Our April meeting is shaping up to be an entertaining one! Here is your chance to exercise your creativity on the theme of ‘April Fool’. Does the image fool us? Or is the subject foolish? Let your imagination run wild. All interpretations are welcome. Please join us and share in the fun.
Date – April 7, 2022 Time – 7pm EDT Online – Zoom
Are you interested in joining? The Zoom link for each meeting is distributed via the CNP email list. If you are not yet a member, please use our contact form.
Growing up in Kentucky, my childhood memories include the road trips past tobacco barns displaying the black and white message SEE ROCK CITY. It was a tourist attraction at Lookout Mountain just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee. The sign continued SEE 7 STATES. Never did see that Rock City, but on several occasions, I’ve driven just a little north of Salamanca, New York to see what I think is a more amazing Rock City. I did that again this early October.
Driving north on US 219 from Salamanca, take a left on Hungry Hollow Road where shortly after the pavement ends, you’ll see the sign post for New York’s Rock City.
Had a workshop to teach on Sunday at Cornell Plantations, and it was such a beautiful morning that I arrived early to spend some time in the Herb Garden. It is luscious right now. The iron gate into the Herb Garden still has the brilliant red Clematis.
Inside the garden, I found some very rich colors. Continue reading A Beautiful September Day
Had the opportunity for a day trip into New York City yesterday to do some shopping at B&H PhotoVideo. With time to spare before returning to the plane, my wife and I walked thru Central Park, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and found a nice deli on Madison Avenue for coffee and a terrific apricot danish. We arrived a little early for the bus back to the plane. So, we found a shady place in the plaza at the south end of Central Park near the Plaza Hotel. To that point, I had seen nothing that appealed to me for photographs. But, sitting there, I became drawn to the reflections on the glass building facades. With my little Canon G9 camera, I explored the possibilities.
The Harder Watercourse Garden is a relatively new addition to the beautiful arboretum at Cornell Plantations. I found it recently and find it a photographer’s dream of textures and changing colors as the season progresses. First, let me show you where to find this place. It lies just south of the Neuman Overlook at the first parking area just past the overlook.
The view when you park is inviting……
Continue reading The Harder Watercourse Garden- A Gardener’s Canvas of the Seasons
The past weekend was hot in the Finger Lakes, but I found myself going from hot to hotter. It was not the best weekend to go to Washington, DC. I was focused on keeping in cool AC in DC, but our daughter had on her mind to go the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens on the Anacostia River. It is one of the overlooked attractions. See:
http://www.nps.gov/keaq/index.htm
Well, we got there by 8:30 am, but it was still brutally hot and the UV was intense. Thankfully, the large pools of Water Lotus were in bloom, and dozens of other photographers were there.
I took a few images with both my Canon G9 point and shoot. I was first drawn to the center of the Water Lotus bloom.
The greens and pinks and yellows are intriguing. There are literally thousands of blooms in multiple pools.
Canada Lilies (Lilium canadense) have become a rarity with the soaring population of Whitetail Deer in the Finger Lakes. The gardeners at the Cornell Plantations would grow them in the greenhouse and transfer them to the Mundy Wildflower Garden only to have the deer destroy them. I recall finding my first bloom, and the whitetail doe brazenly standing nearby ready to trim it to the ground.
One of the summer interns at Cornell Plantations asked me what my favorite wildflower is. I have many favorites, but the one I anticipate most is the Showy Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium reginae. So that is my best favorite. The species name in latin, queen(ly), says it all.
Shot with Nikon D800, 105 mm Nikkor Micro lens, f/11 at 1/125 second ISO 800. Gitzo tripod. Shaded the bloom to reduce harsh light.
So, for Cayuga Nature Photographer members in the Finger Lakes region, the message is that it is Showy (Lady’s Slipper) Time. If you know of a population, this weekend is a great time to visit them.
I’ve posted a more details report in my regular blog at:
http://birds-n-blooms.blogspot.com/
Remember to apply tick repellent, my friend found one on her afterwards.
Paul Schmitt
I resolved to visit the Black Swamp area east of Toledo, Ohio after a terrific presentation at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology by Kim and Ken Kaufman. I was not disappointed. The number of warblers and other spring migrants is overwhelming, and the ability to be at eye level with the birds remarkable. My most productive time was along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. I will make this an annual outing for future years.
There were several warblers that particularly caught my attention. First was the Prothonotary Warblers. Some were as close as 5 feet. Try focusing on that!
I’ve posted high resolution images in a gallery on my website at:
http://pschmitt.smugmug.com/Birds/Perching-Birds/18761402_G84qx9#!i=1847010336&k=9Kdz6Gh
In the link above, you’ll also find a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Palm Warbler and the Blackburnian Warbler below:
I’ve written a further commentary with more details in my personal blog at: http://birds-n-blooms.blogspot.com/
Paul Schmitt
Have to post this one photo of a Chestnut-sided Warbler in full voice. Went to a park very near home and found the bushes alive with birds due to the spring migration. It was mostly Chestnut-sided Warblers with a few Yellow Warblers, Wood Thrushes and Song Sparrows. The males seemed totally driven to out-sing one another, and to jump around trying to find their rivals. Never saw a female, and wonder if the females, as with so many birds, trail the males by a few weeks. Anyone know about that?
Perhaps someone can tell me why this seems humorous. I did not know they could open their beak so wide, but something makes me think he is just a loud mouth doing some bragging.
Appreciate any comments.
Paul
Cayuga Nature Photographers 