Posted by: David Giacalone | February 24, 2010

our (evolving) February snowstorm [with updates]

It looks like the biggest snowstorm of the season will be hitting the Stockade this week, lasting from Tuesday February 23, 2010 through Saturday.  So far (noon on Wednesday), it hasn’t inspired a lot of photography by me, but I’m going to post occasional photos over the next few days, as I snap them.  (As always, click on a photo for a larger, sharper version, and scroll over it for a description.)

Like the image at the top of this posting, here are a couple shots from my bedroom window around midnight last night (Tuesday into Wednesday):

. . .

We all awoke to a half-foot of snow on Wednesday morning.  I took a little stroll up Front St., and there really weren’t any especially interesting scenes.  On my way back, I took this one from the corner of Front St. and Washington Avenue, looking south toward the Historical Society, just to chronicle this segment of the storm (and yes, that is a melting snowflake on my camera lens):

Little Devin’s second snowman (click to see his first), was constructed on Thursday, Feb. 18.  It has not stood up too well, having lost all of his accessories, except for a snazzy red scarf.  You can compare for yourself Snowman 2’s jaunty look last week with his state after last night’s snowfall (Tuesday, February 23, which was Devin’s 3rd birthday):

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– Devin with his second snow man and the snowman 6 days later (24 Feb 2010) –

5 P.M. update, Wednesday:

It continued to be gray and dreary this afternoon, making artsy photography a bit difficult.  Happily, Samantha Couture wrote me to say that Aaron and the boys (Arthur & Miles) spent the morning taking advantage of the really good-packing moist snow to make a couple of snowmen (see their early-January SnowFamily here).  That brought me down Cucumber Alley, where I found this pair of snowmen:

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. update (Sat. Feb 27): another view . .

Meanwhile, a Time-Warner crew was hanging out near Front St. and Cucumber Alley, and told me they were taking steps to help prevent trouble over the next few days.  At the same time, our favorite Mail Carrier worked as hard as ever (and is seen below coming out of 23 Washington Ave., the home of Bob and Sylvie Briber, and delivering mail on Front St.):

 

11:45 P.M., Wednesday:

Thanks to a tip from a snow angel, I found this little snow Cutie, who I am told was lovingly created by Elizabeth and Beth Petta, on the steps at Arthur’s Market:

update: As feared, by Thursday morning, the rain had eroded quite a bit of our SnowCutie, and she was totally gone when checked Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon, Feb. 27:

Large puddles and poorly-plowed streets were not enough to lure out with my camera on Thursday and Friday.  Our part of the Capital District did not get the brunt of the three-day snowstorm.  But, Saturday began with enough snow in the air to force me to pick up my PowerShot (after a big mug of coffee) and set out a little after 8 A.M. to explore Cucumber Alley and my dead-end block of Washington Ave. along the Mohawk.

At the end of Washington Ave. I discovered this endomorphic snowman (of unknown origin) standing sentry, apparently protecting the neighborhood from whatever danger might come out of misty Riverside Park:

. . .

At 8 A.M. today, there was nothing more ominous in the Park than a sole dogwalker:

As always, the scene was quite photogenic at the Washington Ave. abutment:

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– looking east (above) and west (below) from the Burr Bridge abutment –

. . .

Rapidly running out of energy, I headed to a favorite photo-shoot location — the end of Cucumber Alley — for a final few snaps:

. . .

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Posted by: David Giacalone | February 21, 2010

a snow day (plus a crow night)

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– a train trestle over Erie Blvd. & the Stockade’s Union St. entryway (Feb. 16, 2010) –

. . . Like an old dog needing a pit stop, it seems I went from fire hydrant to fire hydrant as I strolled back from the Central Library to the Stockade last Tuesday.  You  may recall that we had snow falling virtually all day on Tuesday, February 16 — a rare event for this winter.   With low cloud cover and a constant, thick shower of snow flurries, it was a day dominated by grayscale tones, producing lovely scenes, which I decided to “enhance” here and there with a spot of red.

Keeping snowflakes off my lens is a skill I have not fully refined, but I nonetheless came up with a few images that seem worth sharing.  (As always, click on a photo for a larger, sharper image and scroll over it for a description.)

. . .

– the Van Dyck parking lot & 220 Union St. –

– Front St. near Church St and Governor’s Lane –

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– the scene of  from the end of Governor’s Lane – Feb. 16, 2010 –

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—-

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– Lawrence’s entryway banner and his Circle on a snowy Tuesday –

While snapping my way back home, I was distracted by scenes created when the snowfall combined with our Stockade church steeples.  They needed no dollop of red to complete the picture.

. . 1st Presbyterian steeple from N. Ferry St.

. . .

