Orange You Glad It's Friday?

I have to brag a bit on my daughter Kate, who has some 
mad pumpkin-carving skills.  She's used stencils in the past, 
but this year she decided to execute and carve her own design.
It took her +/- 10 hours (with wrist rests).  Unfortunately, that's 
also about how long this masterpiece lasted before it imploded.  
(At least she got a decent picture of it!)

[To see more OYGIF posts, visit Maria's meme.
And it's the 1st of the month, so I've posted to my Paris blog.]

Thursday Challenge—old

This shot fits the category on several levels.
It was taken 23 years ago (that's me, Katie, and Lila)
the old-fashioned way (i.e., so not digital), in the
Old City on the Greek island of Rhodes—which was
occupied by the crusading Knights of the
Order of  St. John beginning in 1309.

[To see more things that are old, visit
the Thursday Photo Challenge.]

ABC Wednesday—P is for "penguins"

Credit for this one goes to my daughter Katie,
who shot it from a speeding boat (!) when she and
her sister were in Antarctica last January.
Most of the Adélie penguins they saw were
gathered together by the hundreds—I guess this
couple was looking for a little alone time.

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Autumn red

I live a five-minute walk from the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, but last weekend
I visited the NY Botanical Garden, which is up in
the Bronx.  Considering that it's almost November,
I was a bit surprised at how many different
plants were in bloom—including these beauties.

[It's Ruby Tuesday; to see more, go here.
And for more flower macros, visit NF/Blo-Ma.]

Monday Mellow Yellows

The fact that this subway car is black
and yellow is not so unusual—this is the
shuttle that runs between Grand Central and
Times Square and is often used for ad
campaigns where they transform
the entire train.  However, the fact that
I'm the only one here . . . that I can't explain!

[To see more Mellow Yellows, visit Gemma's meme.]

Mum's the Word

At the greenmarket last weekend, several
vendors had pots of these colorful fall
flowers for sale.  I didn't buy any, but if I had,
I would have had a hard time choosing.
So which color would you pick?

[To see more of Today's Flowers, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Cabbage: a familiar kitchen-garden vegetable
about as large and wise as a man's head.
—Ambrose Bierce

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Skywatch Friday

Took this looking northeast across the rooftops
of Soho and the eastern edge of Greenwich Village.
Those tall white buildings on the right belong to NYU,
and the red one too—but then pretty much
everything in this neighborhood does.

[To see more Skywatch, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—landscape

Back to my friends' new home in Virginia.
On Tuesday I showed you the view from
their back patio.  Well here's the view from the
front door, taken very early—here, as in Camelot,
by 8 the morning fog must disappear.

[To see more landscapes at the Thursday
Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—O is for "orchestra"

Specifically, the New York Philharmonic, who
played the score of 2001: A Space Odyssey live as we
watched the film. (Who remembers "I'm sorry, Dave."?)
O could also be for . . .

standing Ovation—the audience
(including me) loved it!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

The Back 40

As someone whose only outdoor space is a
fire escape that I'm not even allowed to go out
on, I really do appreciate visiting my friends down
in Virginia.  They have 40-something acres
(no mule though) out there beyond this
nice brick patio.  Renovation of the stables
back there is still a work in progress.

[It's Ruby Tuesday; to see more, go here.
And it's also Our World Tuesday.]

New York at Night 24: Taxi!

It was pushing midnight when I took this
shot at the corner of 8th Avenue and 42nd Street.
Well, it was a Friday night—so it probably
looked like this at 3 a.m. too.  I did not
hail a cab (never do), but went home on the
subway—where there were no seats to be had
even at that hour.  I love/hate this city!

[To see more Mellow Yellows, visit Gemma's meme.]

Today's Flowers

Went to the botanic garden recently to have
some fun with my iPhone macro lens.  SO hard to
focus (no depth of field whatsoever), but I
did kind of like this shot—and especially the
color of these pretty little flowers.

[To see more of Today's Flowers, go here.]

The Weekend in Black and White

Spent the weekend recently at my brother
and sister-in-law's comfy house on the
 north fork of Long Island.  Woke up,
saw this, and had to go grab my camera.

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.
To see more Sunday shadows, go here.

What's missing here?

Let's see.  Fringed handlebars: check.
Studded leather saddlebags: check.  Hell's
Angels/biker-chick bandana: check. 
Major attitude: check and check.  Hmmm . . .
Oh, right—no helmet.
But 10 years ago Pennsylvania amended its
mandatory helmet law, so this over-21 rider 
is under no obligation.  Seems insane to 
me though.  How about you?

[Meanwhile, Orange You Glad It's Friday?]

