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From the garden, the last hot pepper. A month ago, I was taking these beauties for granted. Today, it's a gem. My attitude changes with the season.
Taken at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center in Delmar. We visited their Fall Festival. They pack a lot of neat outdoor things into a fairly small space.
Fog is somewhat unusual here, but this is the season when it's most likely. Well, I seem to remember it that way. One of these days I'll go check the National Weather Service and be sure!
While playing in the park, this cicada fluttered down onto my son's back. He was startled at first, but his natural curiosity won out and he quickly picked it up to show everyone in sight.
A view of one of the pine trees in Central Park. There is a fairly open stand of them across from the Casino, shading the swings. I love the bark on these guys, and how far up the first branches are.
These tiny flowers were growing in Central Park. I saw them near the stream that flows out of Iroquois Lake. I was there for the Fireplug 500 dog / animal shelter fundraiser. Our dog likes to walk, and she lead me to these delicate beauties!
The Animal Protective Foundation sponsors an annual event called the Fireplug 500, to raise money for the animal shelter. Although the goal is a fundraiser, it's also a social event, with many people bringing dogs just to get together. There were vendors and information booths. Located in Central Park, the weather was wonderful this year!
Went to soccer practise and while wandering round the outskirts of the field, came across this orange jewelweed. Sometimes called touch-me-not, it has seed pods that burst when touched, sending the spring-loaded seeds away from the mother plant. This is a very common sight around here; anywhere there's a bit of dampness with some sun.
The broad leaves of this ornamental plant struck my eye. Each leaf is over a foot long! Quite unusual for this area. I believe this is the Common Taro, Colocasia Esculenta. A native of the tropics of Asia, it's grown here as an ornamental. The tubers are dug up before winter and stored inside, to be planted again in the spring. Around here, we call it Elephant ear.
It's back to school for students in the public schools and also in college. This is the time of year when we see many students move in from out of town, out of state and out of the country to attend classes at Union College.
When I was at the airport, several National Guard helicopters came in to land at the attached base. It's not that often I get to see helicopters at eye level!
A collection of motorcycles on a nice, sunny day: somewhat rare recently. We're between hurricanes, and although we don't get often struck directly, the remnant tropical depression tends to dump lots of rain on the area. 
In Central Park, back away from the main action is a baseball field with a wide swale around it. For the past week or so, this flock of Canada Geese has been foraging here. They summer here, raise their families and then fly south to warmer climes when autumn approaches.
Larry Kagan manipulates tangled masses of steel into meticulously wrought linear constructions that reveal surprising images when strategically lit. Kagan's seemingly simple combination of metal and shadow yields the illusion of an object that is at once convincingly present, yet nowhere to be actually seen. The incongruity between the sculptural form and its shadow is mystifying and presented with all the finesse and apparent effortlessness of a magician's performance.
Roots & Wisdom is a local program that teaches kids (and adults!) about gardening, caring for the land (so we can grow next year, too!) and community (by donating to local food pantries.)
In the spring, the Mohawk River rises as the ice starts to break up. The loose ice jams up at the railroad bridge below this point and the water just builds up here. We're looking upstream here, toward Schenectady Community College and the Western Gateway Bridge.| Major Flood Stage: | 227 |
| Moderate Flood Stage: | 225 |
| Flood Stage: | 223 |
| Action Stage: | 218 |
| Normal Stage: | 213 |
This is Lawrence the Indian. Well, not really. He is representative of a friendly Native American who lived here when Schenectady was burnt by the French and Indians in 1690. Although we don't know his actual name, this statue was raised in his memory in 1887. He was one of the very persistent trackers of the raiders and helped identify the culprits.
