Trespassers at our vacant Clay St Apartment Arrested August 25 2022

 

2 of the trespassers at Clay St apartment house. Girl talking to police was one of those arrested. My daughter that lives close by is on the porch in the background.

About 10;30 this morning I got a call from a man that lives next door to our Clay St, Watertown apartment house. He saw people entering the only vacant unit. I called city police and headed there. It seems a man somehow pried the door open. He then told his girlfriend that he had an apartment and she could move in. A friend of hers dove her over there and proceeded to move in a few boxes of her belongings. UNREAL! I have no idea who these people were, never saw them before. I insisted upon them being arrested for trespassing. Well, police told me 2 of the three were. The man & the girlfriend. 

When the police arrived all three were in the apartment. The man got spooked and jumped out a back window. Police chased him down, capturing him a few blocks away. 

I believe this miscreant is a homeless person and has been visiting the fellow in the adjacent apartment. He saw the apartment had been vacant for a couple of months, so this morning he decided to let himself in.

After the dust settled I replaced the lock set and put a lock on the rear basement door. 

2 of the trespassers. Woman at left was charged with trespassing. Woman at right wasn't charged.

Unbelievably to me is girlfriend of man that broke into our vacant apartment started moving stuff in.

Unbelievably to me is girlfriend of man that broke into our vacant apartment started moving stuff in.

Unbelievably to me is girlfriend of man that broke into our vacant apartment started moving stuff in.

When I got home to Chaumont I had a beer and then mowed the backyard. 

Female Cardinal and Goldfinch photos at Bird Feeder August 17, 2022

A female Cardinal and a Gold Finch at the bird feeder behind our home in Chaumont, NY. 

 Here are a couple of photos I snapped of a female Cardinal and a Gold Finch at the bird feeder behind our home in Chaumont, NY. I used a Sony a6600 camera with Minolta 500mm F8, auto focus mirror lens. It was attached to the camera with the Sony LA-EA 5lens adapter. 

A female Cardinal and a Gold Finch at the bird feeder behind our home in Chaumont, NY. 

Will Salisbury, the Man of Steel From Omar Passes Away at Age 72

The late Will Salisbury with his dog at his home in Omar, NY. I snapped this photo in January 2022

"Will, my friend, my inspiration, my heart is simply breaking. You were one of a kind. My life was enhanced after meeting you, and I can’t say that about very many people. With all the love my heart can pour I wish you an eternity of creativity and peace."

Those were the words that came to me upon hearing the news of North Country legend Will Salisbury, artist,  passing away at his home on Grindstone Island in the St. Lawrence River, Jefferson County, NY. He was 72.  He died on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. 

I wrote that to him on his Facebook page Thursday the 11th.  Since then my post seems to have disappeared. 

There is a short list of people whom I have met in life that have had a big impact upon me. Most of them don't know it because I have never told them. Will was one of them.

The initials of  the others are: BG, MH, BM, RS, GL, CD. I need to let these people know how my life was changed for the better because of them. 

Shadow Selfie as I Paint Front Steps Tuesday August 2, 2022

 

Painting the front steps, I take a selfie photo of my shadow. 

 This is a shadow selfie I snapped of myself while painting the front steps of our home in Chaumont, NY. This was on Tuesday, August 2, 2022. 

Besides the steps, I had some other errands to do. I went to the Wine Seller and picked up a couple bottles of Sauviignon Blanc and, and a couple of Cabernet Sauvignon. 750mm bottles. the price came to $22.00 This purchase was in anticipation of my two sisters coming for a weekend visit.

I gave my Celebrity Brother a ride home after he dropped one of his cars off at a repair shop for a brake job. I also went o Hannaford Grocery store and bought 3 dozen eggs, size jumbo, at $4.39 each. Yikes! that is a lot to pay for a dozen eggs.  

Normally on Tuesday mornings I have guitar lessons at the Copley House, however, I am taking the month of August off from that.

Abut 3 hours after painting the steps began to rain. It rained quite a bit the rest of the day, letting up or stopping briefly nw and then. It didn't appear to have an adverse effect of the paint job though. 

I capture a bat, seven years after the first one July 28 2022

Bat that I captured 7 years ago on August 16, 2015. He is in a plastic container taped to piece of cardboard.

 Thursday morning at 4:00am we awoke to a bat flying around in our bedroom, seven years after the first time. Yes, seven years ago we had a bat in our bedroom. It's disconcerting to say the least. Just like the first time we were able to shut him up in the upstairs bathroom. It's an ld house and the bathroom door doesn't shut right, so I put a couple of screws in it to be sure it couldn't open. I then taped over the edges where the door meets the frame and floor. About 4:00 in afternoon son in law D came over and we entered the bathroom searching for the creature. Didn't take long. Just like last time this bat had settled upside down clinging to a clothes hamper. On the backside of it, between it and the wall.  We placed the bat in a container and took it to a veterinarian. They are supposed to send into NY State lab for testing. 

I snapped a couple of pix with my iPhone which didn't come out very good. The phone focused on the container and not the bat. I could have used my Sony camera but I was stressed out, tired, and lazy. The photo here is from 7 years ago. 

Half hearted attempt at snapping photos bat that I captured after waking at 4:00 in morning to it flying in our bedroom.

Half hearted attempt at snapping photos bat that I captured after waking at 4:00 in morning to it flying in our bedroom.

It's a Beautiful Summer Here In Northern NY 2022

A classic Summer sky at the home I grew up in,  in Calcium, NY Now owned by my Celebrity Brother.

