas all day today, and it was glorious. I took the photo of the day first thing this morning, it's of the fire bush in my front yard, and since it rained all day I was so glad I didn't have to go out in it. So I stayed in all day cuddling with my 2 dogs and watched football, another thing I never do, hmm I might have to do this more often!

"Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week." -Joseph Addison

Another gray day, and it was sort of rainy, not a log of rain but enough to make everything wet. I was having no luck finding a photo today, nobody with any sense was out in the gloom. So I went down to the old stand by, the park, to see if anything was happening. The only things out and about were the ducks and even they were trying to stay dry. As I was driving along the lake all I could see were the brilliant green heads of the mallards as they were bobbing up and down as the ducks rested in the water. It's a nice bit of color on this gray day.

"Colors are the smiles of nature." -Leigh Hunt

I couldn't resist another sunrise photo this morning, this one was particularly pretty. Just like a picture...haha! But I thought it was perfect for the 300th day of the year, an unusually warm sunny day for the end of October. As I was driving to work I could see the sun coming up in my rear view mirror, and I had to stop, I probably would have stopped even if I wasn't going to take a photo it was so beautiful. I will never understand how people can just whizz by in their cars and not stop and look, we should all take a moment to stop and look, you don't get picture perfect days very often.

"I'll tell you how the sun rose, a ribbon at a time." -Emily Dickinson

A wonderful calm morning, beautiful sunrise, warm day. It was the calm before the storm of the day at work. I like it when it is nice like this, I only wish it would last through the whole day, or actually I wish I could just sit and watch the sun come up and drink tea, then watch it set again and start over.

"Begin each day as if it were on purpose." -Author Unknown

Yet another busy workday, and another foggy rainy day which wasn't so bad, it was sort of warm. Well not warm but not too cold either. Days like today, Wednesdays, right in the middle of the week, can be a drag, but at least at the end of the day there are only 2 days left until the weekend.

"There aren't enough days in the weekend." -Rod Schmidt

It was one miserable, rainy cold day today, it never stopped all day. The clouds were right down on us making everything gray and wet, really really wet. But the good news is that it's going to get warm and sunny again! 

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Even though today was Monday, and I slept through my alarm and had to go to work, it was a beautiful fall day. I could use a few more of these, except sleeping through the alarm.

"There is no season such delight can bring as summer, autumn, winter and the spring." -William Browne

I don't know why I don't take more photos in black and white, I think it looks better than color, at least most of he time it does. Back in the day I only used to do black and white. Black and white was the type of film you could develop your self, in you home darkroom, or in my case the downstairs bathroom. I kind of miss those simple times where you took a roll of film and then in the pitch black tried to get it on a metal reel with out ripping it or bending it or wrinkling it, then get it into a little can put the top on and pour the developer in it. It was fun! Then you could print your own black and white photos which was like magic watching the image appear on the paper in the tray. I will confess I loved it, the smelly chemicals that stained your clothes, the nerves waiting to see if anything comes out on the film, wondering if any of the photos are any good, or in focus...I miss the good old days.

"No place is boring, if you've had a good night's sleep and have a pocket full of unexposed film." -Robert Adams

It was a typical fall day today, windy, sunny and cool. A food day to run a couple of errands, find a photo of the day, go see a flag football game and then go home and make chicken soup. Now I'm full and tired and going to go to bed early!

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." -George Eliot

I know, I know, enough of the fall pictures, but I couldn't resist. Look how pretty it is, I drive past this spot almost every day and never noticed it, and I wouldn't have noticed it today but I stopped to get out and take a different photo that I thought would be good but it wasn't, so when I turned to get back in the car I noticed this nice little scene which is much better than what I first stopped the car for. 

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." -Elizabeth Lawrence

So the sun was out again this morning, I was able to stop and take another photo of this white house, it's more of what I saw in my head, but not quite yet. I might try again tomorrow, if the sun is out, so don't be surprised if there is another photo of these same trees in the next few days!

"I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday." -Author Unknown

I wouldn't call it bad luck, but sometimes the photo in my head doesn't match what I end up taking, mostly because of the weather or some other thing not in my control. I decided to stop this morning and try to take a photo of the big red tree and it's reflection in the little pond, but as usual the sun wasn't cooperating and was behind some clouds, it wasn't totally horrible but the light wasn't what I wanted, the photo didn't come out that bad, just not what I wanted. One thing it did do was make me late for work, late enough that later in my commute I saw a photo that would have been much better, the sun had gone up above the clouds and it was what you call nice light. But, here is the bad luck part, I couldn't stop because then I would have been really really late for work. I hope tomorrow it's sunny in the morning, I have to try to get that pic! Even though I think it looks different in my head that it will on 'film'. Maybe I should have been a painter!

"Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art." -Ambrose Bierce

After the gray morning tonights sunset was nice to see, hardly a cloud in the sky, it definitely brightened my long and trying day.

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator." -Mahatma Gandhi

Old cemeteries fascinate me, they always have, I think it all started the time we went to Washington St Cemetery here in Geneva when I was in grade school. We brought paper and charcoal and did rubbings of the stones. I started to imagine the stories of the people buried there, what had they done in life, were there distant relatives still in the area? I mean some of these people died way over 100 years ago, did anyone ever visit their grave to tend to it? And it always makes me a little sad to see the graves of children who were only one or two years old, it makes you wonder...But I still like to wander a bit and make up grand stories in my head about these people from long ago, and even if no one has visited their burial place for years and years at least I was there, even if I didn't know them.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelou

That saying 'stop and smell the roses' is true, you should at every given opportunity. I had a super busy day today, I was up and out of the house bright and early, and didn't get home till dinner time, it was a warm day but gray and windy so I was wondering what I could get a photo of, I wanted to do it quickly because I wanted to get home, I was tired. When I dropped Sofie off, I noticed one of her roses was just blooming and decided to take a closer look. I mean how much quicker can you get, right outside the door, there it is. As I looked at the little flower I was amazed at how beautiful it was, I'm not sure I've ever really looked at a rose, but I did tonight. Look at the delicate patterns the petals make as they wind around each other, isn't it amazing how perfect nature is? Next time I have a busy day, either at work or at play I will make sure to stop and smell the roses, and look at the small details, they are the most interesting.

"Flowers...are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

There were a bunch of these little birds, killdeer, zipping around the mud eating little bugs or what ever they eat, I watched them for a bit amazed that they never stop moving for more than a second, I think it was because they were so cold today. I know I was, I had the window open to take photos but had the heat on high to warm me up, now tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 70's, I hope our Indian summer lasts longer than one day!

