One Watching, Four Preening

                             

When I was down at the beach, there were a lot of geese along the shoreline.  I was watching this group with my telephoto lens and what I found fascinating was that this one goose kept its head up and never looked down, while all around the other geese were preening themselves.  I guess they have a mutual protection society where they take turns with one always on guard.  Cooperation.  So rare these days, huh?

Now THAT is a Rolling Pin!

I was talking to my sister Betsey the other night and for some reason I told her about this rolling pin.  First of all it is absolutely beautiful, made from Cherry by a woodworking craftsman that I photographed years ago.  It is 23 inches long and the roller is 3 1/2 inches in diameter.  This is a BIG rolling pin!  I can't remember exactly, but I photographed a couple of crafts people and then they approached me later on and wanted to do a poster of the four of them and their crafts for a Christmas sale.  I agreed to a portrait of each of them, and my payment was to pick one object from one of the four artists as my payment.  This rolling pin was made by Dick Shanley and we have had it for years, and treasure it. Kathy uses it all the time!

 

It's About The Shapes

Today is Tuesday Dunkin' at the Beach Day!  I am no longer doing weekly posts from the beach, but, when I see a photograph, I take it!  I saw these three young men getting ready to go fishing and I think they were probably 200 feet away.  My longest lens is the 200mm zoom, so I shot several photographs of them and then had to crop the image pretty severely to get this image, because the figures were very small within the whole frame.  I was taken by the different shapes depending on what each person was doing.  I hope you find this interesting.

 

Such an Interesting Shape

This photograph is another reward of my walking to the auto repair shop and back.  I was pretty much walking the route I take on my bike, but, of course much slower, and as a result I saw things that I have missed when racing by on my bike.  I don't believe I have ever seen anything like this before!  The "thing" on the bottom of the tree trunk is called a "burl."  Why I pulled that out of my brain is anyone's guess, but I tried the term in Google and it is a burl.  I have seen much smaller spherical burls on tree trunks before but they are usually some distance up the trunk from the ground.  A burl results from a tree undergoing some form of stress. It may be caused by an injury, virus or fungus. Most burls grow beneath the ground, attached to the roots as a type of malignancy that is generally not discovered until the tree dies or falls over.  Wow, who knew that?  Most burls I have seen are nowhere near the size of this one.  Some burls are harvested from trees with a chain saw and then used by woodworkers to make astounding wood bowls or other woodworking pieces.

 

Archaeological Excavation

On my bike ride the other day there was a traffic slow up because the road was down to one lane.  I waited my turn to get through with the line of cars, and saw that there was a large excavator and a huge hole in the ground over by the curb, and a long trench.  After I got through, I kept on riding.  There is one part of my ride, however where I come back to the same place and then continue on by another route.  So that's where I passed these pieces of a rusted water main piled up by the curb.  So I stopped because I thought it would make an interesting photograph.  One of the workmen on the job came over to me and asked if there was a problem.  I said there wasn't, I just thought I could make an interesting picture.  He said that there was an automobile accident and a car crashed into a fire hydrant and broke is off but that damaged the water main, so they are replacing something line thirty feet of this old, rusted water main.  He said these pipes were put down a long time ago!

 

Morning on the Golf Course

I pass this golf course 3 or 4 days a week when I am riding my bike late in the day. The other day I had to take my car to a shop for the yearly inspection early in the morning.  So I drove to the shop, and walked back home.  Good exercise.  1.75 miles and a lovely walk in the quiet of the morning.  As I passed the golf course this scene caught my eye.  The light was different because of the time of day and I saw the landscape in a new way.  I think this photograph is about the subtle color changes of the grass and the lines and curves that the grass makes.  And that sand trip in the foreground adds a whole lot of interest. 