The Summer of 2022 here in Northern NY so far has been absolutely beautiful. There has been little rain, (in fact we could use more) the days have been mostly sunny with blue skies displaying classic cloud formations. Humidity has been low, only 3 or 4 days I can recall where the humidity has been uncomfortable. Most daytime temperatures below 80 accompanied by gentle breezes. Some days stronger winds that I enjoy a lot. Evenings in the yard of our Chaumont, NY home have seen great displays of fireflys (or some call them lightning bugs). I'm reminded of the lyrics to the song Camelot: "In short there's simply not, a more congenial spot, for happy ever aftering than here in Camelot". 

 Richard Burton sings Camelot in 1978

I Play at Cape Vincent NY Concert on the Green July 2, 2022

 

Me (Gary Walts) playing at Cape Vincent Concerts On The Green July 2, 2022.  Photo by RD White

Yesterday (July2, 2022) I had the pleasure of bring the opening performer for the Cape Vincent Concerts On The Green series. It is sponsored by the Cape Vincent Arts Council. It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze coming in off the St. Lawrence River. Overall I was pleased with how I handled it. Stage fright was minimal. It looked to me like a good turnout. From what I heard afterwards my sound system projected across the green well. I had the volume jacked up high enough it was almost hurting my ears. I am assuming it sounded good to the audience based on comments I heard. I used my 1984 Guild Classical guitar fitted with a Kremona bridge mounted pickup, a Fishman Solo Amp 220. I did quite a bit of chit chat between tunes, offering some  bits of info regarding he composers and arrangers of the various pieces I played. 

Promo piece for my July 2, 2022 concert in Cape Vincent, NY.

    I played pieces by Fernando Sor, Matteo Carcassi, Mauro Giuliani. Some Beatles tunes arranged by Joe Washington, John Knowles, Larry Beekman. The pop tunes included Light My Fire arranged by Jorge Nolla, Classical Gas, Mr. Bojangles arranged by Chet Atkins.  I got lost while playing Sweet Caroline and eventually just threw my hands up in the air and ended it. The audience didn't mind. I returned with Willie Nelson's song Crazy ( made popular by Patsy Cline) arranged for guitar by Dave Seck. I was surprised to see a number of friends and fellow musicians came out. Among them were Ron Sacci, Ed Horeth, RD White, Sarah Jane White, Mark Pierce and others I can't think of at the moment. The Watertown Daily Times ran a storyabout the series with a photo of me a few days earlier . I missed stand am looking to find a copy. 

Gary Walts, Concert On The Green, July 2, 2022. Watertown Daily Times photo.

The event took place from 4:00 to 5:30

Earlier in the day I mowed the lawn at our Chaumont house.

When I got home the Better Half & I sat out on the front porch to well after dark.

Over all it was a great day.

I Drive Over Some Beer Bottles June 7, 2022

I drive over some beer bottles. Yikes. 

 I was moving a chair with 2011 Kia Sedona van. I had to take these beer bottles out before the chair. By the time I finished with the chair I had forgotten about the bottles. I back up and hear a wild cunching sound. . The Bottles!  Oh you dumb ass I say to myself.

Beer bottles crushed by my 2011 Kia Sedona van. What a dumb ass I say to myself.

Other than that it rained quite a bit for most of the day here in Chaumont, NY. This morning I mowed the lawn at our rental house on Clay St., Watertown. 

Tree Shadow on Snow Selfie January 22, 2022

I was with the Better Half in the Kohls plaza in Watertown, NY on January 22, 2022 and my eye caught the shadow of a tree on the snow. I snapped a few shots undecided I liked the one with my shadow the best. I was looking at it just now and decided to post it here. 

Shadow selfie on snow, Watertown, NY.  photo copyright Gary Walts  2022

I Play a Fingerstyle / Classical Guitar Style Version of Eleanor Rigby

This past week I video taped myself playing the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby. This wqs the first Beatles song I learned to play many years ago. This arrangement is by Nashville guitarist John Knowles. It was published in his book Sittin' Back Pickin'. It is also available from John Knowles in issue #38 of his Fingerstyle Quarterly news letter. The guitar is a Signature Series made by Alejandro Cervantes. Sound was recorded with a Zoom H2N handy recorder. Video shot with a Nikon D5000 camera.

Memorial Day 2022

 

It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Chaumont, NY. There is a cemetery across the street from our house and this morning the Cape Vincent American Legion saluted the veterans interred there. This is something the legion has done for many years. At the request of The Better Half I used her iPhone 12 to catch a video of it. The bugler  playing taps did great job. 

Here is a link to it on my Facebook page 

Garden Plants, Oil Change, Covid Test, Birthday Sunday May 22, 2022

Some of our flower pots ready to put to use. I bought flowers a week ago, hopefully have them potted tomorrow. 

Weather today: High was 71 in the morning. Cooled to 60 by late afternoon. Cloudy and overcast ll day with some light rain at times.  

It was a full day for us here in Chaumont, NY.  I finally got our tomato and cucumber plants in the garden . Still have flower pots and containers to do.  I took a break around noon and had a delicious Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA. I set the bottle down on the bench amid some flowers and was moved to snap a picture of it. Totally unplanned, a serendipitous visual moment. 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo extra IPA. One of my favorite beers. Gardening never tasted better.

After that I changed the oil in my 2011 Kia Sedona mini van. That chore was overdue and went off  without a hitch.  

For a couple of days the Better Half has been feeling tired and run down. Enough so that we decided to give her an over the counter Covid 19 test. It was a brand called iHealth. Very simple to do. Results show up in 15 minutes. Her result was negative. No Covid 19 present. An oximeter reading showed she has normal oxygen levels. 

At 5:30 we visited the Better Half's daughter B in Rutland to celebrate her daughter's 11th birthday. We had pizza, salad, and an ice cream cake from Carvel.

Tomato plants in our garden, Chaumont, NY. Planted today, Sunday May 22, 2022