The Fourth of July is over, folks! You can stop with the fireworks, already.
After all the boom-booms before, on, and after the 4th of July, Puppy Cody was seriously traumatized. While she would (reluctantly) still go out in our own backyard, taking her for walks to the local high school became more hassle than any of us needed. It seemed that the minute we would park and she would think about jumping out, someone would blow off a cherry bomb somewhere, and it was all over.
So, we decided to take have a few no-walk days to allow Cody time to recuperate. We didn’t want her to associate loud scary noises with the school.
At the same time, hubby decided he really needed to get away from the house, if only for a few hours. He’s been working on household projects pretty much every weekend since we moved in last year, and just wanted one weekend off. I was ok with that.
So, on Saturday we packed cold drinks into the car and headed up the Niagara River towards Niagara Falls. Our intention had been to drive to the Falls, but we left late due to having to coax Cody into the yard, and due to various household tasks that still needed to be accomplished. Plus, the fact that I am somewhat limited as to how much I can walk didn’t bode well for climbing the path at Devil’s Hole or anywhere near the brink of the Falls.
Not too far from home are several lesser parks where you can get right to the edge of the river. We chose one on River Road in North Tonawanda – I don’t know the name of that particular area since there’s no sign. Basically it consists of a path along the river, with lots of benches facing the water, and a small boat launch. It’s not one of the more popular riverside parks. Very few people – perfect for me.
Not a lot to see on this particular trip – just the butterflies and the usual ducks. While the butterfly accommodated the photo shoot (see photo at head of post), the bumblebee I tried to photograph simply wouldn’t cooperate. I felt it best to let him/her go on his/her way. The ducks and gulls, as usual, love to sit and pose:
I decided to try the zoom lens on my camera. The Niagara Falls skyline, which was extremely hard to see with the naked eye, came into focus beautifully with the zoom:
View from North Tonawanda, New York side of Niagara River – moderate zoom
High zoom view of Niagara Falls skyline from North Tonawanda side of river
Now, if only I can learn to hold that camera stead while I shoot! I really don’t want to invest in a tripod.
After a short walk and a even shorter sit on the benches, we went for a quick dinner and then headed back home. Not an extended day off, but relaxing nonetheless.
Come Sunday, hubby decided Cody really should get a walk – somewhere. The school is iffy, we were afraid people might still have a few fireworks left and didn’t want Cody to refuse to ever walk at the school again.
So, we packed ourselves and Cody into the car and headed off to Walton Woods Park in Amherst. A bit of a drive at about 20 minutes, but Cody seemed to enjoy the ride.
At the park entrance, Cody heard people talking, and balked. It took a fair amount of encouragement to get her headed into the park instead of back to the car – and believe me, that dog is strong and stubborn!
But eventually, she began moving again. Once along the lake, she suddenly realized there were sounds and smells she never experienced before and started trotting along quite nicely. We tried as much as possible to keep her on the grass instead of the asphalt pathway to avoid burning her paws.
I thought sure she would jump at her first hearing of a bullfrog call – but she seemed more curious than scared. There are lots of bullfrogs in that lake. It sounded like one of them was right below where I was standing and I got as close to the water as possible, hoping to catch that award-winding photo.
Alas, I nearly fell in and had to abandon that plan. Retreating to the pathway, I decided to simply take another photograph of the lake:
Fortunately, Cody became comfortable enough in her walk to do her business. Yay! And, there are trash cans placed strategically around the lake to dispose of that business. Double-yay!
Even better, there are benches placed strategically around the lake for those of us who need to rest often. Triple-yay! And a huge thanks to the Town of Amherst or Walton Woods Homeowner Association, whichever one is responsible for those strategic placements.
I love that little park. I especially love that you pretty much have to already know where it is in order to find it – there are no Walton Woods signs at the entrance (unless the locals removed them to maintain privacy, which is very possible). I don’t even remember how we found it. I think we just happened at some point to see people walking into the woods between the library and the policy station and wondered where that path went … and decided to find out.
I’m glad we did. It’s my little go-to park.
All-in-all, a nice relaxing weekend. Hope yours was, too!
