Slippery

Fillmore Glen Autumn

Ulmus rubra

The Slippery Elm (scientific name Ulmus rubra) gives Fillmore Glen this characteristic golden glow. The species has various traditional medicinal uses. The inner bark has long been used as a demulcent and is still produced commercially for this purpose in the United States with approval for sale as an over-the-counter demulcent by the US Food and Drug Administration. Sometimes the leaves are dried and ground into a powder, then made into a tea.

Reference: Wikipedia “Slippery Elm”

Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

To the Brink

Take the Leap, or Not

On to Cowsheds Waterfall

The bed of Dry Creek bends before the fall. Fillmore Glen, New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York

around the bend…..

…and over the brink.

Fillmore Glen New York State Park, Cayuga County, Moravia, New York

Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

River Bend

Fillmore Glen Autumn

waiting for the people to leave

Patience was a virtue as I set up along Dry Creek where it bends before approaching Cowsheds waterfall drop-off. Fillmore Glen, New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York

with…..

…and without hikers.

I say “without” with reservations. A moving hiker was blurred out in this 3.2 second exposure at f/22. I hid the blurred figure with a cut and pasted pristine pixels from the second exposure. The “without” take is earlier than “with.”

A minute and 50 seconds transpired between exposures. In that time, Pam rested her hiking pole against the wall.

Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Wonderland

Fillmore Glen Autumn

Do you have a preference? If so leave me a comment. Thanks!!

The bed of Dry Creek bends before approaching Cowsheds waterfall drop-off. Fillmore Glen, New York State Park, Moravia, Cayuga County, New York

with…..

…and without cascade.

Copyright 2022 All Right Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Autumn Ithaca

Cass Park

Pam and I arrived early to Cass Park for our grandson’s October afternoon soccer match, in time for a 2 mile walk on the generous footpaths. This is my impression of that time, from the IPhone 7’s camera.

A Packed Excursion Boat Under A Stunning Sky

This completes our Sunday afternoon walk around Cass Park, Ithaca, New York.

Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Unidentified Tree

silhouette

This branch of spent, lancate leaves with hanging seeds grows wild on the slopes above Treman Gorge in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.

Assistance with identification of this tree is requested. Please leave your suggestions as comments to this post. Thank You, everyone.

Here is a series of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.

Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Gorge Exploration

Fillmore Glen State Park, Moravia, New York

Late August last I captured these photographs and videos on the fly using an Iphone7 while Pam and I walked Fillmore Glen State Park, Moravia, New York. Click me for “The Space Station and the Waterfall,” another glen exploration.

Ephemeral Waterfall

Metal Intrusion

Spring thaw washed away the gorge wall, this functional metal bridge will outlast all but the most catastrophic gorge wall disruptions.

Graceful Waterfall Overview

Flora

White Baneberry, aka “Dolls Eyes,” a fascinating plant, entirely poisonous.

All parts of all Baneberry varieties (red and white) are highly poisonous, the bane of Baneberry. The berries are deadly. Ingestion of as few as two berries by children will cause death from cardiac arrest. Six for an adult.

Landscape Features

Overview, Spillway and Pond

Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Goodbye for 2022

Our last Monarch for 2022

We successfully raised nine (9) Monarch butterflies this season, leaving us feeling, “Let’s do more in 2023.” Today’s post cover is a portrait of the last. She flew yesterday, September 23rd, forty (40) feet up to the oak tree shading the back yard, lost to us in the leaves.

Her chrysalis is the second from right in the following family photograph.

Here are two videos of our last 2022 Monarch to emerge and the first.

Emergence of a Monarch butterfly from a chrysalis 4K UHD with relaxing music. A caterpillar attached itself with silk to hang by its two rear legs to transform to a green chrysalis. Fourteen days later the chrysalis shell becomes translucent. Inside the chrysalis the Monarch butterfly moves to shed the shell. The released insect’s abdomen pumps fluid, expanding the crumpled wings. The entire process takes twenty minutes, compressed in this video to about six (6) minutes.

A real time film of our first 2022 Monarch Butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, then expanding its wings in 4K UHD with relaxing music. The process takes twenty (20) minutes.

The butterfly emerges from the chrysalis about fourteen (14) days after setting. To the photographer needing to capture the moment a signal is the green, jewel-like chrysalis turns transparent, apparently darkening to reveal the compressed form of the butterfly. It can be hours before the insect breaks free, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV dslr camera is used for this. I set it on a Manfrotto BeFree Carbon Fiber tripod (with ball head), a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro lens for optics. The Mark IV has WIFI and HD video capabilities, so I connected the camera to an Apple IPhone 7 using Canon software. Monitoring the transparent chrysalis in real time, I continually reset the video from the IPhone until the butterfly emerged. I used AVS video editor software to produce the film for YouTube publication.

Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Sky Reflections

A Wall with Moss Padding

A Finger Lakes Trail footbridge crosses Fish Kill on the edge of Treman State Park.

These are images of the sky reflected on Fish Kill from that footbridge on August 24, 2022.

Robert H. Treman State Park, Enfield, Tompkins County, Finger Lakes Region, New York State

Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Contemplation II

Climb down the cliff stair, 223 of them, to this quiet place.

A sole individual views Lucifer Falls from the Gorge Trail footbridge.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Click for a slideshow of this sequence of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.

Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills