Posts from — May 2008

I stopped down to help out at the Lake Afton Cleanup event at the Old Library.  I was met by some familiar faces: Sandy Boker, my children’s Principle from Oxford Valley Elementary school met me and put me to work with her husband Dave.

Dave was working on clearing out the tunnel which drains the lake to the creek near the Grist Mill.  The basic idea is to free up the flow of water to prevent stagnation and overflow.

We started by clearing the debris blocking the flow of water from the lake to the creek under Main Street.    After unclogging the tunnel and loosening up some the sediment, Dave led Mark (another volunteer) and I to checkout the opposite end of the flow directly next to the Grist Mill.

The flow was impressive and after clearing another few logs from the water’s path it was back to the lake to continue the cleanup.

We cleared out a ton of weeds and laid down a lot of mulch and before long the Lake was looking pretty good.  Later, Larry Taylor was commissioned to move some boxes from the Library down into the basement.  I gladly offered to help - and grabbed my camera.

Here are some pictures from the day.

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Morning on the boat ramp

its warm and quiet now

The day is just beginning

and I pause to wonder how

with night just now behind us

how can it be so bright

the sun just barely up now

and its blinding yellow light

that bathes all my surroundings

and soothes my waking heart

but blinds me with its brightness

and forces me to start

to shade my face and block the view

or squint to see these sights

of morning boaters tacking up

to start their fishing rites.

This shot reminded me of the cover of Abbey Road… Except for the fact that these are Ducks and not Beatles… and the fact that there are only three, not four… Wildly reminiscent apart from that however, don’t you think?

Looks like they’ve got the roof nearly completely repaired on the old Patterson Farm Barn. Nice Job!

On a visit back to the Patterson Barn, I captured this shot from inside the screened in barn.

Coming back from the gym, I saw a deer in plain site - odd for this time off day. I stopped and went back, trying to get as close as possible for this shot. I must have been upwind from him because I was only able to get about 200 yards from before she bounded off.

The residents of Yardley were out in full force to celebrate Memorial Day. The roar of a low flying c17 transport plane startled the crowd and kicked off the parade in grand style.

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Red-Winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus - also known as carouge à épaulettes (French), Epauletspreeuw (Dutch), Rotschulterstärling (German), Ittero alirosse (Italian), Turpial Sargento (Spanish), Rödvingetrupial (Swedish). Common in the Yardley area, the Red-winged Blackbird forms roosting congregations in all months of the year. In the summer it will roost in small numbers at night in the wetlands where it forages and breeds. In winter, it can form huge congregations of several million birds, which congregate in the evening and spread out each morning. Some may travel as far as 80 km (50 mi) between the roosting and feeding sites. It commonly shares its winter roost with other blackbird species and European Starlings.