#472 Little food, many birds

Not quite clear who got it, but I am sure it was yummy!

#471 Close up

Freedom!

#470 Is that a car in Lake Cayuga?

At first this picture doesn't look too special. It's Lake Cayuga (as seen from Stewart Park) with a lot of ice (last year I walked on it and it broke so I didn't try again this year). BUT on closer inspection it looks a lot like there is a car in the lake. Since only the wheels are sticking out, it'd be a good guess to say it's upside down. Does anyone miss a car? Or know how this one ended up in the lake? How long has it been there?

#469 Heathrow

This photo reminds me a little of Heathrow airport where you can already see the next plane in the distance when one is just touching down. Apparently in Heathrow they schedule touchdowns as close as 90 seconds apart.

By the way: the blurry dot in the top right is the breadcrumb as explained in yesterday's post.

#468 Got it!

So here's what we did. We threw breadcrumbs up in the air and waited for the birds to catch them. At the same time we tried to snap photos of the birds in action. Because the camera has a pretty significant delay between pressing the button and actually taking the picture, that was pretty tricky. In this photo it looks like the top bird just got the bread at this very instant.

#467 Go Away!

The brown dude doesn't like the other dudes it seems. We had a fun photo shoot with birds in Stewart Park this week and you will see a few more of these photos through the next days.

On a different note: Please welcome Incident Alice who will help us stay on top with the duties of daily photo blogging.

#466 T-Zone

Being from Germany where every telecommunications service starts with "T-" (think T-Mobile, T-Online, T-Net, T-Privacydebacle, etc). That's why it took me a year to figure out that this label is not for free wifi.

#465 Fall Creek during Monsoon

This is Fall Creek, usually a little creek, now a pretty violent river. Is this a sign that winter is over now?

#464 CTB Chalkboard Menu

The fashion of having the menu written artfully on a chalkboard was new to me when I arrived in Ithaca. Here's a sample from CTB (that is College Town Bagles for you non-Ithacan readers).

By the way: We are recruiting fellow Ithacans as contributors for this blog. Applications are accepted in the comments box below.

#463 Where is it?

Now here is a Where Is It? quiz for all you blog readers and twitter readers of IthacaDailyPhoto that I think is pretty tough. Unless, of course, you walk this path daily - in which case I would like to ask you to keep your mouth shut. Solutions are accepted in the comments below or on Twitter @jonemo or @cojofra.

#462 Hell freezing over

Whenever our window looks like this, I am reminded of the phrase "hell freezing over".

#461 Dewitt and the Rays of Light

Ithaca can be pretty spooky at night. While I personally think it is safe to walk the street (easy assumption for a tall, reasonably fit guy) the streets are empty and there are many dark corners. This photo is of Dewitt Mall on some Monday night around 11pm when coming back from Trivia at Coroba (or whatever that Trivia place is called).

#460 Unfortunate...

#459 Remember, there is a new schedule!

TCAT changed their schedule on Sunday. This means route 10 is not running every 10 minutes any more and should therefore not really be called Route 10 any longer.

#458 Snow is nice...

Snow is nice, muddy roads not so much.

#457 Here's an idea

This photo was not taken in Ithaca but in beautiful Uberlingen in Germany. This bookshelf is a project they recently started there. The rules of the shelf are: Anyone can put books into the shelf. Anyone can take a book. If you take the last book, you have to replace it. That's it. And it seems to work. What a cool idea. Let's set one up in Ithaca!

#456 c.f.

Compare for #135. What do you notice? Exactly, there is more snow in Yellow Barn State Forrest than there was in March 09.

#455 Winter Landscape near Dryden

Dear reader,

You know what's a shame? When you post a picture that you think is really beautiful but can't come up with an appropriate text. It happened to me yesterday and the same again today.

Regards,
Jonas

#454 Country Roads

The Dryden wastelands after some lake effect snow.

#453 Lonely rider

X Country skiing. Quiz: where is it???

Hint 1: You can rent skis, poles and shoes for $15 per set per 24h period from Cornell COE.

Hint 2: Don't know what Cornell COE is? Google it.

Hint 3: Please please please don't go there to rent skis when we are there. We hate waiting in line.

#452 Lost and found

That's my glove waiting for my hand to come back.

#451 Endless

Well, actually not quite endless. It ends at that road where you turn left and go over the bridge when you try to go to Boston. Know where I mean?

#450 Half-half

Half frozen, half not frozen. That's what she said.

#449 Hoch stand der Sanddorn am Strand von Hiddensee...

...Micha mein Micha und alles tat so weh, als die Kaninchen scheu schauten aus dem Bau, so laut entlud sich mein Leid ins Himmelblau...

Lyrics of an awesome song from Nina Hagen. Here is some detail to its meaning and background of GDR music.

#448 Icefishing

Did anyone notice that we were on holiday? Yes we were, despite Ithaca Dispatch's best efforts to keep us in Ithaca. If I can recommend something to you, dear Ithacan: Do not use Ithaca Dispatch. Ever. The suck beyond belief.

If you do use Ithaca Dispatch, the following might happen to you: You order a taxi for 6.45am (so that you make the bus at 7.20 for sure). Wait till 6.55. Try calling them and realize no one is there to answer the phone. Panic. Ask a friend to help you out.

But as soon as you come back from you vacation you are in for another surprise. Ithaca Airport has an exclusivity agreement with the worst taxi company on the friggin planet!!! Ithaca Dispatch is the only taxi company allowed to pick you up from the airport!

Let's assume you did call Ithaca Dispatch to get you home from the airport. They won't drive you home. They carpool you together with everyone else from the plane and give you a round trip through Ithaca. And when you finally get home after hours of being driven around Ithaca they charge you an arm and a leg for the journey from airport to home.

It can't be that bad you say? You're wrong. It can be worse: It seems to be standard practice for Ithaca Dispatch drivers to text while driving. You think they would surely not do that on icy roads? Well, they do. Our particular driver did text while sliding towards a red traffic light. Or maybe he didn't text but play Snake(tm).

To recap: Remember to call any taxi company other than Ithaca Dispatch next time you need a taxi. And go to the airport website and complain about the fact, that no other taxi company can pick you up from the airport.

Back to topic: The picture above shows a tent on Dryden Lake. I presume they do ice fishing but maybe they are simply on a camping trip.

#447 Turtle found in Lake Cayuga!

After yesterday's discovery of tropical fish in the Southern end of Lake Cayuga, it doesn't surprise us to hear today, that a turtle has also been spotted by divers.

PS: Don't believe everything they write on the internet. Of course there are no divers in Lake Cayuga on Jan 6! It's way to cold to go diving! But the thing with the turtle is true...

#446 Tropical fish found in Lake Cayuga!

These are just three of the various tropical fish which were found under the large layer of ice on the southern end of Lake Cayuga near Stewart Park in Ithaca. It is believed that the strong pollution and the Cornell Lake Water Cooling System did contribute to this otherwise extinct species finding a new home in Lake Cayuga.

#445 At the Farmers Market

A somewhat random shot of a pricing table of one of the stalls that where there for the last Farmers market of the season.

#444 Missing Letter

It's blog post numer 444 here on Ithaca Daily Photo. Isn't that amazing?! We want to use this special date to point out that Hilby (the dude with the long legs) is the only referee without a letter. Anyone know where the letter went?

#443 Hilby the Skinny German Rutabaga Referee

Hilby, today working as a Rutabaga Curl referee and not in his usual job as the Skinny German juggler boy. Did you watch the youtube video of him? There is a part 2 to it! We are great fans of Hilby, check out his previous appearances on our blog: #347 and #438.

#442 What is she thinking?

A) In my next life I will be an artificial intelligence researcher at Cornell University!

B) I ... am ... a ... robot.

C) Before he can read this bestseller novel he has to cuddle me. Haha, what a masterplan!

By the way: Happy New Year to everyone (who celebrates New Year's Day today).