Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween-Garden Place.
10-31-09 GARDEN PLACE, BROOKLYN, NY: Halloween on Garden Place is almost as much fun as the big parade in the Village, maybe more. Many building on the street were decorated. Our base of operations was the stoop at Valerie’s co-op. Thousands of T or T’ers circulated on the street which was closed to traffic by the NYPD. The costumed hordes collected about 100,000 pieces of sweet. Probably 1,000,000 pictures were taken. Among the more inventive get-ups, among the many superheroes and supervillians, were a CO2 molecule, Dorothy Parker, Kate Gosselin, Lady GaGa, Fred, Chaplin, and a dachshund as a hot dog. Some of the bag toters were a bit on the oldish side. We thought one young lady might have been pregnant—a whole new implication to T or T.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Invasion of the Avian Apple Snatchers.
10-25-09 VERMONT: Yesterday we had a torrential rain, probably more than a inch. The streams are full and some overflowing. Otherwise the weather has been fine, not too cool to work outside comfortably. I completed all the bed clean-ups and hauled away many cartloads, did some pruning, and some hole filling, thanks to Gus. The dead pine came down on Tuesday, and the chips were dumped in the pasture near a mud hole between the barns. I spent most of Wednesday spreading them on the mud. Chippers, the tree company, did a very nice job on the pine tree by not letting the cuttings fall on the rhododendrons at the base of the pine.
About half of the turkeys were back this morning for more apples. They were up in the apple tree by the corner of the deck. That tree, loaded with fruit, has been home to lots of songbirds, especially robins, since the apples ripened, but turkeys? Even Sam the dog ate an apple this afternoon.
It started small, with the robins.
But before you know it.....
There's another turkey in the middle.
Here's how the tree looked in May and why there are so many apples now.
About half of the turkeys were back this morning for more apples. They were up in the apple tree by the corner of the deck. That tree, loaded with fruit, has been home to lots of songbirds, especially robins, since the apples ripened, but turkeys? Even Sam the dog ate an apple this afternoon.
It started small, with the robins.
But before you know it.....
There's another turkey in the middle.
Here's how the tree looked in May and why there are so many apples now.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Turkey Day Is Early This Year.
10-19-09 VERMONT: Today was warmer and sunny, yesterday was densely overcast. There has been no rain here in spite of all the storms in the NY metro area. I have been dutifully cleaning out the flower beds for next spring and summer. I have done three days work, short days to be sure, and have about one more day or two. The job consists of cutting down the dead stalks, raking them out of the bed and hauling away the debris, about eight cartloads so far.
If you clean out the beds in the fall as time permits, you don’t have the urgency of rushing to get it done in the spring. The snow melts more quickly in sunny spots in the spring. The shadier parts of the beds, against the walls or behind the house or under pine trees are the last to be snow free. As soon as the snow melts, shoots sprout, so the back of the bed is snow covered and the front is busy springing forth. If you try to clear that bed in the spring, you injure the growing stuff in front and can’t clear the frozen parts. You do have to be careful, in the fall, not to harm the hollyhocks, foxglove, valerian and any other biennials, or they won't be there next year. Do it in the fall, enjoy the leaves and the wildlife.
The happy, clean beds waiting for their long winter's nap.
Oh yeah, wildlife. Yesterday afternoon I saw flock of about 18 wild turkeys in the pasture in front of the barn. I rushed for the camera to get a snap before they ran off. I got 99 pix as they marched up the pasture in front of the big barn and then the little barn, under the fence into the yard, then between the house and the pond to the apple trees above the pond, then behind the pond to the apple trees by the fence. They ate apples at every stop. The favorite tree was the Lily tree. If one bird found a tasty morsel, others would rush over to share, try it and then rush to some other piece that might just be better. One or two birds were always on the look out. After every one had enough, they walked back to the woods. I took pix through the windows and then snuck out the front door and snapped from the deck. The dogs slept straight through.
Wild Turkey, undistilled.
There are 15 or 16 birds in this shot.
This afternoon the dogs, in the house after dinner, went crazy. I didn’t see anything so I let them out and went out on the deck to see what the deal was. I got a two second look at a gorgeous, big red fox with a big white tipped brush of a tail.
Two nights ago, Sam, the night prowler dog, came in about midnight with a touch of skunk aroma, not a blast in the face, just a delicate hint of the fragrance. The next day the scent was hanging in the air by the roses by the fence.
The dead pine tree by the road comes down tomorrow.
New blooms: witch hazel.
If you clean out the beds in the fall as time permits, you don’t have the urgency of rushing to get it done in the spring. The snow melts more quickly in sunny spots in the spring. The shadier parts of the beds, against the walls or behind the house or under pine trees are the last to be snow free. As soon as the snow melts, shoots sprout, so the back of the bed is snow covered and the front is busy springing forth. If you try to clear that bed in the spring, you injure the growing stuff in front and can’t clear the frozen parts. You do have to be careful, in the fall, not to harm the hollyhocks, foxglove, valerian and any other biennials, or they won't be there next year. Do it in the fall, enjoy the leaves and the wildlife.
The happy, clean beds waiting for their long winter's nap.
Oh yeah, wildlife. Yesterday afternoon I saw flock of about 18 wild turkeys in the pasture in front of the barn. I rushed for the camera to get a snap before they ran off. I got 99 pix as they marched up the pasture in front of the big barn and then the little barn, under the fence into the yard, then between the house and the pond to the apple trees above the pond, then behind the pond to the apple trees by the fence. They ate apples at every stop. The favorite tree was the Lily tree. If one bird found a tasty morsel, others would rush over to share, try it and then rush to some other piece that might just be better. One or two birds were always on the look out. After every one had enough, they walked back to the woods. I took pix through the windows and then snuck out the front door and snapped from the deck. The dogs slept straight through.
Wild Turkey, undistilled.
There are 15 or 16 birds in this shot.
This afternoon the dogs, in the house after dinner, went crazy. I didn’t see anything so I let them out and went out on the deck to see what the deal was. I got a two second look at a gorgeous, big red fox with a big white tipped brush of a tail.
Two nights ago, Sam, the night prowler dog, came in about midnight with a touch of skunk aroma, not a blast in the face, just a delicate hint of the fragrance. The next day the scent was hanging in the air by the roses by the fence.
The dead pine tree by the road comes down tomorrow.
New blooms: witch hazel.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Early Fall.
10-16-09 VERMONT: We arrived yesterday, escaping the rain in NJ, for overcast skies and cold. It was below freezing last night and tonight 22° is predicted. The leaves are past peak, but there is occasional color. The reds and oranges are gone and yellows and browns remain. There are small piles of snow under the eaves. The puddles and ponds had a little ice around the edges this morning.
We still have flowers: asters, roses, cimicfuga, chrysanthemum, fever few, monks hood, foxglove, sedum, helenium, hollyhock, phlox, hydragnea, turtle head, lobelia, lamium, spirea.
There were ducks on the pond this morning and a bit later turkeys in the pasture. Mt Lafayette and Mt Moosilauke have a lot of snow.
I had a busy day, I started closing up the gardens. I pulled all the flower supports and stakes and most of the garden barriers.
Moosilauke with snow. The colors are drab.
We still have flowers: asters, roses, cimicfuga, chrysanthemum, fever few, monks hood, foxglove, sedum, helenium, hollyhock, phlox, hydragnea, turtle head, lobelia, lamium, spirea.
There were ducks on the pond this morning and a bit later turkeys in the pasture. Mt Lafayette and Mt Moosilauke have a lot of snow.
I had a busy day, I started closing up the gardens. I pulled all the flower supports and stakes and most of the garden barriers.
Moosilauke with snow. The colors are drab.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
AT in a Day.
10-13-09 SHORT HILLS: It’s mid October and Fall is clearly here, in NJ. Last night we had temps in the low forties, and I put the heat on. The foliage here is not at peak, but close. The maples have color, the ash are dumping. It is an early Fall as predicted, in August, on this site. There was 1.5 inches of rain in the gauge here when we returned from Croatia, but none since.
Last Saturday we, Lynn, Alison, Valerie, Lily, Maggie, Lucy G, Lucy D and I, hiked a segment of the Appalachian Trail in NW NJ along he NY-NJ border. It was a seven mile section with two easy hills and one fairly steep, rocky descent and a section of flats. The day was windy and threatening early and sunny and warmer at the end. We did it in a bit less than four hours. We met other day hikers and two through hikers on our segment. Lunch was at a Bird Refuge in a swampy area with ponds and water birds. Ticks and bugs were not a problem. It was Alison’s birthday.
The hike was part of the celebration of the Dartmouth [College] Outing Club’s 100th Anniversary. Other hikers, all with some connection to the college, did almost all the rest of the AT, all 2100 plus miles. The final tally is still pending, but we may have, in one day, covered the entire AT. The students did a great job organizing and managing the project. Here’s a link to the web site: http://doc.dartmouth.edu/atinaday/
Vermont later this week. I put about 100 more pix from the Croatia trip on Picasa. The link to the album is listed to the left under "Links".
Everyone looking eager at the start.
Halfway.
Bird Refuge.
Last Saturday we, Lynn, Alison, Valerie, Lily, Maggie, Lucy G, Lucy D and I, hiked a segment of the Appalachian Trail in NW NJ along he NY-NJ border. It was a seven mile section with two easy hills and one fairly steep, rocky descent and a section of flats. The day was windy and threatening early and sunny and warmer at the end. We did it in a bit less than four hours. We met other day hikers and two through hikers on our segment. Lunch was at a Bird Refuge in a swampy area with ponds and water birds. Ticks and bugs were not a problem. It was Alison’s birthday.
The hike was part of the celebration of the Dartmouth [College] Outing Club’s 100th Anniversary. Other hikers, all with some connection to the college, did almost all the rest of the AT, all 2100 plus miles. The final tally is still pending, but we may have, in one day, covered the entire AT. The students did a great job organizing and managing the project. Here’s a link to the web site: http://doc.dartmouth.edu/atinaday/
Vermont later this week. I put about 100 more pix from the Croatia trip on Picasa. The link to the album is listed to the left under "Links".
Everyone looking eager at the start.
Halfway.
Bird Refuge.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Pix are Up.
10-9-09 SHORT HILLS: The Croatian entry is complete, at least for now. I finished editing the pix and posting a few more today. I kept more than 350 and trashed 250 or so which means I took about 600 images in a week. The camera is still too hot to touch. If I get around to it, I'll put some pix on Picasa and post a link.
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