Posted by: David Giacalone | February 19, 2022

February floes on the Mohawk (Feb. 17 – 20, 2022)

. .  view west from Schenectady’s Riverside Park overlook (17Feb22)

[The original posting, covering Feb. 17 and 18, has been augmented with photos from Feb. 19 & 20, 2022.]

Ice floes and concern over possible jamming and flooding had me outside the past three days observing (quickly) and snapping pictures in a jumble of weather conditions, including unseasonably warm air,  blustery winds, and frigid air. The artic blast slowed snow-melting before we had ice jams or flooding along the Schenectady Stockade banks of the Mohawk River.

18Feb22-westfromoverllookIMG . . View west from near Park overlook (Feb. 18, 2022)

Here are some images from February 17 and 18, 2022, presented in a “mosaic tile” columns. Click on an image for a complete, larger version.

.

IMG_4195The Overlook gauge showed the river at its highest point, about four feet below flood stage, on Feb. 18 . .  

Below: Ice fisherman on the thicker ice along the north (Scotia) bank of the Mohawk River, on Febrary 17.

SATURDAY, February 19, 2022

19Feb-IMG_4209Highs winds and low temperatures greeted anyone heading to Riverfront Park on Saturday. The image on the left shows the Mohawk as seen from the deadend of Washington Avenue at about 11:43 AM. A half hour later, just as I was thinking the Region’s forecasted snow squalls were not going to hit Schenectady, a neighbor pointed behind me toward Scotia. This is what I saw at 12:13:

That ominous sight coming from Scotia, soon brought this scene at 12: 18 and 12:20 pm:

19Feb-IMG_4235

 . . I19Feb-MG_4233

 For a larger version of these images from Saturday Morning along the Stockade riverbank of the Mohawk River, click on them.

I was warmed at the end of a very cold photoshoot, when I discovered the Galligans (mother and son) frolicking, despite winds and snow squalls, on the ice floes that had landed on the Riverbank along Cucumber Alley and Washington Avenue.

19Feb-IMG_4245

 

20Feb-CayugaSunset3 The weekend ended with a lovely sunset along the Mohawk, Sunday, February 20, 2022. On the right, the Isle of the Cayugas with a pink and yellow glow in the sky and River, viewed from the west end of Riverside Park. A small family of mallards (I think) were seen relaxing in the same yellow glow, at the mouth of the Binnekill Creek, as it flows into the Mohawk:

20Feb-BinnekillBirds2

Pulling back on the view of that stretch of the Mohawk, you could also see floes and glows looking west from the end of Washington Avenue toward the Great West Gateway Bridge.

20Feb-WGBsunset

And my oft-photographed island neighbor, the Isle of the Cayugas, also looked great when seen from the Park Overlook:

20Feb-OverlookSunset2

It looks like the use of the Tugboat Margot as an ice breaker on the Mohawk, broke up the ice that topped the River sufficiently to prevent floes climbing the Riverbank and any flooding. Last year was the first appearance of Margot along the Mohawk. She can seen in this photo from the Schenectady Gazette:

IcebreakerMargotTugboat

TUGBOAT MARGOT Follow-up (March 19, 2022): At their March 17 member meeting, the Stockade Association celebrated the people who made Margot’s tugboat ice-breaking role possible. See “Stockade Association honors ice-breaking effort” (WAMC, Lucas Willard, March 18, 2022). Along with tugboatCaptain Chris Deeley, Margot’s Engineer, a crew member, and  NYS Canal Corporation director Brian Stratton, the Association honored longtime Stockade resident and retired architect Jim Duggan, “who has long called for efforts to reduce seasonal flooding”.

Posted by: David Giacalone | February 13, 2022

Lawrence hosts Valentine Flamingos again

 . . 3 PM daylight update: share this post with the URL: https://tinyurl.com/2022Flamingos

 IMG_4112 . . IMG_4129c

update (Feb. 14, 2022): As forecasted, there were blue skies with bright sunlight this afternoon, adding to the lovely charm of our 2022 Flamingo Flamboyance at Lawrence Circle. Here are more than a dozen images celebrating Valentine’s Day with Lawrence.

IMG_4107

.

IMG_4104c

.

IMG_4123

IMG_4105

. . click on a thumbnail for a larger version . . IMG_4121

. . thank you for continuing are Stockade Valentine tradition. The Flock of Flamingos will be here until after dark tonight, February 14.

. shadows . IMG_4124

ORIGINAL POSTING, Sunday night, February 13, 2022.

