photos

Billie went with me on a photo expedition this evening. We went looking for a barn somebody said I should photograph. We didn't find it, but in looking, we saw some interesting things.

Part of what interested me in the trip was the other day I noticed Muck Road on Google Maps, and it looked like it ran along a canal. That seemed like worth exploring. There is a canal there, and Muck Road is appropriately unpaved. We did drive down three miles of it, though.

This portion of the canel, along Spoil Bank Road, may actually be in Orleans County.

This portion is back in Genesee County, by Route 98. On the other end of this section, we saw fish jumping. We stopped and talked to a guy out walking his dog who told us there are some pretty good size carp in the old canal.

After this afternoon's minor accident on East Main Street, I was tipped to stick around  -- there might be a field sobriety test about to take place. So I did.

The test was administered by Officer Chris Camp. The name of the subject is not yet available.

It begins, above, with a pat search of the subject. ...

Instruction, walk a straight line touching ...

... heel-to-toe ...

More pictures after the jump:

walk heel-to-toe ...

... and turn around (just after this shot, the subject literally threw up his hands and stopped the test) ...

Stand with your arms to your side holding up one leg (Officer Camp is now joined by Officer Eric Hill and rookie Mark Lawrence) ...

The eye test, or officially known as the horizontal gaze nystagmus ...

... cuffed ...

Today was Alexander's annual parade, part of its annual carnival and tractor pull.

The Stafford Fire Color Guard, above, along with volunteer fire departments from throughout the region as well as businesses and community groups participated in the parade.

More pictures after the jump:

While on Lewiston Road late Friday afternoon, I spotted these kites flying over the Batavia Downs' parking lot and so I swung down Park Road to investigate.

I should have known, it was Eric Olson, Batavia's Kite Man, out with his kite trailer looking to lure customers to his location.

Olson, whose day job is with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, runs a sideline business selling kites at community events, and such.

You know, if I'm driving out in Genesee County somewhere, I'm looking for barns and other interesting photographic opportunities.

The barn above is on Randall Road in Morgansville.

This flower (Anybody know what it's called?) was in the field across from the barn.

More pictures after the jump:

Another flower in need of identification.

A rusting Pontiac off Selden Road, Le Roy.

It's views like these, I think, that help you appreciate just how sublimely beautiful Genesee County really is. This was taken on Selden Road, Le Roy.

Richard Stevens, left, runs through a giant rain puddle on Tracy Avenue, with his dog, some neighbor dogs and a neighbor's boy.

The flooded street is now reportedly drained.

Below, a reader submitted the photo showing the flood waters outside Aldi's on East Main Street.

Dig the '80s style lettering on this old truck.

When I was poking around on Cedar Street this morning looking for some reported law enforcement effort going on, and finding nothing, I noticed Wade Avenue. I've never been down Wade Avenue before, so I drove to the end of the short street.

And the end was parked this old school delivery device for news, apparently put out to pasture. Shouldn't it be in a museum?

Tonight was the 6th Annual "Taste of Stafford," which brought together Stafford's finest food and an event to honor the community's veterans (gathered above for a group picture).

Local businesses and community groups participated -- all to raise money to maintain the Stafford museum.

More pictures after the jump:

After taking care of my advertising-related tasks today, I decided to drive around the city (and only the city, for the whole "Summer in the City" theme) and get pictures of people dealing with the heat, or enduring the heat (such as guys still forced to work even though between the heat and humidity, the climate was ungodly).

I started at Dewitt Park on Ceder Street where I spotted this boy wading in the water, apparently hunting for crawfish.

Below is Eva Bohn, who took a book to one of the pavilions at Dewitt. She said sunny days are too precious to waste, so she tries not to spend them indoors. She found a shady spot with a little breeze and whiled away the time with a thick book.

Of course, no photo essay about summer in the city would be complete without a visit to the spray park in Austin Park -- there's one picture of it below, and then more after the jump.

Bikes on the dock at Dewitt -- I have no idea where the riders went.

Tackle box, a rod and reel at DeWitt.

Zack (left) and Nick Merlotta were at Dewitt today fishing in a nice shady spot. Zack, who was quite interested in having his picture taken by The Batavian, said his brother caught a pike and a bass yesterday.

Jerry Douglas and Russ Morey, both from Rochester, endured the heat as they installed pipes for electrical lines as part of the UMMC expansion.

Three construction workers at UMMC leaving work. They were very focused on leaving and didn't seem to want to be bothered with me getting their names.

Boys relaxing in a shady tree at Austin Park.

A woman with a bright red headband at Austin Park.

As I took a picture of the woman with the bright red headband, this boy, thinking I was taking pictures of him, started in with boxer poses, so, I took a picture of him, too.

As I drove down Liberty Street, I spotted Paul Berardini eating watermelon on a porch, so I stopped. It turns out he was at his cousin's house, who was hosting a BBQ for some Batavia Muckdogs players (who had the day off). Above are Mike O'Neill and Matt Valaika.

Pauly with Muckdogs centerfielder Nick Longmire.

Mike Storh, of Depew, was among the work crew installing a new sidewalk on Liberty Street this afternoon.

Charles Vaccaro, of Williamsville, takes a break during the sidewalk installation on Liberty Street.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski was on Union Street this afternoon collecting signatures on a nominating petition. He didn't say who for.

It wasn't rain, sleet or snow, but postman Jason Warren was out on Bank Street proving that no matter what the weather, the postal service is getting the mail out.

Geoff Redick only had to report how hot it was, otherwise, he enjoyed the air-conditioned confines of the WBTA studio.

Main St. Pizza Company was packed as early as 4:30 p.m., and the kitchen was sweltering. Owner Vic Marchese said the area of the ovens, friers and woodpit BBQ can get up to 120 degrees on a day like today.

Hot wings on a hot day: One of Vic's cooks flips an order of hot wings on the BBQ grill in his kitchen.

The Batavia Muckdogs provided the second of two July 4th Weekend fireworks shows after tonight's game.

Note: There is no home game July 4, so don't expect fireworks.

More pictures after the jump:

It was a beautiful day in Batavia, a beautiful day for the city's music and art lovers to come together for an afternoon and evening of music, art and games.

More photos after the jump:

After completing some business in Byron, I wanted to take advantage of the great clouds in the sky and see what I could find to photograph. The barn and silo above was at the intersection of Bridge and Transit roads. Below, a barn in the village getting a new roof.

I drove out to Le Roy this afternoon to take some pictures of the first Jell-0 Olympics. Unfortunately, it ended earlier than scheduled. Since I was out that way, I figured I'd swing by Oatka Creek in the village and see what I could photograph.

More pictures after the jump:

After finishing covering a minor RV fire on Clinton Street Road, I made a right turn down Warner Road and spotted this disabled Galaxie 500 sitting in a field.

Hundreds of motorcycle riders were in the procession this morning escorting the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall from Le Roy to the Veterans' Home in Batavia.

As local law enforcement cleared the way, the procession moved swiftly through town.

The Moving Wall will be on display through the weekend, night and day, with opening ceremonies at 5 p.m., today.

This afternoon while waiting for a business in the Harvester Center to open, I killed time by walking along the south side of the building looking for objects to photograph.

If you've ever looked closely at the building, there are stars bolted into the walls between the first and second stories. These, I'm sure, are not decorative, but part of the building's support structure, bolting thick wires that run from wall to wall. That's just a guess, but I've seen this kind of construction before.

Below, a "weed" (I can't identify the flower) set against a red door, and three more pictures after the jump.

For a year-end project, I thought it would be cool to take some video and pictures of music- and arts-related activities -- respectively -- in the Genesee County schools.

The following video is 20 minutes long and divided into two parts (Youtube limits most users to about 10 minutes per video). It features concert footage from various schools in the county.

PART 1

PART 2

I have to make a quick apology for the poor video quality in a couple of instances. I had to be very careful to protect the identity of the kids (the ones photographed without parental approval), so I made sure none of the students' faces appeared too clearly on camera; plus, to be honest, the first camera I used turned out to be pretty awful when it came to taking video (even while taking decent pictures).

I also feel bad that I couldn't include every group I filmed in the video. My selections were based on a combination of different criteria, including:

•  making sure the best songs were included
•  making sure all of the schools I visited were included
•  arranging the selections in a way that flowed nicely

So there's the music part. Here are some pictures I was able to take of art work done by Elba and Leroy students:

ELBA ELEMENTARY ART

Kindergartener Cody Soules stands in front of his drawing of a tree branch (top right).

First-grader Taylor Augello stands with her rendition of Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" (right above her head).

ELBA HIGH SCHOOL ART

Both of the following pictures were submitted by Dan Carnevale. Sophomore Sydney Gallup (top photo) and two unidentified students stand with their drawings.

LEROY JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (art and artists)

Also, see the May 27 announcement on the winners of the Architectural Drawing contest for fourth-graders.

Congratulations all of the students for a job well done!

This is a bloom from the John Kennedy Rose in my yard.

I've driven past the old Batavia Motel many, many times, and I never thought of it as a photo opportunity until today.

Competitors from throughout Western New York -- and even West Virginia -- were at Silver Shoe Farms on Pratt Road, Batavia, today for carriage driving races.

Nicole Cable said this is the third year Silver Shoe has hosted the event.

The races feature two- and four-wheel carriages, some of them antiques -- remnants of the pre-automobile era.

Cable, 29, started carriage racing when she was 9. She now teaches carriage driving at the farm.

Competitors were ages 9 and up and both men and woman. Horse sizes ranged from 32-inches tall to 16 hands.

More photos after the jump: