Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – It was a spectacle of light and color last night in Medina as the sun set. This photo doesn’t do it justice. This was taken near the canal bridge by State Street with the First Baptist Church steeple in the background.

This photo is looking towards the canal bridge, which has been an iconic structure in Medina for a century.

A full moon was also out last night. This photo is looking through the bridge at the moon.

The National Weather Service is forecasting more warm autumn weather in the coming days. Today is forecast for a high of 73 with clouds increasing.

On Monday, the high will be 72, with a 50 percent chance of showers, followed by a high of 71 with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday. Wednesdsay is forecast for a high of 68, followed by a high of 61 on Thursday, according to the Weather Service.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman
Orleans Hub photographer Cheryl Wertman captured the total supermoon lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon, tonight.

Tonight is a once in a generation phenomenon, a confluence of three things. The moon will be full and in its closest point in its orbit around the Earth, a so-called supermoon.

There will also be a lunar eclipse when the Earth will line up directly with the sun and moon, directly between the two when the moon will fall in the Earth’s shadow.

The moon will not look completely dark because light scatters off the Earth’s atmosphere, giving the moon a reddish color.

Heather Kuepper also sent in these photos she took in Gaines.

Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A canal boat named Canandaigua was out cruising on the Erie Canal today. I was driving along Presbyterian Road at the widewaters section when I spotted the boat at about 11:30 a.m.

I then hustled to the Presbyterian Road bridge to get the boat approaching.

Here the boat passes by the bridge and heads east towards Eagle Harbor.

A woman on the boat told me it was an “absolutely gorgeous day” to be out on the canal.

Today will be sunny with a high of 74 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. More sunny days are in the forecast.

Thursday will be mostly sunny with a high of 72 degrees, followed by a mostly sunny Friday with a high of 74 degrees. The weekend will also be sunny with a high of 72 on Saturday and 74 on Sunday.

Provided photo – Some of the volunteers are pictured by the widewaters section of the Erie Canal along Presbyterian Road near Knowlesville.

Volunteers collected nearly 500 pounds of trash from local waterways this past Saturday when Orleans County participated in the American Littoral Society’s annual New York State Shoreline and Beach Cleanup.

The 23 volunteers collected, recorded and removed more than 2,919 items of trash weighing 489 pounds from local waterways over the course of three hours, said Dennis Kirby, manager of the Soil and Water Conservation District in Orleans County.

The county has participated in the garbage pickup for 15 years and has collected over 20,000 pounds of trash.

The volunteers convened at 9 a.m. at Bullard Park in Albion for instructions and introductions before dispersing to assigned locations. Groups tackled trash at locations along Glenwood Lake, Butts Park, Lake Alice, Point Breeze and the Erie Canal.

At noon everyone reconvened back at Bullard Park to weigh the 18 bags of trash collected along with various items such as TV’s, fishing gear, and discarded tires.

Every item collected, down to the last cigarette butt, was recorded and categorized on data sheets that were then sent to the American Littoral Society for statistical analysis along with data submitted by all the groups participating across the country.

This allows them to observe and track trends in sources of trash. In Orleans County, over half of the items collected were from food and beverage related items.

Along with concerned citizens, volunteers participating in the cleanup represented 4-H clubs and local high school students. This event was sponsored locally by the Orleans County Soil & Water Conservation District in conjunction with the Orleans County Water Quality Coordinating Committee.

Press Release, Department of Environmental Conservation

BASOM – Trapping permits will be issued for the Oak Orchard, Tonawanda and John White Wildlife Management Areas beginning Oct. 1, for the 2015-16 license year, the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced today.

Permit applications can be obtained weekdays from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, by appearing in person at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge Office on Casey Road between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., or by writing to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Wildlife, 1101 Casey Road, Box B, Basom, New York 14013.

Trappers who obtain a permit will be required to report their harvest and trapping efforts in each area. The Western New York trapping season for fox, raccoon, coyote and other upland furbearing animals opens Oct. 25 and closes Feb. 15, 2016. On the John White WMA the start of upland trapping will be delayed until Nov. 1.

This year’s trapping season for mink, muskrat and beaver in this area of New York including Tonawanda, Oak Orchard and John White WMAs will run from Nov. 25 until Feb. 15, 2016.

The start of muskrat and mink trapping at the three WMAs starts later than the Western New York trapping season and will run from Dec. 5 to Feb. 15, 2016.

Wetland muskrat and mink trapping may be limited to dike areas only with no marsh trapping in wetland impoundments. This action is intended to allow the muskrat population to recover after the very hard winter of 2014-15 and an apparent reduction in muskrat numbers in the area. A decision will be made by Oct. 1 and information will be provided when trapping permits are issued.

The maximum number of traps a trapper can set for muskrat and mink on the three WMAs is 25. To accomplish this, the DEC issues 25 numbered tags to each trapper who obtains a permit. A tag must be attached to each trap the trapper is using on the areas. Any trap that does not have one of these tags attached is considered an illegal trap.

Individual trappers can only operate traps that contain tags with their assigned numbers. Traps set for upland trapping and beaver will not require numbered tags and will not be considered in the trap limit. The trap limit provides a more equitable distribution of the harvest and prevents trappers from monopolizing the better trapping areas.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Some leaves are pictured Thursday evening on a bright sunny day.

This week’s heat wave will continue today with a high of 84 degrees as well as mostly sunny skies, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

On Saturday, it will reach 82, but there is a chance for thunderstorms and showers. The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook due to the scattered thunderstorms that could hit Western New York on Saturday afternoon and early evening.

Sunday is forecast to be sunny, but the high temperature will fall to 64.

Photo by Tom Rivers

GAINES – A tractor is parked in a wet field along Kenyonville Road late this afternoon after two days of heavy rain.

The rain and cool temperatures will give way to sunshine and warmth on Monday.

The National Weather Service is forecasting mostly sun with a high of 72 degrees on Monday, followed by a high of 78 and sunny on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday will also be sunny with a high of 81 on Wednesday and 80 on Thursday, according to the Weather Service.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – It was another glorious sunset last evening. The top photo shows the grain facility along the railroad tracks on West Academy Street in Albion.

After several days with highs in the 80s, Western New York will get some relief from the heat.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a high of 74 today, followed by a high of 76 on Friday. On Saturday, rain is likely with a high of 69, followed by a 50 percent chance of rain and a high of 67 on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

Here is another look along the railroad tracks in Albion last night.