First Wood Fire of Season

 

It's been a beautiful Fall this year. This is the view from the driveway of our Clay St Watertown apartment house. It is looking South at Keyes Ave

We lit a fire in our wood stove today, the first of the season. Usually we start using it much earlier than this. The weather has been very mild and warm this Autumn season so we have been using our oil furnace. This morning nephew Tim, the realtor,  came by and talked to us about the ins and outs of selling our Clay St property. In afternoon I raked leaves while the Better Half went to a dental appointment. While raking leaves neighbor kid across the street came over and was selling tickets for a Chicken Bar B Que dinner, $15.00 apiece. It's a fund raiser event for the Lyme Central School class of 2025. I bought four tickets.

It was a beautiful day today, high only reached 50 degrees but it was wonderful for October in the North Country.

Lit first fire of the season today in our Regency model FM2400 wood stove.

Tickets for Chicken BBQ Fundraiser for the Lyme Class of 2025.
My neighbor's son was selling them. I bought four.

Dead Squirrel In Open Live Trap - Very Strange

Look carefully and you can see squirrel in the trap, the trap door wide open at right. The animal was dead. This was most strange to me.

A very strange incident occurred here. I found a dead squirrel in a live animal trap I had set in our backyard. What made it strange was the trap was never sprung. The trap door was open and the squirrel was  laying dead inside. It's incomprehensible to me how the creature enters the trap without tripping the door shut.  With the trap door open it was free to enter and leave the trap at will. How did it die? Did it just walk into the trap and lay down and die? I examined it and could see nothing obvious that caused it's death. It's as if someone placed a dead squirrel in the trap and then set the door open. I can't explain it.

Found this critter laying dead in a live animal trap. The door was open, the animal wasn't trapped. I can find no obvious reason how it died.

Photos Of Red Paint

 

Gilidden exterior house paint separated after sitting for over a year. It caught my eye.

It was a warm day that reached 71 degrees here in Chaumont, NY. I need to paint our garage but today just painted the doors. I open a new can of paint that was in need of stirring as it has been sitting for a year or so. I took the lid off the can and instantly was drawn to photographing it. It "caught my eye" as I like to say. So I present here a few of the snaps I made.  

    It took about half an hour to paint one door. After this job I went to Clay St and fixed the garbage disposal in Apt 2. There was a fragment of metal in itthat was creating huge amount of noise. 

Gilidden exterior house paint separated after sitting for over a year. It caught my eye

Found Art. Paint can lid 

Our garage doors being painted. Will require a 2nd coat. 

Cleaning the paint brush in our "slop" sink. This too caught my eye.

All photos obviously are copyright Gary Walts 2024

I Remove a Deer Tick From My Skin

Deer Tick photo I found in Google search. I have no idea
who or where to credit this photo. It is NOT my photo.

I wake up today and discover a deer tick is embedded in my skin, on my stomach  area. I applied some hand sanitizer on it and it began to move, slowly. I then pulled it out with some tweezers. It's very tiny. I snapped picture of it with a Sony A6600 camera and a Minolta 50mm f2.8 macro lens. I then went to urgent care in Watertown where I waited around for 2 and half hours. Was prescribed an antibiotic as the tick can spread lyme disease as well as a number of other ailments.  I must have picked the creature up in our yard as I was outdoors there for most the day. 

Otherwise the day was warm, mild, partly overcast. iPhone reports I have walked 3,090 steps today. 

Also replaced head light bulb in the Better Half's car today. Those things cost $20.00

Deer tick I removed from my skin. Photo made withSony a6600
camera and Minolta 50mm macro lens.

Deer tick I removed from my skin. Photo made withSony a6600
camera and Minolta 50mm macro lens.

Stayed Home Today; Black Beans, Chuck Roast in Smoker

 

Pot of black beans simmering on the stove

I stayed home today in Chaumont, NY. Took day off from Clay St apartments. It was sunny, mildly windy, high of 64 degrees. A wonderful day weather wise.  Poor nights sleep so I arose at 8:00 am. That's late for me.

I made a pot of black beans. Used 2 cups dry black beans, Jimmy Dean's hot sausage, red bell pepper, 3 white onions, some garlic, all in one pot with 8 cups chicken broth.

I put a well rubbed 3 and 1/2 pound beef chuck roast in the smoker at 12:30. That roast, by the way, cost $4.99 a pound at Hannaford grocery store. Piddled around the yard doing some lawn work. Saw the woodchuck that has been troublesome. Took a shot at it with my air rifle and missed.

