suns along the Mohawk

  Quite a few people complimented me on an image of a round tree ornament reflecting the Lawrence Circle, which was in our posting last week on the arrival of the 2013 Stockade Tree.  So, I decided to make a set of similar photos of bulbs hanging from the Tree at Lawrence Circle, adding the phrase “Holiday Greetings from the Schenectady Stockade” to each image.  The bulbs have different views of the Circle and its surroundings and varied color schemes.  (I’ve also tried to choose images that minimalize the presence of the photographer in the reflection.)

Please feel free to use one or more of the images as part of your own holiday greetings, without having to ask permission, as long as they are used for non-commercial purposes.  If you click on a photo, your will get a larger version that is a downloadable jpg. file.  The largest side of each photo is 1000 pixels, which should work well in email.  Contact me, if your use calls for a larger file to have sufficient resolution.

The six images are in the collage above, and presented separately immediately below.  Please accept my personal heartfelt and hardy Stockade Holiday greetings and wishes.

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  follow-up (Dec. 15, 2013): For more bulbs after a snowstorm, click here.

p.s. Here’s an out-take photo that I did not use for a greetings bulb because there is too much of me in the reflection.  But, I like the shapes and colors, and think it deserves a space on this weblog:

– Lawrence Circle after the tree lighting –

A lovely tree, along with good weather, spirits, and food, made the annual lighting of the Stockade holiday tree this evening another example of our neighborhood’s special traditions and sense of community.  The Slideshow below has a handful of photos that offer a glimpse of the event.

 Arthur’s Market was such a natural, welcoming location for the post-lighting party, that I hope Richard Genest and the Stockade Association will make having the holiday get-together at the Market on the Circle across from the Tree another long-running Stockade tradition.

Our posting last Wednesday has photos of the installation and decoration of the 2013 Stockade Tree.

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– Mary Marro [L] lit the tree; Michelle and Morgan glowed –

The following collage is presented for those who like their photography a bit more abstract.  It demonstrates how a shaky hand and the wrong equipment can add a little fun to the Holidays.

– as always, click on the collage for a larger version –

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– St. George’s new weathercock [R] – erected Nov. 20, 2013 –

 update (December 1, 2013):  We’ve added a few more photos showing the completed copper flashing and shingles, etc., on the steeple.  Read about it in the Schenectady Gazette, “St. George’s restores its crowning glory: Restoration work on the steeple at St. George’s Episcopal Church has been completed” (Nov. 30, 2013, by Jeff Wilkin; online subscription req’d); and see the December 2013 Stockade Spy at 12.

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new [L] and old weathercocks, plus Andy K.

  After five months without its weathercock, St. George’s steeple had its weathervane re-installed on November 20, 2013. The beautiful old rooster was too deteriorated to be refurbished, and was instead replaced with a replica made of copper, by Lou Venditti of Specialized Sheet Metal, and painted a golden color.  Its decorative ball also had to be replaced and is constructed of Sapele wood. The scrollwork and pointer were welded, stripped and repainted by Tom Madelone.  A major contractor was steeplejack Dave Knox of Advance Construction and Steeplejacks. Robert A. Petito, Jr., AIA, was the project architect and Dan Kennison did overall supervision.  As the project’s structural engineer, Jack Healy of Ryan Biggs Associates assessed the condition of the steeple and designed the steel replacement support for the weathervane assembly.

 For more on the weathervane and other aspects of the steeple repair, see the 27-page “St. George’s Steeple Project Report“, and especially David Kennison’s article “St. George’s Historic Weathercock” in the Episcopal Education column of St. George’s September 2013 Newsletter, at 8-9.  After much research, Kennison believes the initials “MW” or “MWp” on the weathercock are those of the original blacksmith, Myndert Wemple, with the smaller “p” being an homage to his grandfather, whose nickname was “Post” or “Poest”.

For photos and history of the old weathercock, see our earlier posting “in praise of Stockade weathercocks“.

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– a steeple so nice, we got to see it twice –

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– steeple fully restored (Dec. 1, 2013) –