So, I thought maybe I should try to wrap up events from my last post...as much as possible.
We'll start with the very sad and disturbing events surrounding my neighbor, Walt. If you don't remember that story just go back one post. I'm sure you can handle scrolling on your own without a link to it.
First, thank you to everyone who had any kind of advice for me. I truly do appreciate all of it. Probably not going to get a dog (Jazz-kitty would not be happy about that idea), but I'm not going to say it will never happen. An alarm system is most definitely in the works, so if you have a recommendation (Simplisafe is already on the list) please let me know.
I went to Walt's funeral last week. I felt like I needed to be there to say goodbye, but also to apologize again in my own way for not having thought to check in on him. Everyone has told me that it wasn't my fault, that there was nothing I could have done, etc. Logically I know this, but he was right next door. And I mean right next door.
This is the view from my dining room window. That's Walt's car and his house.
There really is no "just try not to think about it" option, since I see it any time I'm at home. His family and friends have been there cleaning out the house. I don't know if they plan to sell it or not -- apparently it was their childhood home. I can't even imagine how hard this has been on his sisters. One of them told me he had pushed everyone away the last couple of years, just shut them right out. If I feel bad about not having checked on him I can only imagine how it must be bothering them.
I still don't really know why the police had asked if I had heard any gunshots, and I probably never will know. As much as I hope it had nothing to do with Walt, I'm not sure that an alternative reason would be much better.
I think this is probably as much of an ending as this sad event is ever going to get. I'm certainly not going to pester his family with questions, and I don't know that they have any answers either. I have let them know that I will do whatever I can to help.
The rest of this post is mostly going to be photos of High Banks Preserve, and a couple from Esopus Meadows Preserve.
I know, Friends. You're probably wondering what the hell the one has to do with the other. I considered making a separate post about High Banks with the pictures, but it's all kind of connected in my brain. I had been out hiking and enjoying the beautiful weather, and Walt was....well, you know. The two events are indelibly linked in my memory. I don't want to bore you with too much navel-gazing and dwelling on it. The best explanation I've come up with for myself is that I went from the one thing right into the next so quickly. I went hiking to enjoy the beauty of the world, to relax and get away from all the constant bad news, and came home to a harsh slap of tragedy. Feel free to analyze away, Friends. Let me know if you come up with anything.
Let's end this with the pictures. I'm going to try to remember that while there are bad things that happen to good people (poor Walt), and the news is a constant barrage of horrible things happening all over the world, the world is still a beautiful place. Find that beauty -- whatever it may be to you -- and embrace the hell out of it. Enjoy life. Make the most of it.
Hudson River from High Banks Preserve
Autumn leaves on the trail
It had rained earlier
Some parks have power lines, this one had a gas line
There were a few pine cones
Mountain view
Esopus Lake
The Hudson River from Esopus Meadows Preserve
Esopus Meadows Preserve. That's the lighthouse in the background.
Yesterday was a good day. It started out with a nice walk with my friend (we'll call her Gertie to keep it nice and anonymous) and ended with an evening at the Fisher Center at Bard where we got to be the first people on the East Coast to see the first episode of American Gods, followed by a discussion with Neil Gaiman and Bryan Fuller. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
I had to take some photos, of course. I took a lot of photos, actually. You see, when Gertie and I picked the location for our walk we decided on a park we hadn't been to in a while. I somehow managed to totally forget that there was this awesome abandoned building full of graffiti there. Needless to say, once I saw it I had to go in and check it out. Gertie chose to stay outside as she was afraid the building could be falling down, or the roof could collapse -- you know, little things like that. Probably a wise and sensible decision, but I chose to go on in. I mean, it looked sturdy to me, and she'd be right outside to call 911 if it should fall on my head.
Looks like a nice, sturdy brick building, right?
Not creepy at all
We went around to the back to make our approach, as I remembered the back half of the building being pretty much wide open for easy access.
That should give you a pretty good feel for the building as I entered.
There were a couple other people inside who must have come in from the front of the building. Not gonna lie, they startled me at first. There was a bag in the corner that looked like it had some clothes and a mattress, so I was afraid it was going to be a pissed off person that was living there and wanted me out. Nope. Just two fellow explorers checking out the scene.