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." -Albert Einstein

Sometimes a photo is just a photo, I took it because it just looked interesting. Which believe it or not that is what I thought about today's picture. This bunch of cows were just hanging about in the field, I thought they looked kind of interesting the black cows against the green grass, I liked the patterns, but then when I stopped I noticed this one black cow with a white face, it kept looking at me, it cracked me up, the white pattern looks fake, I don't think it was the only cow with white markings but it was the only one standing by itself in front looking at me.

"Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritation and resentments slip away, and a sunny spirit takes their place." -Mark Twain

Another early morning, another beautiful sunrise, the sun came out and woke everything up with its warmth. Let me tell you it was cold when I was outside with the dogs, I actually got my winter coat out, and I was not happy about it. But if the days stay this pretty I will put up with the cold temperatures early in the morning.

"Bitterweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter." -Carol Bishop Hipps

Old barns are the most interesting buildings, they are huge and hold all sorts of things, hay, animals, bats all sorts of stuff. I noticed this barn on my way home from work one night and thought I would go back in the daytime to see if it would be a good photo. Well I haven't had much luck these past few days with the sun, either it's been raining, or super cloudy or when the sun was out it was behind the barn, equally as bad. So tonight I decided to take the photo no matter what the light was because I was afraid if I waited much longer the leaves would fall of the vines that are growing on half the barn. It's the coolest thing, those leaves are bright red and that poor barn is old and gray, doesn't it look like the leaves sucked the red color out of the barn? I wonder if they did....spooky.

"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it." -Author Unknown

When ever I see milkweed pods I'm taken right back to when I was a kid playing outside in the fall. There was a big field next to our house and there were tons of milkweed growing in it. We would pick the weird little pods and try to unwrap the zillions of little seeds attached to their little fluff. We called them santa clauses, don't know why, but I loved the way they were packed in the pods so perfectly all lined up, if you picked them before they dried out you would get all sticky, which of course is what we would do. Many days I'd go home all sticky and more than one santa clause stuck to my clothes, along with any number of other nature type things. My mother must have had a fit. That field is gone now, there are houses on it now, even the fields across the street that were once massive corn fields are full of houses. It's a shame that my niece and the kids in the neighborhood won't come home sticky and covered in nature.

"If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older." -Tom Stoppard

This morning was the first cold day of the fall, it was only 38 degrees when I went to work, but on the bright side the sunrise was so beautiful I didn't mind it at all. When I take the photo of the day early in the morning, it actually makes my day, it's not so much that I'm glad that it's over and don't have to worry about it, it's more a feeling of 'I can't wait to get home to see what it looks like". And let me tell you, that's a good feeling on a Monday, it gets you through the day.

"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." -Ansel Adams

Today was the first time I actually saw a lot of geese flying south, bummer, that means winter is coming. It didn't take much imagination to think it was already winter because it was so cold! Barely 50 degrees. I'm not ready for summer and the warm weather to be gone yet, I won't complain too much about the fall though, I like the cool clear days, and wonderful sleeping weather. What I don't like are days like today, gray clouds and cold rain, it makes me want to take a nap, or go to bed really early and cuddle up under the covers. Yes I could go to bed early but 5pm is a little too early.

"Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring." -Author Unknown

I took a drive today around Canandaigua Lake to see the leaves and they didn't disappoint. The early morning rains blew away leaving big clouds and blue sky, a perfect fall day. I took a lot of photos and couldn't really decide on just one for today so here are a few for your viewing enjoyment.

I have been watching this tree every day this fall, wondering if it was going to turn a pretty color, I thought it might look nice out in the field all by itself. I was hoping for a nice sunny day with some nice light but that wasn't going to happen, at least this week it wasn't. On the way home tonight I decided to stop and that a photo, I wasn't sure if the leaves would still be on it after the weekend, and I noticed that the misty, foggy, gray day actually made the scene look like a painting. The field which this summer had been planted with corn now has fresh green winter wheat popping up and the muted colors of the trees in the distance give the scene a dreamy quality, a quiet peaceful look to that tree out in that field.

"Nothing is worth more than this day." -Goethe

Doesn't this photo make you want Thanksgiving dinner for some reason? You know turkey and stuffing and gravy, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie. I know it's not even Halloween yet but the cooler weather and the changing leaves makes me want serious comfort food, I better stop, I'm making myself hungry.

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days." -John Burroughs

This is what greets me most nights when I come home, a little dog, sometimes two, waiting at the door to greet me. It always amazes me how happy they are when I get home, they run around and bark, like I can't see them or forgot they were there. But it's the nicest thing to come home and have a little furry warm thing to pet and hug...if you can catch them...after a long day at work. I wish I could bring them to work, but then I suspect I'd never get anything done, or would sound like a goof talking to them like they're people, I'll just do that at home where they're the only ones that can hear me. I'm pretty sure they already think I'm a goof for some of the stuff I say, but I'm also sure they'll both be there when I get home tomorrow happy as hell to see me yet again.

"One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why." -Author Unknown

So it's October and fall and the leaves are falling and the crows are out. Halloween will be here soon and all it's scariness, I'm not a big fan of Halloween, I don't like scary movies, or being scared at all for that matter, I mean I don't even like the commercials for scary movies. So for some reason everything looks a bit creepy to me, a bird in a tree, yes it's a crow and they are creepy anyway, leaves blowing around on the streets, even night time seems darker than usual. I never should have gone to see the movie Halloween on Halloween when I was in grade school, but all my friends were going so I went, but I think the really big mistake was to walk past Washington Street cemetery on the way to Pudgies for pizza, now that creeped me out, I mean Pudgies pizza on Halloween...creepy.

"Where there is no imagination there is no horror." -Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr.

Don't you just wonder where this gate leads to? I do, I pass this old stone fence almost every day on my way to and from work and I will occupy my mind by coming up with interesting little possibilities. Sometimes I like to imagine a cute little cottage with a fire burning just waiting for someone to come and cozy up to it. Or I think that it looks creepy and there has to be all kinds of creepy crawlies back there in the overgrown trees and bushes. But usually I like to just think it is a secret garden with pretty flowers covering every inch, a nice bench to sit on next to a little stream and a bunch of tiny little bunnies hopping around, and the air filled with birds singing, and best of all no cell phone reception.

