We’ve never let our dogs off-leash in our garden at the lake. Jackson was a bit unpredictable. If he heard a noise, particularly thunder, he’d chase off after it. Soon after we got the house we tried letting him out, but then one day – on an otherwise nice day – there was an almighty crack of thunder, the rain started pouring down and Jackson took off up Lake Shore Road. I chased after him just wearing sandals and got soaked myself. I finally trapped him in a garden about five houses away and we both returned, bedraggled, to the house. After that we always took him out on leash. When we got Harley we continued that practice – until recently. We’ve discovered that Harley is a quite different type of dog. He’s quite self-confident and rather calm. Things don’t bother him much, and he generally goes with the flow. He also likes to sit and observe and he can apparently do this for quite long periods of time. He’s a very ‘cat-like’ dog. So we’ve decided to take a chance on letting him into the garden by himself. Here he is on a lovely fall day in typical pose: sitting in a patch of sunlight and watching the lake.

Taken with a Sony Alpha 500 and Minolta 100-200mm f4.5. You’ve got to love those Minolta colors.

I came across this magnificent bird while walking the dog in Briarcliff Manor. We’d walked through Law Memorial Park, described on the Village of Briarcliff Manor website as follows:

Located in the heart of the Village on Pleasantville Road, this seven (7) acre park was gifted to the Village by its first family, Mr.& Mrs. Walter Law. The Village Pool complex is the park’s biggest attraction, featuring a 120′ x 75′ main pool and a 30′ diameter circular wading pool. A new two-story Bathhouse/Pavilion was completed in 2001 in conjunction with a major rehabilitation project. The park also offers four tennis courts with lights for evening play; three clay courts and one year-round all-weather court. Adjacent to the tennis courts is a playground that includes swings, a sandbox, and play structures for children 2-5 and 5-12 years old. Two (2) platform tennis courts are located just north of the park and the Village Library can be found on the Park’s eastern edge.

When I first saw it I thought that the village had installed a new statue on the edge of the pond. Then it started moving. Amazingly it let me get quite close before flying off. Although I knew it was going to take of at some point I was so taken by the opportunity that I didn’t prepare properly. I left the camera on single shot autofocus instead of putting it on continuous. Also I think I was so excited that moved the camera too much. So when it finally took flight all I got was the picture below. Almost everything is a blur but I include it here since it at least gives an impression of this incredible bird in flight.