On the water in New York City – Staten Island Ferry Terminal

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After lunch with a friend from Switzerland I decided to go down to the Southernmost tip (The Battery) of Manhattan and take the Staten Island ferry. Back in the 1970s I used to live on Staten Island. The easiest way for me to get to work was to take the ferry. I don’t think I’ve been back there since about 1978 and it’s certainly changed a lot: much more lively and seemingly catering to tourists much more. I shouldn’t be surprised since the Staten Island Ferry must be the best bargain in New York. It doesn’t cost anything and you get a nice boat ride across the harbor with great views of the Statue of Liberty and the downtown Manhattan skyline.

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

That’s the way you grind a lot of coffee

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Awesome machine at the Black Cow coffee shop in Croton-on-Hudson. According to their website:

Michael and Peggy Grant opened the black cow on a wing and a prayer in 1995. they had two young children at the time, Peggy was working as a nurse and Michael as a contractor, and there were more than a few people who thought they were a little crazy to believe they could make a living selling cups of coffee. But they were able to do that and so much more. Since opening, the black cow has become the heart of our community in croton, and has expanded to build more community in Pleasantville and at Phelps Hospital. After twenty five years, Michael and Peggy have retired to Vermont to live out their other dream of doing nothing in a bucolic setting, and they are passing the torch on to close family and dear friends. in croton, Zoë (their youngest child) has returned to carry on the tradition of early morning cups and warm conversations. in Pleasantville, Michele (long time manager and face of the store) is nurturing the family of customers there as she has been doing for the past few years. and at Phelps hospital, Amanda (Michael’s niece and forever friendly face at all the stores) is carrying on with the tight knit community she has built among the hospital staff. No matter the faces behind the counter, our goal will continue to be, as it has always been, to take care of and nourish these communities that we love so much.

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Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

Around the Neighborhood – All Saints Episcopal Church. The Rectory.

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The rectory is not located on the site of the church, but it’s not too far away – just a short walk down Scarborough Road. I’ve read that it’s a Stick Style rectory dated to 1883. Apparently the Stick style was a late-19th-century American architectural style, transitional between the Carpenter Gothic style of the mid-19th century, and the Queen Anne style that it had evolved into by the 1890s. It is named after its use of linear “stickwork” (overlay board strips) on the outside walls to mimic an exposed half-timbered frame

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On the same site is an attractive Arts and Crafts-style Old Parish Hall built in 1904.

Taken with a Fuji X-E1 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II

Around the Neighborhood – All Saints Episcopal Church. Bee Keeping.

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It appears that the church also produces its own honey.

Above the rector’s wife (on the left) and an unnamed fried (on the right). I don’t usually ask people if I can take their picture, but in this case I couldn’t miss the opportunity. I asked and they were kind enough to give me their permission.

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Taken with a Fuji X-E1 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II and a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS.