for posting that, Donna.  I've been participating in the hawk count on Mount Wachusett for the past 5 years and when I try to explain what it looks like to some people they don't really get it.  This will help a lot.  We had a pretty good year this year, but not as good as last year.  We had a 5000 day last year.  The best this year was a 2200 day last week.  Lots of fun!

All I can say is WOW!  How do you count them all??   

Kris

Luckily, we usually have a good group and take an average of whatever number everyone comes up with.  And often the kettles individually are small enough to count.  For example, the 2200 day this year, the biggest kettle we had was 150, but we had kettles all day and they add up.  I recommend it to anyone, it's a great experience.  Go to www.hawkcount.org to find a watch site nearby or just to see the numbers of what's been flying in your area.

   That's what my husband thought when I asked him about the counting part. It looks like it would be a fun thing to do and see!

                        Kris

Abandoned Cemetery in New York

Abandoned Spooky Cemetery Chapel

Rochester, New York: Built in the early 1800s, Mt. Hope Cemetery was the first munipical cemetery in the United States with graves older than the official graveyard itself. Such famous persons as Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas are among those buried there in everything from lawn crypts and columbariums to family mausoleums. It seems strange, then, that the chapel at such an historically significant location would be abandoned to the elements, though it remains elegant even in its disrepair.

I bumped into this a few times on the net....and it had nothing to do with what I was searching for. 

I found this about the chapel-

Abandoned Chapel in Mt. Hope Cemetery
     
Within the fence bordering Mt. Hope, there is an abandoned chapel just a few feet from the road. The windows and doors are all secured. However, the main entryway is loosely secure at best. Visitors are treated to a breathtaking site of light filtering through the glass down onto the decaying pews left inside.

It is one of two chapels in the cemetery. This is the south chapel near the cemetery's southerly Mt Hope Ave gate, a few blocks from Elmwood Ave. (The north chapel and crematorium, which are also unused, are behind the fountain back a ways from the cemetery's northerly gate on Mt Hope Ave near Robinson Dr which goes through Highland Park.)

It is small and was not built by a particular congregation for their worship services. It was built by the city, I believe, for funeral services for those being interred in the cemetery. It has not been used in many years because of serious structural problems which are easy to see if you look over the outside of the building. These problems were caused by excessive differential settling of the foundation. It's a very pretty little building, but the repair expenses cannot be justified by returning it to use as a chapel. However, a number of years ago, the city indicated an intent to reuse it as a mausoleum by creating spaces (niches) inside for interring cremated remains. The prospective sale of the niches was expected to justify the repair expenses. I don't know what happened to that plan. The Friends of Mt Hope Cemetery is a great source of information about this and other structures in the cemetery.

As of Feb 28, 2009, the chapel is boarded up and cannot be entered. Rumor as of April 20, 2009 has it that the chapel will be undergoing restoration as part of a grant (whether to the City of Rochester or Mt. Hope Cemetery itself is unknown) from the Federal stimulus package. [/i]

for posting that, Donna.  I've been participating in the hawk count on Mount Wachusett for the past 5 years and when I try to explain what it looks like to some people they don't really get it.  This will help a lot.  We had a pretty good year this year, but not as good as last year.  We had a 5000 day last year.  The best this year was a 2200 day last week.  Lots of fun!

All I can say is WOW!  How do you count them all??   

Kris

Morning meeting. 

Jim,

You might also check with the Cornell Cooperative Extension.  They often deal with plant pests.

Cindy

I was going to suggest the Cooperative Extension.  We've taken many samples of things from our yard to the Master Gardeners and for a small fee they have given sheets of info to us on what they found and how to treat.

            Kris

It appears to be a bookkeeping error. Nothing is wrong with the transmitter or Quest.

PHEW!!!!  Thank you Shaky...my worry-wort side was starting to take hold...

                                         

                                                 Kris

FYI, the satellite tracking people haven't sent any Quest updates in about  a week. It's being looked into.

Hey Kris - Like Shaky posted the other day, we're working on getting new Quest updates.  Hopefully very soon.   

Yeah-I had read that the other day and was just wondering what was going on with the tracking people.   Just asking...thanks.

Wonder what's up with Quest these days-no recent updates...

                             Kris

I just opened my order from The Scrape and I love the license plate holder-can't wait to put it on my car! AND I love my M/K mug too! Good job by everyone involved!       

                                   Kris

  Have a very Happy Birthday, Lynda!

                                           Kris

I made it too!! 

[Have a very Happy Birthday, Helen! Kris]

  Have a very Happy Birthday, Helen!

                                  Kris

I'm ordering one right away.  The check is in the mail.

I also ordered one today (along with an M/K mug).   

Azalea continued to wander around Northumberland County and on Thursday afternoon Sept 3 made a brief flight almost to the mouth of the Coan River near Lewisetta. Her afternoon flights along the shoreline are taking her out over the Potomac River which is in Maryland. On Sept 2 and 3 she spent time around both Hull Creek and another small stream just west of there. On the afternoon of Friday Sept 4 she flew back to the area just north of the Wicomoco River near Blackwells where she spent the night and was still there at the time of this map early morning Sept 5.

Just in case you have not heard, both of the adult eagles were seen at their nest in Norfolk Botanical Garden this past week. Now we know for certain Azalea is not with either of her parents.

[  Possibly she's found a nice spot in the nearby gorge.    

Carol P.

Bill and I were at KP last week and marveled at how you caught sight of her that one day.  There are so many trees, houses, buildings around and of course, the gorge that looking for her is like looking for a needle in a haystack. 

Kris