"If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden." -Frances Hodgson Burnett

Well today was what you call a lousy day, it wasn't supposed to rain till late this afternoon, so of course it started at 930am and didn't stop. And to add to the fun, it was cold, so cold and wet...perfect. I didn't feel like going out so I walked out to the front yard and took a picture of the tree and the rain on the leaves, at least they are a pretty red right now and the grass is green making a nice background. So I guess it just proves that there is a picture any where you want one to be, even on a wet dreary fall day.

"Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." -Langston Hughes

Once again I was surprised by my own photo when I got home and downloaded the images. I saw this bird sitting in an dead tree and stopped and took some photos, I watched it for a while because hawks are my favorite type of bird. I watched this one, and every once in a while it would look at me, the tree it was in wasn't all that big so I could get a pretty good shot. I decided to wait a bit to see if it would take off, or spread it's wings just to make the shot more interesting, I didn't have to wait too long, off it went, and for once I thought I had actually gotten a picture that was in focus, but I had no idea what kind of bird it was, I figured I would look it up when I got home and could compare my photo to the pictures and descriptions in my bird book, that and I had forgotten the book at home so I would have to wait anyway. I thought it would be an ordinary old hawk, one of the ones that frequent our area but once I looked it up I found out it was a peregrine falcon, a bird I have never seen before, I was pleasantly surprised, I love it when I can add a bird to my life list, especially when I didn't expect it.

"Sometime I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."-Ansel Adams

It rained all day, or I should say it misted all day and rained a little. It was like we were inside a cloud. So it was nice to see the colors of the leaves on the way home, at least it wasn't a total gray out. When I got home there were some leaves falling on the driveway and I noticed this red one, and I mean it was red, I find it amazing that a leaf that was green just a few days ago can turn this red, it's magic I think. There were all these red and red yellow leaves on the driveway looking like festive polka dots...but I repeat, I'm glad I don't have to rake them up, I mean they are pretty and all but not that pretty that I want to rake them!

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." -Elizabeth Lawrence

Well as is the norm I was running late for work this morning, and also as is the norm I saw at least 3 different things I wanted to stop and take a picture of for the photo of the day...and I couldn't. I know I could have left home a little earlier but I say that wouldn't matter, because what I saw only happened when I saw it, if I had gone by that spot any earlier, or later for that matter, it wouldn't have been the same. I was quite disappointed in myself, I think I should have stopped, I mean work is work and all that blah, but I did the right thing and continued on. I also hoped I didn't miss all my chances for photos today, I hoped there was one more left in the day. So how happy was I when I went by and saw these cows, they are out all the time but no where near the road where you can get a good look at them, aren't they cool? I mean come on, they look like HUGE Oreo cookies!

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." -Henri Cartier-Bresson

The trees are just starting to turn colors around here, at first I thought that the colors wouldn't be too pretty because of the dry summer, but I think it will be a nice fall after all. I especially like it if it rains just a little, it brightens the colors and makes everything look like they are light from within, like they are plugged in and burning with a soft glow. Yes I think it will be a nice fall after all.

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." -Stanley Horowitz

These are the horses I see every day as I go to work, they are always milling about in their field munching on grass. But lately a couple of them have been eating the grass on the outside of the fence, it cracks me up, I mean it's the same grass maybe a foot outside the fence.

"The belly rules the mind." -Spanish Proverb

I'm lucky, this is the view I get to see every day, it's the view outside my window what I see when I go out to get in my car, like I said, lucky.  Most days I take it for granted and don't even see it, it's one of those things that you see everyday and eventually you forget it's there. But for some reason this morning when I walked outside into the cold the scene stuck me, the sun had just come up and it cast such a pretty light that I had to take a photo. I'm going to try to take the time to look every day and not take it or anything else for granted.

"Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears." -Edgar Allan Poe

This was the first weekend of the fall, and you could tell, it was quite cool out, a bit brisk out, between the cool temps and the wind it was the first weekend in months that I couldn't wear shorts, which is kind of sad, I'm not ready for the warm weather to leave yet!

"There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!" -Percy Bysshe Shelley

It's fall around here and that means wine season, the grapes will be picked, pressed, and like magic in a few weeks it will be wine. But more importantly it's also wine tasting season, which is actually the best part of fall!

"Wine is sunlight, held together by water." -Galileo

Don't you love mums? They bring crazy color to the fall and early winter, and they look so cute in their little mounds. The only problem is that I want a million plants of every color, when I go by the nurseries I love the way they all look grouped together. I wonder what would happen if I brought home like 50 plants home? I'll tell you what...they would look so awesome.

"Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity." -John Ruskin

After spending all day cooped up at work it was nice to go down to the lake for a bit to try to find a photo for today. The wind was a little brisk to say the least and was coming from the south so the wind surfers love it on Seneca Lake, the is nothing to stop the wind for nearly 40 miles. I have seen them out there in freezing cold weather just because it was windy, I personally think they are crazy, to be in freezing cold water in the wind, I think I will just stay where it is nice and warm, and watch.

"The winds of grace blow all the time. All we need to do is set our sails." -Ramakrishna

Well drove around quite a while tonight looking for a photo, but nothing caught my eye, I even got a little lost and didn't realize where I was or how far I had actually driven, but still nothing interested me. I started heading home for two reasons, I was running out of light, and I was running out of gas and had to make sure I had enough to get home. So I figured well there's always the sunset! On my way home I stopped along side a field of corn jumped out of the car and shot away. I always wonder what the people whizzing by in their cars think. I bet some think I'm some nut job taking a picture of the sun, big whoop, and I bet some think, look at that beautiful sunset, I should stop and take a picture. Those are the kind of people I would like to know.

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes." -e.e. cummings

It rained all day today, it hasn't done that in months, it was weird not to see the sun! At times it poured buckets and one of those times was just as I was leaving work...and had left my rain coat in the car, where it stayed nice and dry. So I hope it doesn't rain in the morning because that coat is still on the back seat of my car.

"Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry and umbrella." -Terri Guillemets

I had to include more flowers today, I had a couple of errands to run after work and didn't have much time to look for a photo. I mean after all I had important things to buy at the mall!

"Shopping: The fine art of acquiring things you don't need with money you don't have." -Author Unknown

I love the late summer wild flowers that show up, even though I am pretty sure these are just some kind of weeds, they are everywhere brightening up the fields and along the roadside. They are a hardy but pretty bunch!

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." -Iris Murdoch

I love it when I go to take photos, or look for a photo for the day and I think I will never find anything good to photograph. so I usually do what I always do, just start taking pics, almost of anything, even things that I normally wouldn't ever take. Something always emerges from the camera that I didn't expect to see, birds that I didn't realize were there, patterns in the landscape I didn't see while I was looking at it...all kinds of things. It's fun to just go out and take photos, almost not even looking at what I'm doing and then finding a surprise waiting for me inside the camera.

