Early Birthday Present

Lucky me! I got my birthday present (and Christmas too!) a week early. John got me a new SONY DSC-H5 digital camera and extra lenses. I have a lot to learn about the lenses. The UV lens, I already knew about because I had one on my old Nikon. I have to learn when to use which ones and how to use some. He got me a telephoto lens and a wide angle lens. The camera is extremely light until you attach the telephoto lens or the wide angle lens. Once I learn to use it, I will be able to get great shots of the wildlife down back of my house. The camera has 12x optical and then adding the 2x telephoto lens will give me 24x zoom! He also got me a 2GB card for the camera. My old laptop is only 4GB!!! I've experimented with a few little movies with it. With the 2GB card, I can actually film for several minutes. I will upload a few of the pics that I've taken so far (I've taken about 130 pics in the last two days).

1. My grandchildren, Matthew and Jaden, dressed in their Halloween costumes. The camera's "no red-eye" seemed to work appropriately--Jaden's eyes didn't turn red in the pic, but notice Dracula's eyes!
2. Jaden posed and asked me to take this picture of her. Too bad she stood in front of the garbage can...
3. My friend's long-haired mottled fur kitten. The kitten is adorable--as long as she/he stays at my friend's house.
4. The same friend's granddaughter, Kelly, showed me "peek-a-boo". Hasn't she got the bluest eyes?! Actually I have another picture of her where her eyes are much bluer looking. Will go back and find that one to show you all next time.

The pictures were very easy to download to the computer. And you can even zoom in and "trim" the pics as copies (doesn't change original photo) and size them to VGA (web) or bigger if you want right on the camera! I love it.

Women On Wheels(R)

If you're looking for a great organization for women motorcycling enthusiasts, check out: Women On Wheels(R)

Freedom...for the Chipmunk

Good morning! Oh, I just remem-bered...I have a cold cup of coffee somewhere in my kitchen. I had just finished preparing it and had not even tasted it yet when my two cats walked into the kitchen from being outside. When they came in, the chipmunk in my pantry chirped. Ahah! He/she was still alive and in residence! I decided to investigate more closely. I made sure my Hav-a-Heart(R) trap was set and ready at the doorway. I positioned other items in the doorway on either side of the trap doorway and then started moving a couple of plastic bags that were on the floor that had "garden stones" in them. Lo and behold, the chipmunk sprang forth and entered the trap! I grabbed the cage and my camera and took them outside on my deck to get pictures before taking him out to the pine trees to let him go. I wanted a picture of him coming out of the cage, but he wouldn't cooperate. When he finally fled the cage, it was at the end away from my hand and he was gone like a flash. I couldn't even tell which direction it went. Anyway, I am happy he is alive and free. Hope the winter isn't too rough on him.

Christmas comes earlier and earlier!

I just have to share with everyone my "Christmas cactus". It's more like a pre-Halloween cactus! But I don't care. It's beautiful to look at. Christmas does seem to come earlier and earlier though. Someone sent me a cartoon that was a combination of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I post it here for your enjoyment, but please note I am not the author.

Update on the Chipmunk in My House

Last night I discovered the chipmunk is still in my house and apparently live and well, if not frightened! He/she is/was in my pantry. My cat, Mrs. Whiggins, was in there nosing around and I heard the familiar chirp, though I did not see it. At least Mrs. Whiggins did not have it in her mouth! I baited my small Hav-A-Heart(R) trap with cheese crackers and left it at the open doorway of the pantry. The chipmunk is still loose somewhere, but hope to come home in a couple of days and find it alive inside the trap. I am assuming it would want to be outside free, though it is sure to be behind in nut-gathering for the winter. I'm off to Auburn in a few minutes for the weekend. John is playing again with the Sons of the Bunkhouse band at the Red Rooster Pub in Skaneateles Falls, NY, at 4:00, so I'd better scoot to the shower so I will be ready to travel.

I Need a New Loving Home for My Cats

Today was a pleasant surprise. I had expected a drizzly wet day, but it has been partially sunny though somewhat windy and cool. When the sun shines, it makes my day!

A couple days ago I was cold and had no heat in my house, but after investigating what was up with my furnace I was able to get the heat back on. For some reason the pilot light was out. After a few tries, I was able to get it lit and now have heat. I cleaned the filter as best I could (I should probably get a new replacement filter) and cleaned the dust and dirt from the furnace door. Now it looks good AND works good.

I have kind of decided to move in with my boyfriend and try to rent out my house. I have found my land and school taxes for the year are too much for me.

