It was a dark and very rattling windy night

I have never slept well, and after two decades sleeping - or trying to sleep on assorted aircraft carriers, minesweepers and the such, I still can't get a good night's sleep. The slightest sounds wakes me and I am up and roaming to investigate....  am I the only one who can't sleep well?
So I am usually up a few times nightly, as I still don't sleep too well these days.  It was no different last night during a wind storm that ripped through western new York. 
The lights were off a few times during the wee hours, and even the extreme darkness with no lights, that woke me. This is really unusual for us as we rarely get anything like that of high windy conditions for our area. It does however affect other western NY areas. That was followed soon after by a power outage lasting almost two hours, not to mention the high whistling howling winds, sounding more like an off-key old opera singer, or a deadbeat train.... and tomorrow's forecast is expected to be more of the same.

 

A warning to my friends in Europe, to prepare now by tidying up your yards and around the house, or your neighbors will looking at your things blown into their yards! 
Above all, stay safe everyone! 
This all blew - and still howling through as I type - through during the night. The good thing is that now almost all the snow is gone due to days of all-day rains again....
Now to the chore of resetting the electric clocks. I've just forgotten how to set the analog clocks....

On the drone note, I now have three functional drones: my mini 4 pro, an Air 2 from my brother, and a Mavic 3 pro. I also have a mini 5 pro, though it's on crutches. With Winter cold all around and constant high winds starting up, so far in this early Winter I've only had one chance to test fly them, but all's good but quiet on the drone front. Now till Spring, or a rare above 50-degree day with low winds, would be very nice indeed.

 

The seeStar was out months ago, getting some more snaps, till the cold front returned. We tried getting even one of three comets in our night sky! Unfortunately, not too successful thanks to the clouds rolling in....  as usual. 

 The sunsets on the upper Niagara river are still marvelous!

 

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?

 

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!

 

Western New York Storms

I've been reliving my past histories around the world and seeing great hot weather, cold and rainy locations, and of course a lot of stormy conditions that I didn't mind at all - during those younger years - getting out into and splashing around!

Now in the current life on the East Coast, the memories of those vast and varied weather come to light, as the past mixes with the present. Does this happen to you too, when an event, a moment, or even clouds can spark a sweet (or not) memory for you? 

Here's a memory in the recent past, snapped as the pandemic was beginning. 

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/strike-one-at-grand-island-ny-fototaker-tony-lost-at-night.html

I just cannot resist the color, mystery, danger and beauty of a thunderstorm!

Lightning Strikes

Last night was a light show of sorts, and the very best type: Nature put on this show just for me (okay, not just for me but it felt like it since it seemed I was the only fool outside for an hour in the hail, wind, rain and coolness!).

I have tried almost all my life behind a viewfinder, trying to capture two subjects: meteors and lightning. In 2016 I succeeded in getting the meteors and now surprisingly, I catch them easily!

Lightning on the other hand, has been elusive still, till a night ago when a long line of severe thunderstorms began moving into western new York. We were watching the 11pm news as usual, and then began the weather forecast, and it was then when I thought it would be the best time ever for a lucky night of lightning! I hurried to dress, grabbed the camera and a bag to cover it with, and walked quickly to the riverside to set up and try my luck once again!

I've known since the last century that the wind picks up once rain falls somewhere. That started up as soon as I stepped outside. It hailed for a while, then continued on and off of pouring rain while I was busy exposing my virtual film!

There were also quite a few times I'd be blinded by a white flash! I figure a strong lightning had just hit somewhere, and sure enuff, when I looked at the images later, I had quite a few frames that were close to, or completely white! So sign of a bolt on film but I know it's probably in there hidden in the whiteness somewhere!

BUT my life-long goal in capturing one of those lightning flashes has finally succeeded, as I ended up with a few lucky images!

But I also enjoyed my time out in the darkness, as there wasn't a second when the sky was NOT lit up with bright flashes hidden by thick clouds, and later as the clouds seemed to thin out, I could finally see the fabulous lightning lighting up my sky for some time that night!

What a splendid light show!!!! Did you see it in your area?

Stay safe and masked on this Day 106 of the New York state pandemic!!

Looking west toward Grand Island, New York

The flashes of lightning was without end but gorgeous!

Always great to see Nature at work!!

It must be Western New York because

It just snowed so much it was a white-out for a few minutes, then it was ice-pellets for another few minutes, and all this with high breezy winds past 20mph, and now it's sunny! 

Yes, it must be western New York in May, and day 71 of the New York State (NYS) pandemic!!!

Sheila has finished more masks, sending 120 facemasks to a Veterans Hospital in the Bronx last week. She's still thinking of doing more facemasks, though she's taking a break for now.

Thoughts on an Icy Chilling Day

Weeks ago we were hit with yet another wind storm that lasted days. Though this time we didn't see any downed trees in our immediate area, it wasn't the same for most of western New York (WNY). To give you an idea of how strong these winds were, there is a favorite spot we like hiking in the summer. This riverwalk goes under the Buffalo Peace Bridge leading to Canada and I have posted pictures previously somewhere of the fabulous views from this walkway, which consists of cement blocks placed together to form the foundation and walking surface of this riverwalk. Well, portions of this trail has been closed for some months due to a very strong wind storm that blew through the area last year during the winter, blowing and pushing huge blocks of ice over the walkway, and that action displacing many of the cement blocks, making the trail unusable. Well, it's happened again and now those blocks of cement that make up the riverwalk has been literally torn apart by Nature and the forces of the wind even before the repair work could be completed! 

No pixs of the riverwalk BUT here's wind-pushed snowballs!!

Nature may be beautiful, but it is also powerful, and all that which is taken from Nature, will surely be taken back by Nature eventually!

A walkway near Dunkirk, located hours away from us, and with a waterfront walkway also constructed of huge heavy blocks of cement was also blown apart. No one can ever doubt the force of winds in this area! 

The forementioned snows have already melted away, but not to worry: there's more snow coming our way early next week and will fill the streets and more for three days. Because of traffic, snows and freezing rains, we didn't venture out and do not have any pictures of the wrecked walkways described here, but were able to get snaps of other scenes closer to home!

So little but these icicles are pointy and frozen hard!

Last year this tiny creek was top and bottom frozen!

Flash-forward to today and gorgeous clouds, and NO snow! 

In many locations along the Niagara River, we have seen trunks, branches and more of downed trees, pushed many feet up and away off the Niagara due to high winds weeks ago!

In some cases, the debris has been pushed up to past 40feet away and over the waterline!

Frosted trees are a favorite for any camera!!

Leaves mix with green grasses in the melting snow and ice

We saw blue skies today, and a nice cloudy sunset!

Never doubt Nature or her powerful force!!!

View from the Bedroom Window

soooo it's raining. It rains around the world....
but sometimes from above the street, it takes on a unique perspective....
No, this image above isn't the world drain, but the corner street sewer being flooded with the surge of water from a hard downpour. Don't worry, as we speak, I am trying to figure out HOW to email 100 gallons of water to my friends in Australia.