This year, 2023, an informational sign was installed next to the Charles Atwood memorial at the foot of the stone stairs leading to the Gorge Trail.
Charles Atwood The Father of Fillmore Glen
“From Botanist to Physician and Pharmacist: born in Summerhill, Cayuga Coun ty, New York State, Charles Atwood graduated from Cornell University in 1878 with a degree in Botany. He then obtained a medical degree in 1881 from the University of Iowa. He moved to Moravia, Cayuga County, to set up practice. In addition to being a physician, he was one of the first pharmacists to be licensed in New York State. A Passion for Plants. Although Dr. Atwood worked full time as a pharmacist, he retained his passion for botany. Atwood was very interested in the parcel of land that became Fillmore Glen Park, due to the rich botanic life found there. Atwood worked long and hard to establish Fillmore Glen State Park to preserve not only its plant life, but also the cascading waterfalls and unique geological formations.”
“Atwood’s Quest to Promote Fillmore Glen. June 1919: Dr. Atwood jointed the Moravia Chamber of Commerce and in October became the first representative to the Finger Lakes Association. April 1921: the Moravia Chanbmer of Commerce and the Finger Lakes Association pledged to name the local park after Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States, who was born in Summerhill. They planned a dedication ceremony for July. April, May, June 1921: Businessmen of Moravia organized a volunteer force to clear underbrush, remove dead trees and create walking paths for the July event. July 4, 1921: Ten thousand people came to Moravia to enjoy the dedication ceremony, band concerts, speeches, vaudeville acts, athletic events, dancing, fireworks and a parade. October 1923: With the Moravia Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Atwood submitted a proposal for the glen to become a state park. April 1924: The state legislature created the New York State Council of Parks. Dr. Atwood was appointed a commissioner for the Finger Lakes Region. June 1925: Fillmore Glen officially became a state park with 39 acres. Seven different parcels totaling 144 acres were added in 1926. The park has continued to grow to its current size of almost 1,000 acres. October 1928: After Dr. Atwood’s death in June, several hundred people attended the dedication of a memorial to honor the ‘Father of Fillmore Glen.'”
Reference: text in italics and quotes is from the new Charles Atwood Sign.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Our grandchildren spent the day with us, the last week of their summer before school begins. This July I had improved on my Monarch collection from 2022, when 9 butterflies were released, by two (2) caterpillars for a total of eleven (11) raised over several weeks to the chrysalis stage. When leaving to pick up the children for an outing one chrysalis skin had turned clear, a sign the enclosed butterfly is close to emerging. We returned from an outing for lunch to find this chrysalis unopened, so we checked now and then for progress. Four hours later, just as their Mom arrived for them, the grandchildren and everyone witnessed this event. What luck!!
“Migrating monarchs soar at heights of up to 1,200 feet. As sunlight hits those wings, it heats them up, but unevenly. Black areas get hotter, while white areas stay cooler. The scientists believe that when these forces are alternated, as they are with a monarch’s white spots set against black bands on the wings’ edges, it seems to create micro-vortices of air that reduce drag—making flight more efficient.”
“Monarchs begin leaving the northern US and Canada in mid-August. They usually fly for 4-6 hours during the day, coming down from the skies to feed in the afternoon and then find roosting sites for the night. Monarchs cannot fly unless their flight muscles reach 55ºF. On a sunny day, these muscles in their thorax can warm to above air temperature when they bask (the black scales on their bodies help absorb heat), so they can actually fly if it is 50ºF and sunny. But on a cloudy day, they generally don’t fly if it is below 60ºF.“
“Migrating monarchs use a combination of powered flight and gliding flight, maximizing gliding flight to conserve energy and reduce wear and tear on flight muscles. Monarchs can glide forward 3-4 feet for every foot they drop in altitude. If they have favorable tail or quartering winds, monarchs can flap their wings once every 20-30 feet and maintain altitude. Monarchs are so light that they can easily be lifted by the rising air. But they are not weightless. In order to stay in the air, they must move forward while also staying within the thermal. They do this by moving in a circle. The rising air in the thermal carries them upward, and their overall movement ends up being an upward spiral. Monarchs spiral upwards in the thermal until they reach the limit/top of the thermal (where the rising air has cooled to the same temperature as the air around it). At that point, the monarch glides forward in a S/SW direction with the aid of the wind. It glides until it finds another thermal and rides that column of rising air upwards again.”
