frogma

First Paddle of the Winter

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:41:00 +0000

Conditions weren't great, small craft advisory all day, but it was JUST enough nicer than the day before (Solstice, when we went for a walk in the park & visited Park Slope's Bierkraft store instead of paddling) & SO pretty that we went out yesterday. We paddled into Mill Basin & there was some interesting stuff in there I hadn't seen before - more on that next week though as we are packing up to head to CT for Christmas.

Happy holidays to all!

Solstice Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:57:00 +0000

Prospect Park, Brooklyn, 12/21/09

Winter...

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:22:00 +0000

2 weeks ago

Today.

Here it comes, ready or not!

Urban Wildlife

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Grrr, baby!

Holiday Hot Dogs (and a gallery of 5th Avenue holiday windows)

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:33:00 +0000

I've been working a lot of late nights this week getting caught up so I can take the next 2 weeks off, but my friend Mandy got me to take an evening off on Wednesday to go see the holiday windows with her. What a great break!

First we fortified ourselves with some good Italian food, then we set out into a wintery evening & strolled 5th Avenue from Bergdorf Goodman's (where yesterday's beaded bear was part of one of the strange tableaux in the north-facing windows of the store on the west side of the street) down to 34th st, where Mandy jumped in a cab and I headed on over to the subway station near Herald Square. Ended up being a nice way to see the windows; we did skip Rockefeller Center, which is one of my usual stops on my annual holiday lightseeing-sightseeing wanders (interesting how the call of the Teuscher Chocolates shop was muted by cold & a tummy full of pasta), and we did get VERY cold, but we had the windows almost to ourselves!

More photos on Flickr!

Beaded Bear

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:07:00 +0000

Where?

Beargdorf's, of course!

(click on the picture for a closer look - he's really quite beautifully done)

Blogging Is Fun That Way.

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:41:00 +0000

Speaking of people who know what they want from life & aren't afraid to go after it, I dropped by the blog of the Gypsy Pirate Wench Varnish Monkey yesterday to see how the move to the Caribbean is treating her (very, very well, hurray!) - and all the sudden the cause (shown above) of the Mystic Traffic Jam (featured here last October) has a name!

The Motion of the Ocean

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:32:00 +0000

Janna Cawrse Esarey!
Janna Cawrse Esarey!
Janna Cawrse Esarey!

(did I get it right this time? :D)

So as I'd mentioned as I was getting ready to head up to Fishkill for Thanksgiving, my review copy of The Motion of the Ocean, by fellow Whittie Janna Cawrse Esarey, turned up just in time for reading on the train. I enjoyed it - sort of ripped through it normal for me, I have a slightly idiosyncratic reading style, if I enjoy a book at ALL I speed-read it the first time & then if I still like it, I go back & reread. Last week, I finally had a chance to go through it again & yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Again!

I've heard it said that at least one book could be written about almost anyone's life. Most of us just don't ever sit down & do it.

Janna's a writer, of course, and I'd bet that there'll be more books forthcoming - but if somehow this had been her only one, it would've been a good one.

First and foremost - I guess I just always love reading about people who figure out ways to live their dreams (or as Janna & Graeme call it, their Big Hairy Audacious Goals). Partly because it makes me feel like there's hope for me - because when Janna says "I just didn't like the person I'd become through my job: a harried, perfectionist, martyring workaholic", I identify. Oh yes. I sometimes think I should add a tag called "whining about work" to this blog, so I can keep tabs on how often & how badly I do it - but the thing is, I know perfectly well that I've been totally complicit in creating the life I'm living right now. I've got reasons right now that I'm willing to let the status quo remain, but I used to like to say "I don't live to work, I work to live" and I've been feeling like every consecutive year of late has allowed for less and less living ("living" being boating, hiking, getting on the occasional horse, enjoying good food, laughing with friends, etc). I feel deeply in need of re-establishing some balance; I guess part of why I'm not running howling from my job is because part of the problem is that I've inherited a big hairy clean-up job, and the hope of clean-ups is that as you slog through them, things do actually improve.