In order to rent my house and move I will have to find a good home for my two cats (together or separately). They are both somewhere around twelve years old and are pretty spoiled. They are both very loving. They would make a wonderful companion for senior citizens. Onslo is a neutered male with no front claws. Mrs. Whiggins is a spayed female and is a small build (close to maybe two-thirds the size of a normal cat). She has all her claws and likes to hunt. She has brought lots of mice for me to see and a few birds and chipmunks. Actually, this past Tuesday morning I awoke to a chipmunk sitting on my open palm in my bed. I felt something on my hand and opened my eyes to see a chipmunk scamper off. I was not frightened or startled because I knew the chipmunk was somewhere in the house as I had heard his/her chirps for the past couple of weeks. I have not heard it since then so I am hoping he found his way out of the house. (I haven't found any dead body yet.) Both cats are accustomed to going in and out on their own through a small-animal door, but have also used a litter box at times. They need a home in the country with someone who will love them as much as I do.

It's Cold in My House!!

Guess I'd better make a phone call and have my furnace serviced. I turned it off when I no longer needed the heat and only used the air conditioning a week or two this summer. I had the temperature set to about 62 degrees F. but discovered this morning that the furnace wasn't heating. I can live with it now, but soon will have to worry about freezing pipes. Can't afford that fiasco, so will get someone here to check it out for me. I will take a look at it in the meantime in case it's just a case of the pilot light being out.



This past weekend, John played again (as part of the "Sons of the Bunk-house") at the Red Rooster Pub in Skan-eateles Falls. They sounded great--not that I'm at all prejudiced! It's kind of a small space for them though, but the really good thing about it is that it is early and they get out by seven. There was a good turnout of people that came to hear them, so the bar's owner asked them to play an extra half-hour. They will be playing there every Saturday in October and every other Saturday in November.

Why Tanning Isn't Good for Us...

Just a quick share today. I found this at http://coolshade.tamu.edu/gallery/pages/pigs.htm

I Came Across Some Memories Today

The full moon picture was taken from my deck on September 8th (this year) at 2:21 a.m.
The flower letters were taken at 7:23 p.m. the same day. I was on my way to John's house and decided to stop and take this picture. Why, you say? My friend Cindi will understand. I'm not really sure who gave me the name originally--probably Cindi. The story behind the name "BW"... For several years, several of us "Women On Wheels(R)" members got together at Americade(R) (the world's largest motorcycle touring rally) in Lake George, NY. For several years, we rented a cottage for the week and shared much more than the cost. I'm sure this is where our friendships became cemented. We were a group larger than could be accommodated by the bedrooms (3) in the cottage so some of us slept in chairs, on couches, and on the floor in the main room of the cottage. I was known to be a loud snorer (later to be remedied by a CPAP machine). I tried to warn everyone and maybe even offered to sleep on the porch (I can't remember that clearly). One of the ladies that was new to sharing the cottage (Betsey) said my snoring would be no problem--she could sleep through anything. Guess who we found sleeping out on the porch the next morning! I felt badly, but I couldn't help it...and I did warn her. Anyway, we ended up having a lot of fun and laughter over that. There were two of us in the cottage named "Wendy" and the other Wendy was quiet and sweet and studious, so to differentiate between us, the snorer got nicknamed the "Bad Wendy" and the other was nicknamed the "Good Wendy". Bad Wendy got shortened to "BW" in the WOW chatroom and among my close motorcycle friends I am still "BW". The "BW" in the picture actually stands for Borg Warner, but I couldn't resist.

So now I have to explain to you the pic of the woodchuck. The quality of the photo isn't great because I had to take the picture quickly and knew I couldn't go outside to get it because he(or she) would be gone in a flash if I made any noise. I took the pic through my livingroom window, which also has a screen in it...and it was raining to boot. "Woody" broke through the mulch and plant fabric that I had laid down to keep the wood chips from tracking into the house. I have since found the entrance to Woody's abode. Woody has burrowed under the cement pad of my garage. Guess he thought he was hidden behind the long stems of the Golden Glow flowers planted at the backside of my garage. My sister and I were doing some clean-up work after the flowers had pretty much died off, and she had cut the stems down to just a couple inches revealing the entranceway. I am assuming the woodchuck will remain there into the winter and perhaps I will see him/her again in the spring.

Life Since Last Monday

Thanks, Cindi, for not getting after me about being behind on my blog! Love you.