White on White

I am now DONE done with installing the new rail on the front steps.  So I primed the new oak handrail, then painted everything.  I hadn't realized that over 7 years much of the white paint was a bit dirty.  So it was a joy to put fresh white paint on everything and make such a beautiful thing new again.  So I started trying to figure what photograph of the painted railing would be the most interesting.  So the third photograph down is the "expected" one, and the others are me experimenting with other possibilities.  I think the close-up makes the point well,   And my second favorite is beneath it.  The third one is expected, and the last one is the most artistic. I just thought you might enjoy how pretty this is after all the work I did on it!  What's your favorite photograph of these four?

 

The Close-Up Lens

I went down to the mailbox to get the mail, and happened to notice a lot of these really small yellow flowers in the ferns.  So I went and grabbed my camera, and also brought with it one of my new close-up add-on lenses that I told you about back in my post on May 18, 2022 where I describe the cheap add-on lens which I use on my really expensive telephoto zoom!  Anyhow, I had fun photographing this tiny, delicate flower.  Isn't it beautiful?

 

Due to Reader Demand...

This is not obvious, but in order to get this wide-angle photograph, since I didn't have my wide angle lens with me, I actually took two separate photographs of this building, one to the left and one to the right, and then I have software that combines them into one photograph, just like magic.  So I sent this to one of my readers who is a photographer, and who reads the blog, to show him how the shot came out.  He and his wife saw the other photo I did of these buildings on the blog, and so he called me and wondered why I posted that photograph, instead of this one.  They thought this was the better photograph because it showed more regular buildings, in addition to the two wrapped in gauze.  So that's why I am posting this one of the same subject.  You, my faithful readers, get to vote for which photograph you like better.  The first photograph was two days before this one.

 

The Commuter

It was rush hour when I came back from the city last week.  I spent my time reading a book I brought with me.  And then at some point I happened to look up and notice this man, slouched in his seat.  I think he was asleep even while holding a newspaper!  He just looked so tired.  I bet he got up really early to catch the train into the city and now on the way home after a long day, he is beat.  I am glad that I never had to commute to the city.

 

Building Wrapped in Gauze

I thought this was really unusual, seeing these two buildings across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that appear to be wrapped in some kind of gauze.  I guess I should have crossed the street to see how close I could get to the buildings to see what the material is.  Actually the buildings are not wrapped, but there is scaffolding that extends from the street up to the roof, and the scaffolding is what is wrapped.  They are obviously doing something to the exterior of the building and I am thinking that the material will protect anyone below if someone drops a tool.  They might be looking for cracks or voids in the masonry which they then have to repair, so might be pieces of loose mortar that might fall.  Anyhow it is such an interesting thing, to see such a drastic change in appearance of a normal looking building.

 

Head of Constantine the Great

                            

This head is REALLY impressive, when you come face to face with it!  I am shooting from eye level so everyone has to look up at this marble head.  It is actually overwhelming to be in the presence of this sculpture.  It is 37 1/2 inches tall, and weighs 1,100 pounds!  As I read from the text below the statue, written by one of the curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,  I learned a lot, so I am going to write it here as part of my caption.

"This impressive head of the first Christian emperor of Rome, known as Constantine the Great, fuses imperial power with spiritual authority.  By the time he established himself as emperor, Constantine had adopted an official image, characterized by a clean-shaven face and neatly arranged hairstyle, that set him apart from his immediate predecessors.  The large, upturned eyes connected the emperor with higher powers, asserting his divine right to rule over the empire.  This monumental portrait dominated a large public space, likely in Rome, where it presided over Constantine's subjects."

So this is amazing, I wanted to know the size and the weight of this huge sculpture, so I went to the Met website and looked it up.  They are wonderful and list a huge number of objects from their collection online.  So I found the information I needed, AND I found their catalog photo.  It is so different from my photograph, because of the point of view!  To my eye, this doesn't even look like the same sculpture.  I was stunned by the difference, and so I am posting the Met's photo as well.  I hope I am right about this, but it does say "public domain."  I don't want them mad at me!

My Next Project - Done!

