Tuesday, September 27, 2016

From debris to delicacies: Saturday in Grand Island

My Saturday was a combination of the ugly and the beautiful, things rejected and things cherished, brokenness and wholeness. It was a contrast between things that had been used up and discarded and things that brought joy to humans. 

At about nine o'clock on Saturday morning, I joined a group to clean up along Spicer Creek, near Burger King, in Grand Island, New York. The area was a terrible mess, with discarded truck tires, enormous pieces of cardboard, rejected roofing times, and much more. No one discarded piles of money, however. 

Apparently, this large tire has lost its value so it sits, abandoned amidst the weeds.

Spicer Creek.

This is in the Burger King parking lot. Notice all of the purple loosestrife, which, here, is an invasive species. It is a native of Europe and Asia, and it was originally introduced to North America as a decorative and as a medicinal plant. Unfortunately, it took over. It is found in ditches and wetlands in great abundance. It crowds out the native vegetation. It looks pretty but it needs to be removed to protect the native vegetation. In this spot, it was virtually impossible to pull out the roots, so it will most likely come back fairly soon.


Large truck tire on the move, with some assistance.

This truck tire, along with the other discarded tires, is placed on a pickup truck for removal and disposal.

Paul shows off a huge piece of cardboard that was found amidst the brush and weeds.

Terry uses a rake to gather the refuse.

Paul looks through the vegetation for errant litter.

Underneath the bridge. The litter pickup took approximately an hour. Afterward, we were invited into Burger King for a free meal. 
Later in the afternoon, I went with my friend Amy to the Taste of Grand Island. It was held in the Town Commons, next to Town Hall. A portion of Whitehaven Road was closed. The portion of the road that was closed was in the process of being rehabilitated so the surface was very rough. A few weeks ago, when I had a driving lesson on Grand Island, I had the chance to practice driving on bumpy roads in the process of being repaired. It was definitely an adventurous experience. But... driving lessons are finished. I have officially graduated from driving school!!

Here I am at the Taste of Grand Island, ready to celebrate food and the start of autumn. The debris part of the day was finished, and it was time to enjoy the delicacies. Restaurants in Grand Island set up booths, where they sold tastes of their luscious food.

There are ponies for the kids to ride. This is a fun activity for them. Last year, there was a bounce house, but a kid got injured so no bounce house this year.

The Grand Island Historical Society had an exhibit, with documents, maps, and photographs from Grand Island's past. From left, Jeri Benzing, Sharon Nichols, and Maggie Gushue.

The mural at Grand Island plaza is based on smaller paintings, such as this one. This smaller painting was donated to the Grand Island Historical Society. The series of paintings at the plaza tell the story of the island's history.

I'm not sure who this is. To me, it looks like a one-eyed bowling pin with feet, that, magically, has not fallen into a gutter (my bowling balls all having homing devices that lead them to the gutter).

The Mary Kay ladies, who gave Amy and me lipstick samples so we could compete in the selfies contest.

Don't you just love my new car???

Butterfly jewelry.

Relay for Life stuff. Crush cancer!!!




This very lovely Papillon comes from Furever Friends, an organization that rescues puppy mill dogs. The owners of puppy mills are more interested in making money by selling purebred puppies than they are in taking good care of their dogs. The dogs live in horrific conditions and are mated until they are worn out. If they are lucky, they will go to a "retirement home." If they are not lucky, they are killed. Dogs deserve much better than this abuse. If you should decide to add a dog to your family, please go to a shelter and choose a dog. Adopt, don't shop!

Here is another view of the fashionably attired dog, who puts a lovely and lovable face on Furever friends.

Bear loves Buffalo.


This is actually a photograph of people arranged in the shape of a huge bison.




This is Keith Tripi of the Grand Island Farm Cooperative with his rock dove. The rock dove is very soft to touch and is very friendly.

A new friend for the rock dove.

Grand Island, in the 19th century, was covered with white oaks. Unfortunately, most of them were removed via clear cutting and were turned into mastheads for ships. Here is one white oak that was planted nineteen years ago.





