It is now day 21 of the October 2017 edition of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge. Today’s suggestion was to discuss the election campaigns. This year is considered to be an “off year,” meaning that the elections are mostly local in nature. Local elections generally attract fewer voters than national elections. In my opinion, this is […]

For week 35 of the 52-week photography project, the challenge was to “get up close and personal with nature in this natural beauty shot.” Suggestions for subjects include flowers, bugs, bees, and spiders. Here is my microcosmos, which I found in gardens and other places. All of these photographs were taken in Grand Island, New

Yesterday, I talked to Suzi Bognar-Langenfeld, who is the owner and operator of a food truck called Oarhouse Eatery. She was parked outside of Momma De’s Mixing Bowl on Whitehaven Road. I asked her what motivated her to own and operate a food truck. I love to cook. It doesn’t feel like work when you

The harvest came in with orange and golden hues October bounty. Screaming winds cause fear to sit deep within my heart October nightmare. Juicy red apples cooking in a large kettle time for applesauce. A world of beauty starting to lose its color autumn’s last hurrah. The queen bee searches for a hibernation home the

Yesterday, Dr. Tara Cornelisse came to Riverside-Salem Environmental Chapel in Grand Island to talk about insects. Tara is assistant professor at Canisius College, where she teaches courses in animal behavior, ecology, and conservation. She is working on a monarch butterfly habitat project in Western New York and she is a member of the board of

For week 34 of the 52-week photography project, the challenge was to tell the story of a stranger. At the Grand Island Fire Company’s open house on Friday, October 13th, I found two people, who shared part of their stories with me. One is a fire company cadet, who was giving water bottles and hats to

Today, I went out in search of autumnal images. What looks like autumn? What tastes like autumn? What does autumn feel like? Here are some of the images of autumn, as they are celebrated at Tom Thompson’s farmers’ market and at the second annual fall festival at Kelly’s Country Store. To me, autumn feels like

Charles Jones of the Grand Island Fire Company discusses fire safety In the United States, there are 1,000 house fires every day. Most people don’t know how to use fire extinguishers when they are faced by an active fire. Problems include inability to open the extinguisher, standing too far from the flames to be effective,

evidence of a recent rain in a flowerpot Today, I started the process of rehabilitating a long-neglected garden at a house near Beaver Island State Park. The garden was autumnal gold. A nearby wooded area had recently received a covering of leaves in various shades of yellow, green, red, and brown. I dug up weeds