Stay with Me

We just love seeing wildlife in its different species and colors, and at a spot close to the Niagara River, we had seen these ducks swimming against the current and wind. Turned out to be a Mother with her ducklings, and how cute these were! 

Thinking of a Tree not Dancing in the High WNY Winds

Still digging through memories of a past walk, and found yet another portrait of a Tree! I might not be able to hug a Tree [aChooooooo] but I can appreciate their Beauty!

As you walk slowly through my memories, IF you'd like to see something else, please let me know!

 

Reflecting Street & Walkway Ponds

When I'm on the street I am always looking all around me. No matter if it's up toward the sky, down to the pathway and sidewalks below my feet, or left and right to windows, cars and what-not! I love reflections, don't you? One needs to think, have I missed something unique just because I didn't look?

Loving the Beauty of Trees

WHO wouldn't love admiring the Beauty of our lovely Trees that surround us everyday and just about everywhere we venture? All I know is that we get out when we can, and whenever we are out to snap something else, our cameras always eventually turn to see Nature's textures! How can we NOT be awed by Trees and always end up snapping the Trees we love seeing!

 

Those Beautiful Vintage and so Practical Cable Cars of San Francisco

I just love those Cable Cars of San Francisco, and have spent at least half of my life riding them alone, with friends and with newly-made friends! I used to point out the popular scenic spots to those who wanted to know, in those days when I didn't have a camera in my hands everyday! Now one of the most expensive means of riding around my City by the Bay, I try NOT to ride them at all! But I haven't forgotten my days and nights on them as a teen! School? Who went to school in the 60s in the era of hippies in San Francisco?!?

NO exhaust fumes from these cable cars ever, along with the electric buses with their antenas rising off the roofs to the charged electric cables above!

 

White Snow Again in western New York

Well, after a few days of "nice weather" in western New York (WNY), we have snow on the ground again. It's not much...  probably less than an inch, but it's yet another white scene as we are looking out the window. The temperatures however, have been at freezing during the day and colder at night for many weeks!

As discussed after the Buffalo 2022 Winter Blizzard that claimed many lives as power was lost in many areas, if you find yourself without power and don't have a gas heater, you can use a camping tent to stay warm. Use blankets to cover the tent to better insulate the tent for a more efficient warm tent! 

Don't have a tent? 

Use your available furniture to provide support for your blankets to form a makeshift tent! You've seen kids do it to create a fortress, now YOU can do the same to stay warm during power outages in Winter! Even a kitchen or dining room table would provide a thick roof, then hang blankets off the sides then crawl inside and stay warm! It won't be the most comfortable bed but it could see you surviving a winter storm of a few days or till the power grid to your area is restored! 

If your gas heater is still operating well, no matter how cold it is, remember you need ventilation to move the air around to prevent the chances of carbon monoxide building up within the living areas where your gas heater is located. This can be the situation for any type of gas heater!

Just stay safe and always be aware of the cold in your home and while out on the roads! 

Stay safe wherever you are! 

Take a few minutes to make an emergency kit to leave in the car during the Winters. This kit could consist of a thick blanket, a few thick coats, sweaters, thick pants, etc, and a few snack bars, water, a fully charged phone and possibly a power bank with usb cables for your phone, flashlights or what I like better: a headlamp so your hands will be kept available to do other things, a safety marker, flares or safety lights, etc. 

We purchased solar batteries last year which charge using foldable portable solar panels to charge these solar batteries, and we are shocked but pleased to know that even with snowy overcast days, we will get a trickle charge input to our batteries and though it's a tiny amount, it still charges our batteries! Recently we also purchased a small unit that will jumpstart our car battery, and also has an air pump, a bright light, and also usb connections. This is great for using in the car and now anytime we are roadtripping, we ensure this is in the car also.

If you have other tips/advice for others, feel free to comment and describe your best tools, ideas, and things you'd have to keep safe and warm during any emergency situation! Hope this helps and you'll never need to use these tips or items, BUT if you ever do, you're prepared!

Above all, stay safe at home or while out on the road!

Sights and Memories of MY City by the Bay

Right now the winds of western New York are blowing past 30 mpg and while we have experienced in walked in winds past 50mph, it's still interesting to be inside and hear the howling winds! 

I am always remembering my hometown and its sights, colors, events and Beauty! How can I not think of it when I have so many fabulous image files and memories?

What is your favorite city or place in this vast place we call Home?

 

HOW to Be and STAY Slender ALL your Life in San Francisco

Live in area or in a city that has mountains for streets and YOU will be healthy for most of the rest of your Life! 

Walk, run or just get out onto those steep hills of San Francisco everyday as I have in my teen years, and you'll stay well, healthy and slender! Why go to a gym when all you need to do is get outside onto the streets of San Francisco! Really! I only weigh now about 15pounds over what my weight was when I was a young teen living in my City by the Bay!

I have never ever weighed over 130 pounds! Really!

