Cleaning The Chimney

I live in the village of Chaumont, NY. IT is located ten miles from the Canadian border. So it is quite a northern community. As such, the temperatures have diminished the past few days of September, reminding us that the REAl COLD WEATHER OF wINTER ISN'T THAT FAR OFF. So... today I cleaned our wood stove chimney. This Winter will be the fourth one in which we have burned wood in a wood stove. So the sove & chimney are relatively new. The first two Winters I did a visual check of the chimney and dismanteled the stove pipe that leads into the chimney at least three times during the heating season. It was SO CLEAN and free of creasote that last Winter (3), I didn't take it apart for a cleaning. I did do several visual inspections of the chimney though.



Anyway, today I took a brush to the chimney and dry scrubbed it pretty thoroughly. I had a plastic bag attached to the base of it to collect all of the dislodged soot. What you see in this photo is the entire amount of what came out of the chimney. This is from an ENTIRE heating season in which we burned about 14 face cord of wood. The stove pipe inside the house was equally clean with littled build up of ash or soot. So we will continue this Winter as we did last year: Start each day with a HOT fire, feed it as needed through the day, ocassionaly letting it burn hot. About once a month do a visual check looking up into the chimney and leave it at that. So it is that we begin to prep for Winter here in the North Country.

Night Sky

August is about to end. It was a beautiful day here in Chaumont, NY. The past few mornings have been cool, starting out under 60 degrees F. I had to go to the doctors this morning. The visit was a follow up to my previous visit a couple of weeks ago. I had to have a Dr. fill out a form with my "vitals" for the insurance plan offered by the Post-Standard. Overall the Doc was pleased with all of my tests. He says I am an all around healthy guy. Thank you dear God.

This Winter will be the 4th one in which we will use a wood stove to help heat our house. When I installed the stove I discovered the side porch had some serious decay and rot in the roof and roof trusses, frame work etc. Well, my brother Rocket Ron rebuilt it. Mostly. The finishing features were left for me to do. But then calamity struck. My job hours were cut and $$$ became tight. So it has been better than 2 1/2 years since, and today I finally got around to working on it. I made some good progress and consequently feel good about how the day went.

The evening arrived. I sat out on the front porch and played through some of my classical guitar repertoire. It was, and is, a simply gorgeous night. Warm, peaceful, and the sky ablaze with stars. Suddenly I was struck with trying to make a photo of the stars. I set the camera to a 30 sec., f2.8 exposure, ISO 2500 and laid it on a table in the back yard, pointed at the sky, and released the shutter. This was the resulting photo:


Gee, I liked the results. That prompted me to experiment some more. Eventually I began to hand hold the camera and move it around (while pointed at the sky), with various shutter speeds ranging from 10 to 30 seconds. The brightest stars (planets?)made for some interesting streaking patterns. I quickly selected the following as one of the more interesting, abstract results:



So this is how it goes with me. My life is a splendid mixture of routine and spontaneity. When I got up this morning I had no idea that I would spend the evening photographing the night sky. And when I did photograph the night sky I had no idea that it would lead to the experimentation and the end results. I am reminded once again what the great Spanish artist Picasso said: "Inspiration exists, but it must find you working."
Each day unfolds with me rising from my bed. I start the coffee brewing. I brush my teeth and wash my face. I pour the coffee and go to my guitar. That is routine that is as solid as Sears. The guitar is like the photography. I start out playing or reading through a new piece, or maybe practice a scale. I begin the act of doing. Then at some point I often take an unexpected turn to some other piece of music, or suddenly discover a new approach to a problematic musical phrase, or what ever. Do you get my point? I am a far better photographer than guitarist, but both persuits lead to moments of inspiration, reverie, and an acknowlegement of God.

So having a routine is good. It gets you working at something on a regular basis. It is then the act of doing this routine that opens the door to inspiration, enlightenment, achievement. I am simply blown away at how great life and living is.

No More Teaism?

This photo of me was taken by Kris Marsala while I was playing at the recent Arts Festival in Watertown, NY. Thanks for the photo Kris.
For the past three Summers I have been playing guitar during the Wwednesday or Thursday lunch hour at Teaism in Clayton, NY. Alas, I guess it has come to an end. This Summer the culinary artist and driving force behind Teaism, Karen Lago, has taken a job that has evidently left her with too little time to maintain the business.
It's truly sad for me. Playing there once a week has been one of the greatest pleasures I've had. It was like a refuge. A place for me to escape from my own hectic life and hassels. It was a place where I could try out new pieces of music and fumble them up without worrying about it. I would sip on wine, play my music, and it was simply wonderful. It's going to be hard to find a way to replace that in my life. Or will it? We shall see.

