Santa says...

Merry Christmas to all... have a safe and happy holiday!

Carolers

Everyone has their Christmas decorations up by now, but still no snow.

Winter walk

I know winter is not official for another ten days, but around here we are normally well into snow and cold by December. Not this year.

My walk across the fields and to the path behind my work building was more like October... sunny and in the 50s. We have only had one short instance of snow cover so far, and no show or cold in the forecast.

But we can still hope for a white christmas.

That's a big wreath

Earlier in the day a crane truck hung the wreath on the bank. It is a Christmas tradition.

On our last day in Saratoga Springs the sun decided to break though the clouds and give us a sunny departure.

Bridge

Metered seating

Chicken on the roof

This is not the most flattering view of Hattie's, and it's not very flattering to the eye anywhere... but if you have a hankering for Southern cooking while in Saratoga Springs, this is the place to go. The fried chicken is famous, and even Bobby Flay was not able to best it.

Hattie's alley

Homeless

New York State Military Museum

The New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs is a great use of an historic armory building. The architecture really says "military" and might have been difficult to repurpose for some other function. I did not visit the museum collection but did admire how the building had been restored.

The original structure was designed by Isaac Perry and built in 1889. In 2001 renovation was started which resulted in the museum we see today.

Morning light

First snow

First snow of the winter season is always exciting, fresh, new and welcome. For me it wears out pretty quickly after Christmas, but of course by then it has only really started in earnest. And six months later... then it is not so exciting, fresh, new and welcome.

Window

Sometimes you have to break out of the square... and verticals are even more unusual in my photos.

Blank space

It happens once in a while... I let too many days go by without a new picture.

Not sure why that is. I really do not have an excuse as I generally always have a camera with me. Just blanking out I guess.

Over the last few days there has been renewed discussion about OC/OL/OY (one camera, one lens, one year), a neat idea and great exercise, but I have not posted in 10 days!

Please heed the sign

Tangle

My neighbor's bright colors

End of the season

The growing season is over and even the chrysanthemums are showing the effects of frost.

Trees and wires

I have not posted much in the way of autumn colors this year. I guess I have had other things to photograph recently, which is nice. But here is a view of orange and yellow, both in the trees and on the ground. And then there are the various utility lines too. But that's the way it is in village and towns.

Autumn leaks through the rock

This abandoned canal lock has not been filled with water for over a hundred years, and it's age is showing, yet it still provides a nice feature along the old towpath.

Sweet

This is perhaps my favorite picture from our Toronto weekend with its angles, unusual construction and colors. The unaware passerby also adds to the image, but the title comes from the fact that the industrial building pictured is the Redpath Sugar Refinery on the waterfront.

And we were in Toronto to see Sir Paul McCartney, who at age 73 was still able to provide two and half hours of continuous entertainment to 16,000 of his fans. A very good concert in my opinion from one of the music worlds greats. And that is pretty sweet too.

Big brother is watching you

Disconnect

Perhaps the architect was inspired by his child's building blocks? Or maybe there was a math error of some sort?

Impossibly bright building

When a building is totally clad in gold reflecting glass, and the light reflects just right, the effect can be dazzling... almost blinding.

At first the reflection does not seem to make sense because our viewpoint seems to be 45 degrees, not 90 degrees... but take a closer look and you will see that alternating panels are tipped, creating this unexpected result.

Of course when the light is not at a direct angle the effect is quite different. The building below is the same structure taken from a very different angle.

Suddenly the CN Tower doesn't look so tall

If you don't know Toronto, you may not know the CN Tower. For over 30 years it was the tallest man made structure in the world at over 1,800 feet (Canadians prefer 553 meters).

Of course there is a trick of perspective going on here, but the photo illustrates the continuing growth of this futuristic city. Over the years, on every visit, more gleaming office buildings appear in downtown, and needle thin condo towers along the lake. I will expand on this theme over the next few posts.

Tree reflected, tree backlit

An unplanned side trip brought me back to the Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) after having visited only a month earlier. I am still fascinated by the new all glass gallery. It really is an amazing structure... almost looks like something Apple could have built.

Turkey vultures

As I was walking along for some reason I looked up and was surprised by the sight of eight large birds above me in the trees. They were big enough that I did sense a bit of fear but should not have. I was not sure what they were but a bit of research led me to the conclusion that they were turkey vultures, birds that do not hunt but are primarily scavengers that consume carrion.

So, realizing that I was still alive I knew that I was safe.

USA

Here's a way to show your patriotism in a BIG way... so big that it is clearly visible on Bing Maps (Google maps apparently no longer offers satellite views, only Google earth which does not look as good).

Windmill

Not all windmills make electricity. This one is of a slightly older style. It was used for pumping water (I think) but, in this case, I imagine it is more for show... a quaint reminder of days gone by.

Finger Lakes

We spent the weekend in the Finger Lakes enjoying terrific weather, tasting wine and taking in the wonderful views. This is a view of Keuka Lake, the one that is shaped like a Y.

Layers of colors

Pumpkin time

Sailing school

Actually I am not sure these mariners are learning to sail, but it seems unlikely that these Sunfish are engaged in a regatta. I suppose it could just be a sailing club.

At any rate, a very nice autumn day for sailing.

Lumpy trees

Tree shadows

Glen Edyth

The Sam Patch

The Sam Patch is a reproduction of a canal packet boat that takes tourists on short rides through the Erie canal and it's locks.

The name "Sam Patch" is a tribute to the daredevil known as "The Yankee Leaper". His career started with jumping into various rivers from high places. His notoriety brought him to Niagra Falls where he twice jumped into the gorge from a raised platform near the base of the falls.

Where do you go from there? To Rochester of course!

Little known is that there is a one hundred foot waterfall in downtown Rochester, New York. It here Sam Patch met his match and disappeared on his second jump only to be found months later frozen in ice near the river outlet at Lake Ontario.

So as is often done, a local "hero" becomes the namesake of a local attraction.

Another day, another tree

Tree-iffic late summer day

I can feel autumn coming, but we still have some sunny summer yet to go, even if the daytime temperature is cooler. The sky is blue, the clouds are white, and the leaves are still green.

Upside down world

Sunny

This picture really does not qualify as "trivial" or "unnoticed" but I do not think many people would give this scene more than a passing appreciative glance. They would not stop for a closer look. They may or may not bother to take a picture.

So pardon my picture for being unremarkable... I just like the sunny scene.

Diamond dust due

Around back

Funny how different most nice looking commercial buildings look from the rear.

Out of site, out of mind.

Shot on iPhone

Not the first image from my iPhone that I have posted, but I could not think of another title for the picture... and it is in keeping with one of the current Apple advertising themes.

The shadows

What I noticed was the subtile shadows below the hanging sculpture.

During our recent visit to the Corning Museum of Glass I saw a lot of people taking pictures of the various art pieces, mostly with cell phone cameras. That is fine for documenting or remembering someones art, but when I post images here on this blog I am featuring my vision, not the work of some other artist.

That is not to say I do not admire the artists work, I just do not want to imply that their creation is in any way mine. What I have done can be thought of as sampling, like what is common in some contemporary music. Borrowing a bit from someone you admire, and then twisting it into something a bit different.

But I do want to give credit. The artist is Ann Gardner, and the piece is titled Fog. It is made of over a hundred glass mosaic-covered pods in subtile gradations of gray. You can see the full sculpture in the first image from yesterday's post, but do go see it in person along with the other art pieces at CMoG.