This video includes an interview with Michael Wills about raising Monarch butterflies and this stage of the lifecycle. Video by Pam Wills using an IPhone 8
Reference: text in italics and quotes is from one of two online articles. “The monarch butterfly’s spots may be its superpower” National Geographic, June 2023 and “Fall Migration – How do they do it?” by Candy Sarikonda, September 2014.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
I set up a Manfrotto BeFree tripod with the Canon EOS 1DS Mark III mounted with the Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 L IS USM lens to capture our experience while entering Machu Picchu.
The eastern shoulder of Huayna Picchu is left and the Urubamba river curves around it. Leading the eye to the distance is an uninhabited andean valley covered in rain forest.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
“The central buildings of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary use the classical Inca architectural style of polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, called ashlar, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar.”
The site itself may have been intentionally built on fault lines to afford better drainage and a ready supply of fractured stone. ‘Machu Picchu clearly shows us that the Incan civilization was an empire of fractured rocks’.
Inca quarried the rock for Machu Picchu from the mountain ridge itself.
“The section of the mountain where Machu Picchu was built provided various challenges that the Incas solved with local materials. One issue was the seismic activity due to two fault lines. It made mortar and similar building methods nearly useless. Instead, the Inca mined stones from the quarry at the site, lined them up and shaped them to fit together perfectly, stabilizing the structures. Inca walls have many stabilizing features: doors and windows are trapezoidal, narrowing from bottom to top; corners usually are rounded; inside corners often incline slightly into the rooms, and outside corners were often tied together by “L”-shaped blocks; walls are offset slightly from row to row rather than rising straight from bottom to top.”
Main Temple survived multiple earthquakes
“Heavy rainfall required terraces and stone chips to drain rainwater and prevent mudslides, landslides, erosion, and flooding. Terraces were layered with stone chips, sand, dirt, and topsoil, to absorb water and prevent it from running down the mountain. Similar layering protected the large city center from flooding. Multiple canals and reserves throughout the city provided water that could be supplied to the terraces for irrigation and to prevent erosion and flooding.”
Agricultural Terraces
“The Incas never used wheels in a practical way, although their use in toys shows that they knew the principle. The use of wheels in engineering may have been limited due to the lack of strong draft animals, combined with steep terrain and dense vegetation. The approach to moving and placing the enormous stones remains uncertain, probably involving hundreds of men to push the stones up inclines. A few stones have knobs that could have been used to lever them into position; the knobs were generally sanded away, with a few overlooked.”
Reference: text in italics and quotes is from the Wikipedia “Machu Picchu”, web page.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
“For the Inca civilization, and especially during the time that the city of Machu Picchu was the most important place as Sanctuary of the Inca aristocratic class, the Congregation of its inhabitants in the numerous events, mostly rituals and celebrations worshipping sacred Inca gods, as it had a very important and momentous significance for the Incan society. All these celebrations ramifications in centers planned for the host to hundreds of citizens who saw the cult of their deities as well made. Also, this civilization granted a special attention details, to organization and structure of both class, of the city itself, so that the expert anthropologist community has been able to prove the existence of a straight relationship between the main square and the structuring of the Incan society.“
“Among the several locations which have shaped the division of the Citadel of Machu Picchu in their different urban areas and consequently in their different social classes, the Central Square or Main Plaza of Machu Picchu is the symbol of one of the most important for hosting the more far-reaching sacred celebrations of the Inca religion, due to its vast size are the ideal location to accommodate this type of mass religious and social ceremonies. The Central Square shows how the Incan society followed a strict, but at the same time, well-structured organization of the city in their different social classes; the anthropologist community states that this vast space was created to establish the spaces of the city limited the inhabitants depending on its status quo within Inca society.”
“After several studies by experts of the world community of anthropology, it has come to understand that the Main Plaza has played a very important role in the Inca society and the segregation of its social classes. This explains the reason for the existence of a physical axis to do distinction of several Inca social classes, which were separated one from the other not only different privileges of every social class, but also by the existence of the sub urban areas which host different individuals of the society. The main square makes this Division structural member of the urban section of the city of Machu Picchu differentiating the two sub urban sectors known as Hanan or high sector, which is home to buildings with greater religious significance for the city, and Hurin or low sector.”
