Fishing Cape Vincent - Hot Weather

People fishing, Cape Vincent, NY. photo by Gary Walts copyright 2025

We have hit a spell of hot weather here in the North Country. Humid and 86 degrees here in Chaumont. Been working around the house, moving slow because of the heat. Mowed the lawn this morning. Been working on the front porch o our Chaumont house. Framing up some lattice on the porch end facing the stone quarry. Would be left side of house when looking from the street.  We took late afternoon drive to Cape Vincent yesterday, I snapped these photos of people fishing there. I love the haze this weather produces. It mutes the background. Used aSony 6600 Camera and a Minolta 200mm f2.8 AF lens. 

People fishing, Cape Vincent, NY. photo by Gary Walts copyright 2025

People fishing, Cape Vincent, NY. photo by Gary Walts copyright 2025

I Played Guitar at Watertown NY Pride Event

Rainbow flag and revelers outside Watertown NY City Hall today. 

Today, June 21, 2025 I played guitar at the Jefferson County Historical Society Pride Event: Mimosas at the Mansion. 11:00-12:30. This event followed a flag raising at Watertown City Hall. The mansion is the Paddock Mansion, home of the historical society. They have beautiful shady gardens. There was sunshine today, some wind and temperature around 80 degrees. It was wonderful all the way around. 

Me playing at the Pride event Mimosas At The Mansion.

I Install New Schaller Guitar Tuning Machines on Guild Mark V Guitar

 Thursday June 112, 2025

Beautifully packaged Schaller Hauser style classical guitar tuning machines.

I installed new Schaller guitar tuning mchines on my 1984 Guild Mark V classical guitar. The instrument fell over last Saturday and bent the original machines. I ordered replacement machines from StewMac.com located in Athens, Ohio. Placed the order online Saturday evening and the machines arrived the following Thursday. Very quick service. I purchased the Hauser style gold machines. They appeared on the website to be identical to the originals on my guitar. The new ones fit PERFECTLY. No new screw holes to drill or anything. Took old ones off and new ones fit perfectly, screw holes lined up precisely. Swapping out the machines and putting on new strings took me 30 to 40 minutes. Easy. 

New machines set in place in guitar peg head. Old machines bottom. 

New tuning machines by Schaller. Beautiful. 

Detail of New tuning machines by Schaller. Beautiful. 

New tuning machines by Schaller were perfect fit. Original screw holes
aligned precisely with them. 

Damage My Guitar at Farm Market

 Saturday, June 7, 2025

Me at Watertown Saturday Farm Market Pavilion, JB Wise parking lot.

Saturday I was setting up to ply guitar at the Watertown Saturday Farm Market when my guitar fell out of the guitar stand and anded on concrete floor of the arena. YIKES! I am thankful the only damage appears to be a bent tuning peg. It's the first string peg. This was my 1984 Guild MarkV classical guitar. What a horrible way to start a gig! The bent peg rendered the string untunable so I tuned the remaining strings to it. I hate to replace the tuning machines with something other than originals. I believe they are Schaller Machines. Quick google search and found some Schaller machines that look almost identical. I ordered them. Price $132.00 I am hoping they are an exact fit so I don't need to drill new screw holes. Other than that the gig went well, I played satisfactorily. Vendors and patrons at the market seemed pleased and I was asked to return the following Saturday which is coming up. June 14th.

First string tuning peg bent on my 1984 Guild Mark V Classical Guitar

We Say Goodbye to Korean War Vet Bill Dover

 Today there was a service for Korean War Veteran Bill Dover at the cemetery in Calcium, NY. He was 91 years old. Mr. Dover owned and operated a small country store in the hamlet of Calcium, the place where I grew up. His daughter Nora and I are the same age, graduating together from Indian River High School in 1972. Most people in Calcium interacted with Mr. Dover in one way or another on almost a daily basis. The store was the hub of the community and he, along with his wife Angie,  became iconic figures. Outside the store and after he retired he was helpful and kind. The following obit says it all. 

I had the honor of attending Bill Dover's 90th Birthday.

