Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Aerial Views and More…..
My friend, Ron, flew up from NC this past week for a visit. He took me up in his plane on Wednesday morning and I got some awesome aerial photos around the area. It was a beautiful day for it – nice calm winds, bright blue sky……I had a really nice time.
Taking photos from an airplane is very different than taking photos under normal circumstances. You are moving through the air 500 or so feet above what you want to photograph going roughly 100 mph and it is not as easy to identify what you’re looking for. So, there is no time to “frame” the shot, focus, and get the right perspective and angle. Also, you’re shooting through a window and it depends on the sun and other factors whether or not you get true colors or a “foggy” effect. Also, zooming in isn’t always the best option cause the camera is more sensitive to the movement when zoomed in, so the photo tends to be more blurry……but, I still did it in a few shots because getting a closer photo was worth the risk of blurriness! I find the best way to do it is to set the camera on the “action” setting and start clicking as we approached and just keep snapping shots until we passed the object and see what I got when I download the photos. This time, I had a lot better luck than I did the last time I went up with him a couple years ago. I think we flew a little lower, so it was easier, and I am much happier with the results.
Here are a few of the over 200 photos I took!
Ron’s plane is a Eurofox / Aerotrek light sport aircraft
Ron and Frenchy talking as Ron preps the plane for flight
All strapped in and ready to go!
As we were waiting for the engine oil was getting up to temp, I snapped this shot of an old cobblestone school house beside Frenchy’s runway
Frenchy watching us taxi for take off
Heading toward the runway
A farmer working beside the runway
Otter Creek Cemetery can be seen in the lower center of the photo
Erie Canal and farm land
Farmer working his fields
Waterport, NY – Lake Alice
Waterport bridge over Lake Alice
The Parkway and Lake Ontario shoreline
Approaching Point Breeze from the southwest
Looking back at Point Breeze and Oak Orchard River from over Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario shoreline
Point Breeze from a distance – approaching from the east
The Oak Orchard Lighthouse – zoomed in, so a bit fuzzy
Point Breeze
Point Breeze – the lighthouse and break walls
Marsh Creek bridge
That huge building is Intergrow – the hydroponic tomato facility!
Approaching the Village of Albion from the north
Village of Albion
Zoom in of the Orleans County Courthouse
Flying over the Courthouse Square
Rear shot of the church I attend – Albion First Baptist Church – trees prevented getting a good shot of the front of the church. St. Joe’s Catholic Church beside it.
I was excited when I downloaded this photo — I was able to capture the entire Historic Courthouse Square! In this photo, you can see the Orleans County Courthouse – domed building just right of center – and ALL SEVEN historic churches that surround the square: Start with the tall steeple church in the upper left across from the courthouse – Albion First Presbyterian. Then, move to the right to find the former Albion First United Methodist Church (now North Point Chapel) – the large brick building just above the courthouse dome. Look across the street to the white church to the right of the courthouse – Albion Free Methodist Church. Then, look at the right side center of the photo to the church with the pointy roof – that is the Pullman Universalist Church. Across main street from there is the St. Joseph Catholic Church complex of buildings. The two toned steeple building beside the catholic church is Albion First Baptist Church (my church). And, last but not least, is the square bell tower building almost exactly in the center of the photo across from the courthouse is the Christ Church Episcopal Church. I thought this was a really cool capture!!!
This photo captures both downtown Albion lift bridges on the Erie Canal – Main Street Lift Bridge in the lower left corner and the Ingersoll Street Lift Bridge in the upper right corner of the photo!
Eagle Harbor Lift Bridge – Erie Canal
My cousin’s house
Mount Albion Cemetery…….the cemetery has so many trees you really can’t see any of it from the air!!!
But, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument does peek out from a clearing in the trees to be seen!
Zooming in made it fuzzy, but it was worth it…….