Flamingos2022-13Feb3

This year’s flamboyance of Valentine flamingos arrived February 13 at Lawrence Circle early enough to catch the Super Bowl game. They found a quiet Circle under an almost-full waxing gibbous moon.* The flamingos will be visiting Lawrence here in the Schenectady Stockade until after dark on Valentine’s Day. It will be cold but sunny under blue skies for the brief flamingo visit on February 14, which should mean lovely selfies and other photographs for fans of romance and whimsy at Lawrence Circle.

Flamingos2022-13Feb5

 

Here are a few more photos taken at the Circle Sunday evening; click on a thumbnail for a larger verison.

Come back to this webpost during the afternoon on Valentine’s Day for daylight images of our mysterious Stockade tradition. [For coverage of prior Valentine flamingo events here in the Stockade, spanning over a decade, see our Valentine Flamingos category page.] Maybe meet a friend at Arthur’s 1795 to enjoy more of our Stockade traditions.

  • LawrenceCircleBlocksA little Stockade advocacy: You may have noticed that Lawrence Circle, with its new fence, is surrounded by unsightly protective blocks of cement apparently meant to fend off errant snowplows and other motorists. The blocks also obstruct the view of plantings and pink visitors in the Circle. Please let City Hall know if you agree they should be replaced ASAP by attractive, sturdy decorative bollards that would be far more appropriate in a treasured Historic District (example; and 2nd one; and 3rd). As the City Planning and Engineering Departments know, decorative bollards come in many designs and degrees of strength, including temporary styles that can be removed seasonally, if desired.

. . please come back for photos taken on Valentine’s Day. And cite this post with the shorter URL: https://tinyurl.com/2022Flamingos

follow-up (February 15, 2022): Our good friend, meteorolgy maven Steve Caporizzo at NewsChannel10, featured our Stockade Valentine Flamingos again this year. See his Facebook Flamingo posting last night. Here is a link to the video segment – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yErIyVf4ag

SteveCaporizzo-2022Flamingos

Posted by: David Giacalone | January 31, 2022

tardy new year calendar

 

2022CalendarW

8x10CliffordSnowEYou know, I’ve been thinking that I forgot to do something important as 2021 was coming to its end. Luckily, just before January was over, I realized that I never posted a Suns Along the Mohawk one-page calendar for 2022.  This year’s calendar has the theme of “feeling nostalgic for Riverside Park,” where many Stockaders for decades have enjoyed sunsets, strolling (and dog-walking), fanciful-but-evicted playlot fixtures, (like Clifford), the shade and serentiy of great old trees, lazy bench sitting, and bocce, picnics or sunning on the lovely West Lawn.

  • feel free to download and use the calendar for any noncommerical purpose; it is formatted at 8″ by 10″.
  • ´  Click here, if you would prefer a calendar with a black background

Have a wonderful year. Stay optimisitic and safe.

Posted by: David Giacalone | December 6, 2021

2021 tree lighting gets four stars

IMG_4079  The 2021 Stockade Christmas Tree Lighting celebration got rave reviews all around Lawrence Circle. Impressively tall and wide tree; comfortable winter weather (not windy, no precipitation, tolerable temperature); warm welcome with cookies and apple cidar at Arthur’s 1795; and a crowd large enough to be festive, with many new and old faces. Plus, songs by Justin Friello. If I had gotten a few more winning photographs, it would have been a five star evening for me. 

.

StockadeTree2021a

. . IMG_4057JustinFriello

IMG_4081

Posted by: David Giacalone | December 4, 2021

Downtown holiday double take

ITakeTwo2cf you want a quick jolt of Holiday Color & Energy, I suggest starting at Jay and State Streets and let yours eyes and feet wander. For example, just past the Schenectady Downtown Tree and Johnny’s on State Street, across from Proctors, you will find a special holiday visual treat (for young and old). There is a span of storefront windows that start at Chelsea Heilmann’s Take Two Cafe, a vegan experience at 433 State Street. The display stretches far enough to brighten NBT’s sidewalk. 

Below, and to the right, are images from that display. When I find out the name of the artisit, I will include it here. 

TakeTwo5a

 

TakeTwo3  

 

TakeTwo4w

 

NBTBank

 

TakeTwo4c1 . . 

. .  TakeTwo3c

  • From time to time over December, I will add other images of holiday colors in Downtown Schenectady.

Posted by: David Giacalone | November 15, 2021

our fundraiser for Veterans Miracle Center continues

It’s mid-November and you can still help our photo-card fundraiser for VMC and the veterans it serves. Click on VETERANS for views of each card and information about the unique Veterans Miracle Center in Albany NY.

washcucseasonscardfThroughout November 2021, “Suns Along the Mohawk” is offering you the opportunity to help VMC by purchasing Stockade and Mohawk River photo-cards by the proprietor of this website, David Giacalone, with all proceeds to go to VMC. The 7″ x  5″ photo-cards are two-sided (with envelopes, on 100 weight card stock; no fold). There are 25 different cards with topics such as Mohawk River sunsets, Schenectady cherry blossoms, ice floes and jams along the Mohawk, flooding after Hurricane Irene, and more, including collages with photos of Lawrence the Indian, the venerable slide at Riverside Park’s playlot, and the seasons at the corner of Washington Avenue and Cucumber Alley [at the Right].

