Upstate

There's a lot of beautiful countryside in upstate New York. This is part of the Schoharie Valley, not far from where I grew up. 

I'm glad I don't have to cut that grass. Schoharie Valley, Spring 1994.

I took the rider lawnmower out yesterday for the first time this season. I reinstalled the battery (which turned out to be easier than I expected) and, to my happy surprise, it started up! I began to cut some of the grass in the north forty, but it was too wet and I had to stop. It should be dryer today, so I'll give it another go later.

Memories

For lack of new photos, here's another from the NYC World Trade Center collection, May 1994. I'm amazed at how the skyline has changed over the years. I don't know the City very well, but I can pick out (in this photo) the Empire State Building and what was then known as Citicorp Center (now Citigroup Center) in Midtown.

Looking upstream (Hudson River) from lower Manhattan, May 1994.

The weather gurus tell us that some warming, however short lived, is coming, along with a little less rain. We shall see. 

Second try

Here's another attempt to capture the tiny new leaves on the grape vines out back. They become more visible each day. I'm sure the growers are keeping their fingers crossed that there are no freezes over the next few weeks. 

These aren't the chardonnay vines. I don't know what they are.

In domestic news, I've got to go to the pharmacy to refill prescriptions. Tasha goes to the vet for her annual vaccinations next week. I picked up fallen branches in the back yard yesterday. They're from the tilleul (linden tree). Now, if we could get some dry days, I could cut the grass.

Poisson d'avril

Here we are on the first of April! But we're still suffering a stubborn spring. It's so not spring-like that I typed March instead of April. Turns out, I'm the April Fool. Even Tasha was saying, "Huh?"

Blurry grape leaves. The camera focused on the wrong stuff.

There's a section of a vineyard parcel just to our north that is planted in chardonnay. I believe the grapes are used for blending in the winery's sparkling wines. Imagine my surprise when, while walking over there last evening, I noticed that many of the vines already have leaves! Better pictures soon. Happy March April! 

Just so you know: I had two ideas for a post this morning. As I worked on them they sort of merged. When I tried to separate them, this is some of what I got. What a mess. 

Early birds

They start before sun-up. Can you dig it? Changing the clocks made things darker in the morning. The lights on the digger look much more spooky in person than in this photo.

Digger in the dark.

The weather is still a little wintry. Each morning, it seems, the ground is soaked with dew, ready to freeze at any moment. I'm sure the grape growers have their eyes peeled, looking out for frost warnings.

Back end

Here's another shot of the digger that's working out back now. Even from behind thing is huge. I wonder how long it'll be out there. It's far enough from our house that we hear no noise when it's operating.

You almost need an elevator to get up to the cab.

Spring (Easter) vacations start next Saturday for certain regions of the country. In our area, they start on the eleventh. Another two weeks off for the youngsters. 

Bucket

It's almost as tall as I am. Granted, I'm not all that tall. But who's counting? Oh... I am.

Now that's what I call a "digger."

Yesterday's market run was productive. At the produce store I found green asparagus, shiny eggplants, some spicy chorizo (not exactly produce, but that's ok), and a bunch of sweet radishes (called radis roses). The rain stopped, so I stopped at the outdoor market after all. And there was the asparagus and strawberry man. It's too early for strawberries (his,anyway), but he had bunches of white asparagus. Ken made risotto with green asparagus for lunch. Yum!