"I never question what to do, it tells me what to do. The photographs make themselves with my help." -Ruth Bernhard

We live in an area with a lot of lakes so as a result we get a lot of seagulls flying around, they're every where, hanging in the parking lots looking for fallen food, hanging at the parks or along the shore, still looking for free food, we kind of call them flying rats, the birds will fly right up and steal your lunch. So while we were sitting in my car eating lunch the birds came looking, so we tossed them bits of pizza crust and watched them all try to get their fill. I decided to take a couple pics for something to do and I am always surprised at how delicate their feathers are, and how they all fit together so perfectly, you can't even tell they're feathers. This ring-billed gull was the one making the most noise, so I tried to toss it some crust, he got some but was yelling so much the others ended up stealing most of the pieces.

"Seagulls...slim yachts of the element."-Robinson Jeffers

It was another lovely day, and an even lovelier evening, I wish I had gotten home earlier, it would have been a perfect night for a picnic.

The leaves are starting to change on the tree in my front yard. It's always nice when it does change because it looks so pretty, the only problem is that those leaves fall and someone has to rake them up. Luckily that person isn't me!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." -Albert Camus

It is the start of apple picking season around here, driving around seeing the trees full of apples really puts me in the mood for the fall weather. I love the colors of fall, the reds and golds and greens, so pretty, it fills our heads with pretty color before the grays of winter arrive.

"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed." -Robert H. Schuller

This old truck was just sitting in a field, the funny thing is the grass all around it was nicely mowed. I can't tell how long that truck has been sitting there but if you notice there are weeds and things growing on the inside of it. That truck has seen better days, but it has a look of dignity sitting in that field.

"What is new in the world? Nothing. What is old in the world? Nothing. Everything always has been and will always be." -Sai Baba

The eagle was out and about today at Montezuma, and he was sitting in this tree yelling at all the other birds that were flying by, I thought there might be real fireworks when this osprey came over but the osprey thought better of it and went on its way. It was such a nice day I watched that eagle for the longest time, hoping it would take flight but he just sat there in the late day sunlight.

"Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them chiefly by their attitudes." -E.F. Schumacher

For most of the day it was lousy weather, the lake was what you call angry. It rained so hard and was so windy the rain was coming down sideways, it was what you call icky. But by the end of the day it was cooler out and the sun actually came out, tomorrow looks like it is going to be a nice day, which will be a nice end to the weekend.

"One can find so many pains when the rain is falling." -John Steinbeck

For Aunt Nance...

"What A Wonderful World" -Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, 

red roses too. 

I see them bloom, 

for me and you. 

And I think to myself,

what a wonderful world. 

I see skies of blue, 

And clouds of white. 

The bright blessed day, 

The dark sacred night. 

And I think to myself, 

What a wonderful world. 

The colors of the rainbow, 

So pretty in the sky. 

Are also on the faces, 

Of people going by, 

I see friends shaking hands. 

Saying, "How do you do?" 

They're really saying, 

"I love you". 

I hear babies cry, 

I watch them grow, 

They'll learn much more, 

Than I'll ever know. 

And I think to myself, 

What a wonderful world. 

Yes, I think to myself, 

What a wonderful world. 

Oh yeah.

So is there a man in the moon? Is it made of swiss cheese? I say yes to all. The moon does fascinate me, especially when it is out in the daytime, it seems out of place. But comforting to know someone up there is looking down on me.

"Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun." -John Lennon

The sun is setting earlier and earlier these days, fall is coming. I don't mind fall so much, the crisp days, pretty colors on the trees. If we could just have spring, summer and fall I would be happy, no need for the snow and cold as far as I am concerned!

"Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as we were looking through the gates of Heaven." -John Lubbock

So it rained today, and I'm not sure if all the flowers popped up because of the rain or if it just washed all the dust off of them so they are colorful again, either way I am actually glad it rained today.

Well I hadn't been feeding the birds lately, I couldn't keep up with them, I was spending more money on bird food than on gas! So I stopped filling the feeders for a few weeks and this weekend decided to start again with the fall weather coming. It took them exactly one day to realize the food is back. I expect them to be empty by the time I get home from work tomorrow, we have the best fed sparrows in the neighborhood.

"Angels sail back to God on the sea of joy."-Terri Guillemets

Went to see the US National Womens Soccer Team today, very exciting. It was another great day and to make it perfect, the US won.

Another awesome day, a bit hot for the last day of August, but awesome. I wanted to take a photo of the full moon, the second one this month, a blue moon, but the clouds came in and I wasn't able to, but while I was waiting there was another sunset, as there is every night. So I figured I had better take a picture of something for the day and as you know I love the sunsets!

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give t sweetness." -John Steinbeck

It was a nice evening to go bird watching, but of course I forgot my guide book so I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking at, but while there wasn't tons of birds there were some around if you were patient and waited. The cute little shore birds zipping back and forth eating bugs, the few ducks hanging around preening, even a blue heron looking for some dinner. I found that I didn't mind not knowing what I was looking at, I found that I could watch them and not worry about what they were, I didn't have to keep checking the book, I was able to just watch, which is what I should do all the time. 

"I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way I could." -John James Audubon

I was driving around this evening looking for a picture, and I was thinking that there is just nothing new to take a photo of, and it's my own fault. I had waited and waited today to go look for a photo and it was getting late. So I went looking, and as I drove around I noticed something in this big tree by the side of the road, it was a bunch of butterflies, I turned around thinking this could be a photo and as I got closer I saw there were a lot of them, I mean a lot. So of course I stopped and tried to get some photos, but let me tell you, butterflies are fast little buggers and they were in among the leaves and I couldn't see them, it wasn't as easy as I thought and I didn't really get a great pic but it was fun watching them all, I had never seen that many in one area before, there were two reasons I left when I did, the sun was going down and there were these two big German Shepards in the yard watching my every move. 

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." -Author Unknown

The second part of our overnight adventure was to Corning and to the Museum of Glass, we watched them make glass, bend glass do all kinds of things with glass you never thought of, we walked through the exhibits and tried all the goofy stuff they had to do, we even made our own glass sculptures which was very cool. With the help of a glass maker we each got to pick the colors we wanted then blow into the long glass tube to inflate the super hot glass blob. It was a ton of fun and as you can see we got a little case of the giggles when we were looking through the big water filled magnifying glass.

