Williamsville's Falls (not very spectacular in mid-summer)

Another week gone, I can't believe it, time seems to be in some sort of a speed-warp at the moment!

It's not that we're so busy cause we're not, I mean, we're just putzing along, nothing special really ...

James works:

Installing cabinets for the kitchen area of the shop, where they're gonna sell hot-dogs etc.

He's also been working on the truck. The new 'brains' for the Banks system came in (they had failed already a while back, but we didn't have the 'dough') so he went ahead and changed them out ...

Fortunately this turned out to be a much easier job than anticipated, (about time!) but it was a rather dirty one.
This was mainly because of spilled oil over part of the engine, due to a leaking power-steering part, which has been ordered and is going to be the next repair job on the agenda!
 

Out with the old, in with the new!

And if that wasn't enough work already he also installed a second TV in our bedroom!

I'd expressed interest in 'maybe' getting one and before I knew it, one was ordered, and 'voila' there you have it!

 

By the looks of him, and by the speed he got it, he must have wanted one too! Very badly I'd say ...

This installation was also very easy since all the wires and connections were already in place. They've been sitting un-used since we got the RV, we just never felt the need for a TV ...

Of course we made time for some R&R after all that work.

We golfed 9 holes in Attica ...

     

Of all the places your ball can end up .. and no, I didn't hit that shot like that, I took 'relieve'.. better for the club

(and my arms)!

Let's see, what else? O yeah, we finally made it to Williamsville on Thursday evening for their 'Music on Main' summer event:

 

We listened for a little to the band at 'Sorrentino's' and ended up having dinner at 'The Irishman' ..
Sitting outside with some nice Irish beer, good Celtic music and great food, what more can you wish for on a 'hot august night' ...

       

We had Irish stew and Buffalo Wings ... both excellent!

Since the weather is still warm, and unfortunately also still very humid, we do some BBQ-ing only when it's one of the cooler evenings ..

                 

And this is how Merl' gets your attention when you're not chopping his steak fast enough! 
See that paw?!

Keeping a close eye on the quality of his meat: 'Medium-rare to rare please, and chopped real fine' .. 'I (almost) ain't got no teeth anymore, remember'!

Well, who'd've thought, eh? Eighteen years! I can't believe it's true, but it really is ... 

Eight years, OK, I'd go for that, but eighteen .. no way! Wow ..

Apparently this is our 'porcelain' anniversary, as far as gifts go, I can't think of much .. a toilet?

 

The weather was perfect so we decided to go to a Wildlife Refuge close by in Alabama, only about 10 miles away.

On the way up we drove through Corfu and found the Buttercrumb Bakery open, which almost never is the case when we're passing by. 

It being a Sunday it should be closed for sure but the sign on the door stated: "Sundays open by chance". Lucky us!

 

            Choices, choices ..

Like I said, the Refuge is close by so it didn't take us long to get there.

We drove to the first overlook we could find to have some coffee first ...

Well, it was all about the pie of course .. strawberry-rhubarb. Pretty good!

After which we drove for a while through the fairly large Refuge, checking out a few more of the overlooks, before going on the 1.3 mile 'Swallow Hollow Nature Trail'  through the wetlands.

 

This Refuge has a lot of them, wetlands I mean, and 4 different  nature trails with boardwalks to elevate you over and through the swamps.

     

Interpretive panels along the way tell of some of the more common residents and plants of the area, like this Great Egret on the left and the Cormorant on the right.

We didn't see much wildlife but we're planning to go back in the Fall, during the much more busy bird migration, and hike some of the other trails.

          

Amanita Jacksonii (you can eat this one!)

Buttonbush

Fast forward to 4pm, when we found ourselves in a real movie theater (yes, they still exist), which had been ages, to see Mamma Mia 2!

                                                                           

I loved, loved, loved the first one, and this one almost as much! 
This one's a little more serious, but I loved the 'young' Donna, and those two crazy friends of hers were as hilarious as before!
And the music, Abba .. what can I say .. bringing back 'my time' in the seventies .. sigh .. so long ago ..


  

Afterward we treated ourselves to sushi, which was also a long time ago!

Yumm!

The next day we sort of extended our anniversary celebrations by playing an early round of golf at the Buffalo Tournament Club ..

... and having lunch at (Lebanese/mediteranian) 'The Pita Place'.

        

Not quite what we had, but I forgot to take a picture ..

And that's it for this week, folks. 

A very pleasant anniversary 'week', and hopefully we'll have many more to come ...

A little Song-Sparrow

We had another lazy summer-week, not much going on, still warm but fortunately not too crazy ..  just same ol', same ol' ..

I went for a few walks although it's still a little too warm for me, I can't wait for it to cool down.
Nature is sort-of lazy too, other than some butterflies and LBBs (Little Brown Birds), there's not much stirring.
Not that they're not pretty in their own way of course. Like this dainty Song Sparrow ..

Or this pretty Pearl Crescent ...

Or this one, new to me, an Eastern Comma:

At first I though it was badly damaged, look at those ruffled wings, but no, that's exactly like he should look like, with 'jagged edges' and a 'hooked silver 'comma' on it's hind wings'. (if you look real careful you'll see them on the edges).

Whenever I go for my walks I pass a lot of 'seasonals', people who live here all summer. Some have put a lot of work in making their RVs look like 'home' ... and than some ..

I took some pics, just for fun:

This next one apparently was 'flocked'. I looked it up 'http://www.pinklawnflamingos.com/flamingo_fundraisers.php', and it's a 'thing'. 

It's used as a fundraiser for school or other charitable organizations, and when you find them in your yard you better pay up, play the game and move them forward!

$5 If you play along and move them yourself, $10 if you let others move them for you ..

The truck and RV are doing very well, so far, until we had some heavy rain the other day and I woke up to buckets (under water dripping from the ceiling) in the living room, and a note not to use the AC!

We were a little stumped what caused it. 
I've been cleaning the roof and did not find any holes or rips, but when we finally took off  the shroud, disconnected the AC, and lifted it away from where it was sitting ... we found some pinholes around the edge ...

Apparently earlier this year in Louisiana, when we tightened the screws that hold the AC on the roof  (we had some condensation drips inside the AC),  some little screws that stick out (too far) from holding the body of the AC together, poked through the rubber roof!

Oh well, nothing that a little caulking (or a lot, if your name is James) can't fix!

 

Since James had only one day off this week (another dead-line at work), we didn't do any sight-seeing, but we went to Williamsville to get our weekly groceries, and went for a late afternoon/ twilight round of golf at  the Buffalo Tournament Club.

    

Where we met with another of Phil's cousins (Punxsutawney Phil Sowerby's that is)!

This summer has been a little on the 'too hot' side to do many outside dinners, we rather eat inside where the air-conditioning is blowing, but every now and than it gets a little cooler in the evening, and we'll move everything outside:

                

Yeah, you didn't think Merl wasn't there, did you ... of course he is!
                                    

       

          Busy eating, but what the heck ... ?

                                                                     
This is what they watched going by ..  the weekly 'Hayride'

The campground's kids, and even some adults, are loaded up on the hay-cart and pulled through the park .. I guess it's good old summer-fun, especially with the beautiful evenings we're having!

OK, time to call it quits. It's almost 5 o'clock .. which means .. happy-hour at the Hess's!