Standing on Enfield Gorge rim above Lucifer Falls on a clear October afternoon, the slopes of the far gorge cloaked in shades of green, yellow and red.
Below, the Gorge Trail runs below a sedimentary rock cliff.
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Luficer Falls Overlook, northeast
Click for a slideshow of this sequence of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.
Luficer Falls Overlook, northeastLucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookLucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
A full sweep of Lucifer Falls on an autumn evening, the sun hidden behind the gorge walls. Here the Gorge Trail emerges from the shelter of the gorge, emerging into a dizzying view.
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Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Click for a slideshow of this sequence of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookLucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Standing on the trail alongside Lucifer Falls, crane your neck, up and up to the cliff top. Look closely to see the protective rock wall of the overlook.
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Lucifer Falls Overlook from the Gorge Trail
The Rim Trail includes this overlook of Lucifer Falls with, upstream, the Devil’s Kitchen waterfall, the path of the Gorge Trail in between.
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
The full sweep of Lucifer Falls on an autumn evening, the sun hidden behind the gorge walls. Here the Gorge Trail emerges from the shelter of the gorge, emerging into a dizzying view.
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Brink of Lucifer Falls
Lucifer Falls Overlook from the Gorge Trail
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
This trail, built into the slate/sandstone gorge wall, follows the descent of Lucifer Falls. Here we view the brink and the path alongside. Follow this trail to Devil’s Kitchen, up and around the corner.
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Brink of Lucifer Falls
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Augusts are typically dry in the Finger Lakes, drawing down creeks to a thin flow perfect for photography. I took the opportunity of Sunday leisure time to climb into Fillmore Glen gorge, set up the tripod and shoot.
The sun broke through the clouds for this shot.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, June 15th, we were on a turn to heat and humidity with this day of light breeze, temperature in the 70s making hiking around Tremen Park a joy.
These snapshots, taken on the fly with an IPhone 7, are the high points.
The first is a dandelion look alike with yellow flowers, petals shaped like teeth, though on a long hard stem and multiple flowers on a stalk. Known as meadow hawkweed, yellow hawkweed, field hawkweed, king devil, yellow paintbrush, devil’s paintbrush, yellow devil, yellow fox-and-cubs, and yellow king-devil with two scientific names: Pilosella caespitosa and Hieracium caespitosum.
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Pilosella caespitosa
Click for slideshow.
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
When Pam and I made Westwood Knoll our home in 2011, to the north, across the street, was an empty wooded lot that has since been subdivided into three of the last home sites in Ithaca. This summer, the corner lot was razed of all its trees, the lovely mature cherry, sycamore, ash, maple reduced to stumps to be cut up and carted away. There was a positive in that the lot was overgrown and unsightly, but every spring the upper reaches were masses of blooms and young green leaves.
In a heavy rain on September 5th, 2017 the two parts, call them “modules”, were delivered, and then sat until September 7th to be assembled in one day. The process itself was interesting to witness and, while being otherwise occupied, I came out now and then to document the progress.
Here are my photographs. What do you think? Please leave comments.
The foundation installation took a week to construct. It started with, literally, blocks of styrofoam held together with plastic and assembled by hand, like a child’s block set. There is an 8 inch gap in between filled with concrete. There was NO rebar used. bolts were inserted for attaching the modules.Module Two was delivered on wheels and moved into position by this semi.Module Two will eventually face the opposite direction. That will be the rear door. This is our swimming pool, I use garden hoses to siphon excess rainwater.Most of the workers were dressed like this, casually, no protection for feet or head. We were concerned with this. No one was injured this day, as far as we know.The worker is standing on a board on which the crane wheels will rest.Crane Boom End with hooks in transport configuration. These are attached to the modules for positioning over and lowering onto the foundation.This fellow arrived to take pictures from that smart phone.A versatile tracked loader used throughout the foundation construction and module installation.A worker prepares the hooks for use. No head protection was a concern to us.Yellow blocks of metal used to support the crane.. A railing of Module One is above the truck, to left.The red hook is ready.The hooks hang free, ready to use.This is where Module One was dumped on the side of the road on September 5th, two days before installation.We are looking here over the edge of our patio and landscaped yard to the site of module one, pre-installation, a worker approaching.The first step was to extricate module two from the mud and haul it up the street. A construction worker foreground, the boom of crane beyond.The semi backed Module Two into position, the crane boom and hooks loom.The workers were considerate of our lawn. There was minimal damage. The modules installed this day looks nothing like this image.From here Module Two will be lifted onto the foundation.Workers prepare foundation to receive Module Two while the unit is readied.I see only the black hook is in use.Another View of Module Two with worker. That is the bottom of our driveway.Module One was delivered with construction materials inside.The porch and entry door of Module One with worker and rope. The worker needs to negotiate the carrier.A 180 degree turn orients Module One to Module Two. The porch overhangs the foundation.
Positioning module one over foundation.
A worker observes from the interior of Module Two. Here is a closer view of the wire harness.
Final positioning of the module to form a whole structure.
The roof panels are here lifted to a peak. The shingles and such in place for installation. These are the materials delivered inside Module One.
Update: since this post was first published September 2017 the original owners moved to the southern USA after selling the property at an inflated price to a young Cornell professor.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
The Magnolia genus has been around for eons, come characteristics are protective from beetles as they existed before bees and relied upon beetles for fertilization. Our’s may be the species Magnolia dawsoniana (Dawson’s Magnolia), it shares many of the published characteristics: among them tolerance to our hardiness zone 5, flower color and shape, tree growth pattern.
This was an exceptional year for blooms. starting late April, lasting into May. The fence around trunks is for protection against bucks (male deer), from rubbing their horns in autumn.
Canon 50 mm f1.2
For most of these 2021 photographs I used the lens Canon 24 mm f/1.4L II USM, the one captioned 50 mm I used Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM. The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV dslr with the Manfrotto Studio tripod with hydrostatic ball head for all.
The last great year was 2018……
Canon 100 mm “macro” lens
For these 2018 photographs the Canon 24 mm and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L “Macro” lenses with Canon’s EOS-1Ds Mark III dslr.
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
“Grosse Isle quarantine station was on an island near Quebec in what is now Canada. It was one of the principal arrival ports for emigrants.
Emigration peaked in 1847 when nearly 100,000 Irish landed at Grosse Isle, straining the resources to breaking poinit. Severe overcrowding and an outbreak of typhus caused enormous suffering the the result was a large number of deaths amongst both immigrants and doctors.
New stricter laws were passed to encure that the catastrophe of 1847 was not repeated. Irish emigrant traffic increasingly flowed towards the United State inthe post-Famine period”. From the exhibit (below), Cobh Heritage Center.
In that horrible year of 1847, strict quarantine could not be enforced and many passengers, some carrying disease, were taken directly to Montreal or Quebec city. At least 5,000 died on Grosse Isle in 1847 and thousands more in Quebec, Montreal and during the voyage across the Atlantic.
The unprecedented crisis made it difficult for accurate records to be kept. Some lists were compiled giving details of the possessions of those who died. These lists make sombre reading as they describe the personal belongings of Irish men and women whose hopes of a new life in North America were never fulfilled.
The objects in this showcase provide an representation of the possessions of famine emigrants. From the exhibit (below), Cobh Heritage Center.
Posessions of Irish famine victims arriving at Grosse Ile near Quebec. 1847
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved