suns along the Mohawk

A foggy morning last autumn produced some of my favorite Stockade photos of 2008.   I turned some of them into photo “haiga“, which are images that include a linked haiku or similar Japanese-form poem.  Five of them were accepted for publication by Carol Raisfeld, the Modern Haiga editor of Simply Haiku: A Quarterly Journal of Japanese Short Form Poetry.

Yesterday, Simply Haiku posted its Summer 2009 issue online (Vol. 7, No. 2), which included a portfolio with my Riverside photo haiga.   Here are two of them.  You can see all five of the haiga at the Simply Haiku site.

– “first impressions” haiga, orig. pub. Simply Haiku, Summer 2009 –

– “waltzing across” haiga, orig. pub. Simply Haiku, Summer 2009 –

Suns Along the Mohawk Bonus:  Here’s a pair that didn’t make it into Simply Haiku, but deserve a little exposure:

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update (August 10, 2009): click for “more fog along the Mohawk.”

The lovely floral garden displays in Schenectady’s Riverside Park may seem magical, but they do not get there by magic.   A very large part of the credit goes to Stockade resident Jennifer Wells, for the design, planting and continuous maintenance of the Riverside gardens, with the assistance of a few loyal helpers [see the update below for Jennifer’s thank-you list, which names names].  The plants are provided by the City of Schenectady parks department as well as private citizens (mostly Stockade neighbors).

This morning, Jennifer and other Stockade stalwarts organized the annual Planting Day at Riverside Park.  Along with a contingent of Stockade neighbors, more than a dozen Union College students toiled between 9 AM and Noon today (Saturday, May 16) to prepare the flower beds and plant may varieties of annuals.  [Daily Gazette photographer Marc Schultz stopped by to capture images and names; his photo appears on B4 of the May 17, 2009 Sunday Gazette.]

Where tulips stood tall just last week (see our tribute and some of the 2008 Stockade tulips), today you found Union College students bending and stooping, as they weeded and prepared the bed for a new round of plantings.

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Thanks to all those who helped to remove a mountain of weeds and move another mountain of mulch today.

update (May 17, 2009):  Here’s the thank-you sent this morning by Jennifer Wells to the Historic Stockade Yahoo Group:

I would like to thank David for pitching in yesterday and his wonderful blog.  I also extend thanks to Greg Sauer, David and Barbara Marhafer, Mike from North Street, new neighbors Greg and Debra – hope everyone got to meet this wonderful couple- Carol Delamarter, Mary Delasandro, Frank Gilmore, Debbie Lambeth, Susannah Sherwood, Jennifer and Larry Schmidt, Gloria Kishton, Bev Elander, Chris Waldron, Ellen Desmond, Joan Bessarbbe, Mabel Leon, Lyn Gordon, Beth and Elizabeth Petta, and all the wonderful Union College Crew who worked so hard.  Thank you all to those too, who helped and I may have forgotten to mention by name.

We had a wonderful day, got most of the work done and it was just a pleasure to see all who came out to help.  For me, this aspect of a neighborhood working together to make a better place for all of us gives my spirit a lift!

Thank you again.

Jennifer Wells
Dutch Valley Network
(formerly Data.Genesis)
518-258-6180

. . .

. . . and a thoughtful thankyou message from Ellen Desmond:

“A special thanks also to neighbors Stephen and Cathy Boese for their work on our Ingersoll Avenue entrance garden and tennis court gardens. Cathy designed, supplied plants for, and installed the new tennis court Hosta garden. Lovely and serene. Stephen mulched both gardens.  Three Union crew women installed all entrance garden annuals. Their design. Awesome, and great teamwork.”

Jennifer and her helpers will give me (and many, many others) months of pleasure in the park again this summer and fall — and will surely inspire a snapshot or two for suns along the mohawk.