From The North Fork Long Island

North Fork Horizons Afternoon To Evening The Other Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:45:00 +0000

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Northville Beach, Riverhead

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:29:00 +0000

Last week during one of our exploratory drives we came upon Northville Beach on the Shore of Long Island Sound between Hallocks Pond and Jacobs Point. Pier Avenue runs straight to Luce Landing from Rt. 48, Sound Avenue, ending at water's edge. It was deserted being the last week of the year and quite cold but beautiful in the light of the lowering golden sun, the daylight slightly longer than the day before as the shadows lengthened.

With these photos I bid you a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Seas of Grass

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:09:00 +0000

Wind shapes these seas of grass
near the water's edge

Unable to climb cliffs
they ebb and flow here

. . .

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Mattituck Inlet 4 to 5 PM November 30, 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:35:00 +0000

The four day Thanksgiving was over, our guests returned home. The day had been a cold windy one, brilliant sun then cloudy in a blue sky, very changeable throughout the day. As the early evening approached I felt I needed to see the sun as it set. I drove to the east side of the Mattituck Inlet breakwater to the Sound and took a few shots then went around the inlet to the west side for some more. There was "golden hour" light lasting for an instant then whisked away, turn and turn about as I recalled memories from this day two years ago.

Fisherman on the inlet wall

To the northeast

Sun sets on the boardwalk

A tanker on the horizon

Volleyball courts, play over for the season

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For Evan

The Quiet After The Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:46:00 +0000

Who could have guessed that the North Fork and Atlantic Coast would experience an earthquake and a hurricane turned tropical storm within a five day span in the last week of August. Winds caused the greatest damage on the North Fork blowing down compromised and shallow rooted trees knocking out power lines and landline phone service, but on the whole, damage to property, farm crops and grapes was minimal and the utilities have promised full service to be restored to all areas soon.

Early Wednesday morning we went down to the Peconic Bay to see how the waterfront had fared and were pleased with what we saw, perfectly calm water stretching from the North Fork to the South Fork and the East Creek was as we ideally remember it.

Three Views of East Creek

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4th of July Parade - New Suffolk

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:22:00 +0000

This year's parade was nearly perfect, what a 4th of July parade should be. The parade route was on the old poured concrete New Suffolk Avenue and was five blocks long start to finish. There were very few spectators as nearly everyone was in the parade. The music was provided by our own Cutchogue United Fire Department Marching Band who do their marching and playing with gravitas. The parade was geared mostly for the kids to have fun and fun it was with wrapped penny candy being tossed all around to fill little pockets. As you can imagine, decorated boats figured heavily into float design with riding lawn mowers coming in a close second with three participating. Families marched together. One fella painted his white dog red and blue then got his own hair to match!

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Apple Blossom Time

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:55:00 +0000

Such a fine time

(click to enlarge and get a glimpse of the blossoms)

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noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:06:00 +0000

In silence

fog makes it's stealthy way

surrounding everything

with a fresh, spring scent

Early Morning Sunlight Bathes Wickham's Fruit Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:32:00 +0000

While having a cup of coffee Sunday morning my eyelids opened enough to realize that the early low light seemed special in the way it was illuminating the orchard behind our yard. I gazed at it as I sipped, then thought, "Why don't I just put on shoes, go out and take a couple of shots, it's already in the low 40s!". So, I did that. Here are a few photos of the early light on the Wickham's Fruit Farm taken from our back yard and a little beyond.

Looking South

Three rows of apple trees have been cut down

Zooming In

The Wickham's Homestead established

in the mid 1600s

The white poles support electrified deer wire

Stacked apple wood...

I plan to glean some small pieces to use

to make a mild smoke for blue fish caught down at the inlet
as I did when other trees were cut down last year,

delicious!

Looking north to a barn situated

on MainRoad now a real estate office

...........

Three photos of the Wickham's Farm Stand

taken earlier

Closed for the Winter

From last Summer

A fine selection of honeys from hives in the apple, peach

and berry sections of the farm

One doesn't want to leave without at least

one bag of fresh warm donuts

cinnamon sugar donuts are my favorite with a cup of tea

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noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:01:00 +0000

Looking east

the sun setting over my shoulder

gulls came to rest on the beach

twilight beginning.

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A Stop Along the Peconic River

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:56:00 +0000

The sweet water of the Peconic River eventually flows through Riverhead then in two more miles it empties into the Great Peconic Bay, a salt water estuary. It is at the mouth of the Peconic River where the North and South Forks begin. After visiting the East End Art Council's Riverhead gallery, we stopped at river's edge to photograph glistening, ice covered bushes, brambles, trees and phragmites. Even a low sky masking much of the sunlight couldn't hide the beauty of the scene before us... a wealth of grays with a touch of gold.

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Distant Horizon

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:32:00 +0000

Though dark and muted

this winter palette brings unique hues

to landscape and sky...

the distant horizon a place for

quiet thought, reflection.

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Look At The Sky

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:24:00 +0000

When I submit photos to Sky Watch Friday I usually opt for colorful, peaceful shots of sunrises over the Peconic Bay or sunsets above the Long Island Sound, but last Sunday afternoon our eyes were drawn upward by a rising column of smoke. As we watched the smoke suddenly became black. It was time to investigate. We were on the west side of the Mattituck Inlet and knew that if the fire was on the other side it would take a long time to get there. We ended up at the Old Mill Inn where a turntable bridge used to cross the inlet. Directly in front of us on the east side one hundred yards away was the fire in plain view, the building no more than fifteen feet from water's edge. The building was the Kaminski's storage barn where they stored supplies associated with their fish and lobstering business, 20 pound propane tanks among other things. A very few tanks blew. It could have been much worse had a full 3,000 gallon diesel fuel storage tank three feet from the building not been able to take the heat. The Mattituck and Cutchogue Fire Departments responded very quickly and were able to save a house and several fishing vessels nearby. I shot what I could and ended up with several interesting photos. The sky reminded me of the Jimi Hendrix lyrics:

Look at the sky turn a hell fire red, lord

Somebody's house is burning

down, down, down, down

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Indian Island Park

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:57:00 +0000

For our first hike of the year we choose a park we'd never visited before, Indian Island Park, a Suffolk county parkland of 275 acres. One can normally drive around and through it but after a heavy snow barricades were up part way inside to keep vehicles off the unplowed areas. It was a beautiful sunny day with almost no wind. We walked the perimeter along the sandy shore of Flanders Bay to the white sand causeway then across to the picnic area where we had lunch at a picnic table in a sunbeam. Descriptions of the park say the best times to visit are in the summer and early fall but the solitude of winter was perfect for us. There were a few cross country skiers in the park and two kayaks on the bay but that was about it.

Shells as found...

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On A Colder Note

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 14:45:00 +0000

Sunday morning we rose early to leave our Christmas family in Bayside and head out to the North Fork. The weather folks warned us of a winter snow bearing up on us, as it was approaching from the south, and we thought it better to outrun the storm rather than get mired in it. There was almost no traffic on the roads due to the day, the hour and the warnings so the drive was very pleasant as we recalled the events and conversations of the day before, but it was dark and eerie. As we arrived a very fine snow began, then became suddenly thicker and the winds picked up and up gusting at 50 mph. sometimes higher. There didn't seem to be much risk of physical danger as long as one used his brains and stayed off the treacherous roads.

So we got in the jeep to see what we could see. Not much as it turned out. With such low visibility I doubted that any photos I took would be usable and the chance that a fast moving highway department snowplow could open up our vehicle like a can of sardines sent us back to the nest.

The snow ceased Monday morning around 11 am after accumulating to nearly a foot overall. It left many deep drifts closing roads. High tide stacked up by wind flooded many low land areas. But now we could see for some distance though the wind was still high and so decided to go out again. Our travels took us from the Peconic Bay in Cutchogue, to the Bay in New Suffolk, on to the Long Island Sound at the Mattituck Inlet and across farmland to the Village of Southold where we stopped at Founder's Tavern for soup and burgers next to a warming fire before heading home. These are some of the scenes we photographed.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Peconic Bay at New Suffolk

Mattituck Airport

Green Bouy at the Mattituck Inlet

Wind Over Farmland and a Copse of Trees

Soil Eroded by Wind Mixed With Snow

on Potato Harvesting Trucks

Wind on Low Road

Drifts After the Winds Calmed

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"From The North Fork" Visits The Keys

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 04:49:00 +0000

We went south to celebrate an 80th birthday, reune with family and get a little fly fishing in over the Thanksgiving holidays. The Florida Keys have become a second home for us as we have gone there for a few weeks every year for over 35 years, Big Pine Key especially. One day waiting for the tide to change out in the "back country" flats going into the Gulf of Mexico, I put down my rod and took out the camera. The 2 PM sun was playing the shallow waters like a prism, color dancing in my eyes. As we drifted I took nearly 100 photos of the bottom not knowing what to expect as the water and my platform, a shallow draft skiff, was in constant motion. I was pleased when some of them looked nice, some clear, some more impressionistic... you just never know.

Click on photos to enlarge, it's more fun.

HAVE A JOYFUL, PEACEFUL, MERRY HOLIDAY!

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South Harbor Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:48:00 +0000

Saturday arrived with clear sunny skies. It was just warm enough to ward off the bit of chill in the air and make a beach walk very attractive to us. Amy drove so that I'd have the luxury of being able to look at everything and call the stops to check out sites of interest. After meandering down around Great Hog Neck near Paradise Point finding some roads we'd never been on before, we headed a short way east then turned toward the bay on South Harbor Road. Perfect! The beach appeared to be a clean blank slate save for a woman and her dog in the distance. In the small harbor reeds wore their fall color and the still, clear waters let one see objects on the bottom. The small black ones are old snail shells now occupied by hermit crabs.

Nearby a cozy waterfront cottage was nearly hidden in the shore trees.

Walking around for awhile proved the beach to be anything but a blank slate.

