Lunch in Hastings-on-Hudson

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Back in early August I met up with my friend and former colleague Robert Cohen for lunch at Harvest on Hudson, a very pleasant restaurant right on the river in Hastings-on-Hudson. I arrived early and decided to have a coffee while waiting at “The Good Witch” right by the station in Hastings (in fact it looks like it was once the actual station building). It’s an interesting place – I’d never seen kimchi bagels before.

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View from the overpass at Hastings station. In between the two buildings is the iconic water tower.

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Another view of the water tower with the Palisades in the background. The Palisades are anywhere from 300 to 540 feet high depending on where you are. The water tower is about all that remains of the former Anaconda Wire and Cable (AWC) works. The site is heavily polluted and is in the process of being remediated by the current owner prior to re-development. All the other buildings have been demolished, but the tower has become a symbol of Hastings-on-Hudson and a majority of the residents do not want it to be demolished.

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Old paving stones. In 1880, the Hastings Pavement Company began making hexagonal pavers, still visible in the sidewalks along the west and east sides of Manhattan’s Central Park and in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The “fog works,” so nicknamed because of the smoke the paving company generated, would remain on the Hastings waterfront until 1936. During World War One, the waterfront industries geared up to support the war effort. Hastings Pavement supplied pavers for the Great Army Supply Base in Brooklyn and Navy yards in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Hampton Roads. These pavers look quite old. I wonder if they date back to this period.

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A sunflower by the entrance to Harvest on Hudson.

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Losts of flowers in and around the restaurant.

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Robert waiting for our table to be ready.

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At the restaurant.

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Robert waiting for his train back to The Big Apple.

Taken with a Sony RX100 III.

Back in the woods again

by Posted in Around the Neighborhood, Landscapes, Woodland Leave a comment
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Of late I’ve been quite bored with woodland photography. So I’ve been taking pictures around my neighborhood, of old buildings, in NY City etc. A while back, however I felt like going into the woods again. So I took the dog for a walk in nearby Hardscrabble Wilderness Area and we ended up walking over four hours. Later that day I could barely move. Harley was ready for another walk.

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Stepping stones over a muddy area.

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Dead, downed tree. The branches on the left made me think of a dancing figure.

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Wooden bridge over a small stream.

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The usual stone walls.

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More stone walls.

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Downed trees.

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Shattered tree trunk.

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Rock patterns.

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Interesting tree.

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Another interesting tree.

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I see a smiling face here.

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Large rock formation.

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The highest point on the trail.

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Stone wall winding away into the distance.

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Dead branch.

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For a short distance the trail leaves the woodland and enters a meadow.

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After a while walking in the woods you come to an open area around the power lines. There were a number of wild flowers.

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

A new bird in the meadow

by Posted in Wildlife & Animals Leave a comment
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I was sitting on the balcony talking to a friend in Geneva when I saw a large bird fly by. I’d often seen a red tailed hawk in the meadow but this one looked substantially larger. I didn’t want to break my conversation so I didn’t immediately rush in to get a camera, thinking that by the time I got back the bird would have gone anyway. So I finished my conversation and then went to get the camera. To my surprise the bird was still there when I returned: it had alighted on the branch of a nearby tree and was sitting some distance away in deep shade with very bright sunlight behind it. I still couldn’t really see it very well. As you can see it turned out to be a Turkey Vulture. It’s not such a great picture (focus off, too noisy), but considering the conditions I was pleased that I got anything recognizable at all. Not the most attractive bird I’ve ever seen.

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Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron SP A08 200-500 f/5-f/6.3 IF di

Around The Neighborhood: Dow Hall

by Posted in Around the Neighborhood, Buildings/Structures Leave a comment
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Dow Hall is the most significant building (the rest are modern concrete/brick and glass buildings) in the now closed Briarcliff College in Briarcliff Manor, NY. It was originally a women’s college founded as Mrs. Dow’s School for Girls in 1903 at the Briarcliff Lodge. After Walter W. Law donated land and a building for the college, it operated at its location at 235 Elm Road in Briarcliff until 1977; closing due to low enrollment and financial problems. Pace University subsequently operated it as part of its Pleasantville campus from 1977 to 2015. In an effort to consolidate its campuses, Pace University sold the campus in 2017 to the Research Center on Natural Conservation, a host to conferences relating to global warming and conservation. The campus was again sold in 2021, to a Viznitz Yeshiva congregation.

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