Life in the Bristolwood

                       Black capped Chickadee at my feeder

While I was resting from a miserable cold, I looked out the window and spotted this sweet little female Downy Woodpecker. I do believe she was trying to make me feel better!

Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!

Soon they’ll only be but a memory….

Here is the handsome laddie that belongs to the “nose”!

                      Autumn in the Bristolwood

I so love the beautiful gem-like tones that begin at this time of the year and last all the way through Christmas!

                            Michelle’s Monarch

Sometimes nature offers the most beautiful still lifes….

Anyone who reads here at all knows that I am one who loves and longs to wander.  There is just so much to see in our big world, and I feel as though I want to see as much wonderful  *stuff* as can be packed into a lifetime!

Since I bought the new camera (Nikon D-80), life has taken a whole new turn. Instead of just “seeing” life, it seems I am now “viewing” life with a more critical eye, as though looking at it through the camera lens!  I am not sure that this is good or bad, it is just a whole new life perspective!

I don’t really remember a time in my life that I wasn’t wanting to take pictures. As a kid, I remember I first used my parents’ Kodak little “boxlike” camera. I cannot remember what model it was, but I think it took 120 film.

My next camera was a Christmas gift from my parents….it was another Kodak; this time it was a 126 film model.  After that camera, I bought a Yashica 35 mm camera while visiting my brother and his wife in Alaska.  I had a ball taking pictures of  all the pretty landscape while I was there with them for a month.

There were even more cameras in my life since then (I think 5) and even though I enjoyed taking pictures, I never really took it seriously, as life  (and kids!) seemed much more important!

Now, I am at a time in my life where I have a bit more of an urgency to relax and take a little more time to do things that I find relaxing.  I wouldn’t say I am being “selfish”.  I am just trying to wind down a bit when days get so hectic, I feel like I am about to explode!!!

I joined in the fun at Wordless Wednesday just to have a little fun with taking pictures. But,  I am amazed at some of the work people do!  And, when I realized that many who participate in WW also “do”  Photo Hunters, I joined in on that fun as well!  And, in joining these two groups,  I feel I am being honed and challenged to do even better work myself!  I remember the saying that if you place 10 different people in a room to witness an event, you will get 10 differing reports.  So much  truth when it comes to photography!

When I was in junior high school, at the tender age of 13, we were supposed to tell our guidance counselor what we intended to do with the rest of our lives. I had two things I wanted to do. One was to be a vet (not smart enough), and the other was a photographer (yes, that is what everyone wants to be!) . Apparently, my counselor was much more concerned with kids who came from families with much larger pocketbooks than myself, as I received no encouragement nor “guidance” from her!

One day last week, Mark asked me what I wanted to be as a child. Then, he asked me what I thought I was “wired” to be….Interesting questions. Particularly at my age! Well, I answered honestly that I loved writing and taking pictures! He smiled and said that is exactly what I am doing right here….

Yesterday, I had to take Michelle down to Naples, and on my way home, I took the “lower road”. The lower road is one that runs along Canandaigua Lake, beginning in a tiny little “place?” called Woodville. Woodville is a few houses, a restaurant, and a marina all located VERY near the lake!  I must interject that if people have a piece of land 20 feet from the road to the lake, they will build a home or cottage that is 18 feet deep! 

I stopped to see what this sign says, as I had seen it before, but never knew what it was about! This is a nasty picture, as the sun was behind it, but basically the sign says that the “wetland” behind it was created for wildlife so they could have a place to find food and protection. It was developed with funding provided by Ducks, Unlimited, and a duck-hunting club in Canandaigua in memory of a man who was concerned with this venture.

Here is a view of one of the created channels thorugh the marshy wetland. The area was previously overgrown with thick grasses.  It isn’t unusual to see ducks and geese in this area.

As I was about to pull out of the tiny parking area here,  guess what was growing in front of me? Yes, grapes grow in this area all by themselves! These are tiny little wild grapes!

This is a shot of the road rising up out of Woodville. You can see that the steep slate and shale cliffs were cut out to make the road possible.  Sometimes I feel a bit nervous passing these areas, as there are trees hanging off the cliffs, along with rocks!  And, sometimes one can actually see little piles of rubble at their bases that have washed down!

The right side of the road is not very far from the lake, and there are homes literally hanging off the sides of the hills surrounding the lake! Ah, lakefront property!

Me? As tempting as the lake might be, I am greatly content to live right here in the Bristolwood!