Amy called me over to show me what she'd discovered... a labrinth.

It was fairly large, made of found objects from the beach

placed in neat rows that described a path...

eventually leading to the end faced by an all-seeing eye.

Here are a few labrinth details that I found interesting.

The Tao of the labrinth

A broken whelk shell placed on a rock.

Barnacles on an old wave-tumbled brick.

Not far off there was an echo... a mini-labrinth.

I'd like to credit and thank the labrinth creator and keeper

who posted a sign in a baggie asking all to keep it neat.
I like that, whoever you are.

To see more beach art from a past posting click here.

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Autumn Arrives on the North Fork

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:37:00 +0000

The ospreys have gone...

many of the grapes have been harvested and are slowly making their way to become good North Fork wine. The leaves have colored and are beginning to fall, the pumpkins have arrived in time for Thanksgiving pie. Most of the striped bass have rounded Montauk Point on their southerly migration. It's time to bring the kayak up from the beach and put the storm windows back on our old house. Wood is needed for the fireplace and some of the potted plants should be brought inside. Time to "button up" for winter.

The large beige "cheese" pumpkin makes the finest pies.

Most of our farm stands are more humble than this one. We come here for the duck they carry from Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue.

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"The Heavens are Telling... "

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:37:00 +0000

The approaching dawn once again found me, coffee in hand down by the bay standing in the lightest of air with a hint of salt in it. As sunrise drew near, clouds like the curtains of heaven slowly changed from crimson to the soft golds and blue of early morning. The music of Haydn's "Creation" playing in my mind described so beautifully the sky that was opening before me...

"The heavens are telling the glory of God,

The wonders of his work displays the firmament"

Based on Psalms 19.1

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Tropical Storm Earl

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:36:00 +0000

As hurricane Earl came up the eastern seaboard it's power slowly diminished finally becoming a tropical storm by the time it was parallel to the North Fork last Friday afternoon. The rain measured a little less than three inches in my gauge though it might have been more as rain flying sideways would have a tough time getting in there. The wind gusted to over forty miles per hour off and on during the day making me glad that we'd buttoned up a bit by taking down hanging plants from the front porch, putting all the lawn furniture in the garage and staking down the canopy over the deck and the boat on it's trailer. We've seen boats in houses and hung up in trees after Andrew hit Florida so I thought I'd go ahead and take the precaution. I find it hard to imagine a wind of 125 mph! We felt our home would not have any problems as it had survived the big one back in 1938 that had destroyed nearby structures.

Around 4 pm, knowing that Earl had passed us by out to sea, we decided to make a run down to the South Fork to take a look at the Atlantic. With very little traffic on the road we made good time and were on the Ponquogue Bridge approaching the Shinnecock Inlet 40 minutes later, an inlet that was created by the storm in '38, only to find a police car barring most of the road. I think he was there to warn folks of the deep water ahead but he was letting SUVs through. It was very deep in places but slowly we were able to get near the inlet, park, put on foul weather gear and step into the wind and driving rain. I've stood on the jetty and fished in the sun many times with the water below me as much as 10 feet and more. Today it wasn't a safe place to perch.

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Silent Sentinel

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:23:00 +0000

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Rock at the End of Depot Lane

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:42:00 +0000

We inherited an oil painting depicting the rock at the end of Depot Lane from my wife's grandmother years ago and today it hangs on our dining room wall. During my years of blogging I've photographed this rock many times. I find it a fascinating subject as it remains solid, seemingly unmovable, and immutable since it was dropped off here by the Wisconsin glacier some 21,000 years ago. What does change is everything else... day, night, the seasons, the tide. In the summer sun it is very warm to the touch and remains so into the night. In the winter it is sometimes completely covered with a glaze of ice from salt water spray. During a low, or neap tide, it can be high and dry as in the painting but when a high tide is in it can be pretty far into the water, with a depth difference of more than six feet.

Here from much further away I have a day time photo
at a higher tide followed by an evening shot
at lower tide.

This same evening, August 14, produced a nice late sunset over the Sound.

Here is a photo of the sky over a Depot Lane sod farm from the same evening.

Kimogener Point / Inlet Pond Park

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:10:00 +0000

Kimogener Point is a beautiful spot located at the head of West Creek where the estuary meets the Great Peconic Bay in New Suffolk. It has it's own protected harbor where the residents dock their boats for the season. The creek is an excellent place to clam in the shallows and at night, with the aid of a powerful flashlight, attract and catch blue crabs with nets under the bridge. The estuary is home to many species of birds, most noticeably osprey, and water fowl. It remains in pristine condition due to it's protected wetland status. What a great place to call home.

I'm including two photos that were taken at Inlet Pond Park to show the construction of an osprey nest and a sitting adolescent.

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Day's End

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:27:00 +0000

At the end of the day

gulls wing their way home

among clouds that inspired Rembrandt

in a sky that inspired me.

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Dedicated to Anna

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Kreider) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:21:00 +0000

May peace be with you now at the end of your journey.

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