– 1st Reform Church’s steeple seen from N. Church near Front St. –

– St. George’s steeple seen from N. Ferry St. –

Because many visitors come to this site for the pretty colors, I’m going to close this posting with a few sunset photos taken from a Front St. backyard on Monday, February 8, 2010.  I was attracted outside with my camera by a giant swarm of crows rising from the trees and crossing in front of a tinted eastern sunset sky that was etched with stark limbs and trunks.  Unfortunately, the unruly crows were worse than crabby kids, refusing to cooperate by crossing the sunset in the numbers that had originally caught my eye.  Nonetheless, there were a few photos I’m going to post for the record (and to remind myself not to dawdle when I see a scene worth capturing).

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. . .

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Posted in Mohawk sunrise or sunsets, Stockade Views

Posted by: David Giacalone | February 14, 2010

a flock of Valentine flamingos again visits Lawrence

. . .

– the annual flock of 14 pink flamingos again visits Lawrence on Valentine’s Day –

– share this post with the short URL: http://tinyurl.com/StockadeFlamingos –

. . At sunrise this morning, some Stockadians were satisfied to catch a glimpse or maybe to snap a few photos of this year’s flock of Valentine Flamingos at Lawrence’s Circle.  Others were hoping to find a Valentine brunch, and perhaps some romance.  Naturally, I came with my camera and was pleased to discover that the mystery flamboyance of flamingos had indeed appeared once again this year. [click on a photo for a larger version]

– check out the 2011 flamingo visitation, too –

. .

If you are not familiar with the great Stockade Valentine Flamingo mystery, you can read about it and find more photos at my old weblog, f/k/a.  See 2008 Stockade Flamingo Story, a piece written before I had a camera.  And, “Valentine flamingos return to the Stockade” (2009), written just after I acquired my Canon Powershot. The f/k/a posts include a few haiku especially written by two well-known haiku poets, Roberta Beary and Ed Markowski, to celebrate our Valentine flamingos.

. .

Don’t forget the Valentine singalong at 10 AM today, at the Circle.  Join in with your neighbors on a chorus or two of “My Funny Valentine.” [update, 10 PM: Click to see video coverage of the Flamingos, including the sing-along, from Capital News9.] And, of course, many thanks again this year to the Stockade mystery flamingo ranchers who have made it a custom to brighten our Valentine’s Day.

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Posted in Stockade Views, Valentine Flamingos

Posted by: David Giacalone | February 4, 2010

icy debris clutters Riverside Park after last week’s flood

You may have seen tv news accounts about the massive ice floes and debris left behind by last week’s Mohawk River flood (see our posting on Jan. 26).  The sights are well worth a stroll down to Riverside Park (but step carefully and don’t forget your ice grips or YakTrax).

Pictures are far more eloquent than words, and I’m going to merely post some of my favorite shots, taken yesterday (Feb. 3, 2010) in the Park. [find more ice floe leftovers in this post from Cucumber Alley.]  As always, click on a photo for a larger version and scroll over it for a description.

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. .

. . . ..

p.s. Don’t miss “eerie ice floes invade Cucumber Alley” . . .

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Posted in flooding/ice floes-jams, river seasons

Posted by: David Giacalone | February 4, 2010

eerie ice floes invade Cucumber Alley

– ice floes left behind by the Jan. 26 flood on the banks of the Mohawk at the rear yard of 1 Cucumber Alley –

. .

– scene at rear of 4 Cucumber Alley looking toward Gateway Landing –

– ice slabs cover the Gateway Landing near the riverbank at 4 Cucumber Alley –

. . .

– ice chunk debris in the lower yard behind 1 Cucumber Alley, on a slope where Bob and Sylvie Briber stood last June –

A week after our January flood along the Mohawk, the ice slabs left behind by the receding river at the end of Cucumber Alley make for spooky-pretty scenes and speculation about their half-lives.

. . .

– looking toward the Western Gateway Bridge across the flood debris ice floes in the yard of 1 Cucumber Alley –

. . . 

– the yard at 4 Cucumber Alley (with snowmen) seen before and after the flood and ice floe invasion –

They make for dramatic scenes, but the remarkably flat and large ice floes are an intimidating reminder of the power of nature and our humble inability to control it.

Finally, near sunset last night, I snapped the shot below at the end of my backyard, at 10-16 Washington Ave., which is right next door to 1 Cucumber Alley.  A mountain of ice has filled in the usual drop-off slope to the river and is higher than the river bank. [The photo at the head of this paragraph shows a more typical arrangement of river and riverbank at the rear of 10 – 16 Washington Ave.]

p.s. For lots of photos of the ice floes left by the flood in Riverside Park, go to this posting.

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Posted in flooding/ice floes-jams, river seasons

Posted by: David Giacalone | February 2, 2010

Stockade Gateway Banners raised

. . . 