ONLY a DOLLAR. To entice your donation, we are asking for a minimum donation of $1 per card. A great deal for a great cause.

vmc-soas-dag

. . VMCfundraiser4

Posted by: David Giacalone | November 14, 2021

Stockade-athon 2021 on my corner

Sathon2021-LSerafini1a

. . Sathon2021-CaraSherman

. .  Above: Cara Sherman, 1st in Woman Div. [I did not see Cara in the crowd in time for a front view]; and [Top] Louis Serafini, 1st Overall (pretty easy to spot!) . . 

MVP Health Care Stockade-athon 2021 was a welcome sight rushing down Washington Avenue this morning. As happens most years, the eventual winners in both the male and female divisions were the first of their genders entering the Stockade and making the turn east onto Front Street. [see images above] Similarly, after overall winner Louis Serafini, the second group of male runners included those who finished at the top of the rankings (see below with names and placements noted):

Sathon-5MaleLeaders

  • Sathon2021-AwardsList
  • And, you can click to see the Awards List and the total Results compiled by ARE EVENT PRODUCTIONS (at AREEP.com)

Sathon2021 - OfcRPassonno  When I bounded off my front porch at Cucumber Alley and Washington Avenue about 8:30 this morning, the first vision from the Race that I saw was Officer R. Passonno and his shiny black jeep. (image at left) I watched and photographed the 2021 Stockade-athon cohort from that location, Washington Avenue at Front Street, and its extension, Cucumber Alley.

In “the good old days”, when Lawrence Circle was the halfway point of the race, it took almost an hour for the all the runners in the Stockade-athon Race to pass through the center of its namesake Stockade district, giving me the chance to move up and down several blocks, and offering many perspectives for shooting runners I’d see coming west down Front Street or south up Washington Avenue. [If interested in past versions of the Race, there are links in our Stockade-athon Category to every Race since 2009.] With the race starting downtown at Veterans Park, the turn into the Stockade is only half a mile from the start, with the vast mass of runners still in a rushing clump of pumping legs, arms and hearts. As a result, the last straggler (who started late and came after the last escort vehicle) passed me by and turned up Front Street only 09:59 after Lou Serafini led the pack into the turn.

Sathon2021-LeadCar

IMG_3960 (1)In the Slideshow and individual images presented below, there are about 50 photographs of bodies and faces racing pass me on the corner of Washington Avenue at Front Street.  The Slideshow images are presented in the order I took the photographs, as the runners came down Washington Avenue. I always especially enjoy the faces and hope you will, too. [see more of the faces in the mosaic tile display near the bottom of this posting]

  • USE of IMAGES. As always, runners and groups may use any image from the Race without seeking permission. Others may use a Race image for non-commercial purposes. For use in a commercial context, please contact David Giacalone directly or by leaving a comment.
  • For a LARGER VERSION of a SLIDESHOW image, pause and rightclick on the image and choose Show Image in New Tab.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Sathon2021-Last-LateStart.  .  a late-starting runner is the last competitor past our corner . .  

Click on a square tile for a larger, full-image version of some of the Faces of the 2021 Stockade-athon:

.

IMG_3967

.

IMG_4007 . . .

. . a friendly bellringer and vocal race fan joined me behind a wooden horse. .  

Posted by: David Giacalone | October 15, 2021

new fence at Lawrence Circle

LawrenceNewFence3

 

 

 

Lawrence Circle and its treasured occupant had not been protected by a fence since its very damaged wrought iron structure was removed on December 27, 2020. (See bottom of this posting for a few images telling the story.) Fortunately, on October 16, 2021, a crew from Armando & Sons Ironworks and I happened to pass by with a camera.  Above and below are a few of the images of the almost-completed wrought iron fence. (Click on a photo for a full, larger version.)

.

LawrenceNewFence6

The new fence is very similar in appearance to the prior one: simple, clean lines, and I like it. Here are two shots of the prior fence in wintry scenes.

Lawrence-Tree-snow10Dec14 2014 . . 2015 Lawrence-snow2015

Why did Lawrence need a new fence?

See photos below, Left to Right: Lots of snow at the end of December 2020, led to sufficient destruction of the fence on Dec. 25-26, 2020 (Gazette photo) to require its removal on December 27, 2020; and then an attempt to keep plows from pushing more snow against Lawrence while unprotected by his fence.

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories