Remembering the Past

There's a small, and still active, graveyard not too far from my house.  None of my family is buried there.  So, I have been driving past this cemetery all of my life, but have never stopped by.

A day or so ago, I decided that I really needed to make the acquaintance of the people who are buried in this place. I parked my car, and walked among the gravestones.  I was the only one there and it was peaceful and very serene;  a beautifully kept little resting place for people who lived their lives in the same area I have lived mine.

As I walked, I found many familiar names.  Welcher, Lockwood, Walters, Bechtold, all names that I knew from people that I had gone to school with, so many years ago.  They weren't there, but their Fathers and Mothers, Grandfathers and Grandmothers were.  I have always been proud that my family has such deep roots in this community.  But, here, were families whose roots stretched much deeper than mine.  Families that had been here since the last decades of the 19th century. 

I wonder where the children of these people are today?  We live in such a mobile society that it's very unlikely that the boys and girls that I grew up with will return to this cemetery, as their last resting place.  They will be buried where they lived their lives, often very far from here.  In time, the names on these gravestones will fade, and the memories of these families will pass from the collective memory of this area.  People will wander among them, and wonder who these people were, buried here so long ago.

But, in some way, they will live on, in the community that they created.  It's a good community, strong and centered, very like the people buried at its heart.

Whiting Road

So, another trip to Whiting Road.  I did a hodgepodge of things, this time.  First I went to the little swamp across the road, then I walked the part of the Red Trail that goes through the Great Meadow.

The swamp was a treasure trove of new flowers.  I was glad that there was no one around to see me teetering on the edges of the culverts, trying to get good shots of some of them.

Boneset

Narrow Leaved Willow Herb

 Blue Vervain

And, then, sitting on a log, having a nice little snooze, were these three Mallards.

 From the swamp, I went over to the Red Trail.  There weren't as many new flowers there, but I was very surprised to see an Aster blooming already.  Can Fall be far behind?

The Goldenrod are in full bloom.   Identifying them is hard, because there are so many different kinds.  But, the main thing that took my attention was how many honeybees there were on each of them.  A sight that I love to see.

There were a couple of obviously different Goldenrods there, too.  I don't know what kind this is.

 But, I think that this might be Showy Goldenrod.

There were some other things to see, also.  The Wild Cherries are ripe.  I was very surprised that these trees weren't mobbed with birds.

I was on the lookout for Butterfly Weed, because a couple of you mentioned that I was more likely to find Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars on them than on Milkweed.  Here's one that has developed seedpods.  The show their relationship with Milkweed.

And, success!  I'm sorry for the quality of this picture.  I was so disappointed when I got home to see that every single one of the pictures that I had was blurry.  But, I wanted to show you that I did find my caterpillar!

After I found my caterpillar, I hiked back to the car.  I'm sorry to say that those weeks when it was too hot and humid to hike took their toll.  I was pooped and my feet were killing me.  But, hopefully, the weather has broken, and I will get back to my regular routine, and get my strength and stamina back quickly.

Just a Little More Proof

That western New York squirrels are born acrobats.

Surprise at Lake Ontario

The weather has broken, at least for a while, and I took the opportunity to start my walking again.  Now that I'm not "glowing" with every step I take, I feel like doing things again.

The first place I headed to was the lake.  I wanted to walk out on the pier and see what was happening.  When I got out of the car, I was assaulted by the most horrific stench that I have ever smelled there.  It didn't take me long to figure out why.  All you had to do was to look at the water.

The water was so green with algae that it appeared almost black.  All of those hot days had, apparently, raised the temperature of the water to a point where algae really flourished.  Blech!


But, I kept on.  As I got out onto the pier itself, the water cleared.  It was a windy day, and the waves were really kicking up.

As I looked back towards the shore, I could see how they were pounding the breakwater that has been built all along this area of the lake.

I looked out towards the lake.  The last time I was here, I couldn't figure out what the object was that I was seeing, way out in the lake.  I thought it might be a ship.  Today, it was there again.  So, no ship, but, rather, some kind of dredging operation.  It seems marginally closer this time, so I wonder if they're clearing out the shipping lanes? 

After watching the waves for a while, I headed back to my car.  I decided, before I left, however, that I would take a look at Mill Creek, and see what was there.  As I was walking towards the creek, which was full of Mallards sheltering from the waves, I saw a big, black bird in their midst.  You can barely see it in this picture.

I walked closer, and saw, very much to my surprise, a Black Swan.  Black Swans are native to Australia, and are quite common there.  They are a very rare, introduced species here, however, very rarely seen in the wild.  I am thinking that this one must be an escapee from somewhere.

When I got home, I sent an email to the same gentleman that I had notified about the banded Mute Swan that I had seen.  I included this picture  I didn't know if it was important that someone with the DEC know or not.  I'm very impressed by this gentleman.  He has answered me already.  He told me that he has sent the picture to someone else, presumably someone who is more involved with swans.  He told me that this gentleman would almost surely have something to say about this bird, and thanked me very much for sending the information.  I'll let you know what he has to say.

In the meantime, here's a short video of the swan.

 

 I forgot to put this second video in, and now, I can't get it to go in the right place.  I wanted to show how a large lake like Ontario is different from some of the smaller lakes that you might be familiar with.  Sometimes, I think that it's much closer to an ocean, than a lake.  Too bad you can see how dirty the water is.

Busy Morning

It's been a very busy morning at the feeders.  The Mallards were back, and they brought their extended family.  Plus, the Canada Geese remembered that there's free food at Louise's place.

Darn, those Canada Geese are beautiful!  It's a pity that they are so terribly messy.

After the water birds left, the Turkey Girls wandered in to see if there was anything left.  They stayed around for a while, so they must have found something, but I don't know how much.

 

Now, I have to go out and put more food down, for the little birds, and the squirrels.  Critters eat well here.  And, they reward me with their beauty and their antics.

At the End of the Day

The rain has passed, after giving the ground a thorough soaking.  The sun is shining, and the birds and critters are back.  Mr. Squirrel is practicing his acrobatics while a sparrow watches in amazement.

Out of My Rear Window 8/15/10

Another Sunday, another green day.  The big difference today is that it is very cloudy.  There's not a ray of sun anywhere.  We're supposed to get scattered showers and thundershowers later in the day, and, I believe it.

Even the feeder is quiet, as if the birds and animals are off somewhere, preparing a shelter for the coming storm.