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When the first flowers open, the first bees arrive to harvest the nectar. What an amazing coincidence! :-) I wonder if the bees go out when it rains?
The big dog and I went for a walk, and downtown, in Veteran's Park, a rostrum was set up. Typically, there are very few people there this time of the year, and it was a blustery day, but today several men - obviously veterans - were milling about. Then, this bus pulled up.
The last of the ice blocks from the winter. They're almost all melted now. The river was very calm; weather like this makes it seem very warm no matter what the actual temperature is!
Being Friday, it's time for another edition of Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see skies from all over the world!
No, it's not a new ice age. I just happened to like this clear sheet of ice. Of course the little one was enthusiastic to help me take the photo. Well, for a bit. Then it got too chilly to hold.
There's still some snow down in Vale, but it'll likely be melted this week. This is a very pleasant walk when it's dry; when it's wet like this, it's a hike! Good thing the little one wore his boots. He can walk in the rivulets of melting snow. Too bad his Dad wasn't quite as prepared!
The temperature was above freezing and the roads were dry, which means no icy surprises! And so I took the bike to work. That snow will be all gone before the week is out and then I can ride every day!
We've always called her The Black Angel; she might have an official name but I don't know it. She stands watch over the Veeder family plot in Vale Cemetery. I always found her comforting and peaceful. Whoever designed this plot understood comfort; just out of the frame to the right is a semi-circular stone bench where one can sit and remember the family - all the families - in the peaceful wood.
More even than the beautiful flowers that bloom, these remind me of the cycles of the seasons. These are humble chives, reaching through last year's exhausted growth into the chilly spring air, renewing themselves for another season.
I don't know why, but crows like to hang out in Vale Cemetery. I would have thought they'd prefer the city, where they can scavenge more... stuff, but crows are uncommon on the streets and very common here.
This needs some explanation. This is one of the blocks of ice washed up onto the sidewalk by the Mohawk River. I have no idea how long it's been out of the water, so I don't know if the crystalline structure is how it was made (the way it froze) or how it is being unmade (crystallising as it melts and re-freezes). Each of these crystals is about the size of a crochet needle.
St Patrick's Day is one ethnic holiday that every American seems eager to celebrate. We eat 'Irish' food like corned beef and cabbage, we put on green clothes and we generally celebrate the day by festooning green everywhere. (There's even green beer!)
Roku is a small dog, but he doesn't let that stop him. He is very active when we walk, climbing on snowbanks and tree stumps. Here, he insists on climbing a large block of river ice to get a better view for his next foray.
It's a sure sign of spring when the skunk cabbages begin their rise out of the swamp and snow. These are about a week old now. They generat their own heat, which makes the little green plants happy!
This Skywatch Friday I decided to try something a little different. My camera is an older model, and it takes a long time between the moment I press the shutter release (can I still call it that?) and the moment it captures the image. So my framing of moving objects is less than stellar! So this time, I decided to track the object and not look through the viewfinder... So the tree is blurry but the plane is OK. Trade-offs...
Happy Anniversary to Eric Tenin at Paris Daily Photo! Eric is the spiritual father of all the City Daily Photo blogs. Without him, there'd be no CDP and without them, I wouldn't be here either. Bravo!
Also in the Stockade area is Riverside Park. In one of those accidents where names make sense, it's right by the river! Being close to the river means that ice from the river gets pushed up onto the sidewalk. The dog and I had fun negotiating this!
This is in the oldest section of the city, it's called the Stockade, after the boundaries of the original stockade fortifications that protected the city. Of course, if you leave the gates open there isn't much protection. The French lead a raid from Canada to Schenectady and burnt the city in Feb 1690. The statue in the distance is Lawrence the Indian, who helped track the French after the massacre.
On State Street, driving west. The downtown area is looking very nice after all the construction, or perhaps I should say reconstruction. These clocks are interesting in the era of all digital.
Took a hike into Vale yesterday. I'd normally say 'walk' but yesterday it was a hike. Between the snow and the mud, it was slow going. But it was so worth it! Down at the bottom, late in the afternoon, this beautiful sight magically appeared. I was standing in shadow; the other side was bathed in sunshine, the dark water was perfect to reflect the far bank.
Hand held and a bit shaky, sunrise comes to my street.
Every spring we plant a garden, and every spring we put in herbs. Every autumn, I dig up what's left of the herbs and bring them indoors in the usually forlorn hope of having them last through the winter. My wife, bless her, puts up with this mental aberration and endures pots of plants on counters, radiators and window sills for a few months until they can be moved outside once more.
The Cowhorn Creek is covered by the city for most of its course, but here in Vale Park, it is flowing free on the surface. Free enough to keep a patch clear of ice on the pond. I don't know what possessed these ducks to overwinter here, but they don't seem to be bothered by the ice and snow.
It's the first of the month and that means that it's Theme Day in the City Daily Photo blogger community! This month's theme is Passageway. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