All three Albion Central School buildings – the closest is the Elementary School, the middle one is the High School, and the far one is the Middle School
The football field / track and the baseball field behind the schools
Albion’s water tower and most of the prison complex
Woods and farm land……..a perfect representation of much of Orleans County
After we landed, we went out to the Rez to fill some gas cans for Ron’s plane. We stopped by the Medina Falls on the way.
So happy that two days after this photo was taken, our region was approved to move to Phase 2 of NY reopening and I was able to get a hair trim/color and took care of my bangs and roots!!! Woo Hoo!!!
Frenchy’s runway this morning before Ron took off to return home to NC
The windsock at Frenchy’s shows a light breeze……perfect for Ron’s return flight! As it turned out, he left at the right time cause a little later in the day it got rainy and windy……..he got home about 2:00 in the afternoon and said he stayed in good weather for a smooth flight the entire way!
Waiting for the engine oil to heat up!
And off he goes!!!
Lift off!!!
It was a great visit…….this was just a day or so picked out of the week he was here. I had a trip planned to visit Ron and Lisa earlier this month that was canceled because of the Covid 19 concerns…….maybe I’ll get to reschedule it this fall! We’ll see!
May Daily Photos – Another Set
Finally…….the weather is starting to act like it is really May……we’re well on our way through Phase One of the reopening of our region in NY State (so far, so good, but still being cautiously optimistic)…..I was able to get the spring clean up and new mulch for my yard all completed this week……there has been some quality time on the patio……life is good, in deed……and, I think things just may start to turn around and allow 2020 to live up to its potential……maybe! 🙂
So, now……here is the third week of Daily Photos for May:
REFLECTION
I ISOLATE HERE
I FEEL….
……so happy to see the canal filling up!
I DID THIS TODAY
MAILBOX
MY ISO CREW
There have been many interesting characters keeping me company during our isolation!
ROUTINE
And, so it begins…….
Until next time……enjoy the improvement to the weather and stay safe and healthy!!!
May Daily Photos – The Next Set
Week Two of May……..The Finger Lakes Region of New York State will begin to participate in Phase One of our reopening plan tomorrow! I have mixed feelings about this —
May Daily Photos – The Beginning
May is here……..May Day, May The Fourth Be With You Day, Cinco De Mayo……a lot to live up to in one week, especially in a time when we aren’t able to get out and celebrate and May’s weather hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, so far…….but, I’m glad it is here! New York is gearing up to start un-PAUSE-ing slowly and cautiously……..I pray we can pull it off without a rebound in the spread of the virus. Bring on warmer, sunnier, brighter, fun-filled days!
The topic list for May is called An ISO Month – each day the photo topic is something easily found whether still in isolation or beginning to explore as things start to open and return to some form of normal. Here goes week one:
VIEW FROM A WINDOW
A DRINK
DREAMING OF….
NEIGHBORHOOD
A FAVE ROOM
I MADE THIS
A THROWBACK
(to 2018 when I kissed a dolphin in Bermuda and loved it)
Bring it on, May…….I plan to proceed with caution, but definitely proceed!!!
May 3rd Sunday Drive
Sunday, May 3rd was our best Spring day, so far…….warm – it got up into the 70s, sunny, beautiful day!!! I should have mowed my lawn…..but, first off, I don’t like mowing on a Sunday – my Grandfather taught me that Sunday is a day of quiet and that lawn mowers are an unnecessary distraction – of course, some situations dictate the need to mow on a Sunday (weather, work schedules, etc), but I do try to avoid mowing on a Sunday, if I can……..second, I couldn’t let a day like we had on Sunday go without giving it the respect and adoration it deserved…….third, the weather reports show we may not have another day as perfect for a while!!! So, of course, I took a Sunday Drive.
I wasn’t the only one out enjoying our brief glimpse of spring perfection. As I drove around town and then out of town, I saw lots of people out walking – with and without dogs, driving with convertible tops down, driving bicycles and motorcycles, kayaking, boating, fishing, sitting in lawn chairs soaking up the sun…….I even saw a couple bikini clad young ladies sunning themselves on the bank of Lake Alice as I drove through Waterport!!!