I happen to love graffiti and consider it to be art. I know if you handed me a can of spray paint I could never pull off anything this good. I had to take pictures.
This was my favorite
I don't know, but it looks happy
Flower
Stay classy
Fair question
"When it's something you live for".
I don't know if these are song lyrics or what, but there were random phrases throughout the building.
The corner of a larger area that said Peace
The wall next to it
Closer view of the artist's statement
Not at all creepy that there's a rope hanging from the ceiling over the one raised object on the entire floor. (It wasn't a noose. I checked.)
Pyramid and eye
A much less colorful corner
Cherish this moment
"If I could change my name I'd run away" -- can't read the last word
After I had my fun time playing in the abandoned building, we ventured back out on our walk. It really is a beautiful area. Things are just starting to look green and Spring-like. It also makes it easier to notice things. The last time we were here the leaves were all on the trees, everything was in full bloom. Yesterday you could see much further off the beaten path.
I wouldn't advise eating the fish. It is the Hudson River. To each their own.
Never knew that building was back there.
There were a lot of fallen trees and damage that had occurred over the winter.
Little bit of greenery
Washed ashore
Some jackass felt the need to tag a tree. Really doesn't surprise me that they wrote this either -- they clearly give as much of a shit about the environment as this administration.
Ruins of a building
Back along the water's edge
It really was a beautiful day to get outside and spend time in a park. That also means following the rules. You are not supposed to be camping or setting fires in this particular park, and yet there were clearly people doing both of those things. We could see the tents down by the water from a distance. More troubling, you could also smell the fire. Now, I'm going to assume that they knew what they were doing and had made the fire safely and responsibly. It is more than a bit disconcerting to be walking through the woods and suddenly smell fire -- especially when said woods are dry as hell and full of dead, fallen trees and last autumn's crunchy leaves. It's like walking through a tinderbox. It's stupid to do at all in an area that does not permit camping or fires, dumber to do it when it is an area full of incredibly flammable material, and idiotic to do it when you would be trapped between the Hudson River behind you and a fire in front of you with no escape. Don't be like these people. Enjoy nature and follow the rules -- keep yourself and others safe!
Later that evening I went with friends to see Neil Gaiman and Bryan Fuller discuss the new Starz series American Gods at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard.
It's a really cool building
They said we were the first people on the East Coast to get to see the first episode. I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman to begin with, so this was fantastic! I can't wait to see the whole series when it starts airing later this month. I'm not going to share any spoilers, but I did take a few pictures. If you're just dying to know what it's about you can Google it, or read the book!
Neil Gaiman giving the introduction. Yeah, we had good seats.
Discussion with Bryan Fuller
Up close and personal
So that was my Saturday, Friends. Pretty damn good day. I hope you had a great day as well.
Happy Easter or Passover if you celebrate -- or just have a terrific Sunday if you don't.
First, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving (or an excellent Thursday if you weren't celebrating). Mine was very nice, thanks for asking. I also scored leftovers from dinner at my parents' house which is awesome because that means I don't have to cook for a few days. It's like mini-Thanksgiving all over again!
Did you go out into the swarm and battle through shopping on Black Friday, Friends? I sure as hell did not. I can think of nothing that anyone needs -- including myself -- that would make it worth it to get involved in that nightmare. In fact, I decided to do pretty much the opposite.
As I've mentioned before, I have set myself the goal of trying to visit all of Scenic Hudson's parks. I haven't gotten through very many of them yet. It's a work in progress. I didn't have to work today, and it was pretty nice out for the end of November. It was overcast outside, but it wasn't raining, so I decided it was time to go out on an adventure and explore another park. I didn't want to go too far since the weather was looking a bit iffy.
I settled on Illinois Mountain since it was just across the river. If it's not raining here, then it shouldn't be raining there. I wish I had a deeper or more profound reason for my choice, but that's it.
Backtracking a bit here....
I went out on a hike this past weekend. My mother implored me to stick to going to the Walkway Over the Hudson or the rail trail system. Why? Apparently it was the first day of deer hunting season, and people would be "trigger happy and shoot at anything that moves". This was over breakfast, when we met at a local diner. This will be relevant later, promise.
