Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Halloween Whimsy...The weatherman is calling for a clear and warm day for all the kiddies this Halloween. Enjoy the day. Wishing everyone a Safe, happy and fun filled Halloween. :-) Posted by Picasa

Monday, October 30, 2006

Last of the season's color...The colorful landscape took a beating this weekend with excessively high winds both days. Strong enough to cause wide spread power outages, the sustained winds seemed to fill the air with leaves of all colors. And...it's almost November (that happened quickly!). Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Rainy Day Visitor...This Great Blue Heron spent a rainy and nasty Saturday in our backyard. Usually very shy and skiddish, he has been around more frequently as of late. He even used the boat as a perch while looking for a passing meal. He can be difficult to catch in a decent photo as he is always keenly aware of his surroundings. This shot was taken through a window. A truly magnificent bird, he was a ray of sunshine in our rainy backyard.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

A Change in the Weather...With today's nasty weather on the horizon, yesterday was cool, clear and calm. It was the perfect afternoon to take a boat ride over to the beach, take a stroll and embrace the salt air. It's a much different scene today with high winds and heavy rain.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Worth a Stop...At a local pond, just off a busy highway, the Autumn colors are on full display. Fall is putting on a show in our own backyards...

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Salt Meadow...It's hard to imagine that miles and miles of Long Island's South Shore once looked like this. Now small and glorious sections are protected forever thanks to the tireless efforts of dedicated and far-sighted enviormentalists (yep,..tree huggers). This important and fragile estuary is at the Northern terminus of Brown's River in Sayville.
Please Click on the image for a more appreciative view. :)

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Creative use of space?...One of the over 150 brick structures on the site of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center. This building is kept free of the overgrown weeds and vines that are common to other structures here, it has become an "art display". See the other post for today (Below) for my take on the Nissequogue River State Park. Posted by Picasa
Nissequogue River State Park...Our newest State Park (announced Nov. 1999) is a study in contrasts. The park is 159 acres, 25 0f which are pristine coastline overlooking the river and the Long Island Sound. The other 134 acres, the former grounds of the now defunct Kings Park Psychiatric Center, is comprised of over 150 derelect and abandoned institutional buildings. Haunting and depressing these mostly brick structures, with boarded and barred windows, are inter-mingled with picnic tables, new playground equipment and hikking trails. In a rather bizarre attempt to improve the atmosphere, some bulidings display student artwork on the boarded up windows.

It just didn't work for me, I think the park commission is in denial. Perhaps a more enlightened administration will demolish or refurbrish these relics of a very depressing era.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Shot While Shooting...Sometimes the ordinary moments can be very special, like taking that candid shot or sharing an interest with someone you love. The images that you will treasure just might be the ones that appear "ordinary" at first glance.

Monday, October 23, 2006

October Pastels...It's Showtime on Long Island, the 3rd week in October and most of the trees are showing their colors. It may not be that same profusion seen along Route 7 in Vermont, but it's here and it's now and it's beauty in our own backyard. Autumn on the Island can be a more gradual and less dramatic change, and if we just slow down a touch and tune into our senses...the rewards are many. :-)

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Sunny Sunday...It just has that Mid-October feel to the air today, a beautiful morning to enjoy the colors of the season. I think I'll get my October appreciations in before Jets game time. :-) Posted by Picasa

Saturday, October 21, 2006

October Beach...When I begin to feel a tad philosophical, which can happen on an October beach, I always come to the realization that each and every day really is a gift. The risk in sharing this revelation is sounding like one of a million corny, sappy e-mails that I'm supposed to FWD to everyone in my address book. The fact of the matter is that we are surrounded by people and places that we often take for granted.

Soo...for me it's the occassional moment of inspired appreciation brought on by beautiful people or places that re-kindles that sense of forgotten gratitude. Our time here is limited, the gifts are many and varied. Take a walk on a beach near you, ( or a walk anywhere with someone you love ) ....and do it soon.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Rainy Day...We have had some glorious weather lately, just not today. Nasty, blustery and rainy which is rather fitting for Mets fans who sat through game 7 of the NLCS last night. :-(

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Flowers from Peter...If it's Wednesday night Brother-in-Law Peter is here. Never arriving empty handed, Peter always brings flowers for his sister. The rest of us get a bottle of wine, a loaf of Italian bread and hours and hours of Peter-isms. It's always a wonderful evening of family laughter, good food and stories from Brooklyn told as only Peter can tell them. (i.e. he knows a guy who got killed twice on the Verrazanno Bridge ..Honest). Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Feeling Hawkish...Click on this image to see the larger view ( and to see that indeed, there is a Coppers Hawk in this photo). This is certainly not a technically good shot, but the best I could do with the lens I had at the time. This guy keeping an eye on us was in the swale area between the ocean and Sunken Forest on Fire Island. Migrating hawks are frequent visitors to the dunes along Fire Island in the Autumn. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Sunken Forest...Yesterday was a calm, cool and sunny day and Fire Island was calling us. This is a shot of Sunken Forest at Sailor's Haven. A true forest on Fire Island, Sunken Forest is one of the few remaining Maritime Forests on the East Coast. The mile and a half trail goes through the forest of Holly, Sassafras and saltmarsh from the bay to the ocean. Parts of the forest are below sea level, it really is a beautiful and peaceful spot. We had the entire place to ourselves....:-) Posted by Picasa

