279-283/366: Week in Photos

Shortened "week" this week, because I did the last photo dump on Tuesday. 80% of these are also from a single day, this Friday, when I decided to call a Mental Health Day and get away from stuff that was annoying me by driving down to Scoharie County to hike up Vroman's Nose.

279/366: Road

Rt. 30 from the top of Vroman's Nose. Rt. 30 from the top of Vroman's Nose.

Vroman's Nose is a huge rock outcrop in the middle of a valley, with a moderately steep trail going up through woods to a dramatic cliff with views over the valley. These are very cool when you're there, but the camera really dilutes the impact of those kind of panoramic views. So instead you get some more focused views from the top, like this shot of the road along the base of the cliff.

280/366: Farm

Farm and cliff from atop Vroman's Nose. Farm and cliff from atop Vroman's Nose.

There's also this farm, with a precarious ledge in the frame to help give a sense of how high up this is. There was a sign at the trail head warning that peregrine falcons nest here, which has SteelyKid clamoring to go down there (peregrine falcons are her favorite bird, and she's doing a school report on them). I maybe shouldn't've told her about that, because I suspect it will be more than a little terrifying to see the kids out on these ledges...

281/366: Painting

Turkey vultures from the top of Vroman's Nose. Turkey vultures from the top of Vroman's Nose.

Yo, check it out, I found an Andrew Wyeth painting!

I did not, in fact, see any peregrine falcons for sure-- there were some raptors circling over the parking lot that looked smaller than turkey vultures, but I didn't get any pictures good enough to tell. There were a bunch of turkey vultures, though.

282/366: Mammal

Chipmunk in the woods on Vroman's Nose. Chipmunk in the woods on Vroman's Nose.

Besides the vultures, I saw a bunch of these fuzzy little dudes.

283/366: Candy

SteelyKid wants you to know she got 58 pieces of candy at the softball party. SteelyKid wants you to know she got 58 pieces of candy at the softball party.

And speaking of cute mammals...

The other big event of the week was SteelyKid's final softball game of the year. No photos of the actual game, because it was intermittently raining from the very first inning, and shifted to steady rain by the third. They cut the game short, and the end-of-season party was a giant mob of people huddled under the pavilion in the park.

They had pinatas for the various teams, which they ended up just ripping open and shaking out over the picnic tables where the kids were sitting. SteelyKid netted a bag of Tootsie Rolls the size of her head.

When we got home, she counted her haul, made a sign, and said "Daddy, I want you to take a picture of me with my candy and put it on the Internet." So, here you go.

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