Back to today.
I'm proud to say that I found the place with no problems, and Google Maps did not screw with me today and take me to some unused, long-closed park entrance. (Google Maps and I have had some issues.)
It was so peaceful. I think I saw four other people the entire time I was there. I hadn't realized how much I really needed to just get away, get outdoors and unplug from the world for a little while. It's so relaxing and grounding to be out in the woods -- listening to the crows and geese call as they fly overhead, watching the chipmunks and squirrels scurry by, listening to the crunch of the leaves under your feet. Hiking might not be everyone's idea of relaxing, but it works for me.
I took some pictures for you, Friends! Want to see them? Fantastic. We're doing it anyway, so scroll on past the pictures if you want to read on.
Here we go
Pretty lake in the park
The vines are shaped like a heart!
Poor tree has some issues
Not sure what is going on with this tree. Looks like someone had built something on it at one point.
Someone built this on the side of the trail
Moss was about the only sign of green
Figured out where the geese were headed
So, I got through the Red trail and the White trail. I had just gotten to the head for the Blue trail when the sky started to get noticeably darker. Well.....shit. I'm all for going out and exploring in iffy weather, but I'm not totally stupid. Starting another trail going even farther away from my car when it looks like it might start pouring at any minute? Not a good plan. I turned around and headed back the way I came. At least if the heavens opened up there was that little shelter that someone had built next to the trail. Might come in handy.
As I was walking back I had the idea that it would be fun to shoot a video of hiking through the woods. It would be like you were with me, Friends! In what I considered to be a stroke of brilliance, I decided to do it using Hyperlapse, so it would be fast hiking. No point in boring you to tears with a long video, the soundtrack of which would be me crunching leaves underfoot, squashing through mud, and breathing loudly. Nobody needs to hear that. It might have come out like crap, I really didn't care. I'd look at it when I got back home. If it worked, cool. If not? So be it.
And that's when I heard it. At first I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it was loud. After it happened a few more times I realized it was gun shots. Fuck. I totally forgot about hunting season!
This was a bit troubling, Friends. I realized I still had a good mile or so to get back to the park proper and out of the woods.
--I can't tell where these shots are coming from. I think they are from a good distance behind me somewhere, but the sound kind of echoes and bounces around, so I'm not confident about that.
--I hope this is someone who knows what they are doing and realizes that a deer wouldn't be prancing about in a public park wearing a red fleece. I know I have dark hair, but I look nothing like a fucking deer, so please don't accidentally shoot me.
--WTF is a hunter doing in a Scenic Hudson park anyway? I thought that was against the rules. I wonder if I have service to pull up the website and check.
PLEASE NOTE: seasonal hunting is permitted on Town of Lloyd property—wear bright-colored clothing during hunting seasons.
Okay, I obviously glossed over that part when reading earlier. I have no idea where the property boundaries are. Hopefully not too damn close.
I have no choice but to keep going since I need to get back to my car. This is suddenly far less peaceful and relaxing than it was on the hike in. The sky is still getting darker, and now there are gun shots in the distance. To add to the mood, the woods have gone utterly silent. No more birds calling as they fly overhead, no sign of chipmunks or squirrels running about. It's like everything went into hiding.
Friends, have I ever told you about the nickname a friend of mine has given me? I don't think I have, but it's pretty relevant here. She lovingly refers to me at times as Apocalyptic Annie. It's pretty fitting, honestly. You see, I have a tendency to look at situations that seem potentially dangerous and immediately start assessing how it could all go horribly wrong. Like my own version of The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Partially it's because I have a slightly warped sense of humor, and the scenarios get more imaginative and far-flung as I go along. The other part? If something horrible is about to happen it would be nice to have some sort of plan in place on how to handle it, no matter how half-assed it may be. It's good to be prepared, damn it! I know that it is ridiculous, and I realize that 99% of the time not a damn thing is actually going to go wrong. My brain just goes there. It's like, "If x should happen, then I will do y," and then I just carry on doing whatever it is I am doing anyway. Let's not get all deep and psychological about it, Friends.
