weekend

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Chair Factory Falls

Posted by Photonstopper on October 16, 2010
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Photo: Chair Factory Falls, Lake Metroparks. Photo by James Guilford.

Chair Factory Falls on a beautiful autumn day.

We saw a news item about the Thursday dedication of a new area within the Lake Metroparks: Chair Factory Falls. Today was a beautiful day for a trip there so, after quick shopping for the week’s groceries, we headed out. The Falls turned out to be probably the most beautiful natural water feature I’ve seen in the Northeastern Ohio area and were a short walk from a convenient parking lot. We encountered a couple of people who warned us that the hike back out of the gorge was tough but worth the effort. They underestimated our vigor for while the path out was steep, it was an easy climb for the two of us and more than worth the effort. Of course the cameras came with us and we shot many photos but I’ll show only two here. The parking lot was adjacent to the Metroparks’ Old Stone School landmark. Stone walls, fallen leaves, and an antique water pump made for a rustic scene.

Photo: Water pump near stone wall of an old school. Photo by James Guilford.

A hand-operated water pump stands at the south wall of the Old Stone School, a property of the Lake Metroparks.

Nothing done, again. Ha-ha!

Posted by Photonstopper on October 9, 2010
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Today She Who Must Be Obeyed and I went on a minor grocery shopping trip. She said that, when we returned home, she would get some work done around the place… like cleaning out her car. Exposure to the glorious fall day, however, changed Her mind. She suggested a hike in the Brandywine Falls park, near Peninsula, Ohio.

 

Photo: Visitors pause to view Brandywine Falls. Photo by James Guilford.

A winding wooden walkway leads down to a lovely view of Brandywine Falls.

 

Brandywine is a beautiful place where a natural waterfall flows over a stone bed, carving and smoothing the rock. A deep gorge extends downstream of the falls, shallow and safe for hiking, surrounded by woodland.

 

Photo: Brandywine falls on an autumn morning. Photo by James Guilford.

In the morning shadows, the falls move among autumn colors.

 

We spent a good long time in the woodland downstream of the falls, hiking the hilly earthen trails, and stopping frequently to take photos. There’s a lot to see if you slow down and look around.

 

Photo: Tight crop of colorful autumn leaf. Photo by James Guilford.

A portion of a colorful leaf cropped from a much larger image at 100 percent.

 

Yes, She was seduced as I had been a day earlier. Her noble and ambitious plans were put aside for enjoyment of the day. Nothing done, again. Ha-ha!

Then again, as a philosopher* once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

*Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986.

Nothing got done.

Posted by Photonstopper on October 8, 2010
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Photo: The Sun rises over a field of ripening soy. Photo by James Guilford

The Sun rises over a field of ripening soy on a beautiful autumn day in Northeastern Ohio.

 

I’ll blame She Who Must Be Obeyed. I innocently remarked that it was an absolutely beautiful morning. She replied, “Yes, a perfect morning to go to Hinckley Lake.” I had the day off (having worked last Sunday) but I had other activities in mind for the day. I headed to Hinckley anyway. Along the way I noticed how the low sun was setting the ripening soy fields aglow.

 

Photo: Grass seed ripening. Photo by James Guilford.

Grass seeds also ripen in the fall.

 

All of the seed-producing plants are finishing their job for the season. That includes the wild grasses that grow along the roads and streams. I found one grass seed head beautifully isolated against the plain background of a stream.

 

 

Photo: Panorama of Hinckley Lake, Ohio. Photo by James Guilford.

Panorama of the sky, trees, and waters of Hinckley Lake on a beautiful fall day.

 

Hinckley Lake was a wonderland of light and color. Many trees wore yellows and reds. Many a leaf has already fallen to the ground. No large birds (other than buzzards) were to be seen. The greatest wildlife activity was from numerous chipmunks and squirrels scampering about the forest floor, apparently gathering seeds as food.

Too many sights. Too many photographs. Too brief was the magical light present.

Of course I got nothing done I had planned for the day.

