When I was in 5th grade, my family moved us to Rye, a northern suburb of NYC on Long Island Sound. Much to the joy of us six children, our big stucco house was across the street from
Playland, a beautiful art deco amusement park.
Playland loomed large in our lives - the steady screams from riders on the Dragon Coaster pervaded our soundscape all summer long; the fireworks twice a week were colorful free entertainment we could catch from our front porch; scavanging under the boardwalk yielded coins dropped by strollers above; in winter, we skated in the Casino ice rink. When we were old enough, most of us worked at Playland in one capacity or another: selling ride tickets, running a ride, or teaching swimming at the beach.
Now, a great delight is to find scenes of Playland in a movie. Being so close to NYC, it often was used as a film location. Favorites include "Big" and "The Sweet Low Down." Last night, we saw another: "Muppets Take Manhattan." There's a scene that they say is set in Michigan, but yes, oh, yes, it's Playland. The scene combines the lake with the boardwalk, two sites that are actually at opposite ends of the park. Editing can do wonders. Yep!
Ack was in DC this week at meeting with NOAA, NASA and USRA. I got to stop by the Albert Einstein Memorial. Anne and Ack were both notified that they are this years recipients of Oneontas' alumni awards. Ack got a Distinguished Alumnus and Anne recieved the Outstanding Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion Alumna Award. More on that later... (Actually there was an error.)
Another nice March day. Ack went for his first row of the year. The wind picked up on his return. The photo to the right shows what ice heaves can do to the shore line as the ice rams the shore. Most of the ice is gone, but there is a big sheet remaining on the open end of the lake. Anne finished her curling and worked on a pillow with Bianca (her little sister). Ack trimmed up the dead birch tree. We ended the day with a fire - in a healthy fire pit Mike built when we first moved in.
Yes, spring is coming. Friday March 20 at about 11:48 pm. There are signs around the house, like the ice breaking up on the lake shown in the picture (notice Anne's new camera.) Blackbirds are also moving into the marsh plot next to the house, and we saw three robins on a lawn.
I can't get my card reader to download today's images from my new camera. Drat! So instead, here are more photos from Sunday. The lake is still this frozen but tonight, waliking home from the bus, I heard a solitary sandhill crane calling. It's early for him/her to be up here!
On Thursday, we had a heavy rainfall, then that night the temperature dropped. That meant that all the snow was melted off the lake and the surface refroze smoother than before. We were hoping for a skate-able surface, which I found on Saturday. Lots of bumps between our dock and the by to the south, but once I got there, it was heavenly. Ack joined me on Sunday for another wonderful late afternoon skating session.
