Backyard Tenants

This little chickadee has set up housekeeping with his mate in my backyard bird house. They can barely squeeze in the "front door" but seem to like it that way. I'll be on the lookout for chicks in a few weeks.

Erie Canal Trail - from the beginning

Mother's Day, May 10th we hiked the Erie Canal Trail from Dewitt to Manlius Center, 6 miles round trip. This is the western end of the Erie Canal State Park whose eastern terminus is just west of Rome. Below are photos from the hike: a mallard enjoying the sun, a red-bellied woodpecker peeking out of his/her nesting hole, and a family of geese. We saw an Eastern Kingbird as well but I couldn't get a good photo of him.

Parade - Country Style

You "big-city" people just don't know what you're missing. Here's what it takes to entertain us simple country folk:

fire trucks (clown optional) a tractor or two

the high school marching band, local VFW troops, lots of boy/girl scouts tossing candy to the crowd and most importantly...
an excited little girl.......

and you've got yourself a parade.

Blogging with Hank

As long as we're discussing my favorite quotes and writers, check on this link to The Blog of Henry David Thoreau. I love it! Can you imagine ole Hank hunkered down at Walden Pond uploading his blog via DSL? We can see Thoreau's diary entries on the day of the year they were written (although not in true chronological order). Here's a sample:

temporary vernal lakes
...Thoreau's Journal: 03-May-1857

Up and down the town, men and boys that are under subjection are polishing their shoes and brushing their go-to-meeting clothes. I, a descendant of Northmen who worshipped Thor, spend my time worshipping neither Thor nor Christ; a descendant of Northmen who sacrificed men and horses, sacrifice neither men nor horses. I care not for Thor nor for the Jews. I sympathize not to-day with those who go to church in newest clothes and sit quietly in straight-backed pews. I sympathize rather with the boy who has none to look after him, who borrows a boat and a paddle and in common clothes sets out to explore these temporary vernal lakes. I meet such a boy paddling along under a sunny bank, with bare feet and his pants rolled up to his knees, ready to leap into the water at a moment’s warning. Better for him to read “Robinson Crusoe” than Baxter’s “Saints’ Rest.”

The Paths we Travel

An interesting post from blogger Tess Thompson of St. Louis: In her blog, Arch Words, Tess discusses what she deems "one of the most misunderstood poems in the United States," The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. As you can see, the last lines of that poem are among my favorite quotes and ones which I have always felt describe my take on life. However, as Tess points out, those lines may not really be what they seem. I'll leave it to you to read the entire analysis as Tess sees it, but here is the poem followed by my thoughts:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

In a nutshell, the argument is that Frost's poem is not about one road being a better choice. If you read carefully you will see that the roads look much the same although the narrator knows that each has its own branches and destinations. Choosing is therefore an important issue, but the superiority of one path over the other is not at all clear. From this perspective, I can envision the future old man telling his grandchildren or companions ("with a sigh") that he had made the better choice, taking the road "less traveled by." Perhaps the sigh implies he still wonders how his life might have been different by choosing the other road, but in typical "grandpa-ish" tradition, he spins his tale of independence and bravado, bucking the mainstream to follow the less popular route.

Everytime I come to my blog I wonder: If this interpretation is true, does the poem retain its meaning to me? I take pride in choosing the road less traveled -- if it is equally traveled does that diminish my pride or my choice? I don't think so. I chose the road I chose and, as Robert Frost maintains, "that has made all the difference."

Pratt's on a sunny day

Last Sunday (April 26th) we drove to Pratt's Falls for a picnic/hike. The park was quiet and we had the trails all to ourselves. This little guy on the left, a dark-eyed (slate-colored) junco was working with his mate, perhaps building a nest under the eaves or tending a new clutch of chicks. We hiked all three trails - a total of maybe 4-5 miles, through the woods, along the fields, and back to civilization. The early wildflowers were just beginning to bloom as evidenced by the white trillium and dogtooth violet shown here. I remember seeing these flowers blanketing the springtime woods when I was a kid, along with the rarer red trilliums which are nearly non-existent now. We also ran into Mr. Gartersnake who, apparently having just shed his skin, was so busy enjoying the warm sun that he didn't even acknowledge the camera that clicked several photos of him. The small waterfall here is not Pratt's Falls itself, rather it is one of many little cascades we encountered on our walk. After nearly two hours of hiking we sat down to a yummy picnic, spread a blanket under a tree and enjoyed a relaxing nap as other picnikers began to arrive and enjoy the day.

The weather has been just gorgeous lately.....I think it's time to get back to Montezuma to see if the eaglets have hatched, and catch up on the latest happenings there.

Falling in Ithaca

I've been doing lots of hiking lately and thus have fallen behind on the blog. Today is a catch-up day. This first of two posts is from April 15th, a day spent in Ithaca. We approached the city by way of the Cornell University campus, stopping at the museum there. We saw many intriguing works of art from the famous and not-so-famous. I learned a lot about Asian religious art and saw a series of photos from a religious ritual in (I think) India. It wasn't all Asian though, there were many genres, media, and cultures represented here.

Next stop was the mall downtown. We wandered around for a bit, browsed and bought at a used bookstore, then found a quiet little restaurant for lunch. After lunch we drove up to Cayuga Nature Center for a couple of short hikes then up Route 89 to Taughannock Falls. The first two photos here were taken from the overlook, several (hundred?) feet above the base of the falls. The closeup (second photo) was taken on my Panasonic advanced digital with a 500mm-effective lens. I like the way the water blurs with motion in some spots while in others you can almost see each drop as it ripples down the gorge. Afterwards we walked the trail along the lower gorge where we passed the falls shown in the third photo. The last picture was taken at the base of the falls, our last stop of the day. We were tempted to stop at the Cayuga Creamery for some of their famous ice cream but managed to will our way past, saving it for another day.

It was a great day, great companionship, great meal, great hiking, awesome views!