My sister came over Wednesday and we spent a few hours together. We shopped at Lowe's because I needed some materials for the renovation of the roof on my back deck. The original roof was not properly designed and built, so I had a lot of damage due to wind and the snow from the last couple of winters. The other days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) I spend a lot of time on the computer editing and printing photos (and sleeping in, of course). I did spend one day (Tuesday, I think) with my three-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, Jaden. She entertained herself quite well with some marker pens and an old packet of dollar-store inkjet photo paper (which doesn't give me the print quality I prefer, so that is why I let her use it). She had fun with my cat Onslo and "playing" my piano. After all that fun, however, we went outside in the sunshine and she had fun jumping on my trampoline. When she arrived, she informed her mom and me that she was staying until tomorrow. But after about six hours she decided to go home after all. Mom had to come pick her up because I didn't have a car seat for her. I was actually relieved not to have to make the trip (even though it's just a few miles), because it was early evening and I was feeling tired (not having the energy I had when I was younger). Oh the joys of being a grandparent! You get to have all the fun with the kids and then send them home. When mom arrived to pick her up, she also had one of the family dogs with her (Shady Lee). Their dogs are almost grandchildren too, so I had to get a pic of her before they left. It took a few shots to finally get a good one, but finally got it.

My weekends are spent with my boyfriend, John. He is gigging with an additional band now. Saturday night was their first gig together. The gig was at the Red Rooster Pub in Skaneateles Falls. The band is an acoustic instruments band (two guitar players, a bass player, and a mandolin player). John is probably the main singer, although another guy in the band also sings a few songs. The gig was also in remembrance of a friend and member of the band who passed away recently. After the gig was over, John and I went to Doug's Fish Fry in Skaneateles for dinner. Then we drove back to Auburn and spent several hours at the Bunkhouse (home of our friends Dave and Sheila). The guys jammed and we girls sang some harmony and had fun with some percussion toys (spoons, tambourine, an old cheese and veggie grater). It was a fun evening. Jasper was a big source of entertainment as well. He is smart, fast, and seemingly tireless as well as being extremely gentle and friendly (one of the nicest dogs I've ever seen). He kept playing with all of his toys...bringing them to someone to throw for him to fetch or to play tug of war with.

Tomato Fest and Knobby Acres Motorcycle Race

This was a great weekend. I'm happy to know Ralph "Bucky" Phillips is back in custody and won't be hurting anyone else. I don't understand why a guy who had only a few days left of his sentence that escapes and basically ends any possibility of a decent life and chance for his family to be proud of him. Enough said.

John's band, Roadside Traveler, played at the annual Tomato Fest in Emerson Park, Auburn, NY, on Saturday, September 9th. They were great, of course! (Left to right: Jim Andrews, John Reilly, Mike Burns, Bill Leonard)


Sunday morning I got up early (for me!) and drove to Cortland to attend my grandson's hare scramble motorcycle race. He didn't do as well as he had hoped, but 8th is not that bad for a kid who doesn't get a chance to practice (or ride!) except at each race. There are usually at least a dozen kids in his class. This is his first year racing with a motorcycle with manual shift and a bigger bike than he raced with previous years. Hopefully, next year his dad will make sure he gets more time to practice.

Ralph "Bucky" Phillips

Today, I will just share this link with you. Ralph "Bucky" Phillips--what a disgrace to the American Indians!

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=39219

What a Dreary Day...

Today is such a dreary day. I hate dreary days. I know we can't have sunshine everyday (at least in upstate New York), but that doesn't mean I can't hate it when we don't! It's hard to get motivated on a day like today. I am thankful for yesterday though. John had an outdoor gig at the Polish Falcons in Auburn last night from 5:00 until 9:00. (Sorry, pics didn't turn out good.) The temperature was perfect and we didn't get rained on. Attendance was very slow at first, but picked up as the evening went on. There was a lot of competition for attendance--the biggest being a FREE concert with FREE parking at the lake (Owasco). The "Blue Lights" were playing. We checked it out after John's gig was over. The band was really good, but it was so crowded, you could hardly get through the door and even hard to get onto the dance floor--let alone room to dance! But the wine cooler tasted good, and John got a chance to see some people he knew and chat a bit so it was worth going. I'm looking forward to Monday (wow, haven't said that in a while--on yeah, I'm retired now so I have a reason to look forward to Mondays!), as the weather is supposed to be like yesterday's--partly cloudy (hey, that's better than a downpouring rain).

We Shoulda' Named Him "Garfield"!!!

After reading a posting from Widow With Dogs (Egg-in-a-Poke), I was reminded and inspired to cook myself some eggs-in-toast.

