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The Niagara River has existed for about 18,000 years. It was a product of the last ice age. The river connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. It is part of the North American watershed that connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The Great Lakes contain about 18 percent of the world’s fresh water.For […]

On Sunday, Jay Burney, who writes a column called “Greenwatch” for The Public in Buffalo, came to the Riverside-Salem Environmental Chapel in Grand Island. He said, “We are one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.”  He described the biodiversity of the Niagara Region as being “truly first class.” For example, nineteen species of

Last Sunday, I went to church and saw this bumper sticker on a car. I thought that it was funny, so I took a picture of it.  The gospel reading was about the miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. The party after the wedding went on for a week. Unfortunately, the parents of the

Here are some observations on a snowy Saturday, as well as a brief tour of my river world.  The holiday season is now a dream from the past. This Christmas tree has become a heap on the side of the road.  It looks so mysterious when it’s covered by snow. Fallen tree covered by snow,

One of the issues that I’ve been focusing on as a small-town journalist is agriculture. Grand Island, in the past, was a farming community. In the nineteenth century, Lewis F. Allen, for whom Allentown in Buffalo is named, started an experimental farm on the southern tip of Grand Island, called Allenton Farms. He raised cattle

I have had the good fortune of belonging to an online crochet group for the past fifteen years. There is a wonderful “list mommy,” who organized the list of about 30 crocheters and who has kept it going since it began. We call her “Mommy Lois.” She keeps us together as a group and she

When I was in elementary school in the 1960s, the United States was experiencing a great deal of turbulence and division. Divisive issues included race, civil rights, and the Vietnam War. Segregation and systemic denials of civil rights to African-Americans were the law of the land in many states. The Ku Klux Klan, which was

The wedding feast at Cana was re-enacted at Saint Martin in the Fields church in Grand Island. According to the story, which is in the Gospel of Saint John (chapter two, verse one), a couple got married and friends and family spent an entire week celebrating. Unfortunately, they ran out of wine well before the

It’s time to post an update of the 366-day photography project. I am excited to report that I have managed to take at least one photograph per day since I started the project on September 1st. And, amazingly enough, I’ve taken photographs of things other than my food and I have not taken any photographs

Today, I had the opportunity to visit the old Erie County Hall for a meeting of the county legislature’s Energy and Environment Committee. I went to the meeting with a group of farmers from Grand Island. These farmers had applied to be included in an agricultural district. If the farmers are included in the agricultural