Memento Mori?

Dead Raccoon seen during one of my walks with the dog. In case you’re not familiar with the term:

Memento mori literally means “Remember you must die”. The early Puritan settlers were particularly aware of death and fearful of what it might mean, so a Puritan tombstone will often display a memento mori intended for the living. These death’s-heads or skulls may strike us as ghoulish, but they helped keep the living on the straight and narrow for fear of eternal punishment. In earlier centuries, an educated European might place an actual skull on his desk to keep the idea of death always present in his mind.

Note that I’m not suggesting that anyone should keep a dead raccoon on their desk although this picture might make a great alternative (prices are very reasonable). 😊😊😊

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sony FE 28-75 f3.5-5.6 OSS.

Pine cones

Pine cones? Fir cones? Some other kind of cone? (One of my friends suggested that I was missing Ice Cream Cone, but even with my limited knowledge I know that these are not Ice Cream Cones). Regrettably I don’t know enough about conifers to tell the difference.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sony FE 28-75 f3.5-5.6 OSS.

A Walk around Tarrytown – Grove Street Historic District – 19 North Grove Street

Rounding out the west side of the street is 19 North Grove Street, also a two-story brick house with attached rear tower. It is distinguished from the other house by its three-by-two-bay configuration and low-pitched gable roof pierced by two chimneys with gauged decorative brickwork. An intricately detailed wooden porch runs the length of its west (rear) façade.

Windows are one-over-one double-hung sash with round-arched transoms, set singly or doubly. The flanking windows on the second story have small wrought iron balconies. In the center of the first floor is the main entrance, located in a projecting vestibule with a similar round-arched entrance and tiled hipped roof supported by brackets. Different brackets also support the overhanging eave.

The tower also has a gabled roof with brackets. Inside are many original finishes, including marble fireplaces and wooden door and window surrounds. It, too, retains the original spiral stair. (Wikipedia).

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sony FE 28-75 f3.5-5.6 OSS.

A Walk around Tarrytown – Grove Street Historic District – 15 North Grove Street

Two short driveways are located in the open space between 1 and 15 North Grove Street to the south. It, too, is a two-story brick house with flat roof, pierced by a single chimney, and attached tower (albeit on the west elevation). A two-story north wing is faced in simple shingles and a railed porch runs along the east façade, supporting a small deck above it.

All windows on 15 are also one-over-one double-hung sash, but with segmental-arched lintels. Some are on the three-sided bay windows that project from both the north and south profiles. The roofline is supported by decorative wooden brackets.

The tower is square, joined to the rear at a 45-degree angle. It has several double segmental-arched windows and a flat roof supported by brackets. On the interior are the original spiral staircase and door and window surrounds. (Wikipedia).

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sony FE 28-75 f3.5-5.6 OSS.

A Walk around Tarrytown – Grove Street Historic District – 1 North Grove Street

1 North Grove Street, at the southwest corner of the Neperan intersection, is a two-story, two-by-three-bay brick house with a flat roof pierced in its rear by a brick chimney. In the middle of the east (front) facade is a three-story tower, and a two-bay two-story projection with wraparound porch extends west from the rear. There is a decorative wrought iron fence along the sidewalk in front of the house, and a detached one-story garage is in the rear.

Fenestration consists of single and double one-over-one double-hung sash windows with vertical-board shutters and stone lintels and sills. The porch on the west wing has a wooden guardrail, and on the south side of the wing’s second story is a small wooden shed-roofed addition. Just below the roofline are short eyebrow windows; the broad overhanging eave is supported by simple wooden brackets.

The main entrance and the window above it on the tower have wooden hoods. The tower itself is topped by a slate-shingled mansard roof pierced on all sides by round-arched dormers. Inside the house retains many of its original finishes, including marble fireplaces.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sony FE 28-75 f3.5-5.6 OSS.