I took Sofie to Watkins Glen, I haven't been there in years, she's never been and it was funny listening to her questions, she thought we were going to have to climb the cliffs, I told her there were steps, she said she didn't want to go to high, I told her we weren't we were only stopping for a quick visit on our way to Corning, she asked again if we had to climb the cliffs, I said no there were steps, it went on like that for a while. Holy cow, I didn't know little kids could ask so many questions.

I love these birds, with their super skinny long legs, perfect for wading around in shallow ponds looking for tiny fish and bugs and things to eat. It's so cool how the birds have adapted to living along the shores and in the ponds and marshes. They wouldn't fare too well living in a forrest.

It was another super nice day, warm, sunny not a cloud in the sky. It was an even nicer evening, another beautiful sunset, tons of boats on the lake enjoying the last days of summer.

"Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway." -Mary C. Crowley

It was a hazy day today, everything turned a gray blue color, so I am going to go enjoy the rest of the evening, it's the first night of my vacation!

Another nice late summer sunset, the corn is so high right now, waiting to be harvested, it seems every field around is full of corn, or soybeans. Lots  of corn, lots and lots of it but one thing I never noticed was how it looks in the sunset, the delicate tops making lace like patterns against the orange sky, don't know how I never noticed that before.

"Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven." -John Lubbock

It was one of those days that makes you want to sit and stare at nothing, to be alone and quiet. Because of this it struck me as odd that all i saw were birds flocking up into big groups for their trip south. Birds on the wires along the road, geese in the fields, gulls on the lake all gathering food and eating and resting for their trips. They like to be in groups for safety, but for now this human liked to sit and watch them on the glassy lake at sunset.

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think." -Lorraine Hansberry

It was another perfect day today, wish I didn't have to spend it at work, but at least I got to enjoy the evening, now off to bed to get ready to face the middle of the week.

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows follow behind you." -Maori Proverb

i was out looking for a photo after dinner and I noticed a small bit of a rainbow, I thought it was just a fluke because it hadn't been raining, but I drove toward it and it kept getting bigger and bigger and eventually it was huge, almost full. Since I can't resist taking photos of rainbows I searched around looking for a good spot. This barn looks quite happy sitting under the rainbow.

"My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky..." -William Wordsworth

I know it is Sunday and a nice one at that, but it is the end of the weekend and tomorrow is Monday and back to work and this picture sums up what I think about Mondays and work! Also, it cracks me up.

"Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them." -John Shirley

Aren't the patterns on the wings awesome, each side is almost a mirror image to the other side. Nature is so cool isn't it?

"Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine." -Jeffrey Glassberg

In the late day sun, and from the right angle the fields of soybeans look like green corduroy. Like they are big huge pieces of cloth that will be made into pants for the Jolly Green Giant. See this is the kind of thing you dream up when you are driving around on a nice night thinking about nothing, you start to see strange things, but you know, the Jolly Green Giant does need some new pants.

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities." -Theodore Geisel

It was a nice sunset tonight, that kind of sunset you see in the middle of summer, a big orange ball hanging in the hazy evening sky. The only problem is that the sun is setting earlier and earlier, the days getting shorter, fall is coming which is ok it's the season after that I don't much care for.

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give t sweetness." -John Steinbeck

Don't you just love kids birthdays? They love them, they don't care it's their birthday and proudly tell anyone who asks them how old they are. I don't know when that stops, when you get too old to like your birthday. I am one of those people who like their birthday and will tell you how old I am, if you ask, nicely, and say I look way younger and there is no way I could possibly be that old.

"A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip." -Author Unknown

I love how the sky looks after a storm rolls through. The clouds break up and the sun starts to peak through lighting everything up, especially when just a little while earlier it was black as night and raining so hard you couldn't see. But as always the sun came out just in time for a nice sunset.

"Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella." -Terri Guillemets

Usually when I see hawks sitting on top of phone poles I try to take a photo, but they always fly away if I try to get close enough to get a good photo. But not tonight, this guy just sat there posing for me looking like he is the coolest thing flying.

"The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera snd to trap the fleeting prey in your little box." -Henri Cartier Bresson

Did you ever notice the weeds alongside the road? I actually think the flowers are pretty despite the fact they are actually weeds. I do know that if they were in the front yard they wouldn't survive, they would get mowed down, or sprayed with weed killer or yanked out of the ground. So I'm glad they are by the side of the road, they brighten up my drive to work.

"I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Today was a nice summer day, breezy, blue sky with a few puffy clouds, not a lot of humidity. I liked it and if there were more days like this it wouldn't bother me one bit! The fact that it was on a Saturday was a bonus.

"There aren't enough days in the weekend."  ~Rod Schmidt

The sun sets on a long week, which is fine by me because the weekend has started! I don't even care if it rains, I can sleep late tomorrow and not worry that I am missing something because of good weather.

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky."  ~Rabindranath Tagore

It's a row your boat all alone kind of night, hazy and humid you can tell rain is on it's way, which is ok I guess, it makes it easier to go to work when it's not that nice out. At least tomorrow is Friday!

"In solitude, where we are least alone."  ~George Gordon

Some days I wonder what I am going to take a picture of, nothing looks good and I can't imagine what there is to photograph. Then you go home and it starts to rain and I think oh great now there is nothing that will look good in the gray rain of the evening, but I walk outside and holy cow, there's a rainbow waiting for me, a perfect photo op!

"Don't miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow looking for that pot of gold."  ~Author Unknown

The lake was like a mirror tonight, the ducks were out and about looking for what ever food ducks look for and their reflections in the water fascinated me. Their heads and bodies at times perfect reflections then looking like blobs in a fun house mirror. I wonder if they could see their reflections in the water and if they could what did they think? If it were me I'd be laughing my head off.

"Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be."  ~Duane Michals

It was a nice night for a walk, finally pleasant temperatures, no humidity, nice sunshine. It seemed everyone was out enjoying the evening. I saw these two horses, they were just walking around up and down the fence line occasionally stopping for a nibble of grass, I hope nights like this are many because it was perfect.

"Walks.  The body advances, while the mind flutters around it like a bird."  ~Jules Renard

Today was a sit back and watch the butterflies kind of day today, so that's exactly what I did.

"Butterflies are self propelled flowers."  ~R.H. Heinlein

My favorite type of birds are the hawks, they are the coolest. Their piercing eyes always looking for the next meal, the way they fly effortlessly and swoop and grab dinner. I am fascinated by them, so I always look to the trees and sky and phone poles to see if any are hanging around, I always try to get a photo of them but usually by the time I stop and try to get a little close they fly away, so today was a bit of a treat when this osprey paid no attention to me at all and I was able to get some shots, now I just have to get over my fear they are going to swoop down and take my camera just for fun.

