Nichter Photography PLUS

We decided to visit this area on the advice of a friend who camped there many times. Our first surprise came with the entrance fee. We thought Karl’s Golden Age/Senior access pass gave us free entrance, but Karl received only a small discount. I paid full price. I questioned the person at the gate, who gave evasive answers at first. Finally, she said that a concession manages this location and several others in the national forest, and that determines whether they take the pass or give any discount. We also learned that the prices increased on August 1, 2018 but the national forest website which I had consulted did not yet reflect the new prices.

We drove around the campground, and even the higher price now charged seemed reasonable for a full hook up sites. The campground consists of the large field concept with over 100 sites with room between the sites but no foliage or privacy, and only occasional shade. Some appeared quite level, others clearly not level. Sizes varied. The overall reviews online tended towards positive.

Then, we took a walk in the spring area. Butterflies of various types fed on the flowers totally ignoring us, fish swam by in the very clear water, and an otter popped up, studied us briefly, and swam away.

We found the visit pleasant, and might return to camp if an event takes us to the area. We knew that private companies managing state and national parks and forests occurred in several places, but did learn that it is more prevalent than we knew. These private businesses do pay the government and according to a sign at the location 100% of what they pay stays at the site at which they collected it.

 

This close-up of a Zebra Longwing is a close-up in the truest sense. The butterfly was so busy probing the flower and enjoying the very warm morning sun I was able to come up right to it. I came a little too close, as the left side of the wing is a bit out of focus, but I preferred this shot to another I took from further away.

On a recent trip we came across this Black Vulture drinking from a puddle. Since he (or she) didn’t mind being photographed, I took a few shots. The sign right next to a puddle did look funny at first glance. It referred to the swimming area behind him, but by framing the shot and then cropping a bit I came up with the image I wanted.

Exploring new and different places excites the mind, makes connections between old and new knowledge, and forms better stories in the telling for friends. But, in everyday life we most often visit places and walk paths we already know.

Usually located closer to home, we walk the familiar path frequently. Sometimes we walk it with a goal in mind, other times we need to get outside and think and walk, and we head there almost instinctively. Sometimes several paths vie for the title. Some days only a walk along a deserted or near deserted beach will do, other times we crave the green, lush vegetation of a forest.

Even in the hot and steamy weather of August in central Florida, we walk a known path over a creek and through a swampy hardwood. The air seemed heavy, almost as though you could see it holding all the moisture. I knew we were the first along it that morning, I had the spider webbing on me to prove it. I nearly stepped on a coral snake, usually a rare sighting here, in the middle of the path while I looked up at a bird. This snake, unlike some of its venomous cousins here, would rather avoid humans and thankfully made off for a nearby bush to hide from me. I glimpsed it under the bush just long enough to recite the rhyme: “Red touch yellow-kills a fellow” and confirmed that the red indeed touched the yellow. I wanted a photograph, but not enough to disturb him and risk a trip to the ER and a stay in the hospital.

We walked quickly for the last quarter mile or so. The mosquitoes found us and any hesitation on our part to observe anything lead to the swatting fest. By the end of August we find ourselves ready for the rain which we welcomed in June and July to stop its daily or twice daily appearance, things to dry up just a little bit, and the humidity to fall to a level that makes the high 80s or even 90 degree temperatures feel just fine.

A summer morning sun after a night of rain and a large Golden Silk Orb Weaver spider web reflecting both, what more could a photographer ask?

I first saw it from a distance, and moved around it finding the best angle. Since the web hung over the bank of a creek and I stood on the bridge over the creek, it limited my movements.

The Golden silk orb weaver at home. The vegetation glistening and gleaming behind the web adds color where none exists.

The close-up, with the body of the spider taking on color due to the angle of the sun and shadow, and the golden silk strand for which is is named on the left side.

I heard of Bird Island Pier, but never visited before. We stopped on our return from a day trip, and took a walk toward the Peace Bridge. The strong wind made conversation a little difficult as we walked toward the Peace Bridge on the paved path along the Niagara River. Many ducks gathered in various places on the leeward side, grooming and taking a break from the wind and waves.

The path goes under the Peace Bridge, but we turned back before then. We visit this area to see family. On this visit we realized we needed more time, not only to visit family but also explore the area again. We even passed on our annual Shakespeare in Delaware Park visit because of time constraints, and that has been a family tradition for decades.

