A good day for Ducks

These Wood ducks head for the rain. It was another rainy, fall morning.
The Mallards just swam past enjoying the rain rolling of their backs. We made pictures but it makes for less than stellar shots when it is cloudy and raining.

What rain?

I actually took these yesterday, but the weather is the same today and they would have been the same.

Raising the boot

The Victor and Farmington Firemen are passing the boot for the burn victims. This really gets your attention.

Interesting pixs

Had to go to Finger Lakes Community College where I found this shot in the parking lot.
Grenville loves to climb steep hills then swoop down even if there is nothing to swoop down on.

Grimes Glen

This is my first trip to the falls in Grimes Glen in Naples,NY. This was a side trip on our way home from a run at the end of Canandaigua lake. I wanted to see what was going on since the area was purchased by Naples, the state(?) and some land conservancy group(?). Don't know the details of the purchase. Nothing has really changed since I was last here, but the water was way down since the spring when I was last here. This gave me the room to hike up and eventually take off my boots and ford the creek to get to the falls. It's the first day of fall and the water is still cold! It was a fun trip and I will be back again but better prepared for the trip.

the last of summer ... the first of fall

By this time it is actually fall. So it is ok for the leaves to change.
The berries are out on the Dogwood trees.

The waning day of summer

If you are picking the low hanging fruit then here is what you are looking for. I'm not sure what kind of apple these are but they are ripening nicely at the Apple Farm in Victor, NY.

Wind Turbines over Naples

This is the view from Cleveland Hill south over several hills hiding Naples, NY. Beyond you can see some of the local Wind Turbines.

Goldfinches against the fall foliage

A couple American Goldfinches rest in the branches among the changing leaves of fall. The leaves are changing early here in the valley and swamp. I'm not sure why but it may be the trees don't see as much daylight because of the surrounding hills.

Mom and the twins

Mom and the twins were on the path this morning as we returned to the car. I have not seen any deer on our walks all summer so I was wondering when they would show up.
The Monarch was another thing that has been very scarce this summer in areas where I would normally see bunches. This summer I have only seen Cabbage Whites and a few Tiger Swallowtails.

Drive by shooting

Caught this Red Fox on the far side of the field as I was driving by. Actually I did pull over and rolled down the window. However he didn't stay long enough for me to change to a telephoto lens.

Snapping turtle youngster

The Snapping Turtles are hatching, then running off to the sea. Today I finally found one of these little beggars. With more than 30 nests (probably more like 50), you would think that I would have a hard time not stepping on them. It is amazing that they can dig their way out of a nest buried under all that rock in the railroad bed. The lower picture shows the hole they left and the rock rubble.

Fall tries to mussel it's way in

Summer is not quite over but fall is sure trying to mussel in. This means that my blogs may be a bit more sporadic as the weather deteriorates. I will try post something at lest once a week however.
As you can see from the rain on the leaf and the mist on County Road 12, the weather is less than ideal for photography today.

Found in the woods

These images were on the wall of a house in the middle of the woods where there is no evidence of a road or access, a field or anything but swamp near the house.

The fall change is coming early to some plants

A Common Yellowthroat provides the focus for an early fall picture.
What this is I am not sure but it seems to be a Northern Waterthrush. I just like the colors of the bird and background. Fall is still a month away but some leaves are changing early.

Chimney Bluffs State Park

We went to Chimney Bluffs State Park early this morning. The sun was in my eyes when I saw the park sign so I backed up and parked. I knew immediately that this was the wrong place to park when I got to the lake shore. This picture is down the beach with the bluffs in the distance. (There is a parking lot where you are a few meter from the bluffs)

You should see this if you have parked in the right parking lot and you didn't walk 1/2 mile.
On the high road back to the picnic parking area where I parked, you can see things in a different perspective. Also the trail is right up to the cliffs, in fact the path is partly eroded in spots leaving a drop of 25-30 feet straight down then you tumble for another 50 ft. Grenville made it but he had me on tenterhooks until we got closer to sea level.

Birds and Snakes

Hummingbirds again.
A Northern Water Snake that looks very angry. He has good reason since Grenville just got done shaking him up before I could stop him. Grenville found him in the path then attacked as I was coming over to see what he had. The snake is not poisonous, but does have a very infectious bite. And I really don't want Grenville hunting for snakes since there are rattlesnakes in the area.

Of Italy Valley and South of Naples

A view from the Finger Lake Trail (www.fingerlakestrail.com) over looking Italy Valley just south of Naples. It sounds like I took a trip to Europe, but this is New York outside the ashfault and skyscrapers.
The bee is busy gathering food, but far in the background the turbines sit idle due to the lack of wind.

The exercise machine

This is Grenville's, my dog, exercise machine. We keep him in the the neighbors yard and when Grenville comes out to play he runs with Grenville in pursuit. The chances of Grenville ever catching him are slim as there are too many sheds, homes etc with escape tunnels all ready.

Indian Pipe some months later.

Found these Indian Pipe fruit and looked back at my old shots from July and found the same patch in flower. This is really exciting.
I need a self portrait what do you think?