"While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see."  ~Dorothea Lange

It's Friday and it has been a long week, between work and not getting a lot of sleep because of a wisdom tooth that decided to go bad, and of course the removal of said tooth made for a long and painful week. I am so glad it is the weekend and I don't have a thing to do, I hear it's going to be super hot, I think an ice cream cone my be in my future!

"There aren't enough days in the weekend."  ~Rod Schmidt

It was a lazy summer day today, it would have been better spent sitting under a tree instead of working, but at least tonight I got to enjoy the nice evening. But tomorrow's Friday and then the weekend and I have nothing to do but sit around, and I can't wait.

"Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them."  ~John Shirley

It's August, finally, this year seems to be flying by, we went from gray winter to growing crops at trees with leaves in what seems like a week. To me this time of year, before fall and school starts, always seems a bit sad, as a kid I always thought we were on the downhill side of summer and it would end soon, for some reason I still feel the same way even though I'm not in school any more, and haven't been for a million years. I mean I still get bummed seeing back to school stuff in the stores!

"We are never prepared for what we expect."  ~James A. Michener, Caravans

We have a small geranium plant out front of my house. But all summer we have been wondering where does the dirt keep going? One day the plant was even out of the pot laying on the ground next to the container. We even moved the pot to the steps thinking if it was a squirrel or a chipmunk being right by the front door would scare it away but no there were still holes dug right into the dirt, we couldn't figure it out. Till one day my sister was sitting on the front steps and noticed a frog all covered up in the cool dirt, so my father had my Mom take the frog out and put it under a bush thinking this would work, but no the frog was back in the pot the next day. So they brought the frog all the way across the yard under a different bush, and you guessed it, the frog made it's way back to the flower pot! So this is one determined frog, it made it all the way across the yard and up 2 steps to sleep in that flower pot, so now he gets a free pass he earned his home and will live in our geranium plant until he wants to leave.

"Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer." ~André A. Jackson

I can't believe I almost forgot to take a photo today, I think I am still recovering from the weekend, and having my niece visit these last few weeks. She has tired me out! But tonight we had to run to the store and saw the moon and the clouds, my sister actually had the idea for this photo, I'm glad she saw it!

"Under the full moon life is all adventure." -Sigurd Olson

So we made is all night, and I realize that I am way to old to do that. I have been way to tired today to do much of anything so I just took a quick pick this morning on my way to bed!

"No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap."  ~Carrie Snow

The blog is late for yesterday, I did take a photo but had to prepare for the Relay for Life last night, so I was up all night raising money to get rid of cancer, because as we all know, cancer sucks and I for one would rather never hear the word again.

"Hope is some extraordinary spiritual grace that God gives us to control our fears, not to oust them." -Vincent McNabb

This evening the clouds looked like cotton balls after you pull them apart a little, some parts fluffy some wispy. After the dark start to the day it was a nice finish. The sun was out a little warming up the air, the clouds were like a nice blanket over everything, a summer blanket.

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

In my travels tonight I noticed how much the corn has grown over night, it shows what a little bit of rain will do. I think the birds are happy too, there is something new for them to eat, between the corn and the beans and the feeders in my yard that they empty every day we are going to have some fat birds flying around.

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away."  ~Eudora Welty

We took a trip to the County Fair tonight, it was a perfect night to see all the animals entered at the fair. We walked through the horse barns, the cow and sheep barns, even the poultry barn. Kira noticed that cows are way bigger when you are up close to them, way bigger. They got to pet a baby calf, they decided it was very soft and cute, and they fed some little goats, they decided they were not very polite with all their pushing and shoving to get the food. But at least for me the highlight of the night were the pig races, the kids liked them too.

"If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older."  ~Tom Stoppard

It was a perfect day to fly a kite, windy but not too too windy, I like to fly kites and I don't do it nearly enough. I love to watch them floating against the wind hanging there, going as high as you will allow. It's one of the best mindless activities around.

"Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height, Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring. Up through the atmosphere, up where the air is clear, Oh let's go fly a kite!" -Mary Poppins

Tonight's sky was quite dramatic, the sun was behind clouds shooting out rays to the blue sky, it was very majestic. It was a wonderful ending to a day that started out dark and stormy.

"Remember, if you’re headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns!"  ~Allison Gappa Bottke

Se what a little bit of rain does, makes everything grow overnight and turn green, we still could use more rain but I'm not sure very much is forecast in the near future. We are into the lazy days of summer, in the afternoons there always seems to be a chance for thunderstorms and the clouds seem to get bigger and puffier. 

"I drifted into a summer-nap under the hot shade of July, serenaded by a cicadae lullaby, to drowsy-warm dreams of distant thunder."  ~Terri Guillemets

No I didn't go to some exotic land for a safari, today was zoo day! We took the girls to the zoo to see all the animals, it was a ton of fun, watching the sea lions get fed, seeing the tiger jump into its pool and sit because it was hot, the lions lounging in the shade right by the observation window. Kids love zoos, and they know way more about the animals than I do, it's funny they tell you about them like we don't have any brains at all. Kids are great, and after a long afternoon walking around they fell asleep in the car on the way home!

"Wisdom begins in wonder" -Socrates

Those drops on that leaf is rain, the first rain in a long time. You could hear the grass turning green in happiness. It was a gray day, but I didn't mind, it had been a long time since we had a gray day, so one every summer isn't bad, as long as it's only one!

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow." -Gilbert K. Chesterton

I guess it's a good thing we haven't trimmed this big bush, because there are a zillion of these flowers popping out now, it's so nice to have some color even though it's just basically white, it's way better than just the brown grass that's everywhere.

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us."  ~Iris Murdoch

Tonight was big bubble night at our house, we let the kids run around as kids like to do and pop all the bubbles they could get their hands on. They had the best time fighting over who could reach them first, little kids get to have the most fun, running around with abandon and endless energy...they made me tired just watching them, but they also made me smile.

"Jumping for joy is good exercise."  ~Author Unknown

These last few days it's been HOT and I can't remember the last time we had any rain more than a small shower, everything is brown, it's summers like these I am so glad for the invention of the air conditioner!

"In winter i get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light

in summer quite the other way

I have to go to bed by day."

-Robert Louis Stevenson

It is definitely ice cream weather this summer, it has been hot hot hot and tomorrow is going to be hotter yet. I don't know about you but I am planning on hitting up the ice cream stand tomorrow too!

