Over the years, I haven’t gotten to North College Street and College Row as often as I should during our Stockade blossom season. This collage and the square tiles below show why I need to pay more attention to that pretty stretch of May hues.
Posted in cherry blossoms, Stockade Views | Tags: daily stroll
The grounds of Congregation Gates of Heaven are gorgeous when the weeping cherry blossoms are at their peak. (see our collages from 2013 at the bottom of this posting). But, like many of our mothers, the beauty and character of past-peak bloom is inspiring and even heartwarming, with the visible limbs adding interesting and mystery.
. .click on a mosaic tile below for a larger version . .
. CGOH is located at Ashland Avenue and Eastern Parkway, in Niskayuna, New York.
. . 2013’s bumper crop was typical of the pink glory at CGOH. .
Posted in cherry blossoms, visits elsewhere | Tags: Congregation Gates of Heaven
Blue skies, billowy clouds, fresh air and friendly folks made for an enjoyable visit to the Schenectady Green Market. I got there at 1 PM, with the crowd thinned out, so the social distancing rules being enforced were not a problem at all.
The always-diplomatic Downtown Ambassadors used a light touch to enforce the rules. They are just one of the City Mission’s Schenectady Works projects.Click on a tile below for a larger version.
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And, please have a Happy Mother’s Day.
Posted in Downtown Schenectady | Tags: Schenectady green market
. . click on a tulip square for a full, larger version:
. . many more tulip scenes in the Slideshow below . .
My daily stroll on May 5, 2020 did not include cuing up for Mexican food (and being dispersed by law enforcement). It did include snapping lots of photos of pretty flowers, especially tulips, and others blooms and blossoms, including comely trees.
My walk headed south on Washington Avenue from Cucumber Street, passing the County Historical Society. Then up Union Street, with a serious stop at First Reformed Church’s customary bordered sidewalk entry. (This year the orange and yellow tulips were quite lovely, but short. Explanation?)
Crossing Erie Boulevard, I stopped to admire the plantings in front of the Centre Street Pub, at Broadway, as I often do. Then, headed over to capture the sole remaining City Hall cherry blossom tree (ironically, weeping), and across the Jay Street Pedestrian Mall, westerly up State Street, and back to Cucumber Alley, before remembering I really wanted to see the flower gardens on the west end of Riverside Park.
The next set of tiled mosaics highlights some of my favorite tree shots from May 5th. After it, the Slideshow has scores of photos in the order they were taken on my stroll.
As always, to see a larger version of an image in the Slideshow, pause it on the photo, right-click, and choose Open Image in New Tab.
. . chalk art by Olivia . .
. . . . All of the images in the following collages can be found in the Slideshow above!
1st REFORMED CHURCH, Union St. at N. Church St., Schenectady
CENTRE STREET PUB, Union St. at Broadway, Schenectady . .
RIVERSIDE PARK, along the Mohawk River, Schenectady Stockade . .
Posted in Downtown Schenectady, river seasons, Riverside Park, Stockade Views | Tags: Stockade tulips
If you’re not getting out much due to COVID-19’s continuing NY Pause, you’re welcome to enjoy Washington Avenue’s 2020 cherry blossoms online with me from the front porch and stoop of 16 Washington Avenue. The views in this cherry blossom Stoop Shoot are north down Washington Avenue toward the Mohawk River and south from Cucumber Alley toward Union Street, assisted by the zoom lens on my Canon. Now and then, the critter on the right and a sibling stop by and wait for mom to come for a feeding.
The photos in this Slideshow were taken in the early mornings of April 19 and April 20, 2020. When you let the Slideshow play on its own on your screen, it is a bit like porch-settin’ on a pretty April morning. As always, you can see a larger version of a photo by pausing the slideshow on the image, right-clicking, and choosing Open Image in New Tab.
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Posted in cherry blossoms, Stockade Views
COVID-19’s “NY Pause” has left me a bit restless and quite anxious to see our Stockade cherry blossoms, and other beautiful buds, pop. So, I was surprised to see, looking at postings in our cherry blossom category, that it has been ten years since I posted images of our blossoms in the first half of April, with most coming the last week of April and into May.
So, instead of impatient, I’ve decided to be quite pleased that on April 15 and April 16 we have lovely blossom arrays worth checking out and presenting here online. And, they should also fill out more for your strolling and enjoyment over the next few days.
. . when you have enjoyed this posting, and are looking for more 2020 Stockade cherry blossoms, see our “stoop shoot 2020” (April 20, 2020).
