Waterfall – Page 11 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Jennings Pond

Buttermilk Falls Source

October 20, 2020October 5, 2020 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

Tom Knight, “has been delighting children and their grown-ups with his original, interactive, musical puppet show since 1988,” in 2018 Pam, myself and the grandchildren were lucky enough to catch his act at Cornell University Johnson Museum. His CD, “Purple Pumpkin Pie” is in the car and, pre-Covid, I’d play it in the car while riding with the grandchildren.

“Jennings Pond,” a song on that CD, mentions a local town, Danby. Until last week I did not think twice about it. Driving into Ithaca, heading north on Route 13, there’s a compelling view down a valley. I’ve taken exploratory drives down there on the West Danby-Spencer road, seeing what there is to see. A week ago last Sunday, turning left at West Danby, up the hill forming the east valley wall, on Station Road, then Bald Hill Road, passing by the Finger Lakes Trail through Danby State Forest, on the right I spied a compelling open area, a pond, and this sign….

I proceeded onto a footbridge over the pond outlet, the source for Buttermilk Creek,…….

…and continued to a footpath, southeast and away from the pond. Toward the Finger Lakes Trail? I left this adventure for another day.

Cow Sheds (waterfall)

A Waterfall with this unusual name.

October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 MichaelStephenWills11 Comments

The gorge takes a turn here to face the west, where I caught the late afternoon sun lowering in these three shots in close sequence.

Late May, South Rim Trail

Dangerous Practices

June 29, 2020June 21, 2020 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Today, I have a companion post to “A Summer Flower and Waterfalls” from a time of Coronavirus (COVID-19) from a walk cut short by inconsiderate people not following New York laws.

All photographs and videos are from an Apple IPhone 7.

Here is a long and close shot of Columbine Flowers thriving on the edge of a gorge cliff.

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With a video of the movement of this wildflower against a backdrop of flowing water over a 100 feet below.

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A scan of the upper gorge with some marvelous clouds.

Continuing onto the forest trail I spotted this Jack-In-The-Pulpit. Here is a photograph and short video.

My walk this day was cut short by joggers, unmasked, on the narrow trail. For each I stepped off to put 6 feet between us. So inconsiderate and unnecessary, selfish.

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Reveal

January 24, 2019January 24, 2019 MichaelStephenWills23 Comments

The elements come into focus, revealing Ludlowville Falls, near Lansing, New York. On the eastern side of Cayuga Lake, Salmon Creek plunges 35 feet over this limestone shelf. Pioneers constructed a grist mill at this site.

Here we see The Fang hanging over the entrance to The Cave. There is falling water overall, but especially the center section (can you see it?). The weight of accumulated ice fractured a portion of the frozen cascade.

The Cave?

January 17, 2019January 17, 2019 MichaelStephenWills25 Comments

Flowing water eroded away until this durable limestone strata. The majority of sedimentary rock is shale, only 6% is limestone. Throughout the Finger Lakes and elsewhere, this is why when flowing water exposed the edge of a limestone strata, the underlying, soft shales are worn away to reveal a waterfall, ever deepening. Eventually, the support of the limestone washes away to form this ledge. Here it is an ephemeral cave behind a curtain of ice.

See “The Fang?” for the first post of this series.