Adventure at Bond Lake

My friend Barbara and I rose to another hiking challenge today.

We were Bond Girls! We went to Bond Lake Park.

That is it up above. Well, that is not Bond Lake. That is just a big puddle. However it was all new to us! I had never been there before and neither had Barbara. Heck, neither of us had ever heard of it. 

Getting ready was like getting ready for a trip to the moon. The WNY Hiking site has a huge list of things you should bring and it can make me anxious. I mean, I am just going to Niagara County, a half an hour away, and yet suddenly I feel like Ponce de Leon.

My car must have internalized my stress. Half way there, I heard a "ping" and the dashboard flashed at me: "Tire Pressure Low." What to do? I texted Howard. Howard said to look at all the tires and see if one looked flat. I thought one of them sort of did -- 

... however then the others looked flat, too. The power of suggestion is strong!

Howard said it might be the cold. He said I could proceed. I was happy to hear that. I was really excited about this hike. I had new hiking boots. No more sneakers for me, no sirree. And I had packed cheese as a snack that I thought we could eat afterwards at the Warming Center. Yes, Bond Lake Park has a Warming Center! You picture a hut where they say, "Ladies, come in from the cold," and offer you hot cider.

When I arrived at the park, there was no mistaking it. A big sign identified the park. And there, sure enough, was the Warming Center. It was not the bucolic hut we had imagined. But it was there! That is it at the top of this post.

However the Warming Center gave us the cold shoulder. Note the rude sign. No apologies, nothing!

Bossy Bond! That was the name we came up with for this park. It was full of bossy signs!

What worried me about the Warming Center was that now there were no facilities.There were restrooms on the side of the building however they were locked. What if you needed to answer nature's call? That is what I would like to know.

The Buffalo area is hilarious for this. Notices are everywhere telling you to get out and exercise in the snow, enjoy the winter, and above all to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Yet no facilities, anywhere. It is like the old Soviet Union, zut alors and fie.

Still our day was full of fun and laughs.

The hike was only three miles or so but Barbara and I are always getting lost so we must have added another mile or so. We did that at Tifft too. It is our trademark!

This time we set a new record. Map in hand, we crossed Lower Mountain Road in front of the Warming Center, set out on the path, and got lost within two minutes. While we were still in sight of the road!

However eventually we found our way to the lake, which I assumed was Bond Lake. The lake was on the map, and the trail was marked along side it, so we figured as long as we were walking around that lake, we were OK. Which we were. We kept running into other hikers also on the challenge and they would reassure us.

We found time to admire the scenery!

That last masterful photo is important because if you look closely you can see the sign saying, "Lake Unsafe. KEEP OUT!" I told you Bond was bossy! There were other bossy signs too. Lots of them! However my fingers were too cold to remove from my mittens to take pictures.

Each hike has an item you have to photograph yourself with and in this case it was "Distinctive Tree." According to the map it was right past a Scenic Overlook. 

Sure enough, first came the Overlook...

 

... and then came the Distinctive Tree.

 

Ha, ha! Barbara is privy to the art of taking a good selfie however I am not. 

The tree was naturally photogenic. As Barbara and I agreed, it was a real Brothers Grimm tree. I saw other trees as well with that shape, off to the side and not as impressive, however still picturesque. They must all be the same kind of tree. I will have to come back in the summer when I can move my fingers and use my Seek app.

After taking our selfies with the tree, we got lost again and finally decided just to return to the chilly Warming Center and call it a day. Maybe that was just as well. Other hikers had warned us anyway that the final leg was a mess, that the trails were not labeled properly. Who needs that? Not us, was our conclusion. Besides which we had just gotten in a couple thousand extra steps because of getting lost. 

So, an exciting day, and a successful one.

We did it!

 

When Buffalo was buried in snow

 We have had only one snowfall this year. It was a big one. 

Now it is safely in the rear view mirror. All we have are the memories.

These were all taken when I was walking in the park.

At least that was the first day. The second day more snow had fallen. And when I tried walking in the park there was no walking to be done! It was the first time I could remember when Delaware Park had not been plowed. A runner agreed with me. The runner and I were the only people in the park foolhardy enough to have a go at taking our exercise under such circumstances. He could never remember the park not being plowed, either.

Since then, no snow. I am wondering if we will have our traditional Christmas Eve snowstorm.

As the Magic Eight Ball would say...

It is decidedly so!

Walking and Talking in Delaware Park

In Buffalo a walk is not a walk. It is an adventure! That is because in our town strangers talk to strangers.

When I go for a walk I do not always talk to everyone. Sometimes I am antisocial. However today is one of those days when I cannot shut up. I think it is because I am a little under-slept. When I could use more sleep, that is when I talk. And I keep talking! 

As soon as I walked into the park I spotted two people putting their skis into their car. I approached them and asked how the snow was for skiing. On account of I had thought about bringing my skis but I had worried the snow was too wet.

I was right as it turned out. "Terrible!" the woman said in answer to my question.

Then we all laughed about times when we had been stuck clumping around on our skis.

Subsequent conversations as I went on my way involved dogs, little kids and that Buffalo classic, the weather. A protester, an Indian guy, was on the pedestrian bridge over the Scajaquada. He was holding up a big sign and drivers kept honking at him. I hung out with him for a while, exchanging views and opinions on world events.

It was windy and when the wind blew, you could almost call it bitterly cold. So there were not many people out. I would venture to say that I ended up talking with most people I passed. 

In between I took some pictures, including the one up above. Is this Siberia? No, it's Buffalo!

David looked chilly standing there in his altogether.

Across the way Mozart had a powdered wig. I did not get to take a picture of that. It was actually not easy to take pictures because the bright light made it hard to see what you were getting in the shot.

The Great Gates of Kiev! I mean of Nottingham Parkway.

I love this iron fending they put up by the Miller Mansion.

And I love the lanterns you pass in the park.

Look at these vistas.

I am so lucky to live where I do!

Blue Skies, Shining on Me!

Nothing but blue skies do I see! 

What a surprise! After all these gray days.

I took a quick walk around Delaware Park and took pictures.

Is this the North Pole? No, it's Buffalo!

I like the above view because of the little red building.

It was just such a beautiful day.

The park was almost empty but a few people were cross-country skiing. I should have toted my skis from across the street. The only problem is, you never know if it is quite right for skiing. When I got to the park I could see the conditions were good. However normally you just do not know. Just a few degrees up and down can make a difference.

Plus sometimes it is just nice to walk and take the air.

So beautiful. 

So blue!!

A walk into winter

Today I was getting over a migraine brought on by recent dental derring-do. It was really no big deal, I had this deep cleaning, pretty much describes it. I get migraines in response to anything. They are not terrible migraines. They do not put me out of business.

Still I would rather be without them, you know? And so today I went for a walk in the park.

This walk in the park was no walk in the park!

It started out nice and sunny. I loved it. I slipped back my hood and got me some Vitamin D. There was a smoky aroma in the air. I could not remember when I had enjoyed a walk so much. Blissing out, I took the picture up above.

And this picture, of Ashker's in the Park all shuttered for the season.

This was in contrast to my summer sketch of Ashker's in the Park ...

...  that led in a roundabout way to my show going on now at Ashker's on Elmwood.

I loved doing that drawing, sitting on a tree stump on a summer day. But I love winter too. I love the stillness, the snow. Thinking thoughts like this I rounded the corner by the bathrooms and continued counter-clockwise parallel to the expressway.

That was about when things began to go south. I mean north! Because it got colder and windier. The sun was still out but somehow it was not hitting me.

I worried I would slip on black ice. Trying to walk in the snow to avoid that I got snow in my boots. Yikes and zut alors!

I struggled on. This being Buffalo I kept passing a bicyclist. Of course people were bicycling in the park, you know? You have to love this town. The thought made me smile as I entered the home stretch. Finally, finally. With the end in sight, I began enjoying myself again. The view really was stunning. I mean, if you showed someone this picture ...

... and said you took it in Greenland, that person would believe you.

