I Have Moved!

Well, my blog has anyway. You can click here to go to my new blog. I don't plan to add anything more to this one, so you should bookmark the new one if you are a regular to my blog.

WW - Sunspots and Cuddles

Joe enjoys 2 of his favorite things: a cuddle with one of his people and a warm "sunspot."

Back to the Cemetery!

After we went to the cemetery in the neighboring city, I discovered that there is a Frank Lloyd Wright design in that cemetery. It is the Blue Sky Mausoleum. We had to go back to that city on Tuesday, so I took along the camera (of course) and went back to the cemetery.
Here it is from across the spring that it overlooks.


























The next three pictures are just from different angles and distances, with the third one being my favorite. I want to go back and photograph it at dusk, as I think it would look amazing then.







































This is another of my favorites of the day. It is across the spring from the Blue Sky Mausoleum. I just really like the composition and the colors.













This was taken from the bottom of the mausoleum, looking straight across the spring. Beautiful, isn't it? Whenever I go to this cemetery, I feel as though I am in a park, not a cemetery. Clarke, who designed the cemetery, intended for it to become a place where people could come and stroll and take in the natural beauty and admire the artistic sculptures. I believe his vision has been realized and then some!













After photographing the mausoleum, we drove around photographing other things that caught our attention. This headstone stood out among those around it. If you click to enlarge it, you will see how beautiful it is.













This monument is apparently the very elaborate top of the tomb in which the man portrayed in the scene inside the glass, is buried. There is actually a sign on one side of the monument that says the man is buried below the floor of the structure. I don't even want to think about why it might be necessary to mention that!













This bench Erin is sitting on is one of four that faces the above monument.













Have you ever had one of those moments where you just want to scream "what is wrong with you?" at your kids when you suddenly realize that they probably have no clue that what they are doing is stupid? Well, enter the wild turkeys! As we pulled around a bend, we saw two of them. I really wanted a picture, so I jumped out of the car and slowly began creeping up on them. My MIL went with us and was driving, so I had to go around the van to get to them. Well, Kyle decided he was going to get out and take a picture as well. Not understanding that wild turkeys can easily outrun humans, Kyle took off running after them...need I say more? Then when Sarah jumped out running, all hope was lost. I went sulking back to the van, while the two hooligans chased the poor fowl through the cemetery. Kyle managed to get one okay shot. Needless to say, my children now know that turkeys run very fast and that Mom really wants to photograph one and they better not get involved next time!

Grumpy about film!

I was so excited when I got my first roll of film (that I had recently shot) developed. I was impressed that I could take decent photos. So when we got ready to go to the Irish Festival last weekend, I grabbed my Minolta, and headed out. For some unknown reason I had a difficult time loading the film into the camera. I took a whole roll of 36 exposures and was so excited, until I went to wind the film back on the roll to remove it from the camera. I got about a turn and a half when the film had obviously released from the camera. My heart sank. I had "taken" some really cool shots that I couldn't wait to see. Hopeful that I had just imagined the roll not being loaded properly, I took the film to have it developed, but my worst fear was realized...the roll was empty!
As I was just finishing uploading the pictures that Sarah took at the cemetery, I found these...

The two little girls in these pictures, are my nieces. My sister-in-law came for a visit from out of town. Her two little girls had a great time dancing to the music of the Dady Brothers. My Erin, who took Irish dance last year but decided she really wants to be a hockey goalie, danced for the better part of an hour while listening to the Dady Brothers. She really is good, but for her to do both activities is too expensive and she decided hockey is what she really wants to do.
























































As you can see from the kids faces, it was a very warm night under the tent. The festival is in a park and they set up a huge circus style tent for all the festivities. There are people selling their wares, food stands, and lots of musical and dancing acts. The temperature outside was tolerable for early September. A bit on the warm side, but not too bad. However, inside the tent full of people, it was unbearable. I was just sitting, or standing, taking pictures, moving around as little as possible, and I kept having to dry the back of my flash because my forehead was resting on it and kept getting it soaked. I had invited my mom to come, but it is a really good thing she didn't make it, she would have boiled over since her body does not sweat for some reason.
Here is a terrific picture that Sarah took of her grandpa.














I was quite pleased that Sarah had taken these photos, since all the picture I thought I had taken, I hadn't!

