Killing Time at the Falls of Niagara

Just a few memories while at the Falls to enjoy the fireworks. For the past two weeks we have been returning to the Falls and recording the fireworks from different spots. Of course we have our favorite spots...  less people. Quieter. No problem with parking. Good security. BUT to get to other spots ain't a bad thing either!

 

When will we ever sleep?

I love newer technology. Better. Modern. Hopefully cheaper. The wife and I have debated for years on buying a telescope. Then it needs this to look through via a camera to snap pixs. Need a laptop and apps/programs to find stars galaxies and stuff, but now you need a gyro to make it turn.... the list and needed additions go on and on. We've been reading in recent months of the See Star s50. It's a "smart telescope". Sure, I'll bite: does it do tricks and serve tea? Then online, I've been seeing mentions of it with images in recent months and weeks. Nice images but nothing to brag about. Then a few days ago, the wife saw a post by someone online with images that were supposedly created using this SeeStar. These were better, MUCH better than the images I've been seeing. These were like images, really nice images!! We commented on the images and the person who posted explained that yes, it was created using the seeStar and other than using it, it was easy to obtain! A week later, we both now have a SeeStar, plus images!! The first two days of having it, it was cloudy and cold... freezing and windchill below freezing. No problem... we practiced indoors and used it to death so we knew how to do what we needed to do and hopefully have it do and find what we wanted it to seek and display. The next day after shopping, Sheila noticed it was partly cloudy and the moon was visible, though clouds were passing in front. We quickly got out our SeeStars and began setting up. Within minutes, we had our first images of the waxing crescent Moon. Turning around, we noticed the Sun was visible too. Ran inside the house to get the provided sun filter and got it turned around quickly, and started snapping the Sun. It hadn't been a full 24 hours yet since it arrived, and we now had our images of the Moon and the Sun! A few days later we imaged M42, the Orion Nebula. I sent a copy of the Orion Nebula to a friend, and he quickly replied stating he was surprised and shocked to see such great results already but only after a few days of its receipt, and having no real prior experience with telescopes at all, we got such great results! I felt exactly the same way: I was and remain so shocked that with NO prior training in telescopes, and not even reading a manual, I basically got these pixs which were - to us - so fantastic, nobody would believe we got them within days of its receipt! Now as Winter slowly crawls to bed with us, and Spring finally arrives, then summer, my only huge worry and question: when will we ever find time to sleep?

Riding [a PORTiON] of the Erie Canal

 Recently during a not misty smoky day, our eBikes took us to the Erie Canal near Pendleton, New York for a short ride. We have always wanted to ride alongside the Erie Canal but to do so takes determination. It's a looong ride. Even on a short ride as we did, there isn't much to see of the canal but Trees bushes and clouds! Really!

The best views of the canal are while in canal cities and towns, or by the small bridges that cross the canal.

If riding the canal for a short distance as we did, there's not much of the canal to see. But the Erie Canal remains an important landmark of New York State history, and a part of western New York's history also, as it begins just north of Buffalo in the Tonawandas!

Here's a memory of our folding 16" eBikes parked next to a very tiny portion of the Erie Canal. 

Not seen in this image are the many mosquitos

 

The Beauty of WNY Wildlife

 We were out again to escape the constant updates to our new home, and decided to go to a very popular and busy nature preserve in Buffalo where a Roseate Spoonbill had been sighted. We departed early and spent the better part of the day there....  over five hours there in the light rain, clouds and finally the sun broke through. Saw a bunch of birds which were the normal, but no spoonbill. Many others seemed to be out with long lenses and binoculars, so guessing we weren't the only ones interested in seeing the spoonbill. We have already seen spoonbills in the wild in SW Spain and in Florida, but spoonbills are a rare occurrence in western New York. Last year there was a wayward Limpkin in the area, and the year before it was a Virginia Rail. 

I kept joking that once we decide to leave, the spoonbill will make its appearance, and we will have missed it. That's exactly how it went: we were actually departing and out of the corner of my eye, saw something of a pinkish color fly in fast and low, then landed not even 42 feet away!

The one thing that always bothers me is that it seems human is such a controlling species. The humans really are the true invasive species of the planet, who have, for centuries and more, just gone any and everywhere, seemingly to explore new lands, but in reality we are now discovering that the true intent was to conquer and enslave other people, steal their treasures, their lands, and if that wasn't enough, humans just wanted to remove others from the planet. 

In addition to that goal, which they've done quite well through the centuries, is their desire to trash and pollute this planet everyone calls home. I haven't been everywhere, but I've been to a few countries, and the one thing I have discovered is the vast amount of trash left by humans everywhere! What is most disturbing is the amount of trash left everywhere, and seemingly, even in the most scenic, beautiful, natural and popular areas will be trashed and polluted the most! Even with plenty of trash bins and signs, humans do as they wish, and their main objective is always the same: to trash the area no matter how beautiful the area is. That doesn't mean that for some area not considered to be the best, should be trashed. THiS is our home: the Earth. There is only one Earth and it's already gone through centuries of pollution on a grand scale. While it's less now, it's still a lot more considering the trashing and pollution of our HOME affects eventually everyone, and all species. 

I have even seen people throw trash on the ground though there's a trash receptacle just a few feet away. It's not the responsibility of others to advise you of your trashing the area; WE should be able to remember that the ground we transit each day is not a garbage pit we think it is no matter where we are. We need to, and should have the common sense and personal responsibility to hold the trash till it can be disposed of properly.

Enjoy your day, week and season, and please remember to not trash our home nor our planet. It reflects on us as a species, and shows everyone what little regard we have for our own home, let alone for other people and species.

FogBow seen in my Past

 So the other day while working on moving my trillion and five image files from older external Hard Drives [eHDs] to smaller faster eHDs that fit within my folded hand, I've also been looking through some of the files for lost and great memories! Last night while Sheila was looking through her social media feed, she saw someone's post that displayed a rainbow, and that one rainbow post lead to another, so I searched online for how many types of rainbows exist and was shocked by the result! Soon enough my eyes stumbled upon the rare occurrence of a fogbow, which is a colorless bow usually seen during a foggy day. This got me thinking because I have seen a fogbow, and many times while in my foggy San Francisco, and waaay back in 2016 [below]while visiting friends in Norway! 

Have YOU seen a fogBow?