William A. Dover Obituary

William A. Dover, 91, formerly of Calcium, NY, passed away on May 26, 2025, at Samaritan Nursing Home, where he had been a resident.

He was born on January 5, 1934, in Toccoa, Georgia, the son of James K. and Winnie Ruth Rickman Dover. William graduated from high school in Toccoa, Georgia, and entered the U.S. Army in March 1951. He served as a medic during the Korean War and was honorably discharged after being wounded in action on March 19, 1954. For his service, he was awarded the Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars.

While stationed at Camp Drum, he met Angelina Lago. The couple married on March 21, 1954, in Toccoa, Georgia. In 1963, they moved to Calcium, NY, where they owned and operated Dover’s Grocery Store for 32 years. During that time, William also worked for Loblaws for 20 years.

William was an honorary member of the Calcium Fire Department, an avid gardener, a collector of coins, and a true jack-of-all-trades.

He is survived by two daughters and their husbands: Nora M. and Mark K. Cloonan of Calcium, NY; and Cheryl A. and Francis A. Montressor Jr. of Calcium, NY; five grandchildren: Ryan Montressor, Jade and Jamie Montressor, Jerick Montressor, Gabrielle and William Mayfield, Brittany Widrick and fiancé Greg Essenlohr; and great-grandchildren Gavin, Logan, Sasha, Joseph, Aydriana, Cameron, Levi, and Brielle.

He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Angelina Dover, who passed away on August 21, 2023; his brother, James Ray Dover; and three sisters: Evelie Walrup, Willie Ruth McCracken, and Sally Mae Dover.

******

Clay St Oil Tank Filler Tubes Removal

 

Monday May 5, 2025

Oil filler & vent tubes 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY
Removal needed for new siding.

My brother Al & I spent better than 3 hours removing filling tubes on fuel oil heating tanks. The tubes protrude out the back wall of the house which will be getting new siding soon. It would have been quicker to use a Sawzall to cut the pipes, but that could potentially create sparks that might possibly ignite any fumes lingering in the storage tanks. I'm sure the pipe connections have never been undone since the original install. I don't know when that was, but many many years. We used a 4 foot pipe on  pipe wrench too break the fittings free. Due to space constraints we could only give the connections very small turns. Every turn of the wrench required much exertion. All said, it was a long, dirty, sweaty job. 

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Disconnecting filler & vent tubes from home heating oil storage
 tanks at Clay St, Watertown

Coffeen St Sunset Photo, Watertown, NY

Sunset Coffeen Street Hill, Watertown, NY   photo copyright Gary Walts May 2, 2025

 This photo shows sunset at Coffeen St and RT 81 in Watertown, NY. I snapped while on my way from the Orion Art Gallery on Mullin St. I was there for the mixed media artwork show opening for artist Taylor Soderquist. I took a number of other shots while standing outside the gallery.

Black River, Sewall's Island, Factory Square Photos

 

I snapped these photos of the Black River, Sewall's Island and Factory Square area in Watertown, NY  on Saturday April 19, 2025. I used a Sony a6000 camera with a Sony 18-105mm f4 zoom lens. I used a black & white mode and the Toy Camera mode, just to be a bit creative. All pic presented here were made with the Toy Camera mode. 

PHOTO: Hawk Eats a Pigeon , Clay St. Watertown

 

Hawk dining on a pigeon, 418 Clay St, Watertown, NY

 I pulled into driveway of our Clay St apartment house in Watertown and saw this hawk eating a pigeon. After I snapped a few frames I tried to get closer and the bird took off.  I left to do some errands and when I got back the pigeon was gone, only a few feathers remained. 

Pigeon killed and eaten by the hawk above.

Wild Turkeys Visit Our Yard

Wild turkey wandering around our yard in Chaumont, NY. 

A pair of wild turkeys visited our yard in Chaumont NY today. They wandered around the backyard pecking at and inspecting things. Then they walked down the street and crossed over into a neighbors yard. I was able to get some nice photos of them with a Minolta 200mm f2.8 lens. That lens delivers amazingly sharp images. 