Now that you've had a little stroll around the inner workings of my mind, let's get back to the story. So I'm in the woods, all alone, and apparently someone is hunting relatively nearby. You so know that Apocalyptic Annie mode kicked in. My brain decides on two things:
1) Go faster. Get the hell out of here and back to the car quickly, and preferably without being shot.
2) Keep shooting video.
Yeah. That was my brain's fabulous idea on how to handle the situation. Haul ass? Obvious. Shoot video?
You see, my theory was that if the worst should happen and a hunter did shoot me on accident, there would be video evidence. Like my own little screwed up version of The Blair Witch Project, except I wasn't going to shoot video of my face all up in the camera.
Oh yeah, I totally did it.
Nothing happened, which should be clear since I am sitting here in my home writing this. Maybe I shouldn't even admit to having done it, but whatever. Think of it as a new little personality quirk of mine you get to discover. At least maybe you'll find it a bit amusing.
What did we learn today, Friends?
--Don't go galavanting about in the woods during hunting season.
--Listen to your Mother when she warns you about said hunting season.
--Maybe remember to tell someone where you are going before going off into the woods during hunting season.
--My brain will come up with the most ridiculous and half-assed ideas.
Sometimes you just need to take a break. I don't know about you, but sometimes I just need to get away from it all and take moment for myself. To remind myself that the world is full of beauty even when it seems so ugly.
For my part, the best way I have found to do that is to go out and enjoy nature. Pick a place -- a local park, the beach, the mountains -- whatever you have that is convenient. I'd love to go to the ocean and just relax, listen to the waves washing against the shore, but that's not really an option due to the distance. I choose to go explore the mountains and the woods. It's quiet, peaceful, and I love the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair. Added bonus: you normally can't get any service to get on social media even if you wanted to, so avoiding it is that much easier.
I think I mentioned it before, but I have set the modest goal of trying to visit all of Scenic Hudson's parks. Since I was on vacation this week, I decided to visit more of them.
As you may or may not recall, Friends, not all of my adventures go smoothly. I'm glad to report that this one was easy and went off without a hitch.
My first stop? Lighthouse Park in Esopus. I had already been to Esopus Meadows Preserve, although I didn't realize that these two parks were practically on top of one another. Turns out that Lighthouse Park is literally just a park with views of the lighthouse, and some picnic tables. All of the hiking/nature trails were the ones I had already explored in the preserve. Kind of a bummer, but there were some gorgeous views of the Hudson River.
View looking South
Looking North
The lighthouse, of course
While I was there, I noticed this strange piece of machinery at work out on the river. I think it's like a lawn mower for the river, which I admit sounds strange. That's the best description I can come up with for it. I watched it for a while, and from what I could tell it was going back and forth over certain areas of the river, chopping up the heavier vegetation growing on the surface of the water. You know, like a lawn mower but on the river. I'm assuming this is to help keep the channels clear for boats. Maybe I'm wrong. This is the best picture I could get of the machine in action, since it was a fair distance away.
River mower?
As there was no more to that park and I still wanted to get a hike in somewhere, I decided to check out Black Creek Preserve. I've driven past it so many times on the way to other places, and since it was nearby it was the perfect choice.
The park has a couple miles of trails all together. I imagine it would be breathtaking in the fall, when all of the leaves are changing colors. I should note: if you don't like walking up hills, this is not the park for you. You are going to have to go up a pretty steep incline to get to 90% of the trails. There will be more uphill climbs in your future if you take the trail that leads down to the river's edge. You go out the same main trail you came in, so if you go down to the river you will have to come back up again at some point.
The entrance is pretty cool -- Black Creek is spelled out on the top.
Wooden bridge -- which you can get to without having to do the uphill climb, for those that want to check it out.
Lots of stone walls
I just liked the way the light was falling on the tree stump
River view
It literally stops right there.
Pretty now, probably gorgeous in autumn
This is the best I could do to give a vantage point of the hill near the beginning. You go out the same way you came in. This is from about the halfway point on the hill, looking down toward the bridge pictured above.
Great way to unwind and unplug for an afternoon. Also, it is two more parks off the list. I'll get to them all eventually.
