Thanksgiving at Buckhorn Island State Park

Thanksgiving Day was warm and sunny, a good day to take a walk before settling down to the Big Job at hand (eating lots of food with family). I chose to walk down Grand Island's linear bike path and into Buckhorn Island State Park.
Buckhorn Island State Park is a restored wetland that is comprised of both swamps and marshes. It is also home to a variety of migratory birds and songbirds, as well as a few endangered species, such as the sedge wren and the least bittern. There are paths but few amenities in Buckhorn Island State Park. It is a wonderfully wild place for humans to experience what much of the Niagara Frontier was like before industry and housing developments took over and filled in much of the wetlands.

Bruce, Bentley, and their human dad.

The park was a delightful place, with people and dogs enjoying the warm air and the day off from their jobs, school, or from... um... doggie day care (?). I met dogs of all ages and a number of breeds, including golden retrievers, beagles, mixed breeds, etc. I walked for a short distance with a family that included a father, two daughters named Jolie and Jenna, and two golden retrievers named Bentley and Bruce. Everyone admired the two very friendly golden retrievers, including other dogs. In fact, these two dogs managed to develop quite a following as they happily ran around the park and introduced themselves to people and dogs. One of the dogs that they met was a large dog who was drooling with great gusto. He was happy to sniff Bruce and Bentley. This big dog was described as "juicy" by his owner, who looked as happy as the dog.
Later on in my walk, I met a man named Kevin and his very energetic dog who apparently was in need of a stint in obedience school. This dog, Koto, ran here, there, and everywhere as soon as he was let off of his leash. He walked to the water and splashed around in the river. He ran to ending point of the park, a spot where there are only two choices: turn around and walk back or swim to Niagara Falls. He ran in circles. He is a mixed breed dog. Kevin said that he is part lab and part something else... maybe pointer, but he wasn't sure. Eventually, Kevin caught the dog long enough to put his leash back on him. The two of them started jogging away and, before long, had disappeared.
I continued on my walk and, by the time that I returned to my sister's house, three happy hours had passed.

Bridge to Niagara Falls

Another view of the Niagara River

Niagara Falls industry

View of Niagara Falls from Buckhorn Island State Park

One view of the restored wetlands

A second view of the restored wetlands

The cycle of life in the woods

Tree planting!!!

On November 3rd, it was cold and windy. That was the day chosen for the tree planting. For some reason, tree planting days are always cold and windy.
I am now a member of the Tree Planting Committee. We travel around our community and plant trees, sort of like Johnny Appleseed. Well almost. We planted some birch, maple, and flowering crab apple trees. Altogether, we planted eight trees at two locations.
At our first location, Ransom Village, we expected to encounter holes ready to receive the new trees. Instead, we encountered chalk marks where the holes for four trees were going to go. So we got out the shovels and started digging. Digging through heavy clay soil is quite the aerobic workout so... what can I say? I got exercise. Lots of it. We dug our holes and started planting our trees and then... oops, we didn't have enough top soil so we had to wait until Linda went to a hardware store and bought more top soil for us. So I was standing there and holding the tree up for some time. That was just about all I could do because I was stuck in mud. Yep, and wearing hiking boots because I don't have any rubber rain boots. Finally the top soil came and we filled in the hole with top soil and more of our lovely clay.
I was able to walk through a puddle and clean off my boots, sort of. I was still wearing that lovely clay on my boots but that was all right. I was riding in Diane's car and she said that a little dirt wouldn't hurt it. Her boots were pretty muddy, too.
At Ransom Village, we had a photography session. I ran to the car to get my camera. The other Johnny Appleseed types said, "Hurry up, Lois Lane, and get your camera." I turned around and looked for Superman but he wasn't there. So I got my camera and took a picture or two and then someone else took a picture so I could be in it.
Here is the tree planting crew:

Here we are in front of one of the trees that we planted in Ransom Village. We got good and muddy but, then again, I always like playing in the mud. We have one two supervisor and one town board member in the picture. They were covered in mud, too (real mud, not the kind that politicians like to sling at each other, lol)

Our second stop was in front of a business called Wheelhouse Marine. There we found four very deep holes awaiting us. They were happily dug by the town highway department. They were too deep for the trees. If you plant the tree in a hole that's too deep, you have a problem because the tree's root collar cannot be underground or covered up by anything, including mulch. The root collar is where the roots and the trunk meet.
Well, the deep holes were also filled with water so the water had to be removed before the trees could be planted. Then we filled the holes with a combination of top soil (which was at this location in a nice pile... the highway department did a great job) and clay, and we planted the trees.
At each location, the trees were staked and the trunks were wrapped with cardboard.
The tree planting project took three hours.
After it was over, I was very happy to go home and drink a cup of delicious hot tea!
Our next tree planting date will be early next spring.