My bad!

I started a post several days ago, and well, kinda forgot about it. If you scroll down a couple posts, there is a "new" post about a very cool cemetery, yes another one, that the kids and I checked out last week.

WW Headless?

Relaxing Sunday Morning

When I awoke this morning it was rather rainy, but I had promised Kyle a bike ride in the park. We headed out ready to get rained on, and sure enough, we got mighty damp. When we came back, I took a leisurely, warm shower and decided I needed Starbucks. Fortunately there is one very near by, so I hopped in the car and ran up to get a cup of Chai and a coffee for Jeff. Every fall, Starbucks brings back their pumpkin scones. These tasty little treats are one of my favorites. While I was there this morning, they happened to have some, so I got one for myself and a cream cheese danish for Jeff. The danish are my favorite when pumpkin scones are not in season. Upon arriving home, Jeff and I enjoyed our tasty treats and played a game of Rummy 500. It was a very pleasant morning.

Another Cemetery

We live near a very large, very old Victorian cemetery. It is, in fact, the first municipal Victorian cemetery in the country. On Friday, the kids and I decided to venture through it. We drive past often, but had never been in and were quite surprised by the amount of relief in the natural landscape of the place. The cemetery we went to last week was relatively flat and very landscaped. The contrast between the two is simply amazing!
The first several pictures in this post were taken with my Minolta x-700 film camera. I have been afraid of film since using a digital point and shoot for the last 7 or 8 years. I finally broke down and dug it out about a year ago, but only took a handful of pictures. The film then sat in the camera for over a year when I took it out on Friday and finished out the roll. Here are the recent results...













This was in a very shady spot and silly me, didn't think I needed the flash.













To say there was a gentle breeze on Friday would be a gross understatement, so I was impressed that these are as in focus as they are.


























I have a zoom lens for the camera which I am still trying to figure out.


























There were stairs like these all throughout the cemetery. Very old and very interesting!













You can see a little bit from these pictures that the landscape is very natural and has a ton of relief. Some of the roads that we drove on were marked as seasonal roads and I totally understand why. There is NO way I would venture down them in snow and ice. One attempting to would be likely to end up off the road and in some headstones.
I was impressed that 1) I can in fact take pictures with film, 2) the film was okay after sitting in the camera for over a year, 3) when I got them developed they gave me prints and a CD. Now how cool is that?
The pictures that remain were taken with the kids Fuji cameras.














Most of these pictures the kids took with their own cameras, but this one I took because I really like the epitaph.














I didn't pay really close attention to what the kids were photographing, so I was surprised when I loaded their pictures onto my computer. Sarah took this one, which I thought was pretty neat.














Because the cemetery is so old and so large, many of the oldest headstones are badly in need of repair. We did see several that were in various states of repair, but their were many others that had not been gotten to yet.














Sarah was apparently inspired by some of the symbolism on the headstones...
























































As we were walking back to the car, very overheated and ready to go, one of the kids said "wait" and then the others giggled. Thinking they had found something funny, I stopped and turned around. They were still walking towards me, so I wasn't sure what was so funny, so I kept walking. Then they said it again, and again. Getting annoyed (remember I was way overheated at this point) I turned to grumble at them and they pointed to the headstone below. We all had a good laugh.














I am not sure why, now that I think about it, but I was expecting something different; her headstone looks just like the stones of the other members of her family. Nothing fancy, just a simple, unassuming headstone.














Sarah did not take these fungus pictures, I did. I really like fungus for some reason. I don't eat mushrooms if I can avoid them, but I really like looking at fungus. Do you think I have a problem?
I couldn't resist this one with the little berry hanging there in front of the way cool fungus!














I really like the way this one came out. Hmm, maybe I could get a job photographing stuff for science books...hmmm....

Happy 12th Birthday to Sarah!

Well, all 3 kids have had there birthdays now, so summer must be winding down. Sarah's birthday is on September 6, but we celebrated it last weekend. I was going to post her pictures a while ago, but I had to work 6 days in a row (I typically work 3 or 4) so I was a zombie that barely knew my name by the end of it. I have had a couple days to recover, so here she is...
Sarah is a big fan of Sponge Bob Square Pants....


























...lighthouses....