Operation Earnest Will

These days WHO remembers the reflagging of Kuwaiti oil tankers, allowing the United States to provide protection by the US military from attacks upon oil tankers in the Persian Gulf? Later US Navy minesweepers were deployed to the Persian Gulf to sweep those waters for mines. I saw a lot of "mines", later determined to be actually dead livestock in the Persian Gulf with their legs straight up in the waters! Really!

I am shocked to discover that online sources do not mention the many US Navy minesweepers that participated in Earnest Will, along with other minesweepers from other countries. 

Lay Me Down to Sleep

When we die, who speaks for us when WE are gone? Sure, the People of the World cry and moan for those recognized as famous, intelligent, learned and so on, BUT for the Common Folk, WHO mourns for us? Who describes our lives and virtues? We stand against the famous and rich who are in the news and newspapers everyday, BUT who will tell our story? We too have lived, and while we have not the status of many others nor have servants to serving us, who will serve us our rightful few minutes of Fame in our Name when we are No Longer?

WHO speaks for us when we are gone? Who will cry when we are dead? Who fights for our Souls when we cannot speak? 

Who loves us when we cannot Love them in return when we are no more?

Who?

Frozen in Time and Ice

We went out as the sun was setting [the only color we saw was all grey from our location]. With tripods and despite the chilling cold, we decided to stay a bit longer to snap the floating river ice moving north towards the waterfalls of Niagara Falls New York and of Niagara Falls Ontario Canada which are the buildings visible in this freezing shot.color? Anyone interested in seeing this same scene in color? But booooy, we were freezing out there!

The Beauty of Trees

WHO in their right mind who wouldn't or won't love the Beauty of Trees? Whenever we are out to enjoy Nature's textures, we are in awe by the Trees that we see and end up snapping those Trees!

Tour Helicopter Flying UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge!

One day while out and about during my past routines while still on the West Coast, I happened to sight a lone SF tour helo flying near the bridge. To my amazement, it flew UNDER the bridge!! It was incredible to think that an aircraft would and could and DID exactly that!

Is that crazy or what? Then the SF FAA Safety office says "well, they have to make a living too". So that justifies breaking the rules and allowing an unsafe flight under the bridge? 

What is happening to the "civilized world" when stuff like that is not only allowed, but turning the eyes in the other direction to basically allow that?

Crazy!!

 

Warm and sunny in western New York!

Again not a recent sunset but just the typical golden sight seen on the upper Niagara year-round. We feel so lucky to be witness to such fabulous displays of color, textures and of the Beauty of Nature. I actually had to tone down the saturation because the golden brightness actually hurt my eyes ~ really!

How are your sunsets where you are?

We were out at the Falls yesterday when I noticed someone littering with a huge trash bin not even three feet from them. I mentioned the litter to them and they looked surprised. I haven't been to many places in this vast world, but I have been to a few places. It seems that all the tourist-popular areas are always littered with even the most basic trash: forks, take-out trays, the very popular trash of cigarette butts....  and of course the dog poop by people who live near a park or green area, and allow their pet to poop without picking up. 

Why are people even trashing the environment, let alone some attraction or scenic viewing area, that's a joy to see unless you look down, and notice the mass amount of trash on the ground? Or have we become so accustomed to trashing our own areas at home, the local store etc, that we no longer think of it and everything just gets dropped/thrown on the ground?

Please folks: if you bring it in, take it out with out. Usually there's a trash bin close to you. Please use it. Please teach your kids to dispose of their trash properly no matter where they are. Encourage and enforce that by being the example they need to see!

Humans: the messiest species of the planet, not only killing their home world but polluting it everyday with even more trash. Like we haven't done enough to destroy the planet and its natural beauty, we have to slowly trash it too!

 

The Centuries-Old Cable Cars of San Francisco

These "trolley cars" are built on technology dating back to the late 1800s but are still functioning well into the 21st Century! Imagine hitching a ride by grabbing a moving cable located under the ground, and to think not only are these cars heavy BUT also loaded down with a lot of tourists!

These are the infamous Cable Cars of  San Francisco. In fact, many cities around the world had these cars running on their streets centuries ago, but as the technology improved, these cable cars were replaced with other vehicles of mass transportation. Trolley cars are powered by electricity, while these are pulled along by a moving cable.

In all types of weather, these cable cars are used not only by visitors to my City by the Bay, but residents also. It doesn't matter who rides them, these Cable Cars will be around for a long time!

Clouds over the upper Niagara River of WNY

Not recent BUT am just STiLL looking back over the 10000s of image files I've been looking through lately, and it never ends. But one great thing about looking through these hard drives: reLiving the fabulous scenes, clouds, Nature and journeys, and it just never stops!

Road Trip Snowscapes Memories

This isn't recent but I can imagine this would be a good example of how some roads of the area would appear right about now. Just returned from testing a [yet again] new camera at the Falls, and will post a few later. A surprisingly nice sunny day with rainbows at the Falls and warm sunlight! No worries; I hear later during the week it'll be high winds again and cold. Tell me something new....