“The areas around the Central Plaza of Machu Picchu are surrounded by a rocky structure that accommodates a series of terraces from where you can appreciate a great view of Huayna Picchu. Here is where is located the construction of three covers, which gives way to the Central or main square, complex of buildings typical of the Inca civilization called “kanchas”, which all have a symmetrical distribution in their facades and are in turn communicated with the other, which favored the life of society in the city to offer a space that housed both spaces end residential for labor purposes through different plugs and local. The massive yet refined architecture of Machu Picchu blends exceptionally well with the stunning natural environment, with which it is intricately linked. Numerous subsidiary centers, an extensive road and trail system, irrigation canals and agricultural terraces bear witness to longstanding, often on-going human use.”
“The rugged topography making some areas difficult to access has resulted in a mosaic of used areas and diverse natural habitats. The Eastern slopes of the tropical Andes with its enormous gradient from high altitude “Puna” grasslands and Polylepis thickets to montane cloud forests all the way down towards the tropical lowland forests are known to harbor a rich biodiversity and high endemism of global significance. Despite its small size the property contributes to conserving a very rich habitat and species diversity with remarkable endemic and relict flora and fauna.“
Reference: text in italics and quotes is from the UNESCO World Heritage and Google Earth, Machu Picchu, web pages.
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
After reading a New York Times article with the sub-title “A beekeeper in Savannah, Ga., found what turned out to be a yellow-legged hornet. State and federal officials, along with academic experts, are working to eradicate the species” I spotted this wasp foraging our flowers in Ithaca, New York. Its yellow legs caught my eye, although the apparent size (seemed larger in article photograph) and face and body markings seemed different. Using an Apple Iphone 14 ProMax I captured three macros from different angles, I attached them to an email to the local Cooperative Extension office. They gave me a quick response, confirming my suspicion this was a different “yellow-legged wasp.” The agent suggested it might be a “paper wasp” and directed me to a Cornell site were, for a $25 fee, an identification could be made.
Instead, this morning I found “insectidentification.org” with an excellent search capability. Under “Bee, Ant, Wasp and Similar insects that can be found in the state/territory of New York,” the third row from top spotted an exact match being the only Yellow-legged native wasp. I am going to respond to the agent with this identification as others in the area may have the same question, given the name of the invasive wasp.
“It is the Yellow-legged Mud-dauber Wasp (Sceliphron caementarium), also known as Black and Yellow Mud Dauber, Black-waisted Mud-dauber. Of the Latin species name, Sceliphron caementarium, caementarius means mason or builder of walls.”
“These are solitary parasitoid wasps and build nests made of mud. The family of sphecid wasps collect mud balls at puddle and pool edges for constructing nests comprised of up to 25 vertically arranged, individual cylindrical cells. Frequently, nests are built in shaded areas inside formations that are sheltered from the weather or from other environmental elements. These sites may be naturally-occurring, or man-made structures. Some examples are: under and inside various types of bridges, barns, garages, open-air porches, or under housing eaves. A female might take only a day to construct a cell requiring dozens of trips carrying mud. Females will add new cells one by one to the nest after each cell is provisioned. They provision these nests with spiders, such as crab spiders, orb-weaver spiders and jumping spiders in particular, as food for the developing larvae. Each mud cell contains one egg and is provided with several prey items. The wasp then seals the cell with a thick mud plug. After initial creation and covering of the clutch, this sphecid wasp uses more mud as a means covering and protecting the whole cluster of cells, thereby forming a smooth appearance, and a uniform nest. The entire nest may attain an area equal to, or larger than, the size of an average human fist.”
“After finishing a series of cells, she leaves and does not return. While consuming the prey and increasing in size, the larva molts several times, until it molts into a pupa. Once the pupa has developed into an adult wasp, the adult emerges from its pupal case and breaks out of its mud chamber.”
“Various parasites attack these nests, including several species of cuckoo wasps, primarily by sneaking into the nest while the resident mud dauber is out foraging.”
“Adults can be seen in mid-summer feeding on nectar at flowers, especially Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota), parsnips and water parsnips (Sium suave, Sium latifolium, Berula erecta). They have a low reproductive rate. Stings are rare due to their solitary and usually nonaggressive nature; however, nests are aggressively defended.“
“Like other solitary wasps, Sceliphron species are not aggressive unless threatened. They are sometimes regarded as beneficial due to their control of spider populations, though the spiders themselves may be beneficial in controlling pest insects.”
“This species is found in a wide variety of habitats, such as rock ledges, man-made structures, puddles and other water edges, cypress domes, in long leaf pines (Pinus palustris), and in turkey oaks.“
“S. caementarium is widespread in Canada, the United States, Central America and the West Indies, and has been introduced to many Pacific Islands (including Australia, Hawaii, and Japan), Peru and Europe, where it has become established in some countries of the Mediterranean Basin (Croatia, France and Corsica, Italy, Cyprus,Malta, the Canary Islands, and Madeira) and Austria, and Ukraine.“
“Sceliphron caementarium can reach a length of 24–28 mm (15⁄16–1+3⁄32 in). Their petiole is generally black and is about half the length of the entire abdomen, however the population in the desert southwest often has a yellow petiole. The thorax shows various yellow markings, while the abdomen is normally black, with yellow propodeum (typical of females). The eyes are black, the antennae are black, and the legs are yellow with black trochanters and femurs. Within the United States, it is the only species with yellow-marked legs. The wings are a tawny color.”
“In 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 crashed near Puerto Rico. The most probable cause of this Boeing 757 crash was a blockage in a pitot tube by a mud dauber’s nest.”
Around our home these mud-daubers favor hollows within our aluminum fencing.
Reference: text in italics and quotes paraphrased from Wikipedia “Sceliphron caementarium” and “Sceliphron.”
Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Pam examining thick moss growth on the sedimentary rock of Treman gorge. These layers of shale, sandstone, siltstone formed at the bottom of a broad, shallow sea over 380 million years ago.
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Pam examines the moss
Towards the bottom of the 223 Cliff Stair steps moss takes over the Devonian shale of the cliff wall surface. Here, the cliff shelters the wall from sunlight 365 days a year.
Cliff Stair Wall, autumn Moss
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Click for a slideshow of this sequence Lucifer Falls and Cliff Stair Views
Brink of Lucifer FallsLucifer Falls Overlook from the Gorge TrailLucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookPam on the Cliff StaircaseUnidentified TreeThis geranium species (scientific name Geranium robertianum) are also called “Herb-Robert” for a reputed ability to ward off disease and, in the Scottish Highlands, “red-shanks” for the deep red color of the stalks, seen in this photograph. Robert H. Treman New York State Park. Source, “How to Know the Wildflowers” by Mrs. William Star Dana, 1989, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.Autumn foot BridgeWoman on Footbridge, ContemplationOver the bridge
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
This geranium species (scientific name Geranium robertianum) are also called “Herb-Robert” for a reputed ability to ward off disease.
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Cliff Stair Wall, autumn Geranium and mosses
Scottish Highlands residents call these wild geraniums “red-shanks” for the deep red color of the stalks, seen in both photographs.
This geranium species (scientific name Geranium robertianum) are also called “Herb-Robert” for a reputed ability to ward off disease and, in the Scottish Highlands, “red-shanks” for the deep red color of the stalks, seen in this photograph. Robert H. Treman New York State Park. Source, “How to Know the Wildflowers” by Mrs. William Star Dana, 1989, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
Source, “How to Know the Wildflowers” by Mrs. William Star Dana, 1989, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Click for a slideshow of this sequence Cliff Stair Views
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookLucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookUnidentified TreePam on the Cliff StaircaseCliff Stair Wall, autumn with fern generationsCliff Stair Wall, autumn Geranium and mossesThis geranium species (scientific name Geranium robertianum) are also called “Herb-Robert” for a reputed ability to ward off disease and, in the Scottish Highlands, “red-shanks” for the deep red color of the stalks, seen in this photograph. Robert H. Treman New York State Park. Source, “How to Know the Wildflowers” by Mrs. William Star Dana, 1989, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.Wild geranium leaves tinged with autumn color above a gathering of spent oak and elm leaves. Robert H. Treman New York State Park of the Finger Lakes Region.
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Each autumn, species of fern turns yellow towards a winter death. Here we see growing from Devonian shale, both the yellowed and desiccated fern fronds. Robert H. Treman New York State Park.
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Cliff Stair Wall, autumn with fern generations
Click for a slideshow of this sequence Cliff Stair views
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookPam on the Cliff StaircaseCliff Stair Wall, autumn with hemlock
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
On a day in late October 2017 Pam and Mike did a photography walk. Here is Pam pausing to pose during a descent into the gorge on the cliff staircase after visiting the overlook high above Lucifer Falls, Robert H. Treman New York State Park in the Finger Lakes Region.
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Pam on the Cliff Staircase
Grasses, hemlock saplings, goldenrod, spent leaves and ferns on the wall of the 223 Cliff Stair steps.
Cliff Stair Wall, autumn with hemlock
Click for a slideshow of this sequence of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.
Pam on the Cliff StaircaseCliff Stair Wall, autumn with hemlock
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 