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"Young people can learn from my example that something can come from nothing. What I have become is the result of my hard efforts." -Franz Joseph Haydn

Guy Pyke Missing Twelve Years

This is a photo I took of my mother and may father's cousin, Guy Pyke from Syracuse, NY. It was taken in April, 1999 at my mother's house in the hamlet of calcium, NY. I just happened to stop in to see my mom that day and naturally took a snap of the two. The odd thing is that when Guy drove away that afternoon he was never seen again. His family has been wondering and searching for him for twelve years now.

I came upon this photo a couple of days ago while digging around in my completely unorganized digital archives.

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THis past Saturday I played guitar at a wedding in the Victorian garden at the Jefferson County Historical Society in Watertown, NY. I arrived an hour and a half early. Set up a small sound system (the Fishman Solo Amp), and began playing as the guests started arriving. It went very well, the bride & her family seemed to be pleased. So life is good.

What A Wonderful Life

This morning I leave the house early, 6:30AM. It was 70 degrees there (Chaumont, NY). I went off to make a feature photo for the Post-Standard. Among the photos I made ws this one of a deer in a meadow on Route 3, Sandy Creek. From there I drove to Pulaski where I am currently sitting and have transmitted this photo. It is simply a glorious morning and I am reminded once again what a wonderful life I hve been blessed with.

Gary Walts Plays At Fashion Show

“Parasols, Petticoats & Pantaloons”
3rd Annual Victorian Garden Fashion Show Luncheon
On Thursday, August 18th the Jefferson County Historical Society presents the “Parasols, Petticoats & Pantaloons” starting at noon. The Victorian Garden and grounds is bursting with the life of colorful annuals and perennials thanks to hundreds of hours of care by volunteers and staff. All are invited to enjoy this hidden treasure of Washington Street and encouraged to bring friends and family along.

Fashions for the show will be presented by Bev and Company of Sackets Harbor and modeled by some close friends in the community. The Black River Valley Club will cater the lunch, delivering on their reputation for quality presentation and attention to detail. Garden music will be provided by the elegant talent of Gary Walts and his classic guitar. Wine and summer drinks will also be included. Classic and stylish fashions and accessories from the JCHS collection will also be on display.

The Fashion Show Luncheon donation is $35 (Members) and $40 (Non-Members). For information and reservations contact the JCHS at 782-3491.

Sun & Rain

It was 60 degrees at 6:30am in Chaumont NY. A cool day. I played guitar at Teaism in Clayton, then had a late lunch at Bella's in that same village. From there it was guitar lessons at Musicology. Another Thursday.



This photo was taken yesterday. It was late in the day so the Sun was low, near the horizon. The sky was clear and then, a cloud burst from directly overhead came down. It rained hard as the Sun blazed. I was a block from my house and wanting to take a photo. All I could do was point the camera aimlessly toward the Sun through the windshield of my car and release the shutter. The rain stopped as suddenly as it started. This was all I could get.

A Day Of Guitar

Last Thursday I had a nice day pretty much devoted to the guitar. I did my usual morning pracrice and was supposed to play the lunch hour at Teaism in Clayton, NY. However, I had a car break down so the Better Half & I are sharing a car for a couple of weeks. So, I missed Teaism. But I had some guitar lessons in the afternoon. A 10 year old girl arrived for her first lesson with me. That was at 3:00. Then I had two more. My last one I canceled because I had to arrive in Clayton at 6:00PM to play for a private party.
The party was a small affair that began with cocktails on the second floor veranda of the Key Bank building overlooking the St. Lawrence River. At 7:30 a boat from The Clayton Antique Boat Museum arrived to take the party to Pic-Nic Point State Park for a dinner in the gazebo. The boat is called The Zipper. A fantastic wooden dream that runs like a Swiss watch, taking the waves and swells like a Cadiliac. We had a great meal of roast beef, turkey, potato salad with an oil & vinegar type dressing as opposed to mayo, some terrific horseradish sauce, wine, beer, and a whole lot more. The booze flowed, the guitar sang and the conversation caried on until quarter of eleven. At that time we all retreated to the boat to head back to the mainland. A few minutes into the cruise and the boat stopped. The party decided to go for a late night swim in the St. Lawrence. The evening was rather and still. No wind to speak of. The wtaer was like glass. When the boat shut off it's engine there was dead silence save for the sound of couple of loons in the distance. I sat with a new found friend in the bow of the boat and watched the stars. The sky was perfectly clear with many shooting stars. All in all it was a most magical evening. I was also paid well for my role as musician. Not just monetarily, but with food, wine, and comraderie as well.