But yeah, I have been feeling in need of re-establishing some balance. No, I'm not going to talk TQ into buying a boat & going cruising for a couple of years - but just getting back to having time for post-work paddling & sailing next summer would make me very, very happy.

And so, of course, I truly enjoyed reading about somebody else who found herself in a similar overwork situation who, with the encouragement & cooperation of her future husband, Graeme, was able to extricate herself, grab control of her life & go do what she, what they, had long dreamed of doing.

And the story of cruising (and truly doing the groundwork on a new marriage while cruising) that follows was really great. She takes you along for the whole ride - the places they go, the hazards they face (or almost face), the creatures they meet (and eat, and yes, the coconut crab is indeed a creepy-looking creature), her own "hey, I can do this" moments (the ones she says she's embarrassed to tell you about if you're already a sailor, but don't all us boaters remember our own "aha" moments?) the cruising community (I had no idea there was so much of a sense of community among cruisers) and oh, yes, the relationships between two people who've had some ups & downs in their history but willingly agreed to spend a very long time together on a very small boat.

Relationships are strange things these days. Maybe it's just that I live in NYC, but the dating scene (which I've never really gotten invoved in) seems to be full of people who approach it like they are trying on shoes or something. Like if they just go through enough in sequence, eventually, la la la, they'll find the perfect fit.

And of course there's always the latest Dating Advice Book that's sort of encouraging that view, oh, if you do this and this and this, then you will get Mr. or Ms. Perfect, and well-meaning friends full of equally helpful advice (someone once told me in dead seriousness that I really had to start doing different things because I wasn't getting dates through the boating - didn't seem occur to her at all that I was doing the boating because I really liked it & have never been particularly focused on Finding a Man anyways - TQ came along long after she & I lost touch, I'd been paddling for 7 years with no Relationships-with-a-capital-R before he & I started seeing each other). Sometimes seems like all the advice & expectations might just be counter to actually establishing a solid relationship.

Going to sea for a couple of years - what a way to cut through all that stuff & instead set a foundation for something real & solid.

Trial by water, and a good read all the way through.

Thank you, Janna (& indirectly, Graeme, too!) for sharing it.

P.S. - quick note - speaking of big hairy audacious goals, good heavens, I just took a lunchtime glance at Paddling Planet.com and I see that Freya's almost finished with her Australia circumnavigation!!! Pretty amazing. Wonder what she does next?

Another New Yorker Who Wants To Get To The Water!

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:46:00 +0000

Interesting article in this week's Villager about yet another New Yorker who's working hard to get access to the water - actual access, not just another promenade - in his community.

Thanks for the heads-up, Soundbounder!

Wow!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:42:00 +0000

The Eddie Aikau surfing contest happened yesterday! First one since '04 (the one my dad & I were lucky enough to stumble across and most importantly, lucky enough have somebody pull out of a parking space just as we'd passed the bay). Can't wait to watch some reporting tonight, starting with the Honolulu Star Bulletin's top story videos.

Got the word via New York Outrigger. I'd seen earlier this week that conditions were promising & had been wondering! Thanks NYO!

Some Late Fall Colors in Ditmas Park

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:35:00 +0000

Just a few more pictures taken on Sunday. I had a little too much household stuff that needed attention to get away with another day on the water, but I did make time for a long, indirect wander to the Cortelyou Road farmers market & an equally indirect wander back home.

What the Truck? Another Bad Poem With Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:09:00 +0000

What the truck? Salty truck!
Funniest Truck in Ditmas Puhk!

Under attack by a squid with a...er...a fork!
A Cephalopod odd who's run quite amok!

Thanks, Sunshine Stater for the pickup yuck-yuck!

....O
:D/>
.O

Just What the Doctor Ordered (Same As Usual)

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Weather on Saturday ended up being really very filthy. I didn't care & thank goodness, neither did my friends who came out for a paddle n' sail (yes! we were joined by Chris in a Sunfish, how cool is that!).

