June 7th thru June 13th, 2010
The Botanical Gardens grounds in Lackawanna are certainly under appreciated by me. It was a rainy, drizzly, foggy day in Buffalo this Sunday and while driving around looking for something interesting I happened to meander over to Lackawanna. The small lake by the Botanical Gardens is covered, simply covered, by water lilies. I have never really seen a collection of water lilies like that before. These were beautiful and fragrant. There were birds and frogs sitting on top of them, ducks swimming around them and fish jumping up and eating off of them. What a really beautiful experience for me this morning.
This is a shot of one corner of the little lake. The entire lake was covered in these water lilies.
May 31st thru June 6th, 2010
May 24th thru May 30th, 2010
The Central Park United Methodist Church, from the back side on Wesley Place.
A pretty nice week in Buffalo. We had plenty of sunshine and unseasonally warm temperatures. Sunday, Elaine and I hosted a little picnic for selected old friends with whom we had lost touch with our move to Buffalo. Now that we're back in the East Aurora area we got together again, and it was super fun! What very nice folks they are indeed. The kids we knew as little are now much more grown, beautiful, in high school, with boy friends. And they are still very nice kids. Folks, we lost touch with were fun to see again. A great day, indeed, with swimming in the pool, badminton, Kan-Jam, lots of food and a backyard fire at night. It really couldn't get any better.
May all have a memorable Memorial Day, and remember what it has taken to get us were we are.
May 17th thru May 23rd, 2010
This was the week we opened the pool. Not swimming yet, but the cover is off, the shock and algecide have been applied. So, summer can't be too far off. This picture of the Hamlin Park Pavillion was taken with my new 16-35mm L USM II lens. This is three images combined to create one HDR image. HDR has a tendancy to be less sharp. This turned out ok, though. I attribute that to the lens. Had a good week, relatively.
May 10th thru May 16th, 2010
The week finished out beautifully here in Buffalo. President Obama visited on Thursday. Seems like a nice enough fellow. This photo was taken on a Friday lunch time walk I took. I hardly ever leave the building for lunch, but Friday was too nice not too wander off for a moment or two. This little path is not far from our office. A nice respite this was. Saturday and Sunday were lawn days here in the neighborhood. I spent Sunday AM photographing a walk for MS in Fredonia, NY. Very nice folks down there in Fredonia, NY.
May 3rd thru May 9th, 2010
A building left of many that were once the Larkin Soap Company complex here on Seneca and Exchange Streets in Buffalo, NY. My grandmother worked at the Larkin Co as a very young woman before she was married to my grandfather in 1925.
To learn more about the Larkin Soap Company
We had a happy Mother's Day here in our neck of the woods, even if we did awaken to snow this morning.
April 26th thru May 2nd, 2010
As I have mentioned previously, probably more often than was required, we've moved back into the suburbs from the city. I guess, actually, East Aurora and Elma are a tad more out than the suburbs. Neighbors in Buffalo asked, "Why would you want to move way back out there, again?" I think the real reason was to be back closer to children who have chosen to remain out here "in the suburbs". It makes babysitting opportunities much more convenient.
I liked the city, actually. The architecture of Buffalo is really amazing, you are close to everything. There is nothing you would need to buy, nothing that you would want to do (other than skiing) that you are not minutes away from. The food is great and the restaurant selection seemed limitless. Truly, though, the neighborhoods are very fragile. It seemed as if our neighborhood could breakdown to be less than comfortable at any moment. And, there really isn't a neighborhood in the whole city that isn't in the same situation. Additionally, nearing senior citizen age, having everything on one floor seems beneficial and not too many city homes are a single floor, ranch style house.
None the less, I miss it a bit; the city I mean. But sitting out in the back yard this evening watching the fire in the pit in the yard, I heard birds and wind in the trees and every once in a while some distant automobile traffic from the RT400. But not one siren, and no constant traffic noise and no wondering who that was walking down the sidewalk in front of the house. I don’t even have a sidewalk in front of my house.
This flower shot taken Friday night of a tree in the front yard. Spring is here.
April 19th thru April 25th, 2010
Early Saturday morning I woke to a day that I knew was going to come out of the night with great morning sunshine. I threw my camera in the car and while driving around was struck by the morning light on this old farm on Seneca Street down a ways from Moog and before Springbrook. It was a mixed week for weather in Buffalo. cold and rain and sunshine. Variety is the spice of life.
April 12th thru April 18th, 2010
Ben's and my visit to see the V-22 Osprey was the big event of this week. The Marines fly the V22 Osprey, a Tilt-Rotor aircraft. It is replacing the old CH46 helicopters in the US Marine Corps squadrons. Many years ago, I was a young Marine pilot flying CH46's when we learned of the potential program to develop the V22. That was in 1970-1975. The Osprey finally got to an operational squadron, I believe in about 2005. It was exciting for Ben and me as he designs hydraulic valves for aircraft controls and his company did a lot of work on the Osprey. It was nostalgic for me as the pilots on this plane were from VMM 365 and told me my old squadron HMM 264 was also getting the new V-22's and becoming VMM 264 rather than HMM 264.
April 5th thru April 11th, 2010
This is the old Kalla farm on Ostrander Road, not far from where Kalla Lane intersects Ostrander. Joe and Ginny Kalla used to own the farm and both I and my father before me worked on the farm at one time in our lives; my father when he was first married and I during the summer between my Junior and Senior years in high school. When I worked there the main field was down off of Blood Road and was a "muck field". The Kalla’s grew lettuce, radishes, onions and the like. I was the worst farm field hand ever, I was 16 years old (wow, that was 45 years ago). I had just gotten my driver’s license and I had this summer job living on the farm and working in the fields. It was hot, and did I mention I was the worst lettuce/radish picker ever? Well Joe drove down in the field one hot afternoon and asked if anyone knew how to drive a truck? My hand shot up faster than a Baptist at an alter call! Joe didn't seem to be more discerning other than mine was the first hand up. So he pointed in my direction and said, “Hop in and drive us back to the barn.” (this picture) I slid into the driver’s seat and prayed for the best. It was about three quarters of a mile to the barn from the field and when we had nearly reached our destination Joe looked over from the passenger seat and questioned..."I thought you said you knew how to drive a truck?" None the matter, I got the truck driving job. So all summer long I drove this big box truck, with the windows rolled down and the radio blasting delivering lettuce, radishes, onions and assorted vegetables to markets and supermarkets all over Western NY and Buffalo. It was a lot more fun than picking radishes in the muck fields all day, I can tell you that!
March 29th thru April 4th, 2010
It was a beautiful week in Buffalo; sunshine and temperatures in the 80's. On Easter Sunday it was a tad cooler, but none the less a bright sunny Easter Sunday. We enjoyed it with family and friends. A new lawn tractor was purchased this week (pictures to follow, I'm sure). We rolled the lawn. Spring is fun and the "things to do list" bulges. These tulips were the center piece for Easter dinner.
March 22nd thru March 28th, 2010
Sitting in a Mexican restaurant, the food at which, by the way, was very authentic and very good, when the colors of the multi-flavored pop bottles against the green walls caught my eye. I asked if I could take a picture and they said yes. At least I think that is what they said; they acted as if that is what they said anyway. I don't speak Spanish. I would recommend this place on the corner of Eggert and Niagara Falls Blvd...it used to be a Denny's.
Well, my daughter was graduated from Michigan State and my son in law from Duke. They both made it to the Final Four today and now my grandson is caught in a moral dilemma of whom to rout for if they should both make it to the Championship game.
