Seen in a coffee shop in Briarcliff Manor, NY. I liked the smoothness of the porcelain and the shiny metal fixtures. Also the curves of the sink and the faucets as well as the delicate pattern on the tiles.
A Faucet
Facade – Putnam Valley Sheriff’s Office
This building is on Oregon Corners in Putnam Valley, NY. It’s opposite a small shopping area. I guess that what first caught my attention was the large shield (it’s actually quite colorful). There are two plaques on the front. One says:
June 2001. This building is hereby dedicated to Honorable Vincent L. Leibell III. New York State Senator – 37th S.D. and Members of the Town Board of Putnam Valley. Supervisor Carmelo Santos. Councilmen Thomas Cafferty, Charles Ferrante, Samuel Gambino. In grateful recognition and appreciation of their dedicated efforts in support of law enforcement on behalf of the residents of Putnam Valley. Robert D. Thoubboron, Putnam County Sheriff. This Plaque was donated by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Police Benevolent Association.
The second plaque reads: “Dr. John M. Zarcone, Putnam County Coroner 1972-1997. 25 years of dedicated service to the residents of Putnam County.”
I thought the building was much older as it has a certain worn look too it. I did a little research on the names and found a New York Times article entitled “Ex-Senator Gets 21-Month Prison Term in Tax Evasion Case from 2011“, which states:
A former state senator was sentenced in federal district court here on Friday to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty last year to obstruction of justice and tax evasion.
The former senator, Vincent L. Leibell III, a Republican from Putnam County, had faced 18 to 24 months in prison, based on sentencing guidelines. But Mr. Leibell’s lawyer, David L. Lewis, asked the judge to take into account Mr. Leibell’s “life of public service” and urged him to consider a “non-guideline” sentence, like allowing Mr. Leibell, 64, to do community service, “in which he publicly has to restore the faith in the people he has betrayed.”
It’s ironic that Mr. Leibell was one of those honored: “In grateful recognition and appreciation of their dedicated efforts in support of law enforcement on behalf of the residents of Putnam Valley”. Maybe the town should think about removing the Plaque.
Carmelo Santos appeared to have retired in 2005 and moved to Florida.
Robert B. Thoubbouron is mentioned in a 2001 New Times Article entitled: “Critics say Sheriff is the Law. In Bucolic Putnam Country, an Election Stirs Passions“. The article describes a contest between then incumbent Sheriff Thoubbouron and Donald B. Smith, a retired Brigadier General Donald B. Smith. It seems that General Smith won as the Wikipedia articles describes him has having become Putnam County Sheriff in 2002, a post he continues to hold in 2015 (his fourth term).
Frog Statue at Stonecrop Gardens
I was very much taken by this huge (human sized) statue of a frog at stonecrop gardens. It turned out to be extremely difficult to get the exposure right though. First the auto white balance, which is normally quite reliable, was completely off – the picture had a very strong greenish-yellow cast. Second the quite strong late morning light was behind the frog throwing the front of the frog into darkness. I didn’t spot this until I got the picture onto the computer when it was far too late to correct the in camera exposure. I’m not all that happy with the picture. I even tried converting to black and white to see if that would work. It didn’t – it just became a very muddy black and white picture and I was unable to improve it. Still it serves as a record of a very “different” piece of statuary.
Lamp in the Beekman Arms, Rhinebeck, NY
The Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, NY claims to be the oldest continually operating inn in the United States. It’s certainly old and part of it feels just like the English pubs I was familiar with while growing up in the UK.
Brian Plumb author of “Rhinebeck’s Historic Beekman Arms.” provides additional information in the interestingly titled: “Did George Washington really sleep at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck? A new book finds the answer, and more“.
Philipsburg Manor, Sleepy Hollow, NY
Manor House
I took these in 2010 with a Fuji HS10, a camera I bought on a whim, didn’t like much and barely use. It was widely (and justly) criticized at the time for producing pictures that were not very sharp. Critics often stated that the images looked like watercolors. Well, that’s not always bad….
According to the website of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area:
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the landholdings of the Philipse family encompassed 52,000 acres and included a complex that featured a mill, farm, and large stone manor house located on the banks of the Pocantico River. The complex served as the hub of the family’s business empire, which included the slave trade. Thanks to an inventory compiled in 1750, it is known that 23 Africans were the chief labor force at Philipsburg Manor, making the Philipses one of the largest slaveholders in the northern colonies.
Today, Philipsburg Manor is a restored 18th century trading and milling living-history museum that focuses on the lives of enslaved Africans. A reconstructed water-powered gristmill grinds grain while heirloom varieties of plants are grown in a recreated slave garden and animals are tended around an 18th-century Dutch barn moved to the site. Demonstrations in householding techniques of the period, such as cooking and spinning, take place in a reconstructed tenant farmer’s house.
Weir and Grist Mill
Closer view of the water wheel. I liked the colors and the textures of the wood and the almost, but not quite, symmetry of the windows.