I needed some time on the water this weekend much more than usual. Rough week at work. I've been a little overwhelmed with the volume of work lately, as I've mentioned here a few dozen times, but last week had a whole different tone - it wasn't just the volume, it was that I was just feeling completely unqualified to deal with some of the new developments. My favorite anxiety dream (or at least my commonest one) has always been the one where I get to school, and I can't find my classroom, and then when I find it, the teacher is handing out the final exams for a class I never attended. That's what the entire week felt like - except that I never woke up & discovered it was all just a dream.

My boss actually thanked me at the end of the week for all the hard work, which was nice because I'd spent most of the week feeling like I just wasn't doing well enough. But it was still a long & mentally exhausting week. And it looks like a basic accounting course is looming in my near future, which is not quite something I'd do with my already minimal free time, given my druthers, but will really give me some skills that I lack, and was painfully aware would have helped me a lot last week. I seem to have travelled into territory past that that can be covered by clever use of Excel & it's a bit scary.

A friend from Sebago & I had been planning on a paddle since early in the week. A nice, short, low-key one.I was clinging to the thought of that like a mental lifejacket all through the week. Occasionaly you'll see kayak blog post on the subject of "why I paddle" - well, one of my big reasons for paddling is that I dwell on things a lot, and boating (both sailing & paddling) is an activity that really demands your full attention. Whatever the week's obsessions & stresses, they start falling away from my mind really from the moment I start packing up the gear for the day.

By the time Saturday rolled around, our weather forecast had totally swapped ends. Originally Saturday morning had looked gray & drizzly but not too breezy, with the wind & rain picking up in the afternoon & then Sunday being sunnier but very windy. By Saturday, though, we had a small craft advisory all day on Saturday. With rain.

I was afraid everyone else would want to bail, but no, hurray -

Joan still wanted to try out her physically-therapized shoulder -

Stevie had a new camera he wanted to play with -

And Chris, who I didn't realize was coming because I missed his morning email, had a new drysuit (Christmas present from his wife, who was nice enough to let him open his present early) he wanted to test out!

I had a new drysuit to try out too, but that's a story for another post.

Chris coming out with a dinghy was sort of a fun first - usually groups that go out are either paddlers or sailors. Our dinghy sailors kept going quite a bit further into the Fall this year than they have in the past - but Chris is interested in doing some real frostbiting, he's got a good drysuit & is sorting out the gloves & since at this point it's mostly the kayakers who go all year 'round, he's really interested in joining us! I think that's pretty cool.

And boy, was he having fun out there in the breeze. I WISH this picture had been in focus!

The conditions ended up cutting the paddle & sail a bit short - Joan headed back in early (being appropriately conservative on the newly PT'd shoulder), Chris was not too far behind her, and Stevie & I just went on the the nearby salt marsh (nicknamed "Jeep Marsh" for the defunct jeep in the area) where I went for a swim (intentional), then we stopped and hid behind the dredging barge outside the Paerdegat to do a few rolls (hiding from the motorists on the Belt Parkway, who are known for calling 911 when they see a kayak capsize - it's embarrassing explaining to the people who come to rescue you, but it is nice that people actually notice weird stuff going on with a boat as they are driving past, and it's easy enough to avoid the false alarms, you just don't practice in easy eyeshot of the bridge), and then decided we'd had enough of the snotty weather out there & it was time to retreat to the woodstove & the loaf of bread, the box of wine & the roast chicken that awaited our return (at least we hoped they did, and happily Chris & Joan were nice enough to wait for us to start the indoor picnic!).

Ridiculously short paddle, but a lot of fun & just what I needed to shake off the week.

Wildest urban wildlife yet...

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:58:00 +0000

What a surprise this was! I knew deer could swim. But in NY Harbor??? Wow.

And speaking of urban wildlife, there was a post this week on the NYCKayaker email list reporting one of the first seal spottings of the season - these ones were still a bit north of here, up in the Norwalk Islands, but some of us at Sebago had started been wondering whether the Ruffle Bar seals would be back & when we might be likely to see them if so. Sounds like it might not be too much longer, if they do come back to the bay this year!

Marcus & Biff - Off To Patagonia for Achilles! Presentation at Pier 66 TUESDAY DEC 1!

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:04:00 +0000

Adding a note at 9:36 PM - If you were unable to make it to the presentation, you can read about it here. I didn't make it in the end. I started the day optimistic enough to bring the Optio, but quarter-end closes are particularly demanding beasts & although I thought I was in good shape when I left last night, things came up that I didn't foresee. Happens a lot. I guess I will just have to look forward to the presentations when they get back!

Oh, shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot, I forgot this is happening tomorrow!!!! Once again, I will most likely have to miss it, but I'd wanted to help spread the word. Posting 22 hours before an event is not exactly the best way to do that. Anyways, this is a presentation by my crazy-in-an-awesome-way friend Marcus, and Biff, who I haven't met but she must be similarly amazing.

No, Biff isn't in this picture!

From Mayor's Cup 2009

Marcus & Mike with their Mayor's Cup trophy. Mike's an amputee & they raced in a double in the Achilles category. The folks who won the touring tandems category thanked them for being in the Achilles category, because Mike & Marcus came in about 10 minutes ahead of them! Marcus's post-race comment about Mike - "He's not handicapped. He's a machine". Remember, the Mayor's Cup was cut to "elites only". These guys made the cut. Them and Greg Barton (blue jacket in the background). Yup.

Still not a great picture of Marcus - Pentax Optio WP's are sunshine & outdoor toys, don't do so hot inside on a stormy day, but at least it's a change from my usual "Marcus with a giant rubber ducky" picture!

OK, on with the event already. Did I mention it's tomorrow? Tuesday? December 1st? 7pm, pier 66?
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Paddling Around the Uttermost Part of the Earth

On December 16th, 2009, New York based paddlers Marcus Demuth and Biff Wruszek will set out to the southernmost tip of Patagonia to attempt the first circumnavigation of Isla Grande Tierra del Fuego – South America 's largest island. The expedition will raise funds and paddling gear for Achilles, a non-profit New York-based organization, which enables people with disabilities to participate in mainstream athletics.

Starting in Ushuaia, Argentina -- the southernmost city in the world – Demuth and Wruszek will set out to complete the 1,100-mile trip counter-clockwise in what is considered one of the harshest maritime climates in the world. "The Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego Pilot book" calls the exposed coastline "one of the toughest a yacht is likely to meet". Nevertheless, Demuth and Wruszek are fueled by the desire to experience the beauty of the 100 mile wide Cordillera Darwin; the abundant wildlife; and the charm of the people living in this sparsely populated region which the Anglo-Argentine author and explorer Lucas Bridges called “The Uttermost part of the Earth.”

Biff and Marcus will tell about the preparations and challenges of the trip. Joe Traum of the kayak program Achilles will talk about the 2010 kayak program which will be held here at Pier 66 for Achilles athletes.

How much: No cover, but donations to Achilles are welcome

If you like: Bring beverages and snacks to share

Presented by Manhattan Kayak Company and NYRiverSports

--

Note to the media -

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:00:00 +0000

Re: Tiger's crash.

Personally, I don't need to know anything more.

Honest.

So stupid, the hounding. Even NPR had to talk about it this morning. I just don't see why it's so important that the whole world knows. The original report was plenty for me - I mean the one that said "Tiger Woods was in a car accident. Nobody seriously hurt."

Escape from Black Friday 2009

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:26:00 +0000

From Escape from Black Friday 2009!

More pictures over on Picasa, just click on the link under the picture.