Monday, October 16, 2006

Monarch Migration...In another rite of the season, Monarch Butterflies cruise South to winter over in the Yucatan penninsula of Mexico. During late September through October Fire Island is like a Monarch highway with literally thousands of them crusing along the sand dunes. I found it interesting to learn that the migration takes a few generations of butterflies. This particular guy will never see Cancun or Cozumel but his decendants just might catch some tourists' eye this winter. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Best Buds...Best buddy Chico pulled his boat for the season yesterday. (Chico is the "older looking guy in this shot). There is always sweet saddness for me when the boats are emptied and hauled and that long wait to "splash" begins anew. Good news is that they will "rack it" and "wrap it" in a new marina. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Reflections of Autumn...Mother Nature is dressed in the latest Fall fashion colors and the hues are everywhere. The show doesn't last all that long so keep those eyes wide open and inhale that sweet, cool morning air. :-) Posted by Picasa

Friday, October 13, 2006

Colors of the Season... The leaves are just starting to turn on Long Island, by next week it'll be showtime in this part of the planet. This morning had that crisp Autumn air to it and we decided to head out to the Arboretum for our early walk. We kept patting ourselves on the back for having such a good idea, it was a glorious morning for a walk in the woods and a beautiful place to have one's camera. :-) Posted by Picasa

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Fishing for Bait (not with bait..)...The bay, river and our little stretch of canal have been alive with Peanut Bunker lately. The canal is a convenient place for fishermen to net them for use as live bait. Usually quiet and unvisited the canal is seeing plenty of action this Fall as boats with live wells stock-up on the preferred bait for Striped Bass. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Park Your Wagon...and stay between the lines! I was eager to see him throw it in reverse and back out of there. :-) Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Knee deep in Fashion...Our good friends Bonnie and her hubby Ray have cashed in all their chips are are leaving Long Island. Today is the big day as they get on that midnight train to Georgia and move into their house in Savanah. In this shot Bonnie was saying farewell to Fire Island, her way. We wish them all the best in their new adventure.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Fields of Color...The entire battlefield at Gettysburg, including parts of town, is a National Park. Much of the area remains as it was those three days in July of 1863. As a result farms, woodlands and fields remain frozen in time and add to the historic auroa that is Gettysburg. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Even the most casual of history students are familiar with Pickett's Charge. This view was the one that 7,000 Union troops had as 12,000 Confederate soldiers ran from the trees toward the Union position ( about 3/4 of a mile). As the Confederates struggled to get over a farm fence at about 150 yards from this spot on Cemetery Ridge, the Union troops opened volley after volley of musket fire. Our guide tells us that the Rebels were able to hold a position at the stone wall in front of this cannon for about 8 minutes before being driven back. The entire charge and retreat take less than an hour, the Confederate losses are devastating. Lee's army never will recover and this location becomes known as the "High Water Mark" of the Civil War.
It would appear as though war and Real Estate are both all about Location, Location, Location. Click on the image for a larger view. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Little Round Top, Gettysburg... Major General Warren, whose In-Laws built the Brooklyn Bridge, forever attempts to spot Confederate troops in the distant tree line. At first look he disputes their prescence. As the story is told, it's not until he is grazed by a small shard of shrapnel that he is asked by a signal corpsman..."Sir, do you see them now?" Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Hallowed Ground...Spending a few days in a very special place. Gettysburg, Pa. has an energy that is difficult not to feel. 51,000 American men lost their lives here over the course of three days in July of 1863. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Changing seasons...By mid-October the setting sun will be almost in the middle of the canal, by the 21st of December it will be out of view to the far left of this image (Southwest). And, yes when Spring comes around again it will set out of view to the right edge of this photo. It's sort of a "canal calendar" for me. I suspect that if I had paid more attention in Jr. High science class that I would not find all of this so interesting. :-) Posted by Picasa

Monday, October 02, 2006

It's true that the catch and release net looks very sporty hanging from the back of one's vest , almost seems a shame to get it wet.

"On the Firehole I caught thirty-six inches worth of trout....in six installments."
Arnold Gingrich IN A LETTER TO ME (c.1971) Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Dinner....While the true purists release all of their catch there are those among us who give in to our selfish appetites. Fresh trout on the grill is not only delicious, it also provides a good measure of self-satisfaction. :-)

"I never lost a little fish-
Yes, I am free to say.
It always was the biggest fish
I caught, that got away."
Eugene Field (1850-1895)