Back on June 5th I posted a detail photograph of the rotting handrail on this railing on the front steps.  So I set about fixing it.  The tricky part was cutting the top railing off of each of the balusters, without damaging any of the tops of the balusters.  I cut the rotted top rail in about 5 places and removed it piece by piece.  I used a very cool electric tool called an "Oscillating Multi-Tool," which is great for working in small spaces.  You could look it up.  This is what it looked like when I was done.  So after buying the new handrail and cutting it and fitting it VERY carefully with the correct angle on each end,  I fastened the new rail on.  I had to use construction adhesive on the top of every baluster, as well as on the ends of the top rail, and then all at once, put the top rail in place.  Then I had to use my brad nail gun on my air compressor to fasten the top of each baluster in place until the adhesive set.  Here is what it looks like now.  I will prime the raw wood of the top rail, and then paint everything so it is nice and fresh.  Nicely done, if I do say so myself.

 

 

Can You Believe This?

This device in the sidewalk is called a "standpipe."  It is used by the fire department to connect hoses from a pumper fire truck (called an "Engine") to get water into the building in case of a fire.  As you can see, if the golden sharp spikes were not on top of this device it is just the right height to be somewhere someone could sit, to relax or hang out to panhandle, perhaps.  So buildings don't like people doing this.  But THIS?  Sharpened spikes, at street level, where someone could accidentally fall on them?  Are you kidding me?  This is a lawsuit and a half!  Imagine a slippery sidewalk in the winter, or someone running along who bumps an elderly person and they fall on this?  Or put their hand out to break their fall?  This is unbelievable!  Do the lawyers for the owners of the building have ANY idea that this device is installed on the street in front of their building?  I doubt that.  This is CRAZY!  Oh, it is on the south side of 34th Street a block or so from Penn Station.  Be careful out there!

 

Winslow Homer at the Met

I have been looking forward to today for weeks now.  I went into the city and met Stan and we went to the Winslow Homer exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It is a stunning exhibit of his paintings and watercolors, having gathered many of his well known paintings from museums around the country!  that was the only exhibit we looked at and when paying attention, it can take hours to see everything.

Here are two of my very favorite paintings in the whole world!  This one is titled "Fog Warning" showing a lone fisherman in a dory, with some fish in the boat and he sees the fog coming in in the distance and the schooner he came from a long way off.  There is such a feeling for foreboding - will he make it back to the mother ship before the fog arrives.

This painting is called "The Lifeline" and it shows a woman being rescued from a ship that has been wrecked on rocks offshore.  The men of the Life Brigade shoot a line with a canon from shore out to the wreck, it gets tied to the ship, and then the rescuer is pulled out to the ship, then he takes on one of the passengers, and is pulled back to shore through the surf.  He does that over and over until all the people are rescued.  What is powerful in this painting is the woman's scarf covers the face of the rescuer and he, who is a hero, becomes anonymous.  There is no painter who can better paint the many moods of the sea than Winslow Homer!  What was important about the visit today, is that I have known these two paintings for many years.  One of them I first saw at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the other at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  And today they were nearly side by side, and I stood in front of them and was so moved by being in the presence of the original paintings.  It was a very powerful experience.

 

The Glowing Bush

Mary Ellen left early this morning to return to Texas.  She had an Uber pick up at 6:30 AM.  So we got up and dressed to see her off.  After she left I thought I might as well stay up.  I walked down the driveway to get the paper and on the way back looked over at the Roses in Kathy's garden.  Then I noticed the bush!  It was illuminated as if by a spotlight!  It was a bit eerie. I looked around a figured out  that it was the early morning Sun, reflecting off the bedroom window and then that light was reflected on to the garden!  How cool is that!  So I photographed it, of course, because that's what I do. 

 

Dunkin' at the Beach for the Birthday Girl!

Today was Dunkin' Donuts at the beach and the day was notable for two reasons. One, our friend Mary Ellen has been staying with us and she got to experience "Dunkin' at the Beach Day" and two, it was Kathy's birthday!  So the day was notable for two reasons.  It has been fun hanging out with Mary Ellen.  We have known her since 1976 I think it was, when they lived nearby.  Our children grew up together.  Her husband Ray was a pilot for Pan Am so we always had a lot to talk about.  Sadly he passed away a few years ago.  So it has been a really nice time catching up.  Oh, and you will want to know what Kathy's birthday present was, right?  Simple.  It was TWO Boston Cream donuts instead of just one!  What a day!