We weren't sure the weather was going to cooperate with our usual day-after-Thanksgiving lets-get-as-far-from-the-malls-as-we-can hike this year, but although Storm King (the mountain in the distance in this picture, which rises straight from the Hudson) had a crown of clouds, the wind didn't really start to pick up until we were descending (and the ascent is 1,200 feet in a mile & a half & very exposed, so we were glad of that -- the trail is a loop & the descent is much gentler & you're among the trees, so a little wind there isn't a problem), and the rain (90% chance thereof) just never really happened. There was the very lighteset spritzing going on as we were driving back to the hotel, but I don't think we got a drop during the hike.

I'm glad, Breakneck Ridge is a hike I've been wanting to do for ages & it was fun to get to do it with TQ. Unbelievable, the views. I've done the next hike south, Mount Taurus (trailhead in Cold Springs) a couple of times - that's a good one too but this one was definitely more spectacular.

Thanksgiving itself was wonderful, haven't seen my old friend Am in ages & it was great to have a good proper catch-up with her & her family. Amazing how easy it is to just not get around to seeing someone for so long.

Going to be a rough week next week, but a couple of friends & I are planning a more leisurely-paced paddle for next weekend - couldn't pull off a paddle today, so I'm really looking forward to that. I know 2 weeks in a row of cooperative weather is a lot to ask for, but I've got my fingers crossed. Come on, weather gods!

NY Harbor's First Ever Holiday-Lit Boat Parade!

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:03:00 +0000

That's this Saturday, 11/28/09, starting at Chelsea Piers at 6:30, winding down around the Battery, up to South Street Seaport, back down & over to Liberty State Park in Jersey & then back to Chelsea Piers. Full details here!

A few comments!

1. What TOOK us so long!!!!???

2. Three cheers for Classic Harbor Lines! for getting it going! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!

3. Three more cheers for PortSide New York for spreading the word! Rah! Rah! Rah!

and last but not least -

4. DANG! I'm most likely going to miss it. Well, hopefully this is just the beginning!

It's The End Of the World As We Know It...

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:10:00 +0000

I just sent my first text message ever.

To TQ. Said "c u in Beacon 2nite, ps I have my cell phone".

Yep, I have joined the ranks of cell phone owners. Finally broke down & got one last month. Friends will gasp (my real estate broker friend who found my place for me once joked, "Bonnie's cell number is LUD-DITE"). I'm notorious for being the one who refuses to break down & get one of these things. For some reason I just have no desire - and in fact have some aversion - to being as constantly in touch as most people seem to need to be these days. I always laugh at the almost synchronized checking of messages that goes on around me when the B or Q train comes out of the tunnel onto the Manhattan Bridge.

Actually, it's not going to be a big life changer at all for the simple reason that I mostly don't carry it, I really only wanted it for travelling after a really truly horrible bus trip out to see TQ on the day before the 4th of July. Apparently it didn't occur to Greyhound that there might be a few more passengers than usual that weekend. Who'da thunk, eh? I haven't particularly enjoyed my new familiarity with long-distance bus travel, but it's definitely the best way to get out to where TQ is these days, so I do it, and ordinarily it's tolerable & reasonably reliable. But that trip? UGH. There we were, just waiting and waiting and waiting for hours in Philly, in the middle of the night, with no idea what time they'd find a bus for us, and a cranky jerk at the station trying to tell us that we weren't allowed to use the restrooms because he'd already cleaned them*. I was able to call TQ from the pay phone there to let him know what was up, but the last update I was able to give him was the dispatchers actuallY DID find a bus for us & we were about to board. Yeesh. Never again.

Anyways, that was the trip during which I really decided that it would be a good idea to get one of these things, so last month I trotted off to t-mobile, got a prepaid package & the 2nd cheapest cell phone they had.

Why not the cheapest? Well, being a good couscous-nibbling chardonnay-sipping east coast liberal elitist, yeah, I went for the one that was advertised as "carbon neutral". Why not?

At any rate, I used it for the Mayor's Cup, I carried it when I went to PA in Ocober, and it is going to be really nice to have today when TQ & I are meeting someplace neither of us have really been before.

