Sugar Coated Winter Morning February 2011

Berry Bush

Bird Feeder tree

South West view

Squirrel feeder

Corner of Guinnip and First

Higher up the bird feeder tree

Front porch view

Side door view

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Greenery in Elmira Heights

Believe it or not, this wild and wooly scene is right in the heart of Elmira Heights. If you have a bike, you probably already know it.
There is a lovely bike path set right into the wetlands. In the winter and early spring, it is rather nasty and desolate, but in the summer and fall, it's gorgeous.
Above, a view of the path looking towards Upper Lake Road. At my back is Grand Central Avenue. To the right and out of sight is the connector road that links the two, right next to the Lindenwald House. It's all wetland and lowland here. Very verdant and peaceful.
Ah, there's the destination. On the path, looking west to what appears to be a carnival building, no? At this point, every citizen of the Elmira area should recognize where this is.
Eldridge Lake and Eldridge Park. No reason not to visit, although the concessions and the carousel are closed. If you double click the above picture, you may see the walkers and their dogs on the distant bank.
Weeping willows, pretty Victorian style buildings, skating park, kiddie playground, a few sanitary facilities, and lots of running space. Good place to bring your pet for a walk. HuggaMutt goes their often with MammaDog, although I myself am not too keen on the drive.

Still, it's a popular destination for all Elmirans. Just be sure to bring a bag and pick up after your pup. It would be a shame to mess it up.

Don't forget to double click for a larger, detailed picture!

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Janet's garden

Every summer, those of us who live on the edge of the city and the town look forward to a changeable display. Some years the seasonal storms pre-empt the show. So far, so good.It's just a little touch, really. But it's what makes local living so nice.

Further up, just beyond the cross-street, is RJ's yard, also quite flowery. But the walk through here is special.
Sometimes the containers multiply. Other times, there are damaged ones that disappear.
Good to get a couple of shots, before it changes again. Thanks, neighbor!

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Urban Snowscape.

February 15, 2007. 7:50 AM Easter Daylight Time. -6 degrees F. -20 degrees C. Only 4 wheel drive plied the streets last night. The city is clogged with parked cars, including ours. The plows made impenetrable barriers of ice and snow in front of every driveway. Last night the city threatened to tow the cars, even as they made it impossible to park them properly.

It is very, very quiet. The day will be cold, cold, cold. The asthma-inducing sort of cold.

Ellie and I are looking forward to an interesting walk.

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Good thing Ellie's not with me today. It's one of her favorite watering spots! Gosh, I hope they don't mean us. We always pick up, although not the wetting. Feeling pretty guilty. 

Here is an early July view of my neighbor's container garden. This will go pretty wild before the fall. The storefront itself is just getting going, so we'll give her time to load it up for our camera. 

Here is a strange sight for July. A red maple, certainly. An ornamental, maybe. But what is causing the premature kill? Been lots of rain, and plenty of sun. The pretty red is early kill. 

This is the opposite side of the block from the container garden. These overflowing gardens make our walkways look lush and almost wild. 

Husband RJ's property is the envy of the neighborhood. See how prettily the impatiens rings the porch? Now let's get a couple of closeups of the lilies in the background... 

Notice how differently the camera's autofocus changed the lighting of these lilies. The brightness of the lemon-lilies messed it up. The tigers make a nicer shot. Love my lilies! So why go inside? 

This brings me back. VeggieGirl is the light of the household. Husband RJ takes more shots of her than even of his own gardens! 

Cover of the Carousel tab published to commemorate the opening of the new merry-go-round at Eldridge Park, Elmira, New York, USA. Story below.

Wakeup Call Answered

A lovely restoration project is nearly completed. Some very concerned citizens began an ambitious project to bring a new carousel to Elmira. It's almost done. What's left is going slowly, as each animal is being "adopted" by individuals and/or groups interested in Eldridge Park.

When I went to Elmira College in the early 1970's, the park was already in decline. I remember a shabby amusement park that was shunned by us students. Later, I watched as, piece by piece, the place deteriorated. Buildings were taken down or simply boarded up. Fields were turned to sports, and later, simply lay fallow. Everything was finally razed and the carousel sold away.

The whimper of neglect was a wakeup call to a very few, hardcore, rememberers. And they answered.

They first answered by calling. Calling and searching and beating the bushes for like-minded Elmirans and transplants.

The resident and transplanted Elmirans became the answerers. The answerers also became callers and the subsequent answerers became the groundswell of natives who were unhappy that the developers and city fathers had erased the evidence of those memories.

The callers and answerers located and wooed the preservationists, the artisans and carvers who could make the carousel rise again. And the work began.

The preservation efforts were encouraged and funded by the rememberers, who were joined by more and more rememberers. All have stories about Eldridge Park and the carousel of their childhoods.

And all these people, all along the way, appealed to the local newspaper to broadcast their plea: Everybody help us! We are rebuilding our history! Will this work? Can history be recreated after its been erased?

The answer is a resounding YES!

And the echo is also YES!

Happy endings always make me cry.

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Sunny view of our little feline friends. It's cool, so I placed them in the sun. This is a Kitty Walk. If money were no object, we'd buy the whole town, and they'd never come in!