Crazy beautiful

Posted by Photonstopper on September 26, 2010
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Photo: A fern grows from cracks in a river's rock wall. Photo by James Guilford.

A lonely fern grows from cracks in the rock wall of Chippewa Creek.

She Who Must Be Obeyed sent me out on this cloudy and cool Sunday afternoon to buy crackers. We’ve been looking for our favorite brand –Wheatsworth– for some time now and we last found them at our favorite store: Heinen’s, Brecksville. No dice. The Teenagers were running the service desk today so I don’t know if the store no longer stocks them. I purchased a few other items and took a little walk. The shopping center is improbably perched on a piece of land that leads down into an amazing natural space: Chippewa Creek’s valley, carved from solid rock. I’d brought my little G11 camera “just in case” and was glad I did. I spent way more time photographing the rocks, mosses, ferns, and foliage than I’d spent shopping for crackers. I felt way better after having done so. Looking at one picture in particular was an experience: the rock face and its colors, striations, water stains, lichens, slime, plants, roots, and tumbled appearance… it’s crazy and beautiful.

Photo: Rock wall along Chippewa Creek. Photo by James Guilford.

A tumbled mess of rock, colors, plants, stains, and colors makes this rock face along Chippewa Creek crazy beautiful.

Lake-to-Lake Labor Day

Posted by Photonstopper on September 6, 2010
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It is Labor Day. We awoke to chilly temperatures and skies that turned from partly cloudy to overcast as we ate breakfast. She Who Must Be Obeyed suggested we check out the Cleveland Metroparks’ Lake-to-Lake Trail. The trail, which we had never visited, runs along the eastern edge of the Berea area and into Middleburg Heights.

Photo: Two girls riding the "dragonfly bridge" on the Lake-to-Lake Trail. Photo by James Guilford.

One of the uniquely decorated wooden deck bridges on the Lake-to-Lake Trail, this one features metal cutouts of dragonflies, each identified with a plaque mounted to its supporting post.

We were delighted with the experience, though both a bit sore upon return. Putting in a total of 5.4 miles, we covered most of the trail from Lake Isaac north to Lake Abram and back with a very pleasant stop at an Aladdin’s Eatery (a lovely advantage of suburban trail hiking) for lunch.

We stopped many times along the way to photograph plants, flowers, and wildlife including a very cooperative Green Frog and red dragonfly (Ruby Meadowhawk?), residents of a tiny pond area. The trail is mostly asphalt paved with an extensive system of wooden boardwalks and bridges to carry visitors over wet areas.

Photo: Green frog poses for photographers from its pond. Photo by James Guilford.

A Green Frog watches warily but allowed surprisingly close encounters by two photographers and their macro-focusing cameras.

It was exciting and reassuring to see, from the trail, large expanses of marsh habitat undeveloped and preserved as natural areas in suburban Cleveland. And what a marvelous resource for area residents. Like us!

Photo: Red dragonfly poses on bleached wood. Photo by James Guilford

A red dragonfly (possibly a Ruby Meadowhawk) sat on a bleached wood railing as if posing for its portrait. The beautiful insect allowed two of us to make close approaches with cameras before flitting off into the reeds of a nearby wetland.

Bike ride with giant garlic

Posted by Photonstopper on August 29, 2010
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"rotaflora"
“rotaflora”

Today we did a bicycle ride of 20+ miles checking out a new section of bike trail. The new section, we thought, went into downtown Cleveland. It doesn’t and we somehow managed to get off course. Portions of the trail follow the course of the Ohio & Erie Canal and the Cuyahoga River, all greener and more beautiful than one might expect. The big surprise of the day? We spotted a Bald Eagle perched atop the bare upper branches of a tree near the river! The trail emerges into neighborhoods and industrial areas where, in one case, we scaled a challenging hill on a road that was all bad news. We did survive, however, and made it to the northern end of the line –an eastern neighborhood area of Cleveland– where we discovered the large, whimsical sculptural piece we’d hoped to see. The piece, “rotaflora” by Jake Beckman, is in the form of a flowering garlic plant and the flower head is made from bicycle wheels!