Have cell phone.
Have Gorilla Coffee (Peruvian and Ethiopian both, Am's gonna go "ape"! :D).
Have train ticket (I FINALLY got smart & got that beforehand, can't wait to breeze on past those ticket queues tonight)!
Have book (just turned up yesterday, what perfect timing!)

Will travel!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

*I have to add that with that one glaring exception (who I just ignored, anyways, when ya gotta go, ya gotta go), the rest of the Greyhound staff at the Philly station was incredibly patient, professional, sympathetic to their passengers' plight & I would even say almost as frustrated as we were. Apparently the terrible handling of days when they are likely to be overloaded is due to decisions about operating procedures that are made by people on high at corporate headquarters, who of course are not the people who end up having to deal with the passengers who are stuck waiting for a bus when they were supposed to be well on their way to their final destination.

I'm On A Boat - US Navy Version!

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:02:00 +0000

Engaging Frogma parental (& job retention) controls:

WARNING: NSFW (unless you've got headphones, but still...). The following video contains foul & explicit language. If you are under the age of 18, please send permission slip before hitting play. If you are a parent of mine, do not hit play, period, just surf off & come back in a couple of days when I will have a nice wholesome report on the great Thanksgiving TQ & I are going to have - this year with my old friend Am & her family (yay!) near Poughkeepsie, and woohoo, I think our usual Escape from Black Friday hike is going to be Breakneck Ridge! So come back & check that out. You'll like that one.

There, parental control duties done. If they hit play, they can't say I didn't warn 'em, right?

And now, for the rest of you - you all remember Lonely Island's I'm On A Boat, right (link to original, just in case you were actually somewhere without internet during the couple of weeks this was going viral on the boat blogs - like, say, on a boat, maybe)?

Well...I just stumbled across a version that I think cracked me up even more.

I think that this VERY live crew (blue or gold? dunno!) may have beaten Lonely Planet at their own nautical-themed (pashmina afghan!) game!!!

Go Navy!

This Post Is For The Birds!

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:02:00 +0000

For me?

From August 2, 2009 - The Best Trip I Ever Cancelled.

Yeah, ya big mooch of a laughing gull!

And for this guy too, who's been flying in slow-motion for me here at home since September, but seemed to get stage fright & speed back up when sent to the Web - finally figured out the bit I wasn't doing in my Quicktime edit, one extra save & here he is, black skimmer in slow-mo for the whole world. Look at him snapping at the little fish that he's hunting in that long, shallow tidepool!

I think the black skimmers are some of my favorite birds out in Jamaica Bay. I remember reading about them in a bird book my folks had around when I was a kid, and thinking that their fishing technique was the neatest-sounding thing. Seeing my first skimmer a-skimming & discovering that they are regular summer denizens of my new home waters was a good moment!

Here's a young one that we got very close to on Ruffle Bar on Labor Day. We're not sure whether he was asleep or unwell or maybe just young and trusting, but with those mottled patterns on his feathers, he blended in so that we didn't notice him until we were on top of him.

My birder friend Prof. M. told me a funny story about seeing a group of these asleep on a beach one day early in her birding career. She said that they were actually lying flat on the beach, legs tucked under, heads extended in front of them & beaks actually resting on the sand. She said she thought that they were sick until a more experienced friend explained it. Turns out that's just how they sleep sometimes - those big beaks are heavy enough that sometimes they just to lay that burden down. Who can't relate? I would enjoy seeing that sometime.

Those are a couple of the common summer denizens of Jamaica Bay. Today, I joined a pleasant group of 8 paddlers on a beautiful paddle that was primarily for the birds!
We met at the club at 10:30 & by 11:30, we'd set out. Destination: West Pond in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge!

We got a lot of questions about what we were up to. Can't quite figure out why. Hmmm.

Mostly, we were there for the birds.

Partly for the turkey. I'd called for this paddle a few days ago because I just wanted to get a good brisk paddle in, get some exercise before the big feast this week! Actually, when I started planning the trip around midweek, the weather was sort of on the less-than-inspirational side - wind 15kts, cloudy, think there was a chance of rain - but over the course of the week it just got prettier & prettier.

