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Renee
This is fireboat John J. Harvey in drydock at Caddell's Shipyard in Staten Island, Feb 26th. Harvey is a retired 1931 FDNY fireboat that was about to be cut up for scrap before she was saved by preservationists. She returned to the service of NYC at 9/11, when she helped supply the water to fight the fires at the WTC. She went into drydock to have major restoration work done to her hull and superstructure. We volunteers spent many cold days at the shipyard with her, helping on the work. This is the first day there, in the middle of a snowstorm!
Donna
Seen in Astoria. A zealous citizen, serious about his contribution to the beauty of his neighborhood.
This year it's these impatiens. For sure, no one will pick them under the cover of darkness, nor will some dog befoul their delicate fragrance.
Betsy
I took this today, after taking a day trip to Copake, New York. As a child, my family had a summer home in the area, which was not too physically far from where we lived in Westchester but it felt worlds away.
My father was terminally ill so the days we spent in Copake were a break from our normalcy. It was a retreat.
Across from this former hot spot was a tiny movie theatre, which has since then burned down in an arsonist's fire. Sad. Dustin Hoffman saw Back to the Future in that theatre (he must have also had a summer home in the area) and he sat in the front row. He ducked out before the movie ended but we all spotted him during the opening credits. Of course, The Hub being the "hub" as it were, was where everyone was talking about Mr. Hoffman's visit to rural Copake. Everyone's faces were lit and everyone hoped he'd return. (He did not return.)
Today, feeling nostalgic and a little sad for it, I drove back to Copake for the first time in twenty-five years. I expected to grab a burger at The Hub before driving slowly past our summer home with the wooden porch and the rope swing over the lakeside. I don't know why I expected it because life does slow down and life does decay some very monumental structures.
I think when the movie theatre burned to the ground, I should have anticipated that The Hub might have died with it it - or at least suffered physically.
This photo was taken with steady hands as it didn't make me sad until I drove past my former home, which was also weathered and suffering in its own way.
When I drove out of the town and south on Route 22, I stopped my car on the roadside, folded my arms, and just stood there, replaying back the imagery I had prior to my return in the afternoon. And in doing so, the photos in my mind do no justice to the photo I am now sending. In my head, The Hub is vibrant and pastel and lit up and customer's hands and faces are sticky from the ice cream, post movie.
Harry
Dawn in Wyoming's Wind River Mountains reflected in our small home on the range
Shannon
Taken in the fall on my morning bike commute, from the First Avenue bike lane in Manhattan. There is so much tension between drivers/cyclists/pedestrians, in spite of our "#1 Bike-Friendly City" nod from Bicycling Magazine this year. I often feel that tension on my commute and have done my share of griping about blocked bike lanes. However, on this particular morning, the bike lane blockage I saw just made me laugh! There's room for us all on the streets of Gotham...
Barbara
THIS is the pansy that grew on a rock. I uploaded snowdrops by mistake (photo 41). They're also optimistic flowers but I like this one better!
Barbara
A pansy plant in my front garden re-seeded itself atop a mossy and lichen-covered rock. It was a fantastic color and lingered much longer than I thought it would, considering that the root structure was very fragile. It made me smile (and feel hopeful) every time I walked past it.
victoria
Candy from a Mexico City outside city market.
Victoria
Ranchero with his horse in San Antonio de Areco outside of Buenos Aires.
Victoria
Winter during the polar vortex. The Hudson River in downtown Manhattan. Need I say more?
Victoria
This was taken at San Antonio de Areco outside of Buenos Aires on a ranch. The ranchero is showing us the trust he has with his horse.
Zack
As my family and I were preparing to head home this past summer from my uncle's cabin in Belgrade, Maine - my favorite place on this planet - a thick early-morning fog shrouded the lake. When the sun shines brightly, picturesque trees and mountains are visible beyond the water.
Nick
Bog Pond on a winter day. Savoy, MA. Taken with iPhone 5c.
Collin
Château de Bouillon overlooking the Semois in Bouillon, Belgium. Taken September 30, 2014.