Cycling Sculpture
Cycling Sculpture

Dinner at home tonight: vegan “ribs” with barbecue sauce (actually quite good), homemade sweet potato fries, and veggies, served with a nice pinon noir. Yum.

Back to work tomorrow…….

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Well, crap!

Posted by Photonstopper on July 31, 2010
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We were minding our own business, heading out on a pleasant little Saturday morning trip to a shopping area, more as an outing than an expedition. Stopped for a red light at an intersection, all was was quiet when suddenly –BOOM– a heavy blow from behind rocked the Insight! A second later we realized we'd been hit by a large black car. I shut off the engine, carefully got out of the Honda –the guy who hit us was already out of his– and we examined the results. (He said he "thinks" his foot slipped off the brake at the stop.) Whew! Nobody hurt. No broken glass. No smashed plastic lenses. No folded or torn bumpers.

Rear-ended
Rear-ended

The Insight, however, now wears as part of its rear bumper the distinct impressions of the other guy's license plate bolt heads (you can count the sides) and license plate frame. Of course, the other guy showed no signs of impact on the front end of his car. Probably nothing to be done but application of a bit of touch-up paint and. Too little damage for a call to the police or a call to the insurance company. So we were given the guy's license info, shook hands, and parted company. I think I know what I'll do about the bolt impressions –a new bumper sticker will do the trick– but some small scuffs and scratches will be harder to hide. The Insight is only a bit over a year old and was unscathed up to this point. Now it has its first permanent marks and I'll be reminded of the incident almost daily.

Well, crap!

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Pods, Pads, and Pets

Posted by Photonstopper on April 4, 2010
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iPod Touch
iPod Touch

I've begun my transition from many years as a Palm PDA user to, now, the owner of a brand new, third generation, 32 GB Apple iPod Touch. Palm is out of the PDA business, having moved along to the SmartPhone sector. They're also holding on for dear life, despite the widely-admired qualities of their new phones and operating system. Very sad. My trusty Palm TX still does its job but without OS or application upgrades from Palm it's not up to today's standards. I like my TX but I'm beginning to love the Touch. I've already set up the Touch to synch wirelessly with my Google Calendar — I've gotta say that's very cool. Next I'll purchase the Touch version of my "eWallet" app to encrypt and store my many account numbers and passwords; when that happens I'll have replicated (and improved upon) all of the basic Palm functions I was using. The Palm was terrible with email but I've set up the Touch to work with GMail and it's sweet! The Palm's browser was not very good, either. The Safari browser is fast, presents most pages very well, but its Touch navigation takes some getting used to. I've also installed a nifty astronomy app purchased through the iTunes Store. So we're on our way. Music? I guess I could use it for that too.

When we arrived at Best Buy to make the iPod purchase the store was just about to open for the day. There was a longish line outside and for a moment I wondered why. Then I remembered: The Apple iPad release! It wasn't a huge crowd, maybe 25 people, and they were orderly as they eagerly filed into the store and waited in another line to pick up their shiny new devices. I didn't get to see the iPad but hope to visit again or go to one of the area's two Apple Stores to take a look. Talk about cool!

We stayed home this Easter Day venturing out only to pick up a few grocery items. She then retreated to her office to slave away at our tax returns. I took a nap, did some stuff online, and explored the innards of an old microwave oven seeking to restore it to operation: I think it needs a fuse and a switch. Tasha spent much of the day on a newly-favorited chair near the patio window looking and acting like the cat we have known so long. She lost some weight through her recent ordeal but actually looks better for it –Dr. B. says her current 9 lbs.+ weight is not worrisome and, indeed, we believe it's probably better for her than when she tipped the scales at 11 to 12 pounds. Lately she's been sociable, out in the open (not hiding), not scratching excessively, and sometimes getting the "cat-crazies" tearing around the house at full gallop for no particular reason. Yup, that's normal for a cat. Good to see it again.