Which made it a perfect day for my secondary goal for the paddle - seeing who's arrived for the winter on West Pond!

The brants, of course, have arrived in force.

They were well in evidence on the Great Tamale Paddle. The buffleheads are here too, we saw one lone one flying over the Paerdegat & the sailing co-chairs had mentioned seeing rafts of them on their great sail on the same day as we had tamales.

Two of the folks I was paddling with today got a nice close encounter with a loon in gray winter plumage, so they've clearly arrived from their summer homes on northern lakes.

Best sighting for me today was a first - snow geese! Those are the white ones here. I'd been wondering what they were & then a passing birder identified them for us, and also told us that the big raft of little ducks further out (click on the picture for full-sized & you might be able to make them out) were ruddy ducks (I'd thought buffleheads because that's the small duck with the white cheeks that I knew about). He also told us that the snow geese are just beginning to arrive & so are considered "a good sighting" right now.

We couldn't quite make out the ruddies but his description of the way the males are marked was delightfully memorable - "Like a baboon, only on a duck."

Back in the Paerdegat - well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And although the incessantly cheery Christmas carols they had playing in a deli I stopped in early this week just set me on edge, somehow seeing this boat's owners break out the annual decor has the opposite effect.

This post for the birds inspired by Tugster and A Movable Bridge. Thanks for the idea - a perfect one for me to play with, as I'm lucky enough to keep my boats simultaneously in New York City, and in a wildlife sanctuary & major stopover for the birds who follow the Atlantic flyway!

And by the way, thinking of paying a visit to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge yourself? You don't need a boat, you can get there by car, bus, train, or bike, and the Brooklyn Bird Club has got a really nice page with all sorts of helpful info!

Upcoming Events - Fundraiser on Sunday 11/22/09, Public Hearing on Tuesday 11/24/09

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:49:00 +0000

Sorry, I lied. These are absolutely not for the birds, but there are 2 events I thought worth mentioning -

1. Already mentioned it here, but don't forget, this coming Sunday the Hoboken Cove Boathouse folks are holding a fundraising shindig in Hoboken, which sounds like a lot of fun. My plans for the day don't include a trip to Hoboken - I've decided that even though I could and probably should work both days this weekend to get to a comfortable point for the Thanksgiving weekend, darn it, I am going paddling with my friends on Sunday, and it would be tough to squeeze in a paddle and a trip to Jersey on the same day. But doesn't a Pirate Circus sound like fun? I should be embarrassed, that's supposed to be the kiddie entertainment, but honestly that's what I'd really like to see! - and it's a nice bunch, so I just figured I'd mention it again.

2. Nowhere near as much fun as a Pirate Circus, but shoot, I reallyreallyreally WISH I wasn't so crazed at work, 'cause I'd really like to take a long lunch break for this public hearing.
**********************
RE: Oversight: Improving Public Recreational Boating Access in the New York City Waterfront

Please be advised that the Committee on Waterfronts will hold a hearing on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. in the 14th Floor Hearing Room, 250 Broadway, New York, NY regarding the above-referred topic.
**********************

Rob at the Village Community Boathouse (and also the guy behind the New York Harbor Beaches site, which is a good one) was curious for a little more detail, checked in with someone in the know & came back with the following additional info -

"...hearing was a followup on one they held three years ago, at which time they asked the parks department to explain their vision for expanding access to the water. this hearing is an 'oversight' hearing to see how they've done and what their plans are for the future."