"An ice cream cone can solve any problem, even if it's only for a few minutes." - Unknown Author

Doesn't this look just like a snow flake? A summer snow flake. Take a look at those white flowery weeds, I guess they are called queen annes lace, or at least that's what we call them, they are everywhere, along side the road, in fields, growing in the yard, they are one hardy little weed. But sometimes if you look close enough at the weeds they are just as pretty as real flowers.

"Summer has set in with its usual severity."  ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Ever notice those little white butterflies that flutter around everywhere? They look like they are drunk to me, like they have no idea where they're going or landing, but I suspect they do, they land on the flowers for a few seconds, then flutter around again land and continue on doing the same thing over and over again, they are quite cute to watch and whenever I see them I think of lazy warm summer days when there is nothing to do but sit around and stare at the butterflies.

"Butterflies are self propelled flowers."  ~R.H. Heinlein

When we saw this turkey in the field it looked like it was just out for a walk, but as we watched you could tell there was something else moving along  with it. Then we saw little heads popping up above the plants, little tiny turkey heads, you could hardly see them they were so small and they blended in with the grass and other plants, but as usual I tried to wait them out to see if they would come out of the field and maybe go back across the road. But they didn't and I was only able to get this pic of the mom and one of the chicks, the other 5 were right nearby but you can't see them because they are so small, it's amazing to think they will get so big from such tiny little things.

"All mothers are working mothers."  ~Author Unknown

It's farmers market season and the produce is starting to come out, it's the best time of the year, all the fresh food, just makes you want to buy it all and go home and eat it, I'm glad it's only the start of the season. 

"The belly rules the mind."  ~Spanish Proverb

My niece Kira is, to say the least, a bundle of energy. She is one cute little kid, four years old going on twenty five, some of the stuff she says cracks me up, her imagination knows no bounds. The problem is they live in Florida and I only get to see her once of twice a year, but thank goodness for technology, video chatting has made it so we can talk every day if we want, so I've been able to see her grow up, it's not quite as good as in person but it's the next best thing, and she is quite the performer when she gets on camera, but let me tell you having her here in person is an experience!

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million.  ~Walt Streightiff

Tonight I drove around looking for a picture and my sister and four year old niece came with me. We were looking for cows because Kira wanted to see some. Well we finally found some and we pulled over, she was so excited when the cows actually ran over to the car, I think they thought we had something for them to eat, but Kira thought they were coming over just to see her. She was talking to her new friends, chattering away, finally we had to leave she said "good night baby cows! go have your dinner!", as we drove away she announced that those nice cows were her new friends, little kids have the greatest imaginations!

"When a cow laughs, does milk come out her nose?"  ~Author Unknown

Purple cone flowers, bees love the spiky middles when they first bloom, birds love them after they die and dry out and they can get to the seeds. I like them just for their color, a purply blue color that's one of my favorites, actually most flowers are my favorites and all colors are my favorite.

"To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat." ~Beverly Nichols

Today was a good pool day, nice and sunny and warm and there is nothing better than hearing the splashing of water in a pool on a sunny day, unless you add the sound of little kids giggles. 

"Fun is good." -Dr. Seuss

Another night, another sunset, even my sister, who lives in Florida and sees her share of spectacular sunsets on the beach had to take a photo tonight. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who loves to take photos of the sunsets!

"It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream." -Bern Williams

It was another nice night to be out on the lake watching the sunset. Calm waters, hot and hazy, a long week makes for a perfect night to just sit around and stare at the lake. 

"Softly the evening came with the sunset." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Lily pads remind me of summer, I know it's actually summer right now, but for some reason lily pads make me calm, to look at them just sitting there on the glassy water little bugs flitting about making tiny ripples. It reminds me of a lazy summer night, which as it happens was exactly what tonight was.

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."  ~Sam Keen

Happy Fourth of July every one!! 

"From every mountain side
Let Freedom ring."~Samuel F. Smith

It was a lovely night for fireworks tonight, here in Geneva they shoot them off right over the lake so we also have all the boats bobbing around in the water to add to the beauty. The fireworks look like huge flowers in the sky, the brilliant colors reflecting off the lake, the little lights from the boats looking like fireflies in the night, it all made the night magical.

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."  ~Elmer Davis

When I see small flocks of birds all line up on a wire I think of 2 things, what are they talking about and how do they land without bumping into each other. I think they are all sitting there chatting about the weather and how great it has been, and gossiping about the neighbors.

"Just remember, if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off."  ~Author Unknown

Today is the half way point of my year long project, I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd last this long, I thought I'd get sick of trying to come up with something everyday. But that hasn't happened yet, I keep finding things to photograph, some things are better than others, just as some days are better than others. But most days I'm finding that I'd rather be out looking for pictures than doing most anything else, which also surprises me.

On my way home today I was looking for a photo, and saw this bird, called an American Kestrel sitting on the wires overlooking a corn field. They're a small falcon and they like to eat grasshoppers and small bugs. They're also my favorite bird because of their very cool markings and how fast they fly. I've been trying to get a photo of one for the longest time, but never have been able to, I'd try to get close enough and they'd always fly away and land just a little farther down, I'd try again and it would fly just down a little, driving me crazy. So tonight when I saw another I decided to try again, same thing happened, I'd try to get close and off it would fly. But I was able to get a little closer tonight, because of the other birds who were flying around harassing the kestrel. They were flying at the bird trying to get it to leave, they must have had their nests nearby and possibly some young birds around and they were having none of this falcon, they'd swoop in and out pecking and trying to get the falcon to leave. I was insanely lucky to get this picture of a robin trying to get the kestrel to leave, it's not a bad photo to mark the half way point of the year.

"A good snapshot stops a moment from running away."  ~Eudora Welty

Another errand filled Saturday, not too bad though, still had time to drive around a little and look for a photo. I don't know what caught my eye about these trees all in a row, but for some reason they just stood out against the bright sky. I stopped and took a quick picture only a couple of frames and then went on my way, I had to get back to hang out by the pool with Sofie after all!

"The groves were God's first temples."  ~William Cullen Bryant

It was a beautiful sunset, even though you couldn't actually see the sun because of the hazy clouds. But the sky still turned brilliant orange and purple, which in turn turned the lake an awesome purple. There were a bunch of boats out enjoying the evening, which is what we were doing, sitting outside in the warm breeze enjoying the end of a hectic week.

"We all need empty hours in our lives or we will have no time to create or dream."  ~Robert Coles

Way too tired to write much tonight, I took this photo on the way home from work, I liked the way the big hay bales looked all lined up ready to be stored in the barn. 

"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it. " ~Author Unknown

Tonight after work Sofie and I went looking for a photo, we drove around listening to music, enjoying the evening. We ended up at Sampson State Park, it was such a nice night, but a little windy. We drove down by the water and there were a bunch of seagulls siting in the parking lot, we watched them and Sofie was making up little stories about how they were a city, which one was the leader and the followers, some were taking off and landing, I can't remember what she was saying about those, I was laughing too much. We finally drove home as the sun was setting, it was a fun evening, and we didn't even get out of the car.

"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." -Walt Streightiff

I am going to make this picture my desktop photo at work, so I can always take a peek and see where I would rather be at that moment, peacefully sitting under a great big shade tree looking out at the lake and watching the water sparkle in the sun. Daydreaming the day away, how perfect a day that would be.

"Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind."  ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This scene reminds me of fall, and so did the temperature today, I think it struggled to get above 70, which is a big change from last week when it was in the 90s. People were joking that it was a nice fall day. It could have been a little warmer but still it was a super nice day, after the rain showers in the morning there were big huge puffy clouds floating in a bright blue sky. I kind of like days like today, yes it could have been a tiny bit warmer but still it's better than snow!

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."-Anthony J. D'Angelo

There are a lot of farms in my area, and a lot of those farms have stands, some more elaborate than others. This is one of the more elaborate, it has everything, flowers, fruit, veggies, jams, crafts, and just about anything else you can think of. I love exploring them, all of them, from a table on the side of the road to full fledges stores, and I can't wait for produce season!

"If it could only be like this always - always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe..." ~Evelyn Waugh

Another perfect day today, not too hot, not humid at all, a little breeze, it was awesome. I could use about a month of days like today, no work, perfect weather and throw in there not doing a thing but looking at the lake and it would be called heaven!

“If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it.” – Toni Morrison

This beautiful flower is blooming in my front yard, we don't have too many flowers but the ones we do are awesome!

"Where flowers bloom so does hope."- Lady Bird Johnson

I love the way the sun falls on the leaves of the trees, it looks kind of delicate, the late day sun. It just proves once again that it is the golden hour.

"Trees are much like human beings and enjoy each other's company.  Only a few love to be alone."  ~Jens Jensen

Today is the first day of summer, all the flowers are blooming, there is this one garden store that is just a riot of flowers, masses of every kind all in bloom, it's awesome. I want that many flowers at my house it would be the best, all those colors and wonderful smells, I would just sit and look at them all day, well that and water them...

"It's a cruel season that makes you get ready for bed while it's light out."  ~Bill Watterson

I've driven by this barn almost everyday on the way home from work, it interests me, I think the shape is barn like but with that strange garage like part for the old tractor. To me it looks like the tractor is sitting there ready and waiting to prove it's not too old to work. I like old tractors, you can tell they have lived a long life plowing fields doing whatever tractors do, and this one looks like it has plowed a lot of fields.

"You can't turn back the clock.  But you can wind it up again."  ~Bonnie Prudden

It's hay bailing season right now, and these big rolls of hay are popping up in fields everywhere. The birds really like them, all the bugs and good stuff to eat all in one place, just like a restaurant. This little sparrow was just sitting on top singing away, I think it was happy to be enjoying the day and wanted to let the world know it!

"He who sings scares away his woes." -Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Today was a day for the wind powered boats on the lake, there were kite surfers, wind surfers and sail boats all out whipping around on the lake. A good strong southern wind always brings them out, the wind barrels down the lake with nothing to slow it down which makes for perfect sailing weather. I always watch them zooming around powered naturally, and always think to my self that it looks like fun, then I decide maybe not, I'm way too chicken.

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails." -Dolly Parton

Another perfect day, even more perfect because it was a Saturday. I did some errands, watched Sofie's last baseball game, took a nap, and went looking for pictures. I ended up at Montezuma very late, just as the sun was going down, it was so pretty, the gold light reflecting off the water making everything shine. I stopped at the field of wild flowers near the entrance, took some pictures and noticed the bees lazily going from flower to flower, doing their job, gathering whatever they gather in the late day sun. It was interesting watching them, they really do buzz like bees, they  really do a lot of work.

"How doth the little buys bee improve each shining hour, and gather honey all the day from every opening flower." -Isaac Watts 

Today was another great day, weather wise that is, a chamber of commerce day, just beautiful. I makes me wonder why anyone would live anywhere else....just remind me of that statement in December.

"Why do we love the sea?  It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think."  ~Robert Henri

It's strawberry time in this part of the world, it is one of my most favorite times of the year, I love to eat them plain, shortcake, with ice-cream, in smoothies or shakes, anyway you can think of. The best ones are the ones grown right here practically in my back yard, so good. I can't wait for the roadside stands to start popping up with all of the local produce, I love going home different ways every night finding different stands with all the different stuff. It is the best time of year.

"Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward."  ~Terri Guillemets

I noticed this wheat field tonight as I was looking for a photo for today. I was thinking if I couldn't find anything there was always the sunset and as I drove around I saw this field was glowing in the setting sun and as I got closer I noticed the riot of lines shimmering in the breeze. I thought this was a pretty cool way to take a picture of the sunset.

"Give me the splendid silent sun, at sunset." -Walt Whitman

Well today was a rainy dark overcast miserable day, I only had about 30 minutes when it wasn't pouring rain and I wasn't working to get a photo, so what else do you take a picture of on a weather day than a weathered barn overlooking a freshly planted field. As you know I love the old barns and there are a bunch of them around the area and each one has a personality of their own. Hopefully the next time I take a photo the weather will be better!

More baby birds, I can't resist them, these are tree swallows, not living in trees but in nest boxes. The little ones are so cute, they sit in the opening watching their parents fly around getting bugs for them to eat, when they get close they open their mouths. I watched them for a while tonight, I think I saw 3 little birds in this house, and as far as I could see each got something to eat, both the mother and father birds were out zipping around catching what ever bugs they could get, they brought them back every few minutes and shoved them in the little birds waiting mouths. It was easy to tell when they were coming back, the little birds would all start chirping, you could tell they were watching them knowing they would be back soon without fail.

"I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes."  ~e.e. cummings

It was a busy day today, but I made time to go out to Montezuma, here are a few pictures for your enjoyment...

"Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week." -Joseph Addison

Monarch Butterfly

Great Blue Heron

Eastern Wood Pee Wee