Celebrating the City on a 4-Borough Day!!!

I'm a big fan of the Unlimited Metrocard, especially on days like this past Sunday (I'm playing catch up tonight, posting the last few days...)

My friend Vernon and I decided to visit some new neighborhoods for us, and so we set off...taking the 6 train up to Parkchester, with our goal Whitestone, Queens. (It's supposedly the best way to get there...so Manhattan to the Bronx...first leg of our day!

Then we hopped on the Q 44 LTD, which took us over the Whitestone Bridge and into the town itself. We walked around the area, which appears to be home to a large Greek population--we saw a beautiful Green Orthodox Church, a Russian Orthodox church with the onion tops, and lots of Greek restaurants and stores. (We found ourselves quoting from My Big Fat Greek Wedding...).

We thought about lunch, and we decided to head for Flushing's Chinatown--but how could we get there? Vernon remembered reading something about a bus, and he was right. (Thank you, MTA Trip Planner and my trusty iPhone!) We took the Q15 right to Main Street Flushing, and after a quick and slightly disappointing stop at the New World Mall for chicken wings, we dined at Spicy and Tasty on a side street. The restaurant is highly recommended, but we felt it had been oversold. The dan-dan noodles were just okay, the Double Sauteed Pork was a bit fatty (although the sauteed scallions were scrumptious), the dumplings were ordinary, and the broccoli with spicy chili peppers was not very spicy and a little too al dente. No matter...we had dessert to look forward to...and a trip to another borough!

We took the 7 and connected with the G, which took us near enough to Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, to get ice cream at Blue Marble. Yum!

Then, home to Manhattan...alas, no time to hit Staten Island and make it a 5-borough adventure...I was volunteering that night on the Audubon eco-cruise...Maybe next time!

CITY OF WATER DAY 2011...a Celebration of New York Harbor!

This year's event began with a crowd of water lovers boarding the Circle Line boat Brooklyn at Pier 83, with Don Riepe of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and American Littoral Society providing commentary.

 We motored down the West Side, enjoying great views of Ellis Island, the piers of the West Side of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty (of course!), and finally under the Verrazano Bridge. 

We didn't have much time to visit Swinburne Island but we got some good looks at Hoffman Island, which appeared to have dozens of great egrets perched in the island's trees!

We sailed back to Governor's Island and docked at Yankee Pier...

Lots of interesting groups at tables...my favorite was the National Lighthouse Museum, which is hoping to open in 2012 in Staten Island.

Best part of the day for me: I won a sailing trip with the Offshore Sailing Club in a 26 foot sailboat...and actually steered the boat in the middle of the harbor between the island and the Maritime Terminal...completely exciting and really beautiful! This is over by the Verrazano--I wasn't...but I was too excited to take a photo!

A fantastic celebration of the City of Water...can't wait til next year!

UPDATE: IT WAS A BRANT, NOT A GREBE...the tiny cranium and backbone

Thanks to Paul Sweet, Collection Manager of the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History...this is not a grebe, his first guess, but a BRANT:

EAST RIVER FERRY--A FANTASTIC WAY TO SEE NEW YORK!

It's free for the first 2 weeks, until June 24, and it runs from 34th Street on the East River to Hunters Point/Long Island City, Greenpoint, North Williamsburg, South Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bridge/DUMBO, and Pier 11/Wall Street. I rode two full loops today under threatening skies but it only rained a bit toward the very end of the 2nd trip.

These are color photos, which is really interesting...

Time Flies--and Sometimes Without Our Noticing It!

Where have I been since May 20? It's almost a month since I last posted on this blog, and I'm not even sure why. But I decided to spend a few minutes today on a subject dear to my heart: my upcoming children's books!

My first two books are coming this fall from Capstone Pebble Plus. These photos were taken from the catalogue, since I never got any cover proofs, but you can still get an idea of how they will look. These books are for K-1 readers with lots of photos to get the facts across.

I finally got to go to ID day at the American Museum of Natural History and learned a few new things about my specimens:

The jaw with one tooth that I found on the shores of Bermuda turns out to be a GROUPER fish. Thank you to all who tried to help identify it. This photo is from an online source and the top image exactly matches my specimen!

I'm still waiting to hear from scientist Paul Sweet, in Ornithology, about my cranium (not skull) and backbone. His best guess from initial glance was that it could be a GREBE...or a duck.

So what's a GREBE? Here's a picture of one.

Hope to hear from him soon with a confirmation!

I'm off to check out the new East River Ferry! Will report back.

Good Weather for Frogs!

It feels as if it's been raining for a week or maybe forever.

The increased humidity is probably good for the frogs. I decided to try again tonight and photograph them. They seemed less shy than earlier in the week.

I spent part of yesterday and today volunteering at a Scholastic Book Fair at the Brooklyn Historical Society--lots of fun people contact and a chance to talk about books and kids. The bonus--$10 credit to spend for every hour I put in! I got some great books (just what I need the week before BEA, but...) I'm excited about reading Tracy Chevalier's book about Mary Anning.

I also went to a fantastic concert last night at the Hispanic Society of America at 155th and Broadway. The Sylvan Wind Quintet, led by Svetlana Kabalin, played a program of wonderful Spanish music for an audience that included the Spanish Ambassador. I helped give out programs and collected email names for their mailing list. The room was spectacular--surrounding us with vivid murals of Spanish scenes by Joaquin Sorolla:

It felt as if we were in the painting while listening to the music --amazing!

I was completely awed by the light in so many of the paintings, especially one I can't find an image of...adobe homes on a high hill lit by the setting or rising sun. Beautiful!

It's Hard to Photograph Frogs!