Sunday Morning Walk Home from The Patio – Along a Trail

by Posted in Landscapes, Woodland Leave a comment
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Until recently this was a dirt track. It was covered in rocks, roots and if it rained it became rather muddy. The North County Trailway, which runs along the path of the New York and Putnam Railroad (the “Old Put”) passes close by and this short trail effectively connects the Trailway with the Village.

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I have no idea what this stuff is. I imagine it’s covering dead trees (I guess that if they weren’t dead before they are now). Looks somewhat menacing.

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This is what’s laughingly called the Pocantico River. To be fair it’s very narrow here. But is does get larger and more active later in its course, as it runs through the Rockefeller State Park Preserve and makes its way to the River Hudson.

Taken with a Sony RX100 III

Sunday Morning Walk Home from The Patio – The Story behind the Walk

by Posted in Buildings/Structures, Food and Drink Leave a comment
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Last Sunday morning I had just finished “chatting” with a friend who lives nearby. I was feeling hungry and decided to go into Briarcliff Village to get something to eat. I wanted to go to The Patio (see above). For once it was a nice, sunny day and I knew that The Patio fills up quickly on such days. This meant that I had to get moving in order to beat the rush. I hastily got ready and off I went. I had a pleasant breakfast and had just left the restaurant when my phone rang. It was a Canadian friend that I had arranged to talk to at 11:00 am, an appointment that I had completely forgotten in my rush to get to the restaurant. I apologized profusely and we set another time to speak, and we hung up.

My friend and her family had visited me in Briarcliff Manor a couple of times, but I couldn’t recall if I’d ever shown her around the village. So, I decided to walk home, taking photographs as I went. I planned to share these photographs to give her a feel for what Briarcliff Manor is like.

The Patio is one of my favorite eateries. I like to go there with a book and just sit there reading and watching the world go by while I eat my lunch. They serve diner-like food, but with a Mexican twist. For example, you can have bacon and eggs for breakfast, or you can have huevos rancheros or huevos mexicanos. When the COVID pandemic hit they almost immediately built an entire, new patio area on the side of the building so that people could eat outside. It’s quite a popular place.

In the picture above you can see two windows. The building that houses The Patio was once the original Briarcliff Manor Fire Station and the two windows made up the entrance where the fire trucks went in and out. Above were the town offices.

Taken with a Sony RX100 III

A couple of frogs

by Posted in Wildlife & Animals Leave a comment
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A friend of mine has a problem with her water main. Water bubbles up to the surface and accumulates in a small hole. It seems to stop at this level and doesn’t overflow the hole. Very Strange.

Anyway, we passed by the other day and heard a ‘plop’ as something jumped into the accumulated water. Looking more closely we noticed that a number of small frogs had taken up residence. Luckily, one of them was kind enough to stay at ground level and pose for me. He/she is the frog (two views of a single amphibian) in the pictures. Eventually he/she got bored, dove into the water and disappeared.

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Taken with a Sony RX100 M3