I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

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December 21 was a snowy day in Briarcliff Manor. Now that was a surprise! I knew that we would have some snow, but the weather forecasts were predicting around one inch. It turned out that 3 inches was closer to the mark. Still, that’s not enough to cause much fuss around here. The 22nd brought maybe another inch of snow. Since it was cold and unlikely to get much warmer before Christmas, it looked likely that we’d have a White Christmas! This was, indeed, the case.

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Taken with a Sony A7IV and Viltrox AF 20mm f2.8 STM ASPH ED IF

Some of my favorite pictures of 2024 – Color

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Vermeeresque. Briarcliff Manor, February 17, 2024

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Creepy hot dog man. Ossining, February 24, 2024

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Benny Benack III at Django. NY, NY, August 8, 2024

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Black Vulture on my roof. Briarcliff Manor, September 22, 2024.

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Stone Bridge with Fall leaves. Briarcliff Manor, November 10, 2024

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Red-winged Blackbird. Briarcliff Manor, June 17, 2024.

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Rockefeller State Park. Pleasantville, NY, May 20, 2024.

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Ice cream eaters. Peekskill, NY, July 28, 2024.

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Pigeons. NY, NY, August 18, 2024

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Paper Bird in a bookstore. Ossining, NY. November 17, 2024.

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Clouds. Briarcliff Manor, NY. November 4, 2024.

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Juno. West Rutland, Vermont. August 26, 2024.

Taken with a variety of cameras and lenses

In Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow – Philipsburg Manor

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Historic Hudson Valley describes Philipsburg Manor as follows:

Find a New Perspective on Colonial New York.

Cross the millpond bridge to Philipsburg Manor, a mill and trading complex where an enslaved community lived and labored for generations.
Learn about the enslaved individuals who worked on the property in the year 1750, and whose family relationships and personal histories are revealed in primary documents.
Step into the gristmill and learn about the life of Caesar, the enslaved miller, whose unmatched expertise contributed to the wealth of the Philipse family but benefited him not at all.

Visit the dairy in the cellar of the Manor House, where a commercial butter production was operated by Dina, Massey and Sue, three of the women enslaved by the Philipses at the site.

Discover the many ways the enslaved community at Philipsburg Manor maintained family networks, shared their cultural heritage, and expressed their fundamental humanity in opposition to the inhumane system that bound them.

For more information on Philpsburg Manor see: A Visit to Philipsburg Manor.

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Taken with a Sony A7IV and Nikon Micro Nikkor 55mm f3.5

A Walk to Crawbuckie Preserve and Back – Sing Sing Kill Greenway

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Ossining’s Sing Sing Kill Greenway is a concrete walkway opened in 2016 that runs down the Sing Sing Kill gorge. It’s a unique experience walking down the gorge with steep hills on either side of you and the brook beneath you. You’re practically in the middle of Ossining’s Old Village, but in a different world.The “main” entrance is adjacent to the lower parking lot at the Ossining Community Center at 95 Broadway. The walkway runs about 1/3 of a mile down the gorge and ends up on Central Ave. If you parked at the community center then at that point you either turn around and go back up the gorge, or you can take the longer route up to Main St, take a left onto the Croton Aqueduct Trailway then head back down to the Community Center.

InOssining describes has a piece on the Greenway.

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Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.

A Walk to Crawbuckie Preserve and Back – Old Croton Aqueduct

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My plan had been to walk back into Ossining along Route 9/Albany Post Road. However, as I was walking to the diner, I noticed that the road crossed the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail.

According to New York State’s Parks, Recreation and Preservation site:

During the 1830s New York City was in dire need of a fresh water supply to combat the steady rise of disease and to fight numerous fires that often engulfed large tracts of businesses and homes. After numerous proposals and an abandoned plan two years into its production, construction of an unprecedented magnitude began in 1837 under the expertise of John Bloomfield Jervis. The proposed plan called for a 41-mile aqueduct and dam to be built in order to run water from the Croton River to New York City. Three to four thousand workers, mostly Irish immigrants earning up to $1.00 per day, completed the masonry marvel in just five years. In 1842 water flowed into above-ground reservoirs located at the present sites of the New York Public Library and the Great Lawn of Central Park. Throngs of people attended the formal celebration held on October 14th and celebrated with “Croton cocktails” – a mix of Croton water and lemonade.

This 19th-century architectural achievement cost New York City approximately 13 million dollars and was believed able to provide New Yorkers with fresh water for centuries to come. The population spiraled upward at a dizzying rate, however, and the Croton Aqueduct, which was capable of carrying 100 million gallons per day, could no longer meet New York City’s needs by the early 1880s. Construction of the New Croton Aqueduct began in 1885 and water began to flow by 1890. Although no longer the sole supplier of fresh water, the Old Croton Aqueduct continued to provide water to New York City until 1965.
In 1968, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation purchased 26.2 miles of the original 41-mile aqueduct from New York City. Presently, Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park is a linear park which runs from Van Cortlandt Park at the Bronx County/City of Yonkers border to the Croton Dam in Cortlandt. In 1987 a section was reopened to supply the Town of Ossining and in 1992 the Old Croton Aqueduct was awarded National Historic Landmark Status. The scenic path over the underground aqueduct winds through urban centers and small communities. It passes near numerous historic sites, preserves, a museum highlighting the construction of the Aqueduct, and many homes. The Aqueduct’s grassy ceiling provides abundant recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. While primarily for walking and running, parts of the trail are suitable for horseback riding, biking (except during “mud season”), bird watching, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.

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I’ve no idea what this structure is. Presumably it’s something to do with the Aqueduct. Notice in the second picture (below) my lightning like reflexes were able to capture a picture of a passing cyclist even though he came from behind me and I didn’t notice him coming until he passed me. 🙂

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At times the trail crossed local roads. As I was passing this one a fire truck pulled up and backed into the station.

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Eventually I got back to Ossining. A good view over the Weir house in the foreground towards the town center.

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A view of the Weir house from the other side.

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Two locals doing what most younger people seem to do all the time.

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View looking back towards the Weir along the Aqueduct Bridge.

A stone aqueduct bridge was completed in 1842 to carry the Old Croton Aqueduct over both the Sing Sing Kill and the Broadway Arch Bridge. Designed by civil engineer John B. Jervis, the aqueduct carried fresh water from Croton Reservoir to New York City. The original Ossining weir was located a quarter mile north of the bridge but a program initiated in 1881 modified the function of the weirs to provide valves that could divert the entire flow of the aqueduct at any one weir. This was a feat not possible in the original 1842 design. All other weirs were modified but the original Ossining weir, located on a stream, could not accommodate the entire flow of the aqueduct. Therefore, a new weir was constructed in 1881-1886 at the Aqueduct Bridge where the water could be diverted.

The marker reads:

AQUEDUCT BRIDGE
COMPLETED 1842, OLD CROTON
AQUEDUCT CROSSES OVER
SING SING KILL & BROADWAY ARCH
BRIDGE. WEIR BUILT 1881-1886
TO EMPTY TUNNEL FOR REPAIRS.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2022

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View from the Aqueduct Bridge looking towards Ossining. The two churches are the First Baptist (on the left) and the First Presbyterian (on the right). More on them later.

Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.