we took a Sunday drive to see what the local countryside looked like on such an unusually warm December day:

at higher elevations, there were still remnants of snow...

a few weeks back, lightning struck (and burned off!) the steeple on this church:

this was a (rough) concept image I did for a project a few years ago that never came to fruition... the mood of it (drab, muted colors) came to mind today as the annual Naples Grape Festival is this weekend, but unfortunately the weather is overcast with misty, drizzly rain :(

pumpkin custard at Huntone's Cones, just down the hill & around the corner!

evening at Tim's mom's

views from her front door:


(along Rt. 53, Naples)

visiting Moonpie's workplace

fall color already! :(


(color wasn't manipulated in any of these photos - this is truly how it looks)

rain on fields

this stretch of road is always beautiful, even on a rainy day:
Rt. 21, driving back from Wayland towards Naples





at first I just started snapping pictures from the driver's seat (not smart) but finally I pulled over to get a few more - still, these images don't do justice to the green patchwork fields

sky views from grocery store parking lots

view from Wegmans parking lot in Auburn, NY:

view (of HiTor) from Bob & Irv's parking lot in Naples, NY:

critter in our neighbor's yard

These pictures are scans of snapshots taken by our neighbor Phil, who lives across the street from us. He saw this black bear in his back yard one morning ~2 weeks ago. Later that same day, there were reported sightings of a bear on the golf course behind us -- we assume it was the same creature, which therefore means he likely crossed our yard...!

looking north, from Rt. 21 just west of Naples


I love blue barns - this one is also along Rt. 21

bon voyage mamacita

breakfast at the Redwood Restaurant

shovel the sidewalk

drive into town...

hills barely visible behind Widmer's vineyards (Rt. 245)

returning home

Grimes Glen

a walk on a gorgeous autumn day with my dad

Grimes Glen is right here in Naples - it's a lovely rambling creek bed in a gully with 2 large waterfalls along the way

Naples Grape Fest

a common site around here this weekend, during the annual Naples Grape Fest (or as one locally-produced independent paper calls it: "the Hillbilly Homecoming" hee hee :)


more photos of this year's festival by another local photographer here