Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Am I looking back or looking ahead? A little of both I guess.

A new year...wow! I never thought I would make it to 2006. When I was younger, I don't remember how old, I thought that the year 2000 was so far away and I would never see it. I guess most people were thinking the same thing back then. After all, that would be the 21st century, something seen in sci-fi movies.
Well, here I am at the end of 2005 and still enjoying life! My only regrets....well, they're not important.
I hope that you are bringing in the new year with hope and good health, with few, if any, regrets for 2005.
Happy New Year!

New Lens for the Nikon D70

Waiting for spring...I was just testing out the lighting for this new lens, 50mm f/1.8
Only available light was from a window on a rainy, cloudy day. Pretty isn't it?
I think I'm gonna love this lens!

Fab Faux as a Christmas Present

My sons gave us a Christmas present of two tickets to see the Fab Faux in Manhattan. Actually the idea was for the family to all go together. It was a great idea!

My sons were being very thoughtful. The family all met in the city and we treated them to dinner...not an inexpensive extra.

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The Fab Faux is a group that musically imitates the Beatles. This night they were performing the songs from the White Album. Great idea!

What I learned about myself:

• I love a live performance and....
• I'm getting too old to wait on line for over an hour for "will call" tickets, especially in the cold.
• I'm getting too old to see a show that starts at 9:30 pm.
• I still love rock n' roll music.
• I no longer want to stand all night in a large room with a sticky floor to watch a band (they were very good, by the way).
• I love the driving beat and sound of electric guitar.
• I don't like crowds.
• I look for fire exits in large crowded buildings.
• I hate dirty bathrooms with wet floors, red lights and un-identifyable items in the toilets.
• I don't want to stand near the stage speakers.
• I'm getting too old for things I did when I was in my twenties.

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I know my kids thought this was a great gift. We did enjoy the music, clapped our hands, sang along, laughed, and remembered why we loved the Beatles.

I got to bed by 2:30 am, after the drive back from the city.

I'm exhausted.

Merry Christmas and thank you boys! I did love it, I did!

Christmas morning on Long Island, 2005

Christmas morning...the fog took over during the night. Merry Christmas, once again, from Long Island!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas from the bird lover...me!

Click on the photo to see a larger size...

Good Wishes to You!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and visitors!

May you have a wonderful holiday filled with good health and happiness!

Diving Ducks by the Hundreds

Diving ducks...hundreds of them!

You can hear the gun shots over the water.

Poor little ducks...they are hunted for sport, not food.

Sights and Sounds of Winter

A lonely tree in the field. This tree is down by the beach, just yards from the water. I heard some gunshots in the distance. This time of year, duck hunters hide in the reeds and shoot the ducks in the Great South Bay.

There are hundreds of ducks floating on the water. They are the diving ducks, diving for food...small crustaseans, fish and plant life.

New camera...the Canon Powershot S80.

Recently purchased with an underwater housing... we wanted a light, relatively inexpensive camera for traveling and taking photos when we scuba dive. So far, I love the camera!

Another photo from my NY City visit...The "lipstick" building, named for its shape.

A statue at Rockefeller Center, New York City. We took a ride into the city on Monday. We wanted to get in a quick visit before the transit strike. Beautiful day, cold, but beautiful. We walked from 2nd Ave at 57th Street to 9th Ave at 34th Street...a long walk but well worth the trip. A stop into B&H Photo, a wonderful store for photo equipment, and I bought myself some new lenses for Christmas...the only thing I really wanted!...other than world peace and good health, of course! Merry Christmas!

Great South Bay in December

Great South Bay on a December afternoon.

This is the Blue Point Marina and the boats are all gone for winter. The bay is calm. Lack of boat traffic keeps the water calm along with mild wind.

Sometimes the bay freezes over and ice sailing is done. Needed, is a little sailboat with ice-skate type blade runners underneath. A real sight to see!

Carolina: 1910-2005

My Aunt Clara...

I took this photo a few years ago with my first digital camera, at my home.

She died this week at age 95. Beautiful woman...and independent.

One of the last siblings of my father's to leave this earth.

We didn't see much of her in the last 20 years. My father died in the early 1990s.

Aunt Carolina, Aunt Clara to us, was independent until the end. She lived alone and did not want to be a burden to her children. She worked most of her adult life which was not common for her generation.

The visit you see here was wonderful for me. I picked her up in Queens, along with my mother, and they spent a few days with me. Aunt Clara brought old photos and lots of family information.

It was a wonderul experience, one I'm happy to have put together.

If you are interested in your family history....don't wait.