 

Oh Great! Just What We Need...

Saw this outside a Starbucks near us.  Oh great, just what we need...  One more excuse for drivers to act badly.  This is stupid beyond belief.  The drivers who read this and then put this sticker on their BMW's will behave even worse than they usually do.

 

Climbing Out

We had a Moon Watch on Thursday night at Old Westbury Gardens.  I was setting up my telescope when I saw a large aircraft fly so close to the moon that it was beautiful.  Of course my camera and telephoto lens was in the car but there was no time to get it before the moment passed.  So then I put the 200 mm lens on and set the camera on the seat of the car so that if another aircraft passed close I would be able to get it.  Well, this is the closest departure from JFK that I saw, and shortly after, the next plane was no longer illuminated by the setting sun.  Oh well.  Nice try.  But here is something for you to see in any case. I have an app on my iPhone called "Flightradar 24" and when you activate it, it shows your location and then any aircraft in the vicinity.  When you click on an airplane symbol it tells you the airline, flight number and departure and destination!  How cool is that!  Almost all departures at this time of night were headed to Europe.  Please click on this to see the photograph in more detail.

 

A Decent View

Tonight we went over to our friends the Gordons, who used to live next door to us, and we had take out Chinese for dinner.  It is a tradition we started when Covid was first starting to wane.  We each go to a restaurant and buy what we want, and then eat together at their house. You have seen this view before, but at night when we all watch the July 4th fireworks.  So this is that view in daylight with no fireworks.  It is a decent view of the harbor and, in the distance,  Larchmont and Mamaroneck across the sound.  A lovely evening with friends.

 

Street Gardens III

I photographed this scene about 10 days ago, when the light was soft and shadowless.  I thought I had a good photograph.  It was a closer view of the basket though. Yesterday, on the way back from the store, at about quarter of six, I saw this scene in bright sunshine with the shadow and realized it was a better shot.  Guess, what, no camera!  I was making a quick run to the store for something and was not thinking!  When will I learn?  Well, tonight I went to the store again at 5:30 and remembering the time, I brought my Sony a7 with me with the long zoom lens.  This is the shot I got, and I am thrilled.  I like that I included more in the frame.  It is less about the flowers this way, of course.

So of course you are now curious, and so here is the original photograph.  Which do you prefer?

 

Street Gardens II

OK, so technically this is not a "street garden."  But these "things" whatever they are called (someone, HELP!)  grow right next to the road at the house just up the street.  So they fit into my definition of "street garden."  I photographed these leaves fairly early in the morning so they had some dew or rain drops on them, which is what made them interesting for me.  I think that without the drops of water this wouldn't be as interesting.

 

Street Gardens I

When I walk the streets of Sea Cliff, there are so many views of gardens or parts of gardens that I pass that are right near the street.  This is at a house newly refurbished, and they rebuilt this stone wall which sits on top of a poured concrete wall, and it just holds back soil.  I loved the contrast of the coarse rocks and the delicate flowers, and of course the shadows of the flowers on the wall. 

 

Broken Things

I was cleaning out one of my bureau drawers,  because I was looking for a watch to wear for a day, instead of my Apple Watch.  Sometimes when I am doing heavy work with tools I don't want to wear the Apple Watch for fear I would damage it or get it wet.  So I have been wearing, before the Apple Watch, these L.L. Bean watches for perhaps 40 years I think.  Then I couldn't get the right Bean watch with the black face, so I switched to the Timex versions, which are larger.  I love this style of watch because of the simplicity.  Also, this style of watch was worn by pilots in WWII and I liked that pedigree.  So I found these four watches I have worn.  Note that the two watches on the left have no winder knobs!  How is it that I beat my watches up so badly the winder knob breaks or falls off! The third one from the left doesn't run, but maybe it's just the battery.  The one on the right runs perfectly, and that's the watch I wore for the day.  It's funny to be faced with 40 years of watches all at once!