Yesterday afternoon (February 1, 2010), a pair of banners featuring Lawrence the Indian (see above) were placed at the Stockade Gateway entry to our Historic District, at Erie Blvd. and Union St.  The banners were sponsored by the Stockade Association [which paid a $783 expense for the banners, per the Dec. 2009 Spy], and fathered/midwived by Rob Gavel, with the assistance of Gloria Kishton.  Jim Salengo of the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation managed the installation.  I was honored to have a photo that I took last Fall used for the banner.  [Click to see the original photo of Lawrence, which was taken on October 16, 2009]

Here are a few more images of the new Stockade Gateway banners [as always, click on the photos in this posting for a larger version and scroll over the image for a description] :

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. . . .

p.s. Learn more about Lawrence in our post “looking for Lawrence“

Preview(opens in a new tab)

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Posted in Stockade Views

Posted by: David Giacalone | January 28, 2010

mid-week miscellanea

. . .

– views east and west from Riverside Park Esplanade just past sunrise, Jan. 26 –

Despite having posted at length yesterday about our ice floes and flooding, I’ve taken a number of photos along the Mohawk at Riverside Park since Sunday (January 24) that I’m unwilling to leave in my proverbial shoebox.  So, I’m posting some of my favorites here tonight. [As always, click on a photo for a larger version and scroll over it for a description.]

. . . In addition, at the end of this post, you’ll find a few great foggy-river shots taken by “a Stockade neighbor” who prefers to remain nameless.   They make my own fog photos (e.g., here) pale in comparison.

. . . pull up a chair and wait for the flood . .

 

There was a beautiful orange sky at sunrise on Sunday (Jan. 24).  Looking eastward from the end of Washington Avenue, I enjoyed this view of the CSX trestle bridge:

The next evening, Monday January 25, a gray sunset produced a lovely scene at the Gateway Landing, near the Binnekill, viewed from the end of Washington Avenue:

. .

 

As seen in our posting yesterday, I inspected the riverbank along Riverside Park twice in the morning of January 26, keeping a flood watch.  That allowed me to take the sunrise photos at the top of this post, and to snap shots of a school bus turning around near the Pumphouse at the end of N. Ferry St., and of a City of Schenectady Emergency Rescue truck ready for action as flood waters approach the end of Governor’s Lane:

. . .

Near sunrise yesterday, I also photographed the confluence of both channels of the Mohawk, as they merged near the eastern tip of the Isle of the Cayugas, on their way to the ice-jam-prone CSX trestle bridge.  Here are two of those shots:

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. . .

Finally, on my way back home after photographing the ice jam around noon yesterday, I saw this scene in the backyard of 2 Washington Ave.   It sums up well the intrusive nature of those damn ice floes:

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Bonus: Guest photos by a Stockade neighbor, who prefers to remain anonymous, taken Monday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2010, along a foggy Mohawk River at Riverside Park:

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. . .

 

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Posted in Mohawk sunrise or sunsets, river seasons

Posted by: David Giacalone | January 26, 2010

flood watch along the Stockade (with 3 PM update)

At 7:30 AM, there was no sign that the Mohawk River would be cresting anytime soon along the Stockade. [As always, click on a photo to get a larger version and scroll over it for a description.] Nonetheless, by 11:30 AM, the River had overflowed its banks.  For instance, compare this view at 11:30 AM looking east from the Washington Ave. Dead End toward the Riverside Park Esplanade with the 7:30 view at the top of this posting:

[many thanks to Channel 10’s Steve Caporizzo for using the above photo at WTEN this evening]

. . . as you can see with our 3 PM update photographs, there was another big change by mid-afternoon:

. . . 3 PM Update:

Cucumber Alley had no flood water at all at 7:30 AM, and the backyard of 4 Cucumber Alley was dry:

But, things had changed a lot by 11:30 AM:

. . .

3 PM update (waters receded):

This is what the western end of Riverside Park looked like at 11:30 AM today:

. . .

3 PM Riverside Park update:

And here are two views from the rear of 16 Washington Ave., at 7:30 AM and then at 11:30 AM today:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .

7:30 AM

11:30 AM

3 PM update:

The view at the old Burr Bridge Abutment was a lot less dramatic at 3 PM.

. . . 

– 11 AM & 3 PM at the Washington Ave. deadend Bridge Abutment –

We’ve seen it before, but the power of the river and the speed of the ice floes at 11 AM (the height of the ice jam) continued to humble and amaze us along the banks of the Mohawk. You can watch the Mohawk River ice floes in a Gazette video taken by Jeffrey Haff, who also has a nice photo gallery posted at the Gazette website.

after-words: Three weeks ago we featured the three snowmen in the backyard at 4 Cucumber Alley.  The Mama snowperson is gone, and here is all that is left of the “Arthur” and “Miles” snowmen, as seen at 3 PM today:

p.s. The very first postings at this weblog covered the giant ice jam of March 2009.  Refresh your recollection here.  Click for all posting on ice floes, ice jams and flooding along the Mohawk here at the Schenectady Stockade.

 

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Posted in flooding/ice floes-jams, river seasons

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