Thursday Challenge—blurry

I was almost home after a long drive from Virginia
recently, and as we were crossing the
Brooklyn Bridge they were setting off fireworks
from a barge out in the East River (never did
find out why).  I tried to get some pictures, but from
a moving car, this is what I wound up with.
To tell you the truth, I kinda like it.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—N is for "neighbors"

Just hanging out on Flatbush Avenue:
There are some elements of this building that remind 
me of Paris.  (The guy with the gun, I mean umbrella, not so much.)
Like most of the neighborhoods here in Brooklyn, this one is 
slowly but surely—and for better or worse—becoming gentrified.

[To see more ABC Wednesday posts, go here.]

Orange, VA

Drove through the town of Orange, Virginia,
last weekend and snapped this shot of
their pretty little train station—which used
to be very important here, but not so much now
that the trains don't stop here any more.
What interested me was that receptacle that
sort of looks like a mailbox; in fact, it's
for recycling used American flags.

[It's Traveling Tuesday. To see more, visit Sandi's meme.
And you can stop by Our World Tuesday here.]

Two bees

... she gave me a lesson in "bee yard etiquette."
She reminded me that the world was really one bee
yard and the rules work fine in both places.
... Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants
to sting you.  ...Don't even think about swatting.
 ... Act like you know what you're doing even if you don't.
Above all, send the bees love.  Every little thing wants to be loved.
Bees have a secret life we don't know about.

—Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

[To see more Macro Monday shots, go here.
For more Mandarin Orange Monday, visit LoriK's meme.]

Shadow Shot Sunday

No one lives on Governors Island at the moment;
you get there by (free) ferry from Manhattan or
Brooklyn.  It used to be a military base—for the army
from 1783 to 1966, then the Coast Guard until 1996.
Some of these charming places (formerly officers' homes,
I believe) currently house shops and art galleries.

[To see more Sunday shadows, go here.

The Weekend in Black and White

I think outdoor dining is over until next year. I'll
just have to look forward to the next al fresco meal 
here in the backyard of my favorite neighborhood
place (and eat indoors in the meantime!).

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Skywatch Friday

One afternoon this week, NYC was under a
tornado watch.  The view from my office
looked like a rerun of the IMAX film I saw
at the Museum of Natural History.

[To see more Skywatch, go here.] 

Thursday Challenge—"monochrome"

I'd love to go back in time to see what this
looked like when it was first built—but
I wouldn't want to witness the "games" that
were played there (or participate in them!).
How about you?

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—M is for "manège"

That's French for "carousel."
Took the ferry to Governor's Island a
couple of weeks ago to check out an amazing
collection of vintage French carousels
and carnival games.  Most of the carousels
are still operational, including this one—though
they now run on electricity instead of steam.
Little kids at the event loved riding
in this sanglier (that's a wild boar)!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

A beautiful bouquet

This bouquet was in the home of friends I was
visiting over the weekend—wish I could say
that it was from me, because I think the
elements are beautifully put together.

Here's another view.

[Linking back to NF/Blo-Ma
and also to Ruby Tuesday.]

Hudson River sailboats

Another beautiful autumn day in New York
(and Jersey City, across the river).  Wish it could
stay like this at least until December.

[It's Blue Monday. To see more, visit Sally's meme.]

An Anniversary (sort of)

                                      My friend Bibi celebrated her 2,000th blog post 

not too long ago with a well-deserved bouquet of flowers.
She also made me wonder about my own tally.
Sure enough, I totally missed #2,000—so today I'm
treating myself to this single rose for my 2,050th post.

[It's also Shadow Shot Sunday.  To see more, go here.
And you can check out Today's Flowers here.] 

The Weekend in Black and White

To me, this old oak tree says "deep South"—
like it should be a fixture on some plantation
 in Mississippi.  But actually, it's one of
my fave trees in the local botanic garden
(which isn't even in south Brooklyn).

[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.]

Blue Moon

Found this beauty hanging over the
Hudson River one day (yes, day) last week.
Fortunately, I had my camera with me—
because as much as I love my iPhone,
I can't zoom in like this with it.

[It's Skywatch Friday. To see more, go here.]

Thursday Challenge—"shadows"

These are certainly the cutest shadow-casters
I saw all week.  It's probably not quite kosher to
take pictures of other people's children, but
they reminded me so much of my own two
little girls (who are now in their thirties) . . .
well, I just couldn't resist.

[To see more of the Thursday Photo Challenge, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—L is for "lavender"

A vendor at my local greenmarket
had these oh-so fragrant sachets (I smelled
his stand before I saw it!) and also fresh
lavender, in pots and bouquets.  It was
a real feast for the senses!

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Wheeeee!

It wasn't exactly Great Adventure, but ten times more 
charming.  This was part of a fair that was set 
up on Governors Island—with vintage French carnival
rides and carrousels (more about those next week)
that were steam-powered when they were
first built back in the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
These swings had red velvet seats: fun and elegant.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.
And it's the 1st of the month, so I've posted to my Paris blog.]