Tasha Snoozin'
Tasha Snoozin’

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Best fall colors

Posted by Photonstopper on October 26, 2009
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Leaf Confetti
Leaf Confetti

The weekend of October 24 & 25 brought the peak of fall color to Northeastern Ohio. Saturday was mostly gray and windy sending many colorful leaves whirling and to the ground. Some trees now appear naked of the leafy covers they have carried since spring. It was a good day for errands and household checklists. Overnight the skies cleared and today dawned chilly and clear — a fine day for a fall color drive. Piling into the Insight we headed south.

Slightly past peak were the colors in North Central Ohio at Malabar Farm State Park. The entire area was gorgeous, nonetheless, decorating even the forest floor with a confetti-throw of leaves. We decided to follow a one-mile trail that headed uphill, through dense neighboring woods, for a loop back to the Farm. The trail had many wonderful sights to see and was fairly well marked until somewhat short of the half-way point. Seeing no trail blazes we continued on what appeared to be trampled leaves, began our turn back, and paralleled a road though still walking in damp leaf litter within the woods. In no danger of becoming lost we easily found our way back to the Farm's homestead. Then it was off on a cross-country trip over state roads (not freeways) towards home. The scenery was absolutely beautiful with groves of trees on low hills rising like islands out of a sea of brown soybean and corn fields. It was a fine rolling journey back under sunny skies.

It was a most excellent Sunday's sojourn experiencing the best fall colors.

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Interesting weekend, that

Posted by Photonstopper on May 25, 2009
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Wellington Reservation
Wellington Reservation

After being off a couple of days late in the week (scheduled and "sick") I had recovered enough from my recent head cold and was able to put in my scheduled hours at the office on Saturday. Then, due to our change in operations to a summer schedule, I was off on the Sunday when I would have worked in previous months. Then I was also off today (Monday) due to observance of Memorial Day. It's no wonder I wake up these days wondering just what day of the week it actually is!

She and I made an effort Sunday to spend some time together. We wanted something low-key since I was not yet feeling back at full health so we headed to the zoo for a nice, quiet walkaround. As we approached the parking lot we could see that droves of people of every description were descending upon the entrance. I circled the Insight around and through the lot and we headed back home for lunch and to regroup. She proposed we check out a park we had not yet visited… Wellington Reservation of the Lorain County Metropark System. We were very impressed by the facility and She was excited by the prospect of using one of the park's pontoon paddle boats… "some day, not right now." We set out on one of the trails and discovered they are interconnecting loops. After following the outer line of the combined loop system we returned to the start having hiked 3.8 sweaty miles. She was pretty well tuckered out and I feared a relapse of my illness (which fortunately did not happen). Showers and a nice dinner at home put things right.

Telescope in There?
Telescope in There?

We both had plans for Monday (the holiday). She needed to help her mother and I needed to go to the Observatory to take advantage of an unusual opportunity. During our April 4, 2009 public night, the dome's shutter began acting up. (The shutter is a sliding door that covers a slit opening in the dome used to give the telescope access to the sky.) It was difficult to open for the night and was nearly impossible to close! College carpenters built up a scaffold inside the dome early in May and determined that the rollers that carry the shutter had derailed — nominally the rollers move along an iron bar at the top of the opening easing operation. The craftsmen lifted the shutter back on to its track and lubricated the wheels. With the scaffold in place the telescope could not be moved so all use of the Observatory was suspended during the balance of April and through May. Today, while the scaffolding was still in place, I replaced the pull ropes that are used to manually open and close the shutter; there was no telling how much longer the scaffold will be available. I have no idea how old the cotton rope was; I replaced it with a tough poly braided rope. The shutter works better now than it has in years though close examination of the condition of its wooden components left me with worries. She finished her duties in decent time. My job took longer than expected. We both opted to spend the balance of the afternoon and evening at home resting up. Interesting weekend, that!

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