We flew into Buffalo this year, and took little in the way of camera gear. I carried my Canon 7D with the 24 – 70 mm lens. I did manage to get some interesting shots of butterflies, dragonflies, and various other insects, but bird photography eluded me. Warblers are fast and small whether here in central Florida, or in their summer home in Buffalo, NY.

Walking along the boardwalk, we surprised a couple white tailed deer. One further on expressed no surprise at all but watched us without fear.

I noticed many warblers flying around, but the denseness of the canopy and underbrush hid them well. Two or three bird blinds gave views of several wading birds, but unlike the deer above they flew away quickly.

One more set of photographs from Times Beach Preserve in the next entry, this time the butterflies and insects.

More personal observations about Buffalo picking up from the last post:

The 1980s and 1990s saw some resurgence for the city. In the 2000s, I heard many comments from locals of all education levels that civil service remained the way to go for any kind of career and pension in the area. The locally owned small and medium sized businesses of my youth and very early career either no longer existed or merged into larger multi-nationals and reduced the number of local employees. The very large employers making steel and automobiles either closed or reduced and consolidated.

 

Over these years we visited with our tourist hats on, took family around to places we discovered (many new to them), sometimes in disrepair and difficult to find, and complained that the area did not capitalize on its assets. Luckily others living in the area felt the same, and now tours of the older sections run regularly in the summer months, and the waterfront looks wonderful and attracts summer crowds. Buffalo made its name in innovation (think electricity and city of light), heavy industry (steel, auto, grain silos), and transportation (Erie Canal). Finally, though past their prime in terms of many of those businesses, these areas are being highlighted and explored for their history and contributions to the country at large.

We ate at a local bar/pub/small brewer (Gene McCarthy’s, check it out) in the old First Ward that served an old fashioned beef on weck with fries and gravy!  Only a native of Buffalo who grew up going to the local nightclubs/pubs/beach bars to dance and have fun with friends, and then retreated to a local diner about 3 a.m. for coffee and talk about the evening understands the perfect comfort food of fries and gravy to absorb some of the adult beverages imbibed!

We both grew up in the suburbs of the city of Buffalo, but different suburbs, at different times. When we met and married, nearly forty years ago now, we left the area, Karl for the third time. We visit family who remained there at least once annually, and we enjoy being tourists re-discovering and sometimes discovering for the first time the nature and history of the area where we grew up.

Located on the shoreline of downtown Buffalo where the Niagara River and Lake Erie meet, the Times Beach Preserve provides a needed conservation site for birds, and judging by the day we visited, for butterflies.

Only about 50 acres, the history of the area includes use as a public beach (though not for long due to contamination), waste area for dredged material, and finally closed off due to contamination in the 1970s. Nature took over from there, and now it provides important habitat for birds, migration, insects, and mammals including White Tailed Deer.

We first visited the preserve two years ago, and hiked in amazement at this little piece of natural paradise surrounded by the industrial city of Buffalo. We decided to visit again this year, and had a wonderful hike in some very hot, sunny weather (for Buffalo at least).

The city of Buffalo, NY saw several ebbs and flows in fortune. In the early part of the 20^th century it rose to prominence due to its location, the use of the Erie Canal, and the fact that power development at Niagara Falls made Buffalo one of the first cities to enjoy electric streetlights. In the middle of the 20^th century heavy industry dominated the landscape. Steel mills, automobile manufacturing, and manufacturing of all types found a home here. As the world recovered from WWII and industry started up in other countries, Buffalo saw a decline of the industries that defined that era. The glory days ended in the 1970s as other countries started making their own steel and cars.

(Wildlife of this Preserve in the next entry).

 

Summer colds are the worst. I felt awful, and hadn’t been paying any attention to the news, so missed the articles about the eclipse on Friday, July 27 and “Blood Moon” that most of the world would see. Except North America, at least for the eclipse.

Friday morning Karl left for his morning walk, and came back almost immediately. He said that we could see the Blood Moon, more orangey-red than red, though clouds were starting to cover it. He went back out, I quickly dressed and went out to see it. As I walked around the circle for a better look over the Gulf, I finally realized I needed my camera. I sprinted back (not easy when you are coughing, sneezing and on an antibiotic), grabbed the camera, and managed to get a few shots before the combination of dawn and the clouds changed the moment entirely.

This is taken at 70mm and cropped, with a lower ISO. I increased the ISO but of course the photography turned out grainy, and the shots were just not as dramatic. You can just barely see the green of the bushes lining the coast of the Gulf in the foreground.