Go to your older relatives and get the information you need. Let them talk. Once they are gone, the story will never be told!

Here's to Aunt Clara........may you rest in peace.

My father...

My most favorite photo of my father, taken in the 1940s.

My parents owned a store in Brooklyn, where I grew up. Isn't he good looking? He loved those little Italian cigars!

His sister, 96 years old, just died. She was still relatively healthy and lived alone till the end.

Ice crystals on the bay. Splashes of water form ice on the branches. The last few days have been very cold on Long Island.

Bridge was built in 1936...

Bryan's Bridge...This very old bridge over Brown's River was dedicated to Bryan E. Schneck, a neighbor boy, then young man, who died in 1997.
He worked for the Department of Energy and pushed to have the bridge reconstructed. He died in a work related accident at 30 years old.
This bridge is a favorite spot for people to fish and catch crabs. Every year it is decorated for the holidays.

From Heckscher State Park

Robert Moses Bridge in the distance. We took a walk in Heckscher State Park yesterday.

It was very cold, about 18 degrees F.

We didn't stay long, just long enough to take some photos.

The bridge looks like it is floating out there due to the "mirage" effect between sky and the water. The water here is the Great South Bay, looking west.

It was cold but very beautiful!

Click here for a link to the park information.

Lone fisherman...this area is called Bubbles Falls.

A Hooded Merganser....Before I moved to Long Island, I thought ducks were just ducks....I now know better. This is a male diving duck, a Hooded Merganser. Very beautiful and very easily frightened. You can't feed these breadcrumbs. They dive for small crustaceans, and plant life, that they find underwater. I used a zoom lens for this one!

Heron, flying away. See photo below.

Great Blue Heron

I saw this Great Blue Heron in the canal where I live.

It was an amazing day because there was not just this one, but TWO heron and a white EGRET, all hunting for fish! (I guess that's fishing!)

I couldn't run to get my camera fast enough.

I know that if I had a better lens or even a scope, this photo would be crisper and clearer.

I also know that taking photos of wildlife takes skill and just a little luck.

Island in winter...after the snow, the island shows high spots. In summer, they are barely visible since the foliage hides the hills

Another snowy, gray-sky, kind of day...Perfect day to stay in and get ready for the holidays. There is always so much to do, this time of year. Holiday decorations need to be displayed and presents need to be wrapped. Just looking out at the snow will help put me in the holiday spirit!

We went into Manhattan on Saturday to see the play "Touch of the Poet" and walked over to Rockefeller Center see the lighted tree.

Wonderful decorations and...

...the people there, many people, add to the holiday spirit.

A synagogue in New York City

Near Rockefeller Center, Christmas Decorations...

Snow on a pine tree. Just a gentle snowfall, but it is cold and will linger for awhile.

Pathway through the woods.

This photo is from the "first snow" set. I ran outside early on Sunday since it snowed for the first time this season, and I had been waiting.

The sky was gray and the weather cool but I had been waiting for a beautiful snowfall so I could take some pictures. This was not the ideal day but it was interesting.

A perfect "photo" day would have been brighter, so the sun could reflect off objects and show vivid colors.

I'll wait...winter doesn't officially begin until December 21st. I'm sure to have lots of snow before spring! Don't you think?

Long Island's first snowfall

December 4, 2005 today and we are having our first snowfall on Long Island.

The sky is gray and the wind is calm.

It snowed just 2 or 3 inches but everything turned white and beautiful.

More snow scheduled for tomorrow!

Beautiful snowfall and calm river. The sky and water look gray but beautiful.

The water reflects the bare trees.

The sound is one of quiet calm with birds and church bells in the distance.

This photo was taken on November 27, 2005. It was amazing that we still were able to use our boat. I guess it was our last boat ride for the year. Just about ten o'clock in the morning, the water is very calm; there was no wind and no other boats. Out of the distance came this large object, soon to be realized, a ferry returning from Fire Island. Some of the communities do have year round ferry service.

tugboat...the Charlotte

Tugboat Charlotte at the Long Island Maritime Museum.

Restoration will soon begin on this historical beauty.

For more information about the museum Click here

Click on each photo to see the larger version!

Two Florida Pelicans...I took this photo last February when visiting friends in Florida. The pelicans were not concerned with me being so close. I guess they are used to being around tourists!

Garage at Meadow Croft

John E. Roosevelt Estate at Meadow Croft
Restored garage at the Meadow Croft, John E. Roosevelt Estate. The Roosevelt family was one of the first to have a car.
For more information about the estate and museum click here.

Shed in need of restoration...