Sunday at Stewart Park

It was a sunny day yesterday and we took a walk in Stewart Park.  Tons of Geese!  Not much else bird wise.  The geese are fun to watch, although you have to take care where you walk. The willows still retain their leaves, which is unusual for this time of year.

Here are some photos from the jaunt.

Sapsucker in November

Veteran's Day was a day of reflection yesterday. It was also a lovely day to take a walk and to enjoy the sun highlighting Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca. Sam and I drove the short distance to the woods and enjoyed the walk around the pond.  There were geese to watch in the distance, but not a lot of other birds.  I presume that the hersons have left for warmer climes.  I did notice that there are now aerators in the pond, which are meant to keep the pond from freezing so the wintering birds have a resource for swimming and drinking.

Here are some of the shots I took along the way.

Fillmore Glen

Sam and I took an early morning walk and hike through Fillmore Glen, which is South of Moravia.  It is one of the many beautiful gorges of the Fingerlakes region and is the most rustic of the local parks.  It has dense woods crowded in to a long, narrow gorge.  We did not walk far enough to see all of the falls because of a time constraint. It is definitely a site I would like to return to.

Named after the 13th President of the United States, Millard Fillmore (who was born nearby) the glen now bears his namesake. It was also the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in 1934-38, which did the construction during the Great Depression of the masonry found in the park. Here are some photos I took this morning during the walk.

Monet and the Botanic Garden

The New York Botanic Garden located in the Bronx is a gem for our state.  We traveled there last weekend to see the Monet simulation in the conservatory greenhouses and were pleased with how they were able to capture the essence of the Money gardens and pond. The conservatory itself is a treasure of many ecosystems and indigenous plants, which is a biology teacher's dream.  I used to seek that type of opportunity to photograph plants to show students the various adaptations found around the world.

We toured the greenhouse and then the lovely lotus and water lily pond. They had specimens that were very similar to those found in Monet's pond in Giverny, France.

After touring the inside displays, we took the tram tour of the gardens.  Nothing was in bloom at this time of year, but the gardens are still spectacular.  I do want to return in the spring to view azaleas and rhododendrons in bloom.

Scattered among the landscape were several sculptures by Spanish artist Manolo Valdés, that added artistic interest to the gardens.

Here are some of my photos taken on this trip.

Valdes sculpture

Monet garden

Monet garden

Sunflowers in Monet garden

Monet bridge and pond simulation

Conservatory and pond of lotus and water lilies

pond

Water lily

Water lily

Water lily

hungry Koi

Water lilies

Piture plants

Rose in garden

Sunflowers in Monet garden

Giant water lily pads

Library and sculpture

Sculpture