My first thought was to go to Olcott Beach for my first visit of the season. But, I was getting a later start than I had hoped, so I decided to leave that for another day. While on the phone with a friend, we talked about all the flowering trees that are in bloom, so I decided to drive around looking at the beautiful spring trees and then head to Point Breeze to check out Lake Ontario and take a drive around part of Lake Alice on the way. So, here are some of the photos I took while out driving around on Sunday, May 3rd!
My Bradford Pear tree…..not yet quite in full bloom, but it’s getting there!
One of my weeping cherry trees
It was loaded with blossoms on Saturday, but already losing them by Sunday!
TAKEN IN MOUNT ALBION CEMETERY:
TAKEN AROUND TOWN:
TAKEN AT POINT BREEZE – LAKE ONTARIO AND OAK ORCHARD RIVER:
Another Sunday in the memory books……..I’m yearning for Sunday mornings at church and my weekly lunch after church with my friend and sharing my Sunday drives with her and maybe a little shopping…….but, for now, I’m enjoying just getting out of the house for a day here and there just driving around getting some photos and enjoying the day!!!
April Daily Photos – Week Four
April……WOW……that was one of the longest months in history!!! It feels like we’ve been dealing with Covid-19, isolation, social distancing, etc. for a much longer time than is reality. When I think back to my Hawaii cruise, it feels like it was sometime last year……not just four short(ish) months ago! I guess I should be grateful that time isn’t fleeting by at the speed of light, but I just want to move on and get back to whatever our new normal is going to be!
So……April is done and May is just one day away…….this last week of photos is only represented by three photos…….I guess I wasn’t inspired by much, this week……or I was distracted enough to not think about it……whatever, it is what it is! 🙂
CLOUD FEATHERS
SUNSET AND WIND CHIMES
APRIL SHOWERS
For May, we’re going back to using a list with a topic assigned to each day (remember, April was #monthofgratitude and was devoted to whatever inspired us each day to represent gratitude). May also has a theme designed to make it easy for people who may still be in various stages of shut downs around the world and those who are slowly reopening and beginning to get out more. May is called an ISO Month (ISO = isolation). The daily topics are meant to show what life looks like as we navigate our way through this phase of our existence in the (hopefully) decline of Covid-19 and our reentry into whatever “normal” is going to look like over the foreseeable future.
That’s all for now folks…….
April Daily Photos – Week Three
And, I bring you April’s Daily Photos from Week Three…….reminder, the April photo topic is Month of Gratitude!
SHARING THE COUCH, BLANKETS, AND POPCORN ON A CHILLY EVENING
FIRST GOLDFINCH SIGHTING
I MISS MY CHURCH FAMILY
HEADING DOWNSTAIRS TO START THE DAY
FOOL ON THE HILL
“Day after day, alone on a hill. The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still.”
SPRING = BUDS AND BIRDS
MORNING GLOW ON THE TREE TOPS
The world continues to be paused……while our numbers in NYS are beginning to decline slightly, we are still not out of the woods…….our lives still include social distancing, masks, gathering restrictions, business closures, etc…….we will get through this…….we will come to a point where we will look back and wonder how we did it and kept our sanity……..keep the faith! 🙂
04-20-20 Monday Drive – Falls of Orleans
Alas, Sunday brought massive rain, so it was not the most desirable of days to go for a nice long Sunday Drive! So, I put off my plan for this week’s drive to Monday……and, it turned out to be the PERFECT day for it!!! Sunshine…..blue skies…..white clouds……pleasant temperature……calm breeze!!! Perfect!!!
My plan for this week was to make stops at all the waterfalls within Orleans County that I knew of…..with one exception in the original plan! But…..I added it in to the final plan after I saw a friend post photos of it and discovered it wasn’t as difficult to get to as I had been lead to believe (more on that later). While I was out on my drive, I had a chance to do drive by / roadside visits with a friend, a cousin, my brother, and a couple neighbors! It was such a lovely day, everyone was out where we could visit for a few minutes outside at a safe distance……it was so nice to see them all!