The bison did not care what kind of day it was.

Watch that ice!

And a picture of the walkway because I love this view and take pictures of it in all seasons. And this being winter there were no cars ruining the view.

Wow, look at this gallery! Pushing a button on my camera is a lot easier than drawing, I will tell you that right now! And one other thing, my head had stopped aching.

A winter walk will work miracles! And when you get home you can have brandy.

That makes it even better!

Snow day in Buffalo

We are in the throes of a snowstorm here in Buffalo. And this morning I drew the above picture of Howard's 1970 International Harvester Scout, parked in the back yard and ready for action.

The whole city is pretty much shut down. The federal workers are furloughed again. The state jumped on board and those workers are off too. Schools are all shuttered, no surprise there. There are driving bans.

My friend Meghan, God love her, texted me this morning to go sketching the way we do every week.

I liked the idea and I said yes!

Then we went back and forth about what coffee shop we were going to go to. We found that Spot Coffee downtown was open until 3 p.m. so we decided to go there. Coffee shops are great to draw in when it is too cold outside.

"This is why we are going to kick every other artist's butt," I texted Meghan. Well, maybe I was not that rude but I was rude enough.

And after all that .... and after all that ...

.. Howard threw water on my plans.

That is too chilly to say. Bad metaphor. He put the kabosh on my plans, shall we say.  He had been out with the Scout and it was just too cold, he said.

"My fingers froze in 10 minutes even with heavy gloves," he reported.

So I had to slink back to Meghan with an apology and a reversal of plans. It is not as if Howard would have prevented me from going. Do not think I had not thought all this out! But it was like inviting something to go awry because if something did, Howard would not be quick to bail me out. Well, he would bail me out, sure. But I would not soon hear the end of it.

And so I am grounded like everyone else.

Oh well.

It is fun!!

It must be, because here it is dark again. I am never bored, I will tell you that. I am never stir crazy, not really. I have been sitting around drawing and writing and enjoying my endless stock of Celestial Seasonings Christmas tea.

Speaking of which, did I mention that my Christmas tree is still up? No wonder I am enjoying the day.

With luck, tomorrow will be just like it!

Spring surprise

As soon as my Christmas tree is down I declare it spring. And from then on, I cheer spring on.

The tree came down around Candlemas. Me being a schlep, my wreath is still up. But other people's wreaths are up too. I am not alone.

Still it feels great to feel spring in the air, or imagine I do. That picture up above that I took the other day does not exactly scream spring. And yet... and yet ...

The daffodils have been inching up for a few weeks. Today I spotted the sorrel plant! And I bit into one of the leaves. That sour-lemon taste! That is spring!

And now for the big surprise. Remember those pathetic containers I put into the bishop's weed? They are covered in dead leaves.

Idly I brushed the leaves off this one tub. And lo and behold ...

It was brimming with oregano!

It is not as if I can get everything right. A stick stuck in the pot read "Apple Mint." Perhaps I might see some apple mint later. But for now, oregano! A lot of it! I think the leaves were making the planter into some kind of a greenhouse.

Because I did not have this oregano last summer. But I sure have it now!

Now I can see hope inching up with me like those daffodil shoots. Every year I have garden ambitions. Every year, because I have too many irons in the fire, the grand plans end in chaos.

Oh well.

It makes for good entertainment!

The new January

February is the new January!

It is the fresh fresh start to the New Year. That is how I see it anyway.

January is not all it is cracked up to be, in my experience. You go into it with resolutions and good intentions. You wind up just sitting around, eating chocolate. It is comfy but sleepy.

But then ... February!

You awaken. The year is a twelfth gone! What have you been doing? But now there is this bright new month. Literally bright. Feb. 1 has brought sun. With Valentine's Day. Hot chocolate. (OK, so you do not get away from chocolate.) Ice skating, now that I have learned to love it. New energy. New promise.

Not only that but February happens to be the shortest month. Tight deadlines are great when it comes to getting anything done. The less time the better. Take it from me. I have been to the mountain and back.

It is not too late to make something out of your year!

