suns along the Mohawk

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– above and below: photos of the Schenectady Central Park Rose Garden, taken by D. Giacalone on July 31, 2010; click on a photo for a larger version –

As I had promised myself in yesterday’s posting “Central Park rose garden honored,” I visited the Garden later in the day with my Canon PowerShotS5 camera — and my friends Yu and Anita Chang.   Like he did on our visit a year ago (see “rose garden escape“), Yu brought his artfully utilized Nikon, too.

Although past its peak for the summer of 2010, The Schenectady Central Park Rose Garden lived up to its recent selection as one of the best public rose gardens in the nation.  (see “Rose garden voted among nation’s top 10“, Daily Gazette, p. B1, July 31, 2010; update [Aug. 14, 2010]: the Garden’s final rank is 3rd of 130 entries, per today’s Schenectady Gazette, “Central Park Rose Garden gets high respect: Former ‘weed patch’ voted No. 3 in U.S.”, at A1; online by subscription)

With blue skies, low humidity and temperatures in the high 70s, we had about the most beautiful weather imaginable for the last day of July.  Not heaving learned from last year’s experience, we arrived mid-afternoon on a mostly sunny day and had a bit too much bright light for picture-taking.  Nonetheless, I’m sharing some of my favorite shots from our visit.

– entry sign and walkway to the Rose Garden –

. . roses surround Robert Blood’s sculpture of the Chinese symbol “Yuan,” which means garden . .

For a change of pace and a little fun (to be honest, I like looking at roses for short periods more than I like photographing them), I decided to follow Anita’s yellow hat around the Garden.  To wit:

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– Anita’s hat led the way from our entry to our exit –

Meanwhile, arbors seemed like a good prop to break up the sea of rose beds:

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– thanks to all who donated funds for the Rose Garden’s arbors (bricks & and benches, too) –

Finally, like the gardenias at the left, many of the Rose Garden flowers deserve a closeup look:

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2011 update (June 20, 2011): See our posting “rose garden in June.”

p.s. Thanks to Yu and Anita for accompanying me to Central Park yesterday.  Walking from their nearby home, we passed a patch of woods where we traditionally play bocce (including snow bocce), and wondered how we could have gotten all the way to August without playing yet this year.  Here’s how our little spot of Central Park bocce heaven looked on the last day of July 2010:

We used to enjoy the extra challenge of tree limbs and branches of various sizes strewn around the forest floor.   For better or worse, the ground has been cleaned up, to accommodate the installation of an 18-hole disk golf course (think “basket frisbee”).

Central Park’s Disk Golf Course is brand new, having been officially opened last Thursday, July 29, 2010.  It is free and open to the public. Apparently, “our” bocce woods constitutes Hole #2 of the course.  This being Schenectady, I’m holding out hope that the ground will soon return to its natural, branch-covered state.

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. . click on a photo for a larger version

According to today’s Schenectady Daily Gazette:

“Schenectady’s [Central Park] Rose Garden has been voted one of the top 10 in the country, beating out about 120 other public rose gardens. . . .

“All-America’s Rose Selections held a contest to determine which of its 130 certified gardens is the best. The first round was a public vote, which is where the Central Park Rose Garden excelled.

“Now experts will decide which of the top 10 deserves the honor of being No. 1. The final ranking will be announced on Aug. 12.”

(“Rose garden voted among nation’s top 10“, B1; by Kathleen Moore; July 31, 2010; update [Aug. 14, 2010]: the Garden’s final rank is 3rd of 130 entries, per today’s Schenectady Gazette, “Central Park Rose Garden gets high respect: Former ‘weed patch’ voted No. 3 in U.S.”, by Rebecca Strum, at A1; online by subscription)

The story has inspired me to get back to that very special garden with my camera this weekend, taking advantage of especially good weather.  Until then, see our posting from a year ago this week, “rose garden escape” (Aug. 4, 2009), for a couple dozen photos.

update (August 1, 2010):  I got over to the Rose Garden yesterday, and the resulting post “July ends gracefully at Central Park” has two dozen photos from the Garden.

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2011 update (June 20, 2011): See our posting “rose garden in June.”

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– Q: Is the red metallic structure in front of the Scotia branch of the Schenectady County Public Library a witty piece of art (perhaps designed by grade schoolers), a bit of hortatory, and/or something else entirely? (Click on a photo for a larger version) –

Answer: It is meant to be artful advocacy, but also something functional. . .

Answer (cont.):  The best clue to the primary function of the item comes from a logo affixed to it identifying its maker: “DERO bike racks.”  A trip to DERO.com confirmed that the item is indeed meant to be a bike rack (and that no parts are missing). DERO specializes in bicycle racks that are designed to be “great-looking, long-lasting, functional.”  It also prides itself on making creative custom racks.

Indeed, DERO says:

“Bike racks do not have to be boring. Increasing numbers of organizations are making a statement about their creativity and commitment to supporting bike transportation with a custom designed bicycle rack.

“Just provide us with a rough sketch on a napkin, a logo, or just an idea – and we will work with you to turn your concept into a fully functional piece of street art.”

And, if you go to DERO’s page of existing custom designs, you will find — in addition to racks shaped like a chicken, a tennis racket, yoga positions, and dozens of other whimsical notions  — the following custom rack called “books”:

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Art is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, so I won’t quarrel with calling it a (rather cute) work of art.  But I have to wonder about DERO’s pledge of functionality.  Beyond having to first identify the thing as a bike rack, how does anyone know where to hitch a bicycle on this contraption?  How many bikes is it supposed to accommodate?  What happens if a confused or inconsiderate rider situates his or her bike in a manner that takes up several “places”?

DERO has a large, well-designed website.  However, it may be telling that I could find only two photos of a bicycle parked at a DERO bike rack.  They do, however, show quite a few bikes at “funky bike racks” NOT built by DERO, saying: “This gallery is a result of our travels, and those of friends, who have found bike racks that essentially are sculptures or works of art. Sometimes the design is functional and user-friendly, but more often it is not.”  It makes you wonder just what standard DERO uses in testing functionality.

My first thought this morning upon seeing the little red metal book was, “that’s cute, but who spent money to buy and install it?”  The friendly Library staff at the Scotia branch told me it was — according to the folks from the Parks Department who installed it — meant to be a bike rack.  They were wondering, however, if there were more parts to be added to the rack to make it identifiable and usable. (I later phoned to let them know the rack is complete as is.)

As for the expense, the Library staff was told it was donated by CDTA.  The involvement of the Capital District Transportation Authority piqued my curiosity.

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