 

Moonwatch

My friend Steve and I from the astronomy club went back to the high school where I gave my light pollution talk, for a Moonwatch event.  There was a science symposium indoors for part of the evening and at the end of that there was this Moonwatch.  Both the teachers and us had no idea how many people might come.  We guessed 50 at the symposium with maybe 25 walking across the street to where we were set up with our telescopes.  Well, we were wrong!  We had at least 50 people show up to view the Moon!  We had thin high clouds at the beginning but they dissipated as the night wore on.

There were students, and teachers and some parents who came to look through our telescopes.  Everyone was stunned by what an amazing sight the moon is through a telescope, with its battered surface completely scarred from the bombardment of its surface after it was first formed!

It was so rewarding to have so many people look in the eyepiece and then say what a wonderful thing it was to see the moon, or a beautiful thing, or just to be amazed.  Such a rich experience for all of us.  Such a rich experience for Steve and I to be able to show everyone the Moon.

 

My Next Project

We started the back room addition to our house back in the Spring of 2015, which was seven years ago.  I remember showing the contractor the new front stair railing I had just built.  I was so proud of it.  His first comment was "Is it code?"  "Code?" I asked?  Yes, are the balusters spaced according to code?"  Yikes I never thought of that.  I just spaced them by eye.  Turns out that the spacing is important so that children cannot get their heads through the spindles!  Fortunately the spacing was OK.  Whew!  Well, it is  seven years later and my handrail is rotting from the bottom up!  When I bought the parts including the handrail, there was only one kind, made of hemlock.  My failure, which I now know, was that when I fastened the bottom of the handrail to the newel post, I used a lag bolt that runs through the newel post.  What I failed to do, was to use construction adhesive as well.  That would have made that joint waterproof.  Instead, the water seeped in the crack over time, even though it has two coats of paint.  Then the water wicked up into the hemlock grain and started rotting the handrail, probably a year ago.  So I have bought a new handrail, but this time it is red oak, and I will also use construction adhesive to seal the end grain. This time I will do it right!

 

Grace Wants to be Out on the Porch

Now that the weather is warmer, we are sitting on the front porch more often, for lunch or for reading.  The windows are open and Grace sits in the window, on the other side of the screen.  She wants to join us out there, and so she gently mews while sitting in the window.  It is no use, our cats do not go outdoors.  Ever.  They are indoor cats and it is safer and healthier that they stay indoors.  She also likes to lie down by the back storm door window and look out at the world.

 

Easthampton - The Melancholy Dog

The owners of the home in Easthampton have two large dogs but I don't know what kind they are.  One of them was really friendly, but the other was apparently missing the owners so much that it spent a lot of time just lying around on the floor like this.  After a day, sometimes this dog would come over to where I was sitting in the living room so I could pet him, but I could tell that he was melancholy.  Boy, sometimes it is tough being a dog.

 

Thunderstorm!

I was out shopping at Home Depot and a couple of other places.  I got a text from my friend Stan and he said that in Manhattan the sky was dark gray and obviously a thunderstorm was coming!  I told him I was 20 minutes from home and maybe I would make it.  But I didn't.  There was a torrential downpour and so the roads were flooded and I had to drive slow.  In the midst of that there was no throught of taking photographs, you will be glad to know.  Eventually the rain tapered off some.  I was on Shore Road and you know the trees there.  So get this, I actually pulled off the road and parked, and then did a bunch of pictures of the trees through the windshield distorted by rain.  It was only raining moderately when I managed to get this photograph.  A new way of seeing these trees...

 

Easthamton Fog II

I took a bunch of different photographs in the fog at the beach and this is definitely my favorite!  It is a father and his young son, walking in the water and watching the gentle waves in the fog.  I watched them both for a while and did some shots with my 200mm lens, and that was a close-up of the two.  But this shot makes them so small and yet certainly really important for the photograph.  This shot wouldn't be much without the two of them in it.