So……here is the resulting photographic proof of my waterfall adventure through Holley, Clarendon, Shelby, Medina, and Lyndonville…..all in Orleans County! And some other photos of things I thought worthy of capturing at each stop.
HOLLEY FALLS
My favorite Orleans County waterfall! I love to go here to take photos and just sit on a warm sunny day and listen to the water flowing – so peaceful and relaxing!
I used this as today’s daily photo, so you’ll see it, again……
When I got out of the car, I looked up on the top of a ridge – way up high – and saw this lone bench!
Immediately, the Beatles were in my head singing “Fool on the Hill”!!! 🙂
I know – there is no man there, but that’s what came to mind, so that’s that!!!
CLARENDON FALLS
Near Holley is Clarendon and they have a nice waterfall, too……however, in dryer weather, it tends to be dried up and not have any water flowing over it. This time of year, it is usually pretty sure to have a nice water flow and with yesterday’s heavy rain, it guaranteed it for me!
SHELBY FALLS
On a winding side street near Forrestel Farms in Shelby just south of Medina, there is a creek that flows rapidly under a bridge in the road and cascades over some small drops. This one, too, depends on rainy weather to be super free flowing – there is always water in the creek, but it doesn’t flow as rapidly and doesn’t cascade as nicely in dryer weather.
MEDINA FALLS
This is the one that was added on a tip from a friend. I have known there was a powerful waterfall in Medina somewhere near downtown for several years, but never went looking for it, before. I was under the impression it was hard to get to safely……now, I’ve been known to do some pretty stupid things to get a photo or see something I want to see, but the description I had of what it took to get to this waterfall was more than I was willing to risk! But, my friends posted photos and said they saw it on a leisurely walk along the canal in Medina…….so, I asked about it……they said it was very easy to find and see up close! Hhhmmm……I searched for what gave me the impression it could be dangerous and realized it was talking about getting down to the waterfall……not just getting to view it! OK…..so, I have now been to the Medina Falls and will definitely go, again!!!
I understand this is the most powerful waterfall in Orleans County……it is fed by Oak Orchard Creek and runs along side of the Erie Canal in Medina – the paved tow path walkway to view the falls has the Oak Orchard Creek and falls on one side and the canal on the other. Once the canal is filled for the season, this will make for a nice walk along two major bodies of water for our county! I took the most photos here of all my stops, today, because it is the first time I’ve been here!
The wall of the tow path that separates the creek and the canal
Horan Road bridge – just this side of the bridge is the closest place to park to get to the falls
View of Medina’s canal basin and downtown area from the falls
GLENWOOD LAKE
Actually, there is no waterfall, here, but my friends who enlightened me about Medina Falls also suggested I turn into Boxwood Cemetery in Medina and drive to the back of it to see Glenwood Lake. This is also a spot I have known about for several years, but never took the time to go see it…..not for any particular reason, just never have! So, I decided to add it to today’s stops and I’m really glad I did! It is a really pretty little lake and a fantastic day to enjoy it for the first time!
I thought this was a duck out on the lake……
When I zoomed in, I found out it was NOT a duck……
I took the photo, anyway…….
A shot I could not resist…….
LYNDONVILLE FALLS
This is actually a dam on Johnson Creek that results in a very pretty ~9 foot waterfall right on Main St in Lyndonville – so not technically a waterfall, but close enough, right???!!! When we were kids, Mom had dear friends who owned a restaurant on Main St in Lyndonville just down a block from this waterfall. We used to walk over to the park and look at the falls with their kids while Mom visited with her friends after dinner. It was a nice treat! Fond memories flood back whenever I pass through this area!
DOUBLE DIPS!!!
And, yes — I stopped at Double Dips while in Medina and treated myself to a small choc/vanilla swirl cup!!! And it was awesome!!!
