Osprey at Quaker Lake 6/24/07

Nicki and I spent a Sunday afternoon at Quaker Lake in New York State's Allegany State Park. Nice that you can launch from near the spillway without needing to enter the park and pay the entrance fee. There were several kayaks on the lake. We had just about decided that there wasn't much wildlife on the lake and were heading back to the launch when we came upon a pair of osprey perched on a tall old dead tree. They were reasonably cooperative and allowed a bunch of photos before moving on down the shore to a new perch. We may have even seen a flying eagle from a distance. And on the drive back to Little Valley we noticed an osprey nest on the edge of the park. For better versions of the photos go to my Picasa site and use the slideshow button.

Alumni Dinner 2007 & Poetry

Photos from the Little Valley Central School annual alumni dinner held Saturday, June 23rd. And more photos from famous Little Valley native (and contemporary) Ira Joe Fisher - weather reporter for the Saturday Early Show and poet who recently wrote Some Holy Weight in the Village Air (which has references to Little Valley experiences we all share). Joey was the featured speaker at the dinner and also did a poetry reading the following day - a very unusual event for Little Valley. A good time was had by all - including a Sunday breakfast at Dina's in Ellicottville.

Rocky River for Fathers Day

Late afternoon - early evening near Cleveland on the Rocky River where it empties into Lake Erie. And then dinner at Macaroni Grill. A nice way to celebrate the day.

And the summer begins...

The school year has ended. No more classes - both the college and the public schools. Nicki is almost done with her year. And this weekend has had beautiful weather - perfect for kayaking. So back to Findley Lake and chasing the birds. We even left the kayaks up on the Honda in case we want to go back out tomorrow. I think having the Honda parked around Oberlin with the boats on top is a sign for the town that summer has truly begun. By the way, I'm beginning to think we should start naming the birds. We're pretty sure they are starting to pose. Very often the herons take off acting annoyed and then circle back for another shooting session. But more often than not they tolerate us and rarely do their dinosaur sqawk anymore. And the geese could care less if we join the family.