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Tag: 2019
Connecticut Hill Autumn
dramatic sky
Connecticut Hill from Harvey Hill Road on a late October afternoon. Newfield of the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.
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Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Autumn Fields, Finger Lakes
Hay Bales!!
The land opens up on the slopes of Connecticut Hill, Newfield of the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.
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Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
A Brief Happy Movie on the Solstice
a gorge walk
Walking around Taughannock Falls New York State Park on the solstice of 2019 starting from the Black Diamond trail head on Jackson Road, down the South Rim trail, up the North Rim Trail. We had a great deal of rain this week and the water filled the falls the full channel width.
The header photograph is a waterfall of Fillmore Glen, also in the Finger Lakes.
For a full screen view, click on the UTube icon, lower right of the video panel. The resolution is not very good so I also posted the source videos.
The movie is from the following videos and photos from my IPhone. The quality is better than the compilation video. I uploaded the following videos directly to WordPress. I was not able to get the “full view” icon to work on my browser. Enjoy
Click on any of the photographs for a larger view.
A turkey vulture soars by towards the end of the following.
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
The Thaw at Taughannock Falls
A Friday Evening Stroll through a February Thaw
Pam and I were drawn outside the day after Valentine’s a bit of sun, an unreliable warm breeze, a promise of exercise. Our expectations were disappointed for all but the last at the foot of the Taughannock Falls gorge trail.
We had a reminder mid-February marks the start of avian mating behavior with this addition to the view from Taughannock Creek, the first large waterfall. For the cold, drizzly excursion I chose the IPhone, in a waterproof case, for the images. The fanicful birdhouse inscription reads “The Old Birds from Pa.”
The winding gorge takes a general east, southeasterly direction. Where the sun cannot reach the snow was reduced to a treacherous slushy ice mix more nasty than dangerous.
Of all the area hiking experiences, Taughannock Gorge Trail is the only one available year round. The gorge is wide with enough room for the footpath to avoid the cliff edge. Today, there were places were ice formations were throwing large ice chunks down the slope. The park ranges place tree trunks along the cliff base, with warning signs to stay away. Still, there are visitors who stray too close with fatal outcomes reported by local news.
Pam was fascinated by the appearance of snow and ice accumulated on the talus, here seen from the Taughannock Falls viewing bridge.
You can just pick out the viewing bridge in the Falls Overlook video.
Photo by Pam.
Taughannock Falls bound by ice is a most dramatic sight. I need to post photographs from a 2005 visit during an especially frigid February. Here, the falls have thrown off the ice, leaving this house-size chunk.
The surrounding gorge walls are continually frost coated by the mist.
In more clement seasons the Gorge Trail ends much closer to the falls. Today, it was closed as, during winter and especially thaws, blocks of the sandstone cap break away to fall with great force across that part of the trail. This viewing area is visible in the Falls Overlook video.
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Across the Plain
Sere grasses
The Finger Lakes are formed by a series of inclined planes spread across central New York State.
Here we look northwest across the land between Cayuga and Seneca lakes, all forests and farm land. Seneca Lake is not visible,15 miles distant, and the Finger Lakes National Forest in between.
The only town is Hector, New York, population 4,854 in the 2,000 census. The foreground are sere grasses, a field of beef cattle and pond.
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Across the Plain
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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Autumn Apple Orchard, landscape orientation
compare portrait vs. landscape orientation.
Unharvested apples on the ground and branches of this apple orchard off Black Oak Road on the slopes of Connecticut Hill, Newfield in the Finger Lakes of New York.
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Autumn Apple Orchard, portrait
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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Autumn Apple Orchard, portrait orientation
apples cling into winter
Unharvested apples on the ground and branches of this apple orchard off Black Oak Road on the slopes of Connecticut Hill, Newfield in the Finger Lakes of New York.
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Autumn Apple Orchard, portrait
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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Black Oak View
Autumn Ridge
Black Oak Road approaches Connecticut Hill from the north. At this point a long view to west opens up that include Cayuta Lake and the distant highlands of Seneca Lake.
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Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Autumn Road
A Long View
Here we have a vista of Bostwick Road descent off West hill into the Enfield valley and, then, in the distance, up Harvey Hill. Late autumn foliage graces the scene.
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Bostwick Road, October
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
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