Childhood Photo

It was a nice day today in Chaumont, NY. Windy. Warm. Actually hot. 85 degrees when I left the house around noon. But sitting in the back yard in the shade with the breeze blowing, it was simply grand.



The photo here is one of me. I don't know how old I was because the photo was not dated. I'm guessing anywhere from 4 to 6 years old. I present it here because I just came upon it today. You see, this year marks the 25th year I have been working as a photographer for the Post-Standard newspaper in Syracuse, NY. They put together a 25th anniversary event for their employees. We honorees were asked to give the organizers a photo of ourselves when we were a kid as well as a recent one. So I visited my Mother this morning and this was the photo I decided to use. Then, I decided it would be fun to place in this blog. The comment in the cartoon bubble was added just for the blog.

A Funeral & A Wedding

This past Saturday we had a funeral for my Aunt Juanita. She was my father's sister. She was buried in New Cedar Grove Cemetary in Chaumont, NY. In this photo my cousin Marty is placing the urn with here ashes into the ground. This is in the same plot where my Uncle Bill Fish is buried.
Later in the day I photographed a wedding in Sackets Harbor. The funeral was at 10:00AM, the wedding was at 4:00PM. So it made for an interesting day.




The guitarists here are Tim Martuzas, left, & Ian Brinson. The wedding was Ian's sister Abbie's.

Impatien With Rain Drops

IT has been hot and humid here in Chaumont. Last night it rained and when I stepped outside I spotted this Impatien speckled with water drops. So I did an about face and went back inside to get a camera & snap away. I used a Nikon D300 digital camera.

"You have to know the song so well, that while your playing, if sombody blows your head off with a double barrel shotgun, your body will keep playin'." Stefan Grossman

Some Updates

So, we have not had so much rain in the past month or so. Thus, the grass is drying & turning brown. That has not heppened in the past 2 years. Basically I like that. We are having a dry spell. The fire wood I have stacked is seasoning nicely. Last Summer we had so much rain that mold & fungi grew on the fire wood. I never once mowed the lawn when it was dry.

Friday morning my aunt Jaunita died. She was my father's sister. She was 78 years old. She had cancer. However, prior to that she had some heart trouble. So, I am assuming a combination of the 2 maladies is what placed her in the hospital. Then, she decided she wanted no more treatment and she died within a few days. She was an unselfish woman with a HUGE heart who always saw the good in people.

The day after she died we got a call that a member from the Better Half's family died. He was here niece's husband. They have a 15 year old son that he leaves behind. They had gotten divorced a few years ago. He re-married and had a a second child with his new wife. Cancer claimed him too. He was 48 years old.

It makes one wonder. Though I knew him, I have not seen him since he divorced the BH's niece. Also, I never knew him well. However, his death strikes me as sadder than that of my Aunt, whom I have known my whole life. It's because of the age discrepency between the two. How much sadder it is to leave behind children under the age of 16 as opposed to one who leaves behind grown children that have families and children of their own.



On a different note, when we got home from the Adirondaks a couple nights ago, we pulled into our driveway to be greeted by a small sized Maple tree that had fallen across the driveway. Today I cut it up and added it to the wood pile for Winter's heat.

My garden this year is growing strong & lush. No deer or other vermin feeding on it. Also, appears to be no blight affecting the tomato plants.

I also painted the front porch floor & steps today. Red floor paint by Valspar. Really good paint.

After that one of BH's daughter's & family showed up & we went to the lake for a couple of hours & had a nice swim. We go to a place called Wilson's Bay in Lake Ontario at Cape Vincent, NY. About 10 miles from our house. It was well over 80 degrees F with a brisk wind blowing toward shore. Waves were probably 2 or 3 feet.

The photos presented here were taken on our recent drive to Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondak Mountains of NY State. Whiteface is the 5th tallest peak. It has a road that leads close to the summit. You then walk through a tunne (around 500 feet) to an elevator. The elevator takes about a minute & half to reach the weather station / observatory at the summit.

What I LOVE about tjis place is the man made structures. The weather station and the castle. There is a trail that leads from the summit station back down to the castle. This was constructed some time mprior to mthe Great Depression. I love it beacuse it reminds me of the Myst games. It's almost as if you were within the game Myst hiking about. Going along the trail with the old rusted irion railings. The views that make you feel as if you ar isolated in the world. I am anxious to go back there again.