Utica Retro Look Photo Series

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That ain't the way to have fun, son....

an oldie's lyrics came to mind as I was cutting my way through wind, ice, slush, gush, mush etc. etc at the Lake Effect Inaugural Half-Marathon; "mama told me not to come, mama told me not to come, this ain't the way to have fun, son!,this ain't the way to have fun, son"! Nature did everything possible to make sure it lived up to it's name. I dubbed it the race when hell froze over. After running more than 30+ over 15K Races, and dozens of smaller ones, I can honestly say this one was the meanest, toughest, and the coldest. I have such a short memory so I posted this, so maybe next year, it will make me remember this race vividly and maybe I'll think twice about doing it again.

A defiant fist in the air......Thank God, Finished at last!

A Little More Heat or Cold Please?

Although this has been a mild winter, I despise cold damp weather draped in boring greys and browns (kinda like a boring old trench coat that I despise) and miss and enjoy the snow and a little cooler temperatures so I can XC ski and enjoy the winter beauty.. .I've posted previously, some winter shots I took when we had snow last week, so I thought I would share some colorful "warmer" images(mostly in the Adirondacks) to get us through until nature decides it is spring...

"Stepping Stones"

"Sunset Dreams"

"Kayaing into Paradise"

"Beautiful Big Bay"

Winter Dreamscapes 2

The winter dreams continue,

You cannot turn away.

The vivid blues and the tangerine. The black trees that reach for moon and clouds.

The winter dreams are they not real? Are they not there for all to see?

I see no footsteps, I hear no voices, In my winter dreams.

A Walk Through a Winter Dreamscape

Last night I enjoyed a walk through in a breathtakingly beautiful early evening snowfall here in the Mohawk valley. The thick wet snow had settled on the branches and trunks of the trees, and in the darkness the trees and landscape looked hauntingly beautiful draped with their snowy shroud. I even got up early to enjoy some more and to try to photograph the snowy landscape I had traversed last night. Though still beautiful, last nights beauty was now only to enjoy in my mind and words, a dream, or perhaps someday in a painting...

Happy Wanderer....

Found myself recalling and humming a favorite grade school era song the other day entitled the "Happy Wanderer" and boy did that bring back some memories. And I thought to myself how I had kinda grown into this song, as I am the most happy it seems as I hike or run and explore the beautiful countryside whether in upstate, the Adirondacks, Maine, Hawaii or Arizona. I post below for your pleasure or displeasure if you please....just be glad you can't hear me sing or it definitely would be the latter. Fortunately, the only thing I unsettled were a few less than enthusiastic crows. The Happy Wanderer I love to go a-wandering, Along the mountain track, And as I go, I love to sing, My knapsack on my back. Chorus: Val-deri,Val-dera, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha Val-deri,Val-dera. My knapsack on my back. I love to wander by the stream That dances in the sun, So joyously it calls to me, "Come! Join my happy song!" I wave my hat to all I meet, And they wave back to me, And blackbirds call so loud and sweet From ev'ry green wood tree. High overhead, the skylarks wing, They never rest at home But just like me, they love to sing, As o'er the world we roam. Oh, may I go a-wandering Until the day I die! Oh, may I always laugh and sing, Beneath God's clear blue sky!

Chickadees after a rare snowfall last week

Sunset on the Rayhill Trail Pond

Sunset in Whitestown

February...another mixed bag of weather

Sunset Town Park, Whitestown

Stone Bridge near Camden

Gibson Rd Trail, Whitestown

Walesville, Westmoreland Rd

Root Glen, Clinton

Bell Rd, Whitestown

Rayhill/840 Trail Whitestown

Rayhill/840 Trail Whitestown

The Mohawk Valley....Steeped in History

It's about a half-marathon to run here from Whitestown, but you can run along some really cool secondary roads past babbling brooks and rolling country roads to get there. Or of course you can drive. You end up here at the site of the Battle of Oriskany which like the plaque says; "was one of the bloodiest and costliest battles of the Revolution". There was not a family that was not affected by the over 600 casualties inflicted on the Americans and our Oneida Indian allies that day, and it's impact is evident in this area. Several towns, villages, streets and even an aircraft carrier, were named after this battle or participants in the battle. Visit this site, when the weather gets a little better. Walk the hills and remember, the sacrifice that the Tryon County militia and residents of the Mohawk Valley made that day, for liberty and freedom. And a few miles down the road stop in to Ft Stanwix Monument and museum in Rome if you have never been there or haven't been there in a while.