...and taking pictures.













Needless to say, she had a wonderful birthday. After opening her presents she had a little cake...

A Day at the Cemetery

No, nobody died. The kids all had their annual physicals yesterday, so we went to the next city in order to accomplish that lovely, all day ordeal. Since Jeff works in the next city and his insurance covers doctors there, we decided to switch the kids to a new doc. there. Whenever they need to go to the doctor, I take Jeff to work, take the kids to the doctor, then we hang out until he is finished at work. Yesterday we decided to go to a really cool cemetery that is reported to have a really cool waterfall in it. Well, you all know how I love waterfalls!!!
We picked up a map of the cemetery upon our arrival. Unfortunately, the waterfall was not labeled on the map, just a bunch of grave plots. Can you imagine, my waterfall wasn't important enough!?! A creek and small lake (pond) were however marked, so we parked at the lake. Next to the lake is a mausoleum garden. As I got out of the car, I grabbed my camera and turned it on. There were 3 little dashes, indicating no memory card. With great restraint (from throwing the camera into the pond) I put it back in the car and asked Kyle if I could use his instead. He graciously (feeling pity, I think) agreed to share. His camera takes better pictures anyway!
Kyle took pictures of a couple neat mausoleums.




























This statue, "Little Girl," is in memory of all children.














We had to be careful as we navigated around the lake, there were geese (and goose offerings) everywhere.














Kyle took a picture of this Koi in the lake.














Although not a fan of Greek mythology, I thought "The Three Graces" was a neat statue. Apparently these 3 goddesses were supposed to have dispensed beauty, charm, and mirth to mortals. I think they just make a cool statue.














I couldn't find anything on these two little girls. Kyle and I read the plaque on the front, but neither of us could remember any of the details. I guess we will have to go back sometime.














This monument stuck up much higher than the surrounding headstones and I also found the contrast between this very old stately monument and the more modern one, further uphill to the right, amusing.



















The Letchworth-Skinner Mausoleum is the most expensive in the cemetery. The interior is apparently constructed of Italian and Egyptian marble on 3 levels. In 1872, when it was erected, it cost $100,000. Seems like a lot of money to spend on the deceased! As of 2001, there were 32 family members buried there.














I just thought this little Mausoleum in the hillside was neat.














My children found the "doorbells" on this monument humorous. They really do look like doorbells.



















This is a monument in the honor of Paul Schoellkopf. His family was responsible for providing electricity for street lamps and street cars in the Buffalo area in 1896.



















Kyle took this picture of the chapel and crematory.














The day was rather hot, and just as we were running out of steam and getting ready to head back to the car, I spotted this guy. I couldn't resist taking his picture! Isn't he cool? I am not certain of his story, but he is definitely neat!














This is the very small, rather unimpressive waterfall that I set out to find. Unfortunately, the stream at this point is in a rather deep ravine and the brush is very overgrown on the sides, making it nearly impossible to see. It sounded much more impressive. Too bad I couldn't record the sound of it for you.










































As we were driving out of the cemetery, Kyle asked me to snap a picture of the geese on my side of the car. I had Jeff's car and his driver side window does not work, so I had to open the door. Apparently that didn't make this one goose nervous at all. I thought she was going to come right in!














As I said before, the day was very hot but we had brought water with us. Erin is very thin and usually a little chilly even when the rest of us are a little warm. At one point she began complaining of stomach cramps and being too warm. When I looked closely at her, I decided we better make a beeline for the car and try to stay in the shade in so doing. She was obviously suffering from too much heat and a little dehydration. Even though I had brought water, Erin is not a fan, unless she is extraordinarily thirsty. Unfortunately, by that point the rest of us had almost finished the water, leaving her a mere sip or two. As we walked back to the car, I was a bit concerned about her, but figured she would be okay. Suddenly Erin announced that she thought she saw a man that looked like Jesus. At this point I became VERY concerned, thinking she was hallucinating. Then I realized there were several men wearing togas wandering about in the cemetery. This struck me as quite odd and piqued my curiosity. Kyle was too shy to get a good picture of them and I was too busy getting Erin into the air conditioning to bother, so we have no pictures. I did however ask them what they were doing and was informed that they were filming a movie. I don't know about you, but I found that odd (for a cemetery)!