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Spilt Seeds
Cones and seeds of a Japanese-Cedar, Cryptomeria japonica, an exotic planted in the Victorian necropolis of Green-Wood. The seeds are about 5mm long. When I brought the little cones home they were bright green and very tight. But, like pinecones, they bloomed in the apartment, releasing their cargo when jostled.
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Any port in a storm
On the side of the Barge Music barge, a friendly old hull, a tenacious plant. Soil, bah, who needs it? Although this may have reached the limit of it’s improbability. Methinks it’s our old friend Paulownia tomentosa, the weed that becomes a tree.
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Four Sparrow’s Pay-to-Play Played Out?
The plan to despoil Four Sparrow Marsh has been withdrawn. I’ve written a lot about this unique corner of the borough and why it’s so special, so I’m glad to hear this wretched idea has been shelved. (For how long, for what reason, I don’t know.) While the wheels of environmental impact statements and economic…
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Bean Tree
One of those trees with too many names: Pagoda tree, Sophora, Chinese scholartree. Styphnolobium japonicum, a common street tree in the city. A member, you will not be surprised to hear, of the legume family. The small black bean-like seeds will soon be littering the sidewalks.
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Hudson Highlands
About two hours from my door via the MTA and MetroNorth, the Hudson Highlands loom above the Hudson. A wedge of Precambrian gneiss running NE-SW across the river, this billion year old rock makes for dramatic scenery and excellent hiking.In a throwback to the whistle stop, the Hudson Line makes weekend morning stops at Breakneck,…
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Vinegar Hill
Wait a minute!Most of the bogus pigeon scarers are “owls,” as if any self-respecting owl would be hanging out in the middle of the day. This one was a raptor. A nice variation on the theme of useless bird flushers. Right across the street however, a sound in the trees where Vinegar Hill actually drops…
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In Brooklyn Bridge Park
A couple of monarchs, a sulphur, and one cabbage white. One last dragonfly, too. The sunlight shining through the compostable logo. Included here because, while drinking this beer, a bird zoomed right overhead, and — what a geek, and proud of it — I stood up and said “falcon!” A kestrel heading towards the Brooklyn…
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NYGrapes
Concord, Caco, and Niagara grapes from Buzzards Crest Vineyards, Yates Co., NYS. They have a stand at Borough Hall Saturdays in season. All three of these varieties are off-shoots of the fox grape, Vitis labrusca, native to the northeast. The foxy Concord has long been a favorite of mine.
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Nuts! Walnuts
This is the fruit of the Black walnut, Juglans nigra. Edible, but hard to extract, since first you have to get through this husk, which stains you yellowish green. It was in fact once used as a dye. Then, once the flesh is gone (squirrels will sometimes help you) you are presented with the hard…
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Backyard and Beyond 