West Nile Virus!?

So....apparently there's been a positive result for West Nile Virus in the area and they're spraying to kill mosquitoes.

Why? Everywhere! I wanted to go to Gardiner's Park, and they closed at 6! I remember the gatekeeper at Connetquot telling me something similar.

Well I did go down to the Picnic area of Captree and managed to get this nice shot. Too bad I couldn't travel much otherwise...

Sunset at Southards Pond

After realizing the timing of the sunset from my trip to Belmont Lake and Sunken Meadow, I decided to see how it looks from Southards Pond. I've been there so often, even made friends with the ducks that live there. Today was no different, as soon as I got there they all came out of the water and towards me. Around 7 the sun was setting and I got the perfect (to me at least) pictures of it all. It's truly amazing and I'm going to try and get several parks and landmarks to this effect.

Another iPhone shot, and I gotta say I really like the glare effect.

This isn't terrible, but this is definitely a digital camera shot.

Can't remember which took this, but all the elements are what make this picture so relaxing- the clouds, the sky, the horizon, the water, the ducks, the shore, and of course the setting sun that touches everything listed above.

The clouds were nice today as well.

The digital camera doesn't produce the Sun Glare effect as strongly as the iPhone.

A picture without the setting sun?? What am I thinking?? Well I thought the symmetry was amazing. It's an amazing reflection and what you have on top is what's on the bottom, and that's just awesome to look at.

Didn't realize I took this picture, but I like it. The duck is looking towards the sun and the way it's hitting the duck? It's also cool. I like it!

If you haven't already, please vote for photo's #30 and #31! http://www.bellport.com/gallery/contest.htm

Bellport Contest and Sunken Meadow

Here is the link to the Bellport Photo Contest. Please vote for #30 or #31, they are mine. Everyone has been telling me they like #31 a lot.

http://www.bellport.com/gallery/contest.htm

I checked out the competition. The first bunch seem amazing. There's one on there (#16) that just doesn't make the cut. Normally I wouldn't criticize someone else's picture, but it's supposed to be a summer themed photo in Bellport. There's SNOW in that one!

I took a lot more photos and put them on Facebook. But here's a somewhat progression of the sun setting.

Really liking this golden sky effect!

Really liking it, I like how it hits the clouds too.

Connetquot State Park Trip

So I finally made it out to Connetquot. It took me forever to find time and motivation to go out there, and honestly, I should have waited. Sheesh was it Humid! I wore pants thinking water, has a nice breeze....Nope. Totally wrong call on that one. On any other day I'd have really liked this place, as it had a beautiful lake, a large trail system, and plenty of wildlife. Well, not that I saw, but signs pretty much everywhere told me I should have been able to see Deer, Foxes, Owls, Hawks, and other animals. Oh well, I got to see a turtle and some Swans. 

A view of the lake.

I thought this was cool, at a few spots there was a dock for fishing, but you need a permit.

I liked all of the different winding and rivers that this lake made.

One of the very few flowers I actually saw that day.

This can pretty much sum up my day- An endless road or trails and a heck of a lot of walking down it!

Every now and then there were fields of tall grass that I was specifically told not to go in. Mostly because of deer ticks, but also because of the preserved bird sanctuaries.

I liked this area because it wasn't as wide and allowed the trees to grow over the water.

This was as close to the water I could get without stepping into mud.

One of the only buildings in the park, I want to come back here when there's an event or at least in the cooler weather.