I'd like to note that it says "Recreational Boating Access", not "Kayak Access" - we're not talking just kayak launches here, this should be of interest to folks with all sorts of craft, from SUP-er to yachtie & everything in between. We kayakers have done well with access in the last few years, we've got this whole great network of access points now in the NYC Watertrail, in part simply because a kayak is hands down THE easiest craft for which to provide access (if there is any way for a person to actually get down to the water on foot, you can probably launch a kayak there) but also because there are a lot of us and we all go say our bits at these things & people at parks listened (and oh, yes, one key person who was listening & in a position to do something also happens to like paddling herself, yay!). Still, I know that people with larger craft (helloooooo, Puffin people, non-Peconic variety!) find places to tie up to be few & far between, and as far as trailer sailors (hellooooo, Dennis G!) - well, I'm not sure exactly where you could put one of those in the water around here. Sebago is a public launch site & when we're open in the summertime, we can accomodate hand-launchable dinghies up to a certain size, but Liberty State Park in Jersey is the only place I'm sure of where there is an actual launch ramp for cars with trailers.

If you plan to attend, don't forget to bring your photo ID, & don't forget to leave the cutlery at home, as they usually xray your bag & have you go through a metal detector when you enter a government building here. I did get through security with a pocket knife in a backpack once, didn't realize I had it until later, but it's really better to be unarmed when you turn up there!

NEXT post will be for the birds. Honest!

Contractor death in GE dredging

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Further to the dredging - sad sad story from up the river - two of the men who were working on the dredging went over a dam. One died.

Terrible addition to the cost.

Now, I suspect that my returns to the subject of the new NYS lifejacket law may be getting annoying, but I do find myself wondering if the one who survived could possibly be the first person who owes his life to that law. Of course the dredging company may have had their own workplace safety rules on the matter, plus they may have known that they were in trouble early enough that they would have had time to don the pfd's anyhow (you aren't always given that when things go wrong out on the water, but I suspect the two knew the stretch of the river where they were disabled & would've known the drop was coming), but the point is that both were wearing lifejackets, one made it to an island & was able to call for help, and the other was alive when they pulled him from the water -- it sounds like whatever chance he did have, he had because he was wearing his lifejacket. And as it is, they were able to get him out of the water on the spot, without anyone else having to take the risk of going in themselves, and at least his family & friends are spared that awful wait. I know it's not much - but it is something.

No lifejackets, and I just think that the chances are good that that article would have ended with "Divers are searching for both".

Sorry. Frogma will return to normal cheeriness with the next post, which will be for the birds.

p.s. - Thanks for the link, Andy.

Harper's Magazine December issue - looks worth picking up

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:01:00 +0000

cover courtesy of Harper's

The December '09 issue of Harper's Magazine should be on newsstands any day now, if it isn't already there. I plan to buy a copy. The editor is one of my clubmates at Sebago & the last time we paddled, he'd mentioned that the December issue included a well-researched and very sobering look at the status of the Hudson River PCB's.

Subscribers can read it online now. For the rest of us, especially those of us who take a very personal interest in the well-being of the Hudson River, it sounds to be worth the cover price.

ps - Dennis G. Moonstruck has been saying all along that the dredging was a waste of money, if not a downright scam. I won't know where this article goes until I read it but it does sound like it's going to make the dredging look like a horribly insufficient band-aid, at best.

ps latest word is that the on-sale date is next week (Thanksgiving week) but that there's a newsstand at Bleecker & Broadway that might have it already. That is not far from my office & fits right in with my current effort to get myself back into doing some good regular post-work walking (more on that one of these days).

11/20/09 update -The Bleecker & Broadway newsstand had it & I read it last night. I'd call that six dollars well spent. I think that is one of the most incredibly depressing & infuriating articles I've ever read.

I really had no idea of the extent of the problem up there. I'd always pictured the PCB's as being concentrated in the riverbed. I'd pictured there being a lot in the riverbed, enough that you won't find any particular celebration of GE's beginning dredging on my blog - it wasn't that I was opposed to it, it was just that I'd read the arguments on both sides & they both sounded plausible & I try not to take sides when I don't have any idea which one is right.

But if what that article says is true, it's not a matter of dredging being wrong or right as much as dredging being an utterly misdirected response to the problem.

Like treating a deep infection with alcohol wipes.

oooooh 3

noreply@blogger.com (bonnie) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:55:00 +0000

Even better with a few more lights. And yes, it was totally worth a 5-minute break upstairs.