Well, it turns out (big surprise--NOT) my cat Onslo wanted to get at it also. As you can probably surmise, Onslo thinks every food is for him and that he feels he hasn't been fed since infinity--I guess he should have been named "Garfield".

Great Artist - Jack Wrobel

I had to come back and add a new post to showcase the art of our friend Jack Wrobel. This is a photo of a painting Jack did. It is now part of John W. Reilly's collection. Hope you can see the textures in the painting.

Today Was an Indoor Day!

Rain, rain, rain! It rained so much during the night and into the morning that at one point my driveway had a wide river across it. Luckily my property is so stony it has really good drainage so the river disappeared before noon. Since I couldn't do much outside (or maybe just didn't feel like it?), I played at the computer today and had more fun with my pictures from yesterday. I enjoyed the alpacas so much I post another pic today. Also, here are more pics from my visit to Baker's Acres in Lansing.

Animals and Plants!

I went to John's house on Saturday this weekend because he had a practice session on Friday night with the new band he's in. He played saxophone with a keyboard player named "Bobby McGee" on Saturday night in Canandaigua at a place called Eddie O'Brien's. So if I had asked him who was playing that night, he figured he could say "Me and Bobby McGee"! Anyway... Sunday we worked around his house for a while and then visited our friends Jack and Heather. I had the camera with me, so I was able to get some pics of their pets and also some alpacas on the way to their house.

The dog pictures are of "Cassie"; she loves attention! The cat picture is of "Chloe". Both belong to Jack and Heather.

On the way to Jack and Heather's we saw some alpacas and also some wild "Joe Pye Weed" along the side of the road. Today I stopped at Baker's Acres in Lansing and found the domestic version of the plant so I took a picture of the label so I knew the scientific name for it. I can't wait to take my sister to see all the plants there, but I better wait for pay day!

The alpacas seemed as curious about their photographer as she was about them!

When I got the picture of the Joe Pye Weed label, I also got some shots of the many, many beautiful and interesting plants at Baker's Acres. I've added a couple of pics here.

I love digital cameras!

Thank Goodness for Friends and Family

Yesterday while my sister and I were outdoors at my house working on weeding and planting, a big pickup truck with a cap on it pulled into the driveway. I couldn't imagine who it was...until he got out of the truck and walked toward me. It was an old friend from many years ago. He said he had been working in Cortland and came by my house everyday and decided he would stop in and see how I was doing. While we were visiting we happened to talk about my lawn mower and he got down on his knees and checked it out for me. I felt it was vibrating too much and thought maybe the shaft or blades were bent, but he said they weren't and would bring me some sponge pipe insulation to help with the vibration. I thought that was nice but he would probably not remember it and I wouldn't see him again. Well, this afternoon he surprised me and stopped in again. He not only brought the insulation, but he put it on the mower and taped it so it wouldn't fall off. Before he arrived today, I had been working on my storm door. I wanted to take the old one off (because it was damaged at the bottom) and put a different one on, but the screws were rusted and I couldn't get them out. I asked his advice on what I could do to get the screws out. He not only told me, he got them out and together we put another door on that I had in my garage. He had to drill new holes because the screw holes didn't line up with the doorway screwholes, and he had to do some adjustment on one corner of the doorway so the door didn't catch. So now I have a nice door with a screen in it! Thanks to Tom Brady.

After Tom left yesterday, my sister and I went driving in the country and found some wild flowering plants to plant at my house. She has been coming to my house every Wednesday to help me around my house. She gets me going and gets me out in the sunshine instead of sitting in my chair watching mindless TV. We are making a brick patio between my deck and the side of my garage. It is hard work. We have the sand down but will have to level it and lay the bricks yet. Here is a pic of the project in progress. Thanks Pat.

The Commander Cody Band at Turkey Trot

The photo is of my boyfriend, John (left) with Chris "Tiny" Olson (right). Because of lighting and position, I could not get a good pic of the whole band. Chris has performed with John in the past and is the steel player on some of John's recordings. During the breaks, Chris and John were able to spend some time reminiscing and making future plans. Chris will be adding his steel to some new original songs by John. I found everyone in the band to be very down to earth and nice. It was a great experience--not to mention how great the food was! I love the Turkey Trot facilities (Candor, NY).

"Prism in the Sky"

I caught this pic at the last minute. The view is from Gahwiler Rd. (in Moravia, I believe), out in the country where we often go to look at the view over Owasco Lake and surrounding area.
The inset shows the prism I wanted to capture. It was much stronger when I first saw it, but by the time I could get the camera going it has faded out.