Upgrades?

  As Ozzy sang, "I'm going through some changes."
  The camera I got for $1 at a yard sale has been replaced with a gift from a student who never used her fancy camera after she got a smart phone.  I couldn't see the screen on my flip phone due to wear and tear and also felt I was missing out by not being able to see emomjis so got a pretty smart phone, I'm still learning and don't want to pay for data so we'll see how far I go with that.  It does take nice pictures though.
  And the pen and paper are a thing of the past with the laptop available.  That happened years ago.

Recovered Files

  I've been carrying around a bunch of pictures on my flip phone for several years that I couldn't/didn't get onto any other device until the upgrade to the smart phone.  Some were sent to me via text by people with high resolution cameras on their phones, others were pictures I took with my flip phone.  I don't recall which this is, but it was taken to mark the arrival of the standing desk in Gail's office at Olin Library.

  And one I remember taking with my phone of the sunrise at Pharaoh Lake when going to retrieve my camera would have missed the color distinction.

Recovered Files

  I spent a lot of time in Buffalo at my sister Janet's house with her and my mom during mom's last few months, but didn't have my camera so took a few pictures with my phone.  She had an amazing journey to the end of her life and we thought she'd reached her destination a few times but then surprised us by deciding to continue a little longer.  The top photo is from one of those days, Father's Day, when we were certain the end was near but she woke up with different ideas.  In this case she wanted to eat, something she hadn't done in a few days, and go outside on the porch.  Something she hadn't done in many days.  She lived another month.
  Spent so much time holding her hand, I took a few photos of her hand to remember or document how it changed over the weeks.

Recovered Files

  With all the trips to Buffalo I didn't make it to one of my favorite places much this year.  The day I did get there in February there was hardly any snow.  I'd done quite a bit of trail work in the fall so was really looking forward to using them with skis on.  The only snow cover was off-trail on one north-facing slope.  However, Regis made it there based just on my recommendation and vague directions.  It's not easy to find, so I'm glad he made it there on a day the snow was piled deep.
  Regis is quite good at stained glass design and production.  We had one of his pieces hanging in our house awhile.

Recovered Files

  Just a few blocks and a sweet bike/walk from Janet's house is Delaware Park and Forest Lawn Cemetery.  Rick James rests in the same vicinity as Millard Filmore and Red Jacket, a famous Seneca orator.

  Another great bike ride was on paths that connect Delaware Park and the Niagara River.  I've known people from the Black Rock area for decades but never knew where it was until I rode to the river one day and there it was, right where it's always been.  At least since the black limestone was blasted away in the early 1800's for the Erie Canal.  Before that, Native Americans traveled there from hundreds of miles away to get the special rock that was good for tools and arrows.
  Until a 250' long ship pulled up, I didn't realize Unity Island was separated from the mainland by a lock for freighters along the river to get past the railroad bridge that crosses to Canada.  Actually I didn't know Unity Island exists.  I now know which bridge Janet was stranded on while biking years ago when it rotated 90 degrees to let a ship pass.  On this day I missed the experience by a few minutes.

Recovered Files

  Only worked one day of GrassRoots setup this year.  It would be a huge omission to miss it completely so I was glad to be there for the first day when we unload everything off the trailer that also serves as the Infield Stage.  That's either Andy or Mark, the flip phone just didn't have the resolution to identify someone from that distance, but it did a good job of capturing a moment or basic details.

Recovered Files

  Jackson Browne finally made it to the State Theater.  I've been a fan since I was a little kid and he was an AM radio regular.  He only had one guy in his band, but he had no shortage of guitars.  He tends not to work from a set list so needs to be prepared for whatever instrument is right for a particular song that gets chosen.  He bought one of these off a friend who went to Cornell so he ended up playing that one quite a bit.
  Really missed Mary Ellen at this show, she loved Jackson and made sure I got to hear him by giving me albums over the years.

Recovered Files

  Love these teachers.  This was at a rally on Rt. 13 by Wegmans when the ICSD teachers were struggling to get a respectable and deserving wage.  They did get some improvements, but things are still not where they should be and we lose too many good teachers to better-paying districts.
  I hope Kim and Sarah stick around.

  Then there's the other Sara, the coolest teacher I know since she stole one of the district's 1950's era industrial air conditioners and had it installed in her classroom.  When I started at IHS, Sara was the only person in the building I knew,  I'd met her way back in 1988.  You should come to our 30th Friendship Anniversary Party next year.

Recovered Files

  The sign outside the School Board Building for the district.  They spelled election wrong two years in a row.  Maybe next year.

Recovered Files

  During my many trips to Buffalo this year I was able to visit a former IHS student and current UB Engineering major, Mo.  One day we took a walk and she got a picture of me relaxing with one of the many buffaloes found around the city, and I got a picture of her with her personalized dorm room door.

Recovered Files

  Bean was an object of phone pictures quite often on our walks.  The top one is on the pedestrian bridge by our house, I sent the picture to Gail once when she was traveling.  The bottom one is one of the last pictures I took with the flip phone.  A heron wasn't concerned with Bean and I being so close, and Bean only showed a little curiosity while I swam and he was anchored to a log on shore (he hates the water).  When I tried to get him in a picture with the heron, leaving him without an anchor, he took off after it as soon as I backed away to get the picture.
  He didn't end up with a hole poked in his head and the heron narrowly escaped with its life by hopping over to another rock.

Trail Work

  I've been putting off doing some trail work since spring, mainly because I won't use the trail until there's snow to ski.  But others use it and I ran into one who asked if it was going to be done as she, and others, like to walk and run it.  I told her I'd do it soon, and decided no time like the present so did it right after talking to her.  Except I had lots of legitimate excuses to not do it that day:  No file to sharpen the scythe I keep near the trail, it was wet, I'd rather be biking, and most importantly, no gloves.
  I've seen people on the trail as I pass it.  If they only knew...

Harvest Disaster Averted

  The garlic was almost lost this year when I put it in the root cellar too soon and it began molding.  Gail noticed it in time and I peeled away all the outer layers and cut the stems and roots off to remove all signs of mold.  This isn't the whole crop, or what we'll eat in a year, we get some in our CSA most weeks until March and I have a bucket of big stuff to plant in the fall.