Monday, November 28, 2005

Priscilla, a schooner


Priscilla
At the Suffolk County Maritime Museum
This boat was used in the Great South Bay and is currently being restored at the museum.
For more information about the museum Click here

Sunday, November 27, 2005

The Main House, The Roosevelt's...


The main house...

See below for additional information.
Don't forget to check the archieves for November also!

Here is a link to an older photo of the house...click here.

Carriage House at Roosevelt Family Estate


Carriage house at the estate.
See below for more information about the Roosevelt Family summer home.
Don't forget to click on the photo to see a larger version.
The house is now a museum and is currently being restored.
The historical society is working to restore this entire estate to its original condition.
Don't you just love the Victorian yellow?
The woodwork in the interior of the main house is amazing!

Friday, November 25, 2005

Roosevelt Family Estate


In our neighborhood...
The Roosevelt Family, cousins of the Presidents, somehow, had a summer estate here on the southern shore of Long Island.
The home is now a museum. It is a beautiful piece of property, bordering the river.
House tours are on Sundays only.
The Historical Society has been restoring the property, and it is, and always will be, a work in progress.
I previously posted photos of the community church cemetery.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving, 2005!


Happy Thanksgiving! Just a quick autumn photo to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm off to cook a turkey...

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Two Crosses


Tombstones at the St. Ann's Cemetery in Sayville, NY.
Click on the photo to see the larger size.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Viet Nam War Veteran's Memorial at Bald Hill


Long Island's Viet Nam Veteran's Memorial at Bald Hill.
One of the highest points on Long Island, visitors can see both the north and south shores. It was a beautiful, clear day today and visibility was excellent.
Some of the remaining flags and flowers were left from the Veteran's Day ceremonies.
Beautiful day, beautiful place but very somber.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Garden of the Unforgotten

St. Ann's Church Cemetery: Garden of the Unforgotten
Some interesting tombstones and lots of history for this small, but very historical town.
In addition to local family names, members of the Roosevelt family are here. The Roosevelts had a summer home, estate, here on Brown's Creek and St. Ann's Church was their parish.
______________________________________
Don't forget to click on each photo to see the larger size!

Friday, November 18, 2005


An older photo. I am trying to take some of my photos off the computer. I have so many now, it's getting cluttered. I wanted to post this before it's removed and I forget about it. It's one of my favorites. This Black-capped Night-heron was just sitting on a tree trunk in the river where I was fishing. I felt like I had a fishing buddy all day. My husband was a quarter mile away down the river, but my bird friend was right there!

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Watch Hill, Fire Island


Beautiful day on Fire Island.
The same day as the photo below.
This is a walkway to Watch Hill, which is part of the National Seashore. There is ferry service to this park and nature trails to walk, complete with wild life and a visitor center.
Of course, the nature center is closed this time of year and the ferry is not in service .
We walked along the beach to reach this area.
Try to get here next year for a visit. Bring the kids!
The ferry leaves from Patchogue.
I think it's worth it!
~~~~~~~~

Monday, November 14, 2005

Cool Day at the Beach


For me, it's never too cold to go to the beach.
Only the wind would stop us from taking a boat ride.
If it's very windy, of course boating is out of the question. Usually if the air is calm, then the water is calm.
This is a photo of the Atlantic Ocean.
You can see how calm the water is. Even though I woke up on this day to temperatures of 28 degrees F, it was very warm walking on the beach.
It actually was a perfect day. The air was crisp and cool. We had the beach to ourselves. The birds were there just enjoying the beautiful weather with us.
It won't be long before the ice and snow prevents these little boat trips and the boat will be put away for winter. For now, I will enjoy every day!

Saturday, November 12, 2005

A Walk on the Beach


This is an area of sand dune on Fire Island. The plants help keep the dunes together and protect the beach from the ocean and erosion.
Autumn affects the plants here too.
Don't you just love the deep colors?
I shot this in RAW and worked on it in Photoshop. There is extra work to post photos this way, but I think, sometimes it's worth it.
It was a beautiful day today, Saturday, November 12, 2005.
I dressed warm because the air was cool and we were going for a boat ride. When I woke, it was only 28 degrees.
Well, I was too warm once we started walking.
The sky was clear. We had the beach to ourselves. The seagulls were relaxing in the sun.
The air smelled fresh and clean.
The water was blue, and clear and the marina was empty.
I had my camera....
Wonderful day!

Autumn color in the Catskills. This photo was from a few weeks ago when we went fly-fishing in the West Branch of the Delaware River.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Immature Gull on Fire Island


Another immature gull, after a stop in Photoshop.
Click on the photo to see it in its large size.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

To Photoshop or not to Photoshop.....


Just testing my Photoshop experiments. I don't usually enhance my photos, except maybe for cropping, but I thought I would try. There is so much to know in Photoshop and it all must be done on the computer, after the shoot of course. I don't have enough time to fuss with creations. I like to shoot and post! I would love to photo all the beautiful birds around me. Long Island is an amazing place. We are surrounded by water and seem to be in the path of migrating birds. Keep coming back to visit here...and leave a comment.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005


One of my photos made into a stamp. Did you know you can have your own stamps made? They are much more expensive that 37 cents each though, and accepted by the post office. I'm not using this one. I won't do it at all. This was just an experiement. Fllickr has some fun tools to use on posted photos.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Sunday, November 06, 2005


The ocean nearby...How long before the ocean claims the land? Homes that would be worth $800,000. cannot sell and probably won't be here after the winter.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

New York City Street Fair


These are just a few items for sale on the streets of New York City.
There was a fair today, Saturday, on Madison Ave. The avenue was closed to traffic and filled with booths selling all sorts of items, large and small, and multi-ethnic foods to eat.
Tomorrow, November 6, 2005, there will be the NYC Marathon Race. The city had a unique energy and feeling about it. I was happy to be there today!

Friday, November 04, 2005

Davis Park, Fire Island, NY


Davis Park was in the news today. Houses there are falling into the sea.
I did go today and see for myself, the destruction of the beach from the recent storm activity.
It really was a beautiul day, actually warmer than I expected. I had to remove my jacket after walking for awhile!
The beach was empty except for a few policeman and carpenters. It was a last attempt to secure the shaky foundations. Some of these houses won't last the winter.
You can see the photos I took today on my Flickr Site...
I'll post a few more photos here in the next few days.

A Different Beach


The empty beach...You can see the driftwood washed ashore from the October storms. Further down the beach is Davis Park where the houses are being washed into the ocean.
The Long Island newspaper, Newsday, had an article today about the storm washing away the sand and summer homes.
Here is the article, I just wish it had photos with it. I guess I'll have to go there myself to take some photos! Wish me luck!

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

SLR Digital Photography; Thanks Mom!


I am trying to learn as much as possible about photography. It does get complicated.
I tried taking this photo of the duck with different f-stops to see the change in focus. I also tried adjusting the white balance. This is set for a cloudy day, although it was sunny outside. I was told it makes the blue, more blue-er.
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...the digital SLR cameras, in my case my Nikon D70 which I just love, have many different settings and adjustments. It's like having a darkroom right in the camera. I'm still learning and at times, I become frustrated, but I know that I can learn just about anything if I put my mind and energy to it.
My mother always told me that I could learn anything because... I can read and follow directions. I think she was right.
It was a good thing for a mother to tell her young daughter! Thanks Mom!

Monday, October 31, 2005

Halloween Sail, 2005


