My 366-day photography project: week fourteen

On Monday, November 2nd, I went to see the Niagara River. I took a short walk, maybe about three miles.

My telephoto lens never ceases to delight me. Images seem so much closer. 

I call this place my river world.

Some of the trees still have their leaves. Their colors are not as vivid as they were during the summer. 

Some trees have lost their leaves. The shapes of the bare branches are attractive.

Bear on the rocks.

Some of the trees have grown very tall.

Tuesday was election day. The bear wanted to vote but it didn't meet the age requirement of eighteen years. It made a fine mascot, however. I was, once again, working as an election inspector. We had the same crew that we had for the September primary: Alice, Jim, Fred, and Richard.

The turnout at the polls was fairly decent. The results of the election were more complicated. For the race for Grand Island Town Supervisor, Democratic candidate Nathan McMurray came out ahead of incumbent supervisor Mary Cooke by two votes. Next Tuesday, all of the absentee and affadavit ballots will be counted, and that will determine which candidate becomes our next town supervisor.

I have never before participated in such a tight race. This is why all eligible voters need to come out and vote. An election can be decided by one or two votes.

Every vote counts! When you vote, you have the potential to be the deciding vote in an election.

Wednesday was a beautiful warm day, and I had some work to do at a house on the river.

Grand Island bridges, leading to Tonawanda, New York.

After I finished working at two separate houses (and gardens), I went home and saw this vehicle, nearly in front of my house. I wondered what it was.

On Thursday, I went to Lewiston for a painting class.

It's such a pleasure to see the flowers that have survived frost, rain, and wind.

This is the Niagara Gorge, directly across the street from Stella Niagara Educational Park. The Sisters of Saint Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, the order that runs Stella Niagara, sold their land along the gorge to the Western New York Land Conservancy. The conservancy is working on adding walking trails to improve access to the water. The land will be accessible to the public for many years to come. 

Autumn on the gorge.

This is Stella Niagara.

Radiantly yellow.

This is my painting for the day!

On Thursday evening, I went to the Grand Island Historical Society's program, which was held at Historic Trinity. The program featured actor Albert McFadyen as Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt told the story of the United States from 1933 to 1945, from his perspective. I will share more of his story tomorrow.

On Friday, I went to "Family Game Night" at Huth Road Elementary School. I was given the task of being the photographer for the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association). The above cupcakes, shaped like minions, were made by Caralyn, who is now a sixth grader at the middle school. Caralyn is a cancer survivor. Almost two and a half years ago, Caralyn's older sister Emily was chosen by Relay for Life to be the Honorary Caregiver because of the love and support that she showed for her younger sister. I wrote an article about Caralyn, Emily, and the rest of their family for the Island Dispatch as a part of my "Relay for Life" series.

Mmmm, colorful cupcakes were sold at the bake sale.

There is a lot of activity in the gym.

What to do now...

Principal Kerri Nowak and friends.

This is Dana. She is a teacher's aide and she is an artist. She is raffling off a painting that she made of the school's therapy dog. She is also raffling off a bunch of prints.

This is the painting!

Human sized game.

A big basketball can be hard to catch for a little person.

Take a look at these moves!

Not all fun is at ground level.

But speaking about the ground... and back at home... that is a good place for a cat, who doesn't jump on high surfaces anymore. She still likes jumping on the couch and stealing the humans' seats but kitchen counters... no, not for a dignified fifteen-year-old cat named Zoe.

My mother concentrates on writing something.

This is a very well-dressed bear.

On Sunday morning, as I was walking to church, I saw that there was all sorts of stuff attached to the fire hydrant.

In the evening, I went to Riverside-Salem Environmental Chapel. Co-pastors Jon and Cathy Rieley-Goddard have returned from their pilgrimage. They went to do the Camino de Santiago (the Way of Saint James) in France and Spain.

Jon and Cathy walked 400 miles.

For them, and for most people who walk the Camino, it was a spiritual journey.

It was also a hilly journey. Jon and Cathy will share their story in more detail in December.

Today, I decided to do a mini-camino, here in Grand Island, by walking to the cemetery and back, a distance of almost twelve miles. This is me... um me shadow.

I walk along the Niagara River. There is much to see, including this giant pumpkin outside the house of Mike and Leslie Madigan. Mike Madigan was elected to the town board last Tuesday. When he's not working at his regular job or running for office, he grows enormous pumpkins.

There are many docks along the river. It is a pretty sight but, on Grand Island's eastern shore, most of the land is privately owned, which means very little public access.

Here are some kayakers in Spicer Creek.

This is the chapel at the Whitehaven Cemetery. I have never seen the doors open until today. The building is used as a storage shed for equipment. Apparently, it is no longer as a chapel. A long time ago, it must have been a good place to go in cold weather for services during a funeral.

Here is another river scene. This is a piece of a ship that sank in the river. This is the only part of the ship that's visible.

The naked trees have a charm all their own.

More about River World in the next few days.