suns along the Mohawk

Posted by: David Giacalone | March 20, 2011

a Stockade view of the Super Full Moon

Despite a woefully shaky practice shoot the evening before, I recklessly went out last night without a tripod to take pictures of the so-called Super Full Moon* in the eastern sky, and then again this morning as it was setting in the west. Clouds, plus bad timing and angles, provided even more frustrations. The result was a batch of photos with mostly egg-shaped, double, blurry or unidentifiable full moons. Nonetheless, I did get relatively lucky a few times and the results are shown below.

* The biggest and brightest “perigee” full moon in 18 years. Click for more info from NASA.

– the Super Full Moon setting behind Gateway Landing around 7 AM Sunday (March 20, 2011) –

– click on a photo for a larger version and scroll on it for a description –

– a Stockade legend checks out the Super Full Moon –

. . .

– two views from Washington Avenue – looking east on Saturday evening (L) and west on Sunday morning –

– a morning view from the end of Cucumber Alley –

In 18 years, I should have acquired a tripod (and a walker) to assist my next Super Full Moon photo shoot. Of course, I can’t promise to still have an active weblog.

. . share this post with this short URL: https://tinyurl.com/2011StockadeSupermoon

update (April 8, 2020): Yep, “Suns along the Mohawk” is still active,” even if I am slowing down. Our posting on the 2020 Supermoon features more subtle images, due to clouds.

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Posted in Stockade Views

Posted by: David Giacalone | March 15, 2011

tranquil Ides of March

– photo taken at the end of Washington Ave. along the Mohawk – March 2008 –

Brutus and Caesar, with an assist from William Shakespeare, gave the Ides of March a bad reputation — with connotations of impending doom or betrayal by a friend still lingering two millennia later. Around the Stockade, the River can turn from friend to vandal this time of year. And, the melted snow perennially reveals the winter crime-sprees of our pooper-scooper scofflaws.

But, mid-March can also bring wondrous sights, like last week’s ice floes, and the first real promise of spring. With the Equinox just a few days away, the longer days and added sunlight also brighten a lot of moods. I hope the Stockade’s sunny 2011 Ides of March was tranquil and hopeful at your home.

waiting for an ice-floe sunset

During this week of ice floes and rising waters along the Mohawk, some of my favorite images came as I was waiting impatiently last night (Friday) in Riverside Park for sunset to arrive, with its promise of pink and orange ice jams and snowmelt puddles. For me, the pre-sunset light proved more alluring than sunset itself.

. click on a photo for a larger version; scroll over it for a description.

. . .

– do not try this at home –

. . .

– click for more 2011 ice jam and flood-watch photos –

p.s. On the other hand, sunset had its charms, too:

. . . . . .

weekend river watch along the Mohawk

. . . 6 AM Saturday: free flowing . . .

– Flood stage (223′) reached 8 PM Friday; down to 219′ by midnight –

– ice jams and fog at Riverside Park (7 AM Friday March 11) –

[Friday morning, March 11] It’s not yet the ides of March, but we already need to watch our backs along the Stockade section of the Mohawk, as snow-melt and rain fill the River and its tributaries and bring our annual flood watch. As long as the River lets me get up-close, I plan to monitor the situation throughout the weekend, watching for ice jams and checking the level of the River. The slideshow and gallery below will be updated as I get new photos.

As always, click on the gallery photos for a larger version and scroll over a picture for its description. Scroll down our homepage for ice jam photo sessions earlier this week, and links to images from this time last year.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

. . .

– click on the Gallery photos below for a larger version –

blue skies and ice floes

The blue skies lured me out for another look at Riverside Park and the ice jams along the Mohawk River around 3:30 PM today (Monday, March 7, 2011). Here are the results in a Slideshow and then a Gallery — with each photo untouched by any editing [for more ice jam photos from earlier today see “ice jamming along the Mohawk;” update (Fri., March 11): for flood watch coverage see our “weekend river watch along the Mohawk” and “waiting for sunset” ]:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

– as always, click on a Gallery photo below for a larger version –

Read More…

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Posted in flooding/ice floes-jams, river seasons

Posted by: David Giacalone | March 7, 2011

ice jamming along the Mohawk

. . .