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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
We have the actual Walden not too far away — up near Concord. It’s also a very pretty spot.
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I’d love to come see it sometime. Maybe once I’m retired (again).
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The park in north Tonawanda might’ve been Gratwick Park. It sounds pretty similar
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No, I think it’s further north than Gratwick. It’s the next one after the Veteran’s Park, and there aren’t any shelters, just the benches and little boat launch area. There’s a whole chain of those little parks north of Smith Boys, and I think they’re all connected.
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Looks nice and cool by those waters. Our a/c is out, and we’ve had triple-digit heat. Looking at photos of lakes, rivers, and ponds helps me feel a little cooler, so thank you. Tripods are a hassle. I try to look for tree stumps, fence rails, rocks or anywhere I can set my camera to keep it stable. Then I use a 2-second delay to prevent button-pushing shake. Just the same, I think those zoom shots of Niagara look pretty sharp.
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Thanks, Tippy. Hope your AC gets fixed soon!
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great post and hope Cody is all relaxed now
and have a nice week
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Cody was definitely better after her walk in the park. Hopefully, the fireworks are all gone now.
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yes- hopefully all done./..
🙂
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The fireworks mess with the dogs, I do wish they would stop it. I can understand in and around the 4th, but it’s time to be done.
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Amen, Dan. Fingers crossed – I haven’t heard any since Saturday.
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My poor Cookie gets extremely upset with fireworks, especially the sporadic ones that sound like gun shots. It makes me wonder more about her history since we really do not know it. I wish they were illegal again. Glad you took some time off and the pictures are lovely.
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The poor dogs have no way of knowing it’s a celebration and not an invasion. Thanks for the comment – and the compliment.
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Poor Cody! My dog was also not a fan of the celebrations. Gave her some cannabanoid oil and it helped!
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Fortunately, the boom-booms seem to be over. After taking Cody on that nice drive to the park, she seems to be ok again.
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Good!
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That’s so nice!
I had a good weekend, but I was out and about and did gobs of yard work, so, not like yours, but a good one anyway.
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I think I like your weekend, Joey. I find I can’t do much yard work any more. I used to enjoy doing that out in the sunshine.
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See? And I would like a weekend without chores – where I could just play and explore!
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I thought I had commented on this post, CM. Sorry for the lateness ….. Anyways … that butterfly image is gorgeous! I’ve yet to get one with its wings fully spread without the picture not being blurred. Gorgeous photo of the park you and Cody walk in. LOVED it! The one of the ducks all in a row … I could feel the Peace … thank you! As for Niagara Falls … I would LOVE to get back up there but my hubby is so immersed in a project and because he is who is is, he won’t go anywhere until it is done. I won’t go by myself … I must wait on him. That is one of the places I plan on going when he is finished with said project. And I LOVE the way your camera zoomed in to capture Niagara Falls. NICE!!!
Those fireworks were awful this year. My cats were SO traumatized. Poor Cody. Tell him we have lots of cats that relate!
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Those “Niagara Falls” photos were actually taken just north of Gratwick Park in North Tonawanda. I simply used the zoom lens to capture the buildings. The butterfly was mostly luck – the silly thing sat still just long enough …
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Wow! That is one very powerful camera you have got there! I am seriously impressed! And let me tell you that you really lucked out on that butterfly. The ones that I see flit and flitter all over the place not resting for 1 minute. Perhaps as the season goes by they will become more heavy with nectar and slow down for me. Same goes for those hummingbirds! Oh my goodness those birds are so incredibly hard to get in focus.
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My camera actually has a setting where it takes multiple shots instead of a single shot, for things that are moving, but I haven’t used that setting yet. Lots of bells and whistles on my new camera – most of which scare the heck out of me!
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The only way to get over that fear and you know it, is to start trying what those bells and whistles are there for. Don’t worry you are in good company because I feel the same way. At times I get very overwhelmed because I still don’t know what this or that is all about on a camera that I have been using for the past what three years. My camera has the option to bracket for HDR but only for jpeg, not for raw images. So much creativity can be thrown in when we are using our cameras. But the only way we can do that is to at least try and figure out what this button is for or what that setting is for. LOL Good luck!!
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