Dancers from the Grand Island Dance Center enjoy their pom poms and the outdoor event.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

The Camp Duffield Adventure

Here are some images from a fun weekend with a group from Saint Martin in the Fields Church in Grand Island, New York. We went to Camp Duffield in Delevan, New York. Camp Duffield was originally located in Allegany State Park, not as a camp, but as a yearly summer conference for young people. The name "Duffield" is in honor of the Rev. John Duffield of Olean, who passed away in 1937. According to the Camp Duffield website, the Rev. Duffield was a leader in organizing conferences for young people. The camp was moved to its present site in 1950. There are a series of camping programs for children and for adults with developmental disabilities during the summer. During the rest of the year, the camp is available for rental to groups.

About 22 people came for the camping adventure. We arrived on Friday evening and enjoyed conversation and a campfire. On Saturday morning, we were treated to a delicious breakfast of baked French toast and an egg bake. After eating that scrumptious food, we went for a hike through pine trees. They grow in long, straight rows, which was quite an amazing thing to see.


These trees are especially amazing if you look straight up.

Here we are, peering from behind those rows of trees. Notice the lovely one-point perspective in the photograph.

The last time that I was at Camp Duffield was three years ago. Since then, new tents were added to the campgrounds. Here, Mike Walker, Amy Heist, and Beth Boron pose in front of one of the tents. We stayed in cabins for the weekend and only discovered the tents when we were taking a morning hike. 

Tom and Sharon Petz peek out from inside a tent.

Trish and Ray Weiser discover the fun of peering out from a tent.

Here I am in the tent, with Ellen Valvo.

Eric Boron and Pete Schlau prefer to run through the woods.

There are many interesting things to see on the adventure. Here are mushrooms growing out of a tree.

We walked along a creek and found some interesting rocks and stones.

On this tree trunk, the mushrooms are oranges.

This is the pond at Camp Duffield.

Later in the morning, Paula Cramer, Amy Pickwell, and I took a second hike.We walked through the pine trees but went on different trails.

Of course, there were more mushrooms to photograph.

There is truly a never-ending supply of mushrooms. Since "mushroom hunter" is not on my resume, I photograph mushrooms and then leave them where they are. Some mushrooms are poisonous and will make you ill and others will cause you to pass away unpleasantly. Food is meant to be enjoyed, so I hunt for mushrooms in the supermarket! I usually don't want to skip an adventure but death by food... um... no.


Amy and Paula in a large lean-to.

After our hike, we went to enjoy lunch. No. Mushrooms were not on the menu. We had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. We talked and laughed and enjoyed our time together.

After lunch, I went to paint in my watercolor sketchbook. Before I could finish my painting, I was asked if I would like to hike to the waterfalls. It is a small waterfalls at the end of a moderately strenuous hike. 

Here is a group of hikers standing in front of the Duffield sign. We crossed the street and started on our hike. The hike was quite the adventure. It was steep in spots and slippery in other spots. Several people fell. Some of us avoided falling by crawling on our hands and feet. After much slipping, sliding, and climbing, we arrived at the waterfalls.

Marge Schlau enjoys being near the waterfalls.

Beth, Allison, and Eric Boron enjoy the waterfalls.



Engaged couple Allison Boron and Dave Porter add a touch of romance to the weekend adventure. They are both teachers. Allison teaches kindergarten, and Dave teaches high school science.

Here I am at the waterfalls.

Here is another photogenic mushroom.

After the fun of the hike, we walked back to the camp. There were words tacked onto trees.





After the hike, I went back to painting, finishing just before the rain started. I returned to my cabin to make sure that the camera didn't get wet. It did start to pour and, at one point, there was a tornado warning, which was very dramatic. Fortunately, there was no tornado, just rain and wind. That is why there are no pictures of the dinner or of evening activities. We had a delicious spaghetti dinner, thanks to Tom Davide and friends. Afterwards, we played a dice game called bunco. It was very entertaining and fun and there was much laughter. I had a good deal of beginner's luck, and some of my friends asked me why I had never told them that I was actually a gambler. Well, what can I say? I must never show my hand!

On Sunday morning, we had pancakes and the rest of the egg bake. We left, well-fed and happy to have spent the weekend with friends.

It was a fun weekend.