Being a Rochesterian Part 1

My, my, it has been a while since we last talked and we have done a lot in that time. We decided that it was time to explore some of the local offerings in nature and culture. Once a month a free concert is offered by students of the renowned Eastman School of Music at St. Michael's RC Church in the city. I didn't bring my camera, but I should have. The church itself was worth the trip. Magnificent, old world feeling with beautiful stained glass windows. One of the windows is so beautiful that it won first prize at the Chicago World's Fair in about 1893, shortly after the church was built by wealthy German immigrants. The concert (piano, cello and violin) was really quite suburb. We got there early because I didn't know where I was going, so we got seats right up front. The church is very large and was well filled, but not crowded, so there would have been no trouble getting seats even if we arrived at the last minute. Mozart and Brahms trios were played professionally and with enthusiasm. The musicians' biographies showed that they had each played all over the world. It was very enjoyable and we will be going back again.

During the week we drove to Sodus Bay which is about forty minutes East of us. My optometrist told me that the kayaking and fishing were excellent there and that you put in at the south end of the bay. We drove through the small fishing village and down to the south end. The only place we saw with a boat ramp charged $5.00, which isn't bad, but I don't think that's what he was talking about. Farther south of that point, however, was mostly marsh. We didn't find another suitable spot. On the way back we came upon a sign announcing a public fishing and boat launch access point. there was a trail that led to some steep embankments on some creeks leading into Lake Ontario, but for the life of me I can't imagine how you would get a boat in there, even a very small boat. There was no charge though. Here is a picture of that spot.


We also took a guided walking tour of Durand Eastman Park with Anne's brother, Art and his wife, Marian. The tour was conducted by Master Gardeners and was about two hours in length. It was a beautiful day which brought out a lot of people, maybe thirty or so. We would have preferred a smaller group, but there were about nine Master Gardeners, so it wasn't hard to get questions answered. It was also good to get different perspectives on things. We learned that there are over 1,000 varieties of trees in the park. We learned a lot of other things too, but, of course, I have forgotten most of them already. The park is close to us and we were given a self guided tour booklet, so we can go back anytime. I brought my camera, but instead of taking pictures, I was busy recording the names of trees and plants.


Our next adventure was to Highland Park, also in the City of Rochester and designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape architect that designed Central Park in New York City. May is lilac time in Rochester and the world famous Lilac Festival draws a hundred thousand people from all over the world. We decided to beat the throngs to the punch by getting there a little early. There are over 500 varieties of lilacs in the park and many, many other flowering plants. It was formed by a glacier and is really quite beautiful. We enjoyed our walk and our visit to the Lamberton Conservatory in the park. Both parks, Durand and Highland and wonderful resources for anyone interested in trees and plants or just wanting a really nice place to take a walk or to sit on the lawn.

My next adventure is not one I wanted. I decided to change the code on our garage door's outside keypad from the one the prior owners used. It was a simple enough project, but now none of the remotes will work and the manufacturer thinks I need a new receiver board. So, do I call someone to come look at it and replace the board, assuming that's what's the matter, or do I just go out and buy a new opener? Stay tuned, but, wait a minute. I have one more picture to post. Yesterday, I installed some updates from our favorite software company, Microsoft. They decided that instead of my chosen desktop background, I should have ones that they supplied. Their pictures weren't bad, but they weren't my pictures. I had a nice picture of a scene on Eighth Lake in the Adirondacks that I took, but it was gone. I uninstalled the program and for my trouble I got a Microsoft logo background, not my own picture back. I thought I found it from the thumbnail, but I found the wrong one. This is one of me canoeing on Eighth Lake a couple of years ago. Obviously, I didn't take it, but I'll have to live with  looking at myself until I find my original background picture.