Brother Al dropped by for short visit. Just long enough to have a beer. The Better Half n I took a drive to the lake, Wilson's Bay to be exact. Got back at 5:30 at which time we proceeded to eat dinner. 

Along with the beef we had a most excellent macaroni salad prepared by the Better Half. 

Beef chuck roast and potatoes in the smoker. The beef was in there for about 4 hours.

In all it was a wonderful day. My iphone recorded 4,373 steps for the day. 

Artist Tom Bintz' 73rd Birthday

Artist Tom "Captain Honk" Bintz on his 73rd birthday, October 11, 2024

I made this portrait of  Tom "Captain Hink" Bintz on the morning of his 73rd birthday. We are at te Pillar Point Community Sign outside Dexter, NY.  Someone whom I don't know posts names of Pillar Point residents on this sign on their birthdays. On this day however, Bintz' name was missing. The phone number to call regarding the birthday posts was not working. His name was displayed however a couple of days later.

I have been working so much on our Clay St apartment house that I have spent little time with Bintz this summer. He is a long time friend and a talented, interesting fellow. 

PHOTO: Oak Leaf on Windshield

Oak leaf on Car Windshield, iPhone 6 photo by Gary Walts

I snapped this oak leaf on the windshield on Saturday, October 5th.  The leaf caught my eye as I was leaving the house to go to Crouse Hospital in Syracuse where the Better Half was recovering from ileostomy reversal surgery. That operation went well and she came home on Sunday the 6th.

Guitar Day: Wednesday September 18

Me playing guitar at the Watertown Farm Market. Photo by Frank Sacci.

Last week I played the Watertown Farm & Craft Market on Washington St. Watertown. It was last minute gig. The chamber contacted me a couple days earlier to see if I was free. I was. Afterwards I had guitar lessons at the Copley House in Chaumont. The photo presented here was taken by Frank Sacci.

Drawing of Me With Guitar by James William Henley

 Presented here is a drawing of me playing guitar. It was created by artist James William Henley. He resides here in the NorthCountry somewhere. I confess that I only met him once and that was last summer (2023) at Orion Art Gallery where I was playing when he drew this. I don't remember where he said he lives. Adams or Brownville seem to be in my mind. Anyhow, I love it and thank him for the print. It's 16x20. He dropped the art off at Orion's new location on Mullin St., Watertown, NY. 

Drawing of me by artist James William Henley.

Sunset Sailing on the St. Lawrence River, Clayton, NY

 It was a beautiful day here in the North Country. Sunshine, breeze, 68 degrees. Around 6:00 we took a drive to Clayton and Cape Vincent. A sailboat illuminated by setting sun on the St. Lawrence River in Clayon, NY caught my eye. I used a Sony 6600 camera and a Minolta 500mm f8 auto focus lens. 

Sailing on the St. Lawrence River, Clayton, NY. photo copyright Gary Walts

Earlier I stacked firewood. iPhone shows I walked 4,264 steps.

Sunset On Wilson's Bay and New Work at Clay St.

 September 5, 2024

Sunset on Wilson's Bay, Cape Vincent, NY.  photo copyright Gary Walts September 5, 2024

We hired a builder/contractor  Keith Scoville, Copenhagen,  to replace/repair the soffit and facia at our ClaySt, Watertown apartment house. He started yesterday, the 5th. Much needed repair should improve the buildings sale appeal.

I finished repairing the the cellar door threshold. 

In the early evening we drove to Wilson's Bay, Cape Vincent to photograph the sunset. The photo above is one of them. iPhone app says I took 6,405 steps.

Dinner was pork chops, mashed potatoes, carrots and a tomato salad made with our garden tomatoes. 

Mushroom Gills Photo

 

This is detail cropped from the photo below. It shows how sharp the Minolta 200mm f2.8 lens is.      photo copyright Gary Walts 2024

Close up of mushroom gills. Snapped photo in our yard, Chaumont, NY. I used a Sony a6600 camera and a Minolta 200mm f2.8 lens. That lens is incredibly sharp. never ceases to amaze me. This photo was actually cropped from the full frame shown below it. 

Mushroom in our yard, Chaumont, NY. Photo taken with Minolta 200mm f2.8 lens and Sony a6600 camera. photo copyright Gary Walts 2024