That’s all for today……full day with lots of cool things to see and do while practicing my social distancing and getting out of the house for a bit! Hoping for more spring weather to come soon and more wonderful local adventures to enjoy and share!
Until then……stay safe and healthy!!! We’re not out of the woods, yet – keep vigilant!!!
And, thank you to Leslie and Joel for helping me find Medina Falls and Glenwood Lake!
April Daily Photos – Week Two
Week Two for April…….Day 3,731 of the 2020 Covid-19 self isolation…….OK, so it’s not really all that bad, but it sure seems like we’ve been staying distant forEVER!!! I’m a social person and a hugger……this is not the way I like to spend my days! But, there is no use getting upset or angry or frustrated……it is what it is…….best to just go with the flow and know that it will be all over before we know it! So, I stay home most of the time, take nice long drives to get out of the house, and if I need to go to the store or grab some take out to support our local businesses, then I keep my distance from people, wear my mask, use wipes and hand sanitizer, and wash my hands…….just do the best I can to ensure I stay healthy and don’t adversely effect others. And, I do it with a smile on my face (yeah, I know – no one can see the smile through the mask – use your imagination) and accept that this is what we need to do to get on with whatever our new normal will be as soon as possible! But…….this no adventures in the foreseeable future is really getting to me……I want to start planning things, darn it!!! LOL For now, my long drives and coming up with a photo to meet my challenge each day is my adventure……and, it does get exciting! 🙂
April Monthly Topic: Month of Gratitude
MORNING VISITORS
JOHN 3:16
GOOD FRIDAY
DRIVE BY LOVE FROM FAMILY
HAPPY EASTER
PERFECTLY AIR FRIED CHICKEN FOR DINNER
SPRING BLOSSOMS
KIBBLE SERVED WITH TASTY BITS FOR DINNER
Stay safe and healthy…….and find those little adventures where you can……life is what you make it……make it good!!! 🙂
April 12th Sunday Drive – Searching for Birds
Easter Sunday was different this year…..to say the least! No family dinner, no church gathering, no community egg hunts……but, I did go out for a Sunday Drive! I needed gas, so I decided to go to the Rez and then drive through the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and stop at the various marsh overlooks to see if I could capture some nice bird photos! As it turned out, everything was pretty quiet in the bird world – probably because I went out late in the afternoon – morning is generally better for catching the birds being active…….or, maybe they were self quarantining, too??? LOL At any rate, the trip wasn’t a total loss…..first, I did get my gas (although, they aren’t doing full service at the Rez right now, so I had to pump my own) and it was a lovely drive on a beautiful spring day, but also because I did manage to get a few interesting shots!
Here’s what I got:
I came across a field of seagulls by the Orleans County Fairgrounds:
On my way home, I decided to check out Point Breeze……I was sure to find some geese or ducks or swans there……but, all I found was the trees loaded down with what I believe must be geese – they were a bit far away to tell for sure even with the zoom lens, so could be turkey buzzards, but I really think they are geese!
Along the road going to one of the marsh overlooks, I stopped to get a photo of a couple bird houses and got a real treat! As soon as I pulled over and snapped the first photo, the residents of one of the houses came out to wish me a Happy Easter! I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this particular bird before, but they are now my favorite bird —- the beautiful and strikingly colorful WOOD SWALLOWS!!!
PEEK-A-BOO!!!
There were several more swarming around, too, but I didn’t get a good group photo!
And….my favorite shots of the day…..I captured a hawk! I love it when I can get a hawk! I saw it just before I got to the Rez – it was in a tree beside the road. I slowly pulled over and got the tree shot. Then, I tried to pull up a bit closer to see if I could get a profile shot and ended up spooking him……but, I got a great shot of him speeding off!
So, that was my Easter Sunday……that and I watched the YouTube message from our pastor and had left over kielbasa and peirogies from the night before and watched a couple Hallmark movies……not the most “social” of Easters, but I did rejoice in the resurrection and all the beauty and majesty of God’s creatures and love! Guess you can’t ask for more than that in this strange world we find ourselves in of late!
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