Halloween...an absolutely beautiful day. The air is warm and clear. Warm, even on the Great South Bay. Our friend Dave decided to take his boat out for one last sail before the boat comes in, out of the water, for winter.
Luckily, my husband and I had no plans.
We sailed with no problems and perfect weather and talked about our former co-workers (we worked with Dave at one time) who are at the job today. Dave had to be home by 3 so we were back before the sun went down and the weather got cooler...just in time for trick-or-treaters.
Great day, great sail! Thanks again, Dave!

Sunday, October 30, 2005


Darker skies...

Returning from the beach...the river at the end of the day. A storm is in the distance but the light is reflected off the white boats.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Odd Couple Review

Okay, I could have written this. It's the review about the show I saw two nights ago. Read it in the NY Times
Click Here

Thursday, October 27, 2005


Sunny sky, beautiful buildings...sometimes the city looks so pretty!

Wednesday, October 26, 2005


We went into Manhattan today to see "The Odd Couple" with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Very funny, but you know the story. I really enjoyed it and It was still difficult for me to not make comparisons with the movie or tv show. My loss, I guess.Today was the last day of previews. It opens tomorrow and I will be curious to see the reviews.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Storm and the Cemetery

mountain cemetery
We found this cemetery out in the country-side, on a hill. I thought this was very interesting! Some of the tombstones or headstones were very old, from the 1700s.
A storm was on its way.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Posting Problems

Blogger has been acting up lately. I don't know why.
Sometimes the administrative powers try to improve things but the html codes and the way things work, have conflicting orders. Things freeze up, you know, the way computers do sometimes...
I was posting from Picasa and Hello, two programs that made Blogger available. It's free, if you're interested. I noticed that more and more people are getting their own blog or photoblog.
Maybe it's too expensive for Google/Picasa to run for free. I don't know.
Now, since I am having problems, I am posting from Flickr.
I have to post the photo to Flickr first...extra work.
I thought I wouldn't like Flickr, but it is another type of photo sharing.
I like the groups and interactions with people from around the world. Some of the photos that people take, are amazing!
Check out my side bar for a link to my Flickr photos! Nothing compared to others I see.
Well, for now I will keep all of my sites and just take photos for fun.
I hope the people who visit this site, enjoy the photos.
Thanks for stopping by!
Also, check out the archives on the sidebar. There are lots of photos!

Border

West Branch of the Delaware River (7)
A small stone, looking like a tombstone, is off the side of this country road to show the New York-Pennsylvania border. Very interesting spot and not very well marked. Near Deposit and Hancock, NY.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

River in Autumn

West Branch of the Delaware River
West Branch of the Delaware River

Fly Fishing


The weather was beautiful but we didn't catch any fish. It is really not the season so it gives us a reason to return in the spring.

Hillside Church


Church in the hillside, near Deposit, NY. We went for a mini-vacation to see the autumn colors and try a little fly-fishing. We had a wonderful time. We spent a few days in a log cabin on the West Branch of the Delaware River.

Autumn on Lake Oquaga


Autumn on Lake Oquaga, near Deposit, NY.

Autumn on Lake Oquaga, near Deposit, NY. We went for a mini-vacation to see the autumn colors and try a little fly-fishing.

Friday, October 14, 2005


Ground Zero. The gates were closed so we couldn't see the big opening, or hole, in the ground. People walk around here with a reflective , somber expression.

aliens...no, two people in one of the tunnels in Central Park

Wednesday, October 12, 2005


A small alley off Fulton Street in lower Manhattan. We did a great deal of walking, all day.

Our NYC trip for our Oregon friends...

Monday, October 10, 2005


We were in Manhattan, October 9th, the day of the big bomb threat. Plenty of police around. We were concerned but went anyway. Anthony and Lorna were on vacation; they didn't care! Read more below about our fun-filled weekend!

Day two of Lorna and Anthony's visit. This is a fishing boat returning to Montauk Point. Cloudy, misty and rain, but they didn't care...they were on vacation.

We took Anthony and Lorna to Montauk Point...the end of Long Island. The sky was gray and cloudy. It was misty and rainy. They didn't care...

spider outside the guest bedroom window. They didn't care...they were on vacation!

Lorna and Anthony


Our friends, Lorna and Anthony from Oregon. We gave them the grand tour of Long Island and of New York City for the past few days. They loved it and we had lots of fun! It was cloudy and over-cast the entire time but it didn't matter....they were on vacation! They work for the post office in Oregon so we took this photo for them to show their co-workers.

Friday, October 07, 2005


Great South Bay on a gray cloudy day, October 7th, 2005. We have visitors from Oregon...their first time to NY. The weather would not stop the boat ride to Fire Island. I think they really enjoyed seeing the beach and riding across the bay.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005


Atlantic Ocean on Fire Island. The water was low tide which seemed to create more waves further out.

walkway to the beach. The weather the last few days has been spectacular...clear, dry and the perfect temperature. A perfect day to barbeque on the beach and enjoy the fresh air, birds and search for seashells.

Monday, October 03, 2005


The K Boat. This is a Suffolk County Police Boat. It patrols the Great South Bay. Boats of different sizes and functions have different letter markings.

Sunday, October 02, 2005


Young surfers trying out the surf today, October 2, 2005, one of the most perfect days for the beach.