With so much rain and melting over the weekend, and snow overnight on Sunday, ice jams and rising waters are expected along the Mohawk. Below are photos of the unfolding events seen from Riverside Park and also the end of Cucumber Alley. Despite some dramatic ice jam displays along the River, today’s frigid temperatures and snowfall appear to have postponed any flooding.

Larger versions of photos seen in the Slideshow can be viewed by clicking on the images in the Gallery below; scroll over the Gallery photos for descriptions of the pictures.

Here are representative photos showing conditions at 5 PM Sunday and during the snowstorm at 8 AM Monday (click on each for a larger version):

. . .

– new photos will be added periodically –

– Late afternoon blue skies earned a separate webpost: see “blue skies and ice jams” (March 7, 2011); update (Fri., March 11) see our flood watch coverage at “weekend river watch along the Mohawk.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

– Click on photos in the Gallery below for a larger version and scroll over them for a description:

a little color in a grayscale snowstorm (updated)

. . .

With a full gray cloud cover and steady snowfall, it wasn’t easy finding splashes of color early this morning in the Stockade. As the slideshow below shows, however, a trip to Riverside Park along the Mohawk River proved rewarding.

At a little before 8 A.M., my camera and I shared Riverside Park with two “free-range” doggies and their mistresses (who shall remain anonymous).

. . .

On the way back home from the Park, I came up Front St. and stopped to photograph a couple other Stockade icons.

If you like the colorful Riverside Park playground and lovely bare limbs [on trees] as much as I do, I think you will enjoy the Slideshow. For a larger version of any of the photos in the Slideshow, click on its image in the Gallery at the bottom of this posting.

update (Sunday Feb. 27, 2011): a few more photos taken this morning at the tot lot have been added to this webpost between the Slideshow and the Gallery.

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. here are pictures taken early on Sunday, Feb. 27 at the Tot Lot (click on each for a larger version):

. . .

. a Sunday morning stroll with Clifford .

. . .

– For a larger version of any of the photos in the Slideshow, click on its image in the following Gallery –

a romantic pair of flamingos visit Lawrence

follow-up (Feb. 13, 2017): Our Editor-Photographer just discovered this morning that, on some unknown date, the original version of this posting mysteriously disappeared. This is not the kind of flamingo mystery we cherish here at “suns along the Mohawk”, but “operator error” of some sort was certainly the culprit. As a substitute, we are now displaying pages 8 & 9 of “Valentine Flamingos in the Schenectady Stockade: whimsy and mystery at Lawrence Circle” (3rd Edition, 2016), which commemorate the 2011 flamingo visitation to Lawrence, followed by a slideshow of the 2011 flamingo images salvaged from personal archives.

As you can see, 2011 brought a single pair of flamingos, one male and one female, to Lawrence Circle. It was a uniquely romantic Stockade moment.

– click on the montages for a larger version –

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

. . Note: It warmed up significantly throughout the day on February 14, 2011, and our romantic pair were leaning quite a bit by Happy Hour.

. . share this post with this short URL: http://tinyurl.com/FlamingoPair

If you need more Stockade romance and mystery, see the links on our Valentine Flamingo Category page.

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Posted in Stockade Views, Valentine Flamingos | Tags: flamingos, Lawrence the Indian

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suns along the Mohawk

a Stockade view of the Super Full Moon

tranquil Ides of March

waiting for an ice-floe sunset

weekend river watch along the Mohawk

blue skies and ice floes

ice jamming along the Mohawk

a little color in a grayscale snowstorm (updated)

a romantic pair of flamingos visit Lawrence

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