big news on a summery autumn day

 

  korrina called me at 11:30 this morning and asked if i could hear the cheering outside her apartment window . . cnn had finally called pennsylvania for biden which put his electoral votes at 284. i had begun hearing horns and yells myself outside our windows . . 

which only built in volume as the news passed from block to block . .

 

 

since greg had gone for a walk, i called him to say i was coming out and then i ran to see chanda, and after jumping up and down several times together and hugging each other, i went to meet greg at sheridan square . . 

 

 

 

 

and then we walked to washington square

 

 

walking along 14th street . . 

passing sixth avenue . . 

not everyone could concentrate on celebrating . . . . 

i never put the morning's vegetables away; they were a bit wilted . . 

many people are happy, but they also know how much work there is to do . .

tuesday

 

greg was out the door around 6 am to vote this morning. it was still quite dark.

 

i wanted to get a photo, so i watched out the window with pluto to see him get in line. i had to wait fifteen minutes for him to move ahead enough to be seen. he was hidden by the trees on the left for awhile.

 

he's the little dot in the center, standing in front of the vote aquí sign. it was the only time there was a line to vote today. i've heard that other places haven't been crowded, either. most everyone participated in early voting. i have no idea what is going on right now . . i'm not paying attention. they've said that we may not know the outcome right away, anyway, as there have been so many mail-in ballots.

i have a chicken roasting in the oven with carrots and sweet potatoes. i went out today to the butcher for it, and stopped at the mah ze dahr bakery as i heard they were giving out chocolate chip cookies to everyone with an "i voted" sticker. i ended up also buying two slices of chocolate cake with ganache that we can share for dessert. i stopped by kendall's on the way home to bring her a few chocolate chip cookies. 

 

checking out the cake from mah ze dahr.

a song for all soul's day and another bicycle ride

 

from first unitarian universalist congregation, brooklyn

 

----

 

 

i went to visit chanda today at merriweather. there's been a lot of anxiety for everyone with this election. 

i waited for her on the bench outside the entrance. i hadn't been far as i had been shopping at the health food store just down the street. i left the apartment early this morning to take some pumpkin pie to kendall, along with a few groceries she had requested . . so it was a busy morning.

we talked for a little bit (she was on a short break) and then she made me a mocha to go. i finished my errands which included picking up a few containers of frozen broth from the brodo store for korrina. earlier, i had visited a different health food store on seventh avenue to get her powdered vitamin c crystals and vitamin d3 drops. i then trudged home with the groceries, put a few perishables away and then headed out with korrina's items and greg's key fob for the citibike. it was such a windy day!

the greeting out the front door this morning . . pedaling against this wind was not fun . . but what a difference from yesterday, with the sun glistening off the river. it was such a beautiful ride downtown, and it was fun seeing where korrina works now, on an old cobblestone street lined with brick buildings that seem to be from the 18th century. her boss owns two or three places all next to each other.

and then i walked back to the bike dock and rode home, this time going by way of the river walk -

that little dot in the center on the horizon is the statue of liberty . . 

for dinner tonight we had scallops, fillet of sole, some kind of greens from the green market farmer that we've never had, but that i thought we could try, and potatoes. (it was the tokyo bekana greens, which i now know i prefer raw. they sautéed too watery, though chanda loved them. they're very "lettuce-like" to me. i think i would prefer them in a salad. they had a nice bite to them when uncooked.)

rainy day adventure

i walked out to meet greg and our friend ron on the front step today for a bicycle ride, and as i stepped out i could see that it was raining, "oh," i said, "i don't want to go to governor's island in the rain." however, we did go, and it ended up being a fun adventure, even though it was uncomfortably wet. there were also quite a number of other people there, all traipsing about in the rain. i think we were all nuts.

coming into the governor's island dock from the ferry terminal in manhattan . . 

(andy had taken the subway down to the ferry, where he was waiting for us at the terminal, out of the rain!)

welcome to governor's island.

intrepid travelers!

i appreciated the warm hello from the governor's island welcome team (you can see greg with my brown bike on the right).

adventurers! (with our free umbrellas - thank goodness for the kind woman at the kiosk who was handing them out to all visitors so ill prepared!)

i had heard the "may house" was a building in which we could go to get out of the rain. i really was hoping it would have a cafe where i could get a nice hot cup of tea, but it was more like an art display. "may you unplug," was written by the electrical outlet. well, we definitely were unplugged.

this little girl was so sweet, and was very interested in deciphering the sentences sprinkled about the walls and floor.

we walked past the may house and discovered a vegetable farm. it looked quite deserted in the rain, but i could see an awning in the distance with someone working beneath it . . so we investigated . . 

reading all the signs along the way . . 

see our umbrellas? we actually didn't arrive with them, but a very nice lady at the little concession stand near the entrance called us over and said they were giving out free umbrellas. they were very sturdy and we were all glad to receive them. they have paw prints on them, one is of a tiger's paws, and the other of a polar bear's. we thought they might be from the world wildlife fund, but it was bloomberg . . funny!

bee creative . . 

and in the distance were the bee hives . . 

we see that: society needs to alter the way waste is treated as part of an integrated long term solution to food, climate and energy issues.

we see that: the power to manifest global social change lies within each of us. the challenge to take action rests on our shoulders.

 

we had wandered into the earth matter compost learning center.

 

the workers for the center were an enthusiastic bunch and insisted that we view the compost center. they enticed us with chickens, "come see the chickens!"

the chickens had the nicest little hut. our compost tour guide shared that they try to get them all in at night, but some wander too far, so there's a little side door they can enter when the main door is locked. we thought there might be some fox predators, but the guide said the main danger was from hawks.

a view of the city from the farm . . 

a school group came to visit . . 

we then walked out of the farm section and turned left to find the hills and the camp area (they have "glamping" on the island -  tents with the most beautiful view of the harbor). the only problem was, the further we walked, the heavier the rain became. finally, we decided to walk to the next bicycle dock and ride back to the entrance.

it was just pouring by now!

i managed to get a photo of the statue of liberty, but it wasn't easy; my phone and my hands were very wet.

the view riding back was incredible . . this photo doesn't do it justice. i could not tell that it was blurry when i snapped the pic, but it has kind of a pretty water color effect . . 

when we rode up to the entrance, i could see that a ferry was just leaving . . . we had about a 40 minute wait for the last one. i wonder how they get everyone off the island . . there's probably always someone wandering about.

passing the freedom tower on the way home . . 

andy took the train back to his and ron's apartment, while greg, ron and i returned via our bicycles. i was so happy to once again be on the bike path home . . the rain had finally lessened (of course) and when i got upstairs, i took the longest hot shower i've ever taken, but i really didn't completely warm up until i had a bowl of piping hot soup - thank goodness there was leftover soup - and chanda made me some buttered popcorn. it was the most delicious meal.

sunday morning poem on all saint's day

november

 

the mellow year is hastening to its close;

the little birds have almost sung their last,

their small notes twitter in the dreary blast --

that shrill-piped harbinger of early snows;

the patient beauty of the scentless rose,

oft with the morn's hoar crystal quaintly glassed,

hangs, a pale mourner for the summer past,

and makes a little summer where it grows:

in the chill sunbeam of the faint brief day

the dusky waters shudder as they shine,

the russet leaves obstruct the straggling way

of oozy brooks, which no deep banks define,

and the gaunt woods, in ragged, scant array,

wrap their old limbs with sombre ivy twine. 

by hartley coleridge (1796 - 1849)