. . photos in this first set of square columns were taken on April 15, 2020, on a handful of Stockade streets; click on an image for a full, larger version; scroll over for caption . .
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. . above: [L] one of many birdhouses appearing recently at Riverside Park; [R] cherry blossoms in front of 27 Washington Avenue. .
. . share this post with this short URL: https://tinyurl.com/2020blossoms
The images in this second set of square columns were taken on Thursday morning, April 16, 2020, on Washington Avenue, here in the Schenectady NY Stockade. Click on an image for a larger, full version.
. . looking west past State St. to I-890 . .
Public Service Announcement & Pet Peeve: The mangled mess of utility wires above out Stockade streets (and elsewhere in Schenectady) chronically annoy me. But, never more than when I try to show off our cherry blossoms and have to make believe they are not marring the scene. Our City Hall brags about its connections to the “smart” utilities. Couldn’t those smart brains in our Administration and Legislature join with the utilities to think of ways to wire our City in a far less obtrusive and more attractive manner? And, note that the lower the wires are strung the more we lose the tops (and centers) of our trees, even the cherry blossom trees.
and from my front porch . . . 
Finally, sincere thanks again this year, to chief meteorologist and Pet Connector Steve Caporizzo at News Channel 10 [WTEN] for spreading the good news of Stockade cherry blossoms to his many fans.
update (May 11, 2020): Late-bloomers on Washington Avenue.
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. . above: alongside 1 Union Street (May 5, 2020); below: Campbell Row, 18 & 23 Washington Ave. (May 11, 2020)
Posted in cherry blossoms, Stockade Views
Shortly before sunset this evening, April 11, I headed out with my camera for a little pandemic exercise I call my evening stroll. It started along the Mohawk River at Cucumber Alley, went through Riverside Park, down a few Stockade blocks, and up to the corner of Union Street and Erie Boulevard, where our Lady Liberty replica statue has been exiled. [Click on a photo for a larger version.]
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. . river end of Cucumber Alley:
Along the way, I saw cattails, the new pump station’s construction site on the west lawn of Riverside Park, an early display of cherry blossoms on N. Ferry near Union Street, a crowded window sill of Easter fun, and one more bit of disrespect for Lady Liberty at her deplorable location.
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. . Hi, Stockade expatriate Linda M., in Hawaii! “Your” N. Ferry Street house is still cute.
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. . click for the Story of Lady Liberty’s Exile . .
They are almost here! Soon, glorious Stockade cherry blossoms. This tree on the Union Street end of N. Ferry has started the show.
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. . finally, a sight easy to love for decades . .
p.s. I was along the River just before and just after the time when there might have been a more impressive sunset. The collage below is my favorite set of Easter Eve Sunset photos, from the rear of 10-16 Washington Avenue, here in the Stockade, in 2016.
. . you can see the individual golden photos, and a few more, here. .
. . from the Riverside Park play lot, through the climbing bars . .
Monday night
The big, white full moon that I saw before twilight from Riverside Park yesterday (Monday, April 6, 2020; image to left) was so clear and lovely that it raised my expectations for tonight’s SuperMoon. It would look pink or orangish and be the closest full moon of 2020. [NASA has a great explanation] Unfortunately, a hazy and mostly-cloudy sky dashed my hopes this evening for a big, clear orange ball.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the wait with the Chilton Brothers, the stroll to find more viewpoints, and the results, once discounted for clouds and clouds and clouds.
. . a practice shot from my backyard; big, round, orange, over Schenectady . .
It quickly got too cloudy for even tiny orange rays to pierce in the clouds. It was only about 15 minutes from my first photos of the supermoon near the Riverside Park Play Lot along the Mohawk River:
. . and looking east on Ingersoll Avenue:
. . below: seen from Front St. at Ingersoll Ave. through ubiquitous utility wires . .
. . then a S. College St. view from Holy Cross Church driveway. .
. . after that, the moon was quickly blocked by clouds, as I sought a good spot to view it at Union St. and Erie Boulevard.
All and all, no celestial fireworks, but a nice lunar experience from the Schenectady Stockade. If I happen to be awake around 6 AM Wednesday morning (not likely), and there are some breaks in the clouds (also unlikely), I will shoot a few images toward the west from the rear of Cucumber Alley.
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BONUS: RECALLING 2011. By the way, 2011 was a very good year to see the supermoon from the Stockade (see our coverage). Here are two examples:
. . above: Lawrence with Supermoon, late March 19, 2011; below: Gateway Landing gazebo with Supermoon, early March 20, 2011 . .
Posted in Riverside Park, Stockade Views | Tags: supermoon
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