Wild turkey portrait. Creature was in our backyard. They are a rather homely bird.

Weather today started out partly sunny with high of 65 degrees. The day finished at under 40 degrees with some rain. There was also a funeral today for my brother Tom's mother-in-law, Ellen Dean from Calcium, NY. She was 82 years old. ai spent some time at Clay St too, accomplished little. Apt #4 has a problem with entrance door and some cieling and wall damage around the chimney. Brother Ron was there checked it out. Hope tohave hime repair it Sunday. iPhone says I walked 3,168 steps today. 

Clay St For Sale, Nice Drive, Robin

 

First Robin seen in our yard, Chaumont, NY.

Friday, March 14 2025. The Better Half and I met with a realtor at North Star Realty in Watertown, NY to have them market and sell our 4 unit apartment house on Clay St. We are listing it for $160K. After that we took a drive just to enjoy the beautiful day. It was mostly sunny and 60+ degrees. We drove RT37 to Hammond, from there cut over to Chippewa Bay on the St Lawrence River. We followed the river back to Clayton, through Depauville and back home in Chaumont. Most pleasant day. Once at home I spotted 3 Robins in our yard. The first ones I've seen this spring. Snapped photo of one of them with a 500mm mirror lens and a Sony a6600 camera.

Ice fishing on St Lawrence River at Chippewa Bay, NY.  It was 60 degrees

Clay St Outlet Wiring

   Yellow 12-2 romex house wire. This is what caught my eye today as I was working at Clay St apartments.

It was a sunny day here in northern NY with some wind and a high temp of 32 degrees. spent about  5 hours at Clay st apartment house doing some wiring. Specifically activating a couple of electric outlets that were installed many years ago but never had electricity going to them. They needed to be wire into a circuit.  Could have taken the outlets out but then would need to fill in the holes in the wall . Anyhow, project was a success. This was also first time in better than 2 weeks that I could raise my right arm overhead to do the job. My shoulder wouldn't permit it. I feel I may have overworked it so will take it easy tomorrow. 

Wiring outlets job

Wiring outlets job

Wiring outlets job

Clay St Gas Meter Damaged by Falling Ice

Clay St apartment house gas meter damaged by falling ice.

Saturday, March 1, 2025 I discovered the gas meter at our Clay St, Watertown apartment house was damaged by ice falling off the roof. The boiler has been running ok. I called National Grid THIS morning which is Monday March 3. They had a man out there within a half hour. He called and said the meter was not damaged, not leaking gas. All repaired. We think the damage happened a month or so ago because our most recent gas bill showed zero use. We knew that wasn't true. 

Gas meter damaged by falling ice. Note damage to vinyl siding also.

Gas meter damaged by falling ice. 

Pieces of gas meter damaged by falling ice. 

Bat in Attic in Winter and Pest Control Guy

 

Bat in our attic in February. I thought they migrated somewhere in Winter.

Saturday February 22, 2025,  I enter our attic with idea of putting a screen over the opening beneath the roof vent so as to prevent possibility of bats entering via that. However, I discovered a bat hanging on a roof rafter. His fur seemed to have a patch of grey or white hair. My research has lead me to believe the bats in our area migrate to a warmer clime in the Fall and return in Spring. Not this one. So I called a pest control guy and he came over this morning (Thursday February 27). Now the bat was nowhere to be seen, but we were not prepared to move through the attic to locate it either. The past week or 10 days the temps have been below zero here, reaching 10 below one night. Of course the attic would  warmer and the bat must be hibernating n our attic. BUT, days later it wasn't in view. I learned that bats will arouse every couple weeks during hibernation and move around.

This close up of bat was cropped from the wider view photo above.

The bat guy said he could find NO evidence of bat activity in our attic. If not for the photos he wouldn't believe there was ever a bat in there.  

One more thing. I have read in many different web sites that bat's do not stay in attics because they are too hot in summer and too cold in winter. Instead they go down in the walls. Sometimes these walls will lead into the basement and bats find themselves there.