You can go back to your resolutions starting Feb. 1!

A fresh page in your bullet journal.

A new page in the calendar.

A new start!

The clouds roll in

I took these pictures a few days ago when we were on the cusp of winter. Well, we are still on the cusp of winter. We are not quite there yet.

That picture up above was taken in Delaware Park.

We live in the golden era of photography, you know? Anyone can be Ansel Adams. Imagine a world in which anyone who sat down at the piano could be Leonard Pennario!

Here is another picture taken the same day. For some reason I like this. Even though I know there are these two red trees in the middle of the picture, it's not great for the composition, it would have been better if there were two trees on one side and one tree on the other, still, still, still ....

I like this picture.

And this is the one I put on, ahem, Instagram.

I wanted to put the picture up at the top on Instagram but the square format did not work with it. Then I started to like this last picture. I liked the lamppost.

That is one of the things good about our ubiquitous phones. It is fun to go through life with a camera.

It brightens your day!

Aw, shoot!

The daffodils are up!

I always start the watch in January and this morning I saw them. Those are the daffodil shoots in the picture. I do not expect anyone to be able to make them out. I can hardly make them out!

But they are there!

Three years ago on Mozart's birthday, which is today, I was also writing about the daffodils. They are on my mind this time of year. Wow, looking back at that post, I can tell you one thing: My Christmas tree was a lot whiter then than it is now!

The Christmas tree came with instructions not to put it in the window, because putting it in the window yellows it. That is pretty dumb if you ask me. Where are you going to put the Christmas tree if not in the window? Anyway my tree has gotten kind of yellow. But when the lights are on no one can tell.

In 2011 the daffodils were later. It seems that I first saw them that year in February.

In 2010 it was March when I talked about the daffodils. That was the day I went to that snowy garage sale with my mom. I always remember that!

In 2009 daffodils figured in my list of 10 Things I Do Not Understand.

Ah, the memories!

This is why we have Web logs.

Snow surprise

My brother George stopped by this morning and we went skiing in Delaware Park. Above is a picture I took! Well, I did not exactly take it. My camera did.

You know when you can't see into your phone to see what picture your camera is taking? That is a situation I enjoy. You just kind of point the camera in the general direction of what you want to photograph, and then later you get to see how you did.

I like that suspense! And I think the picture came out pretty well. It does not look like Delaware Park, you know? It looks as if you are on some country road in Vermont. With Bernie Sanders talking to you about income inequality.

I took a couple of more shots, blindly like that one. They were from the same location because it was a lot of trouble to set down my ski poles, take off my mittens, fish out my camera and snap.

They may not be the greatest photos but they do give you an idea of the kind of day it was, you know? I sort of like that last picture. It looks like Russia!

It is good to be back on my skis. This is my first time this season! I do not feel that lazy saying that because we did not even have snow until a couple of weeks ago. Now I will get out there again.

I am looking forward to seeing my camera's future pictures.

Perhaps I should have an exhibition!

City lights

Isn't that a cool picture? I should put it on Twitter. I am trying to Tweet more though like everything it is a habit that must be gotten into.

The picture is the trees outside The Buffalo News with the little Christmas lights.

Here is another shot.

And there is this one too. The light is somewhat different. The sky was different. Is this not a cool and brooding picture?

I liked these holiday gizmos you see when you are getting on the Metro Rail.

Fun with a camera! In a way these phones/cameras have changed our lives. You cannot just enjoy a sight. You have to photograph it.

On the other hand it is kind of neat to go over your life and you can see again what you saw on a certain day. And it does not take that much time out of your schedule.

It is funny with the snow now. The landscape is different. The sounds of winter -- the clank and scrape of snowplows. The whirling yellow lights of emergency vehicles. The traffic people on the radio. All the other stuff that Pennario was happy to leave behind when he moved to California as a boy.

You know what, as I told him, I do not mind not moving to California.

I would miss all this!

And this year we get only a couple of months. A few days ago I was still harvesting arugula from my, ahem, garden. Do your worst, you know? By March it will be over. We got two months' free ride.

It will be spring before we know it!