a peach tree in an old nyc cemetery and a high line picnic

the girls discovered a peach tree in a cemetery behind our friends' apartment today. they picked the peaches and we ate them and they were very good!!! i have some in our fruit bowl for in the morning. they took some interesting pictures of the cemetery . . interesting to me because you need to climb over a very high wall in order to get in . . and i had no idea what it looked like behind the wall until downloading the pics just now! it looks like someone has a garden . . or maybe it's just the caretaker's tools for the cemetery . . if there is a caretaker . . i remember reading about someone who had the last remaining plot available in some obscure and inaccessible cemetery in the east village . . and i wonder if this may be it? (well, i just found some information about the cemetery i believe they discovered today, and visits are permitted "usually" on fourth sundays, april through october. i think i'd like to visit at a "proper" time, and i hope they don't mind that the children took some peaches! it's called the new york marble cemetery).

afterwards, we met my friend janet and her friend bernadette for a two boots pizza picnic with all our children on the high line. it was a wonderfully dark and blustery and beach-like night with the smell of someone's fireplace in the air, the moon shining in the southeast, the statue of liberty's torch and the empire state building shining from the north and the south . . and the sound of the children's laughter floating through it all.

shakespeare in the park

we went uptown today to the soldiers' and sailors' monument to see the hudson warehouse production of midsummer night's dream. our friend ron was playing puck. we had just seen him perform as oberon in the drilling company's production of midsummer (downtown on the lower east side). it was fun to see him switch roles, and to see a different interpretation. it was a beautiful night for the performance with a pink sunset and and cool breeze.

reeds

i love the reeds that are growing all along the river walk. i see them on pier 84 at 44th street by the spiral fountain, and by the water park at jane street and down at battery park city. they make the city feel light and breezy.

berries . . almost gone

the pickings for berries are getting more and more slim. but we still were able to find some yummy ones that came up from florida and across from california. new jersey always has good blueberries . . but i think they're finished now . .

biking in the city

we've been biking along the bike path several times already since we've returned from connecticut on saturday. i really love it. the air from the river smells like the sea and the wind is usually always strong.

today we biked past my favorite spot with all the reeds and sea grasses and board walk and benches, past penny park and the battery park promenade, to a grassy area with weeping willow trees and giant flowers and the statue of liberty in the distance. we spread out an old picnic blanket and ate our sandwiches. we watched several beautiful sailboats glide by and i read a little from arthur ransome's the big six. it was wonderfully peaceful.

i did alright with the filming and biking at the same time until we were on the way home. and then i almost ran down a woman walking along the bike path. time to put the camera away!

my new bike . .

my new bike is an old bianchi. it was my cousin's bike from years and years ago when my cousin lived in nassau shores on ripplewater avenue with my aunt and uncle. when i was four they moved to california and she left her bike in my parents' garage. my sister rode it for seemingly forever (!) until getting her new bike a few years ago. now it's mine! my bike i'm passing on to g. it's a jc penny racer and is a boy's bike. i'm happy to have a girl's bike these days, though yesterday i kept swinging my leg over the seat, forgetting i can just . . slip on! after returning from connecticut (where the above bike has been living and where we've been swimming for the past two weeks) we took a ride along the river, down to penny park and back. the clouds and sky were beautiful and it felt so freeing to be out riding together.

good-bye photo

we said good-bye to nana and nonna today. we'll see them again in september when they head home to montauk (they've been visiting at my sister's house for august while their place is rented for the summer). we'll have a brief beach fling there before beginning all the dance and music classes and academic lessons for the school year. right now i'll miss the crickets and the frogs that sing in connecticut at night.

last day of lessons

today was the last day of swimming lessons. happily for m, the lifeguards had everyone participate in banana board races. (she had requested this last year, but they played water polo instead.) c was promoted to level V, which means that she probably will swim out to the float next year. i think the red cross has cut out a level and packed more into the lower levels. she'll be 10 next year and her sisters didn't swim out to the float until they were 11. the float is a good ways out . . you need to have a certain amount of strength to make it.

c was able to have two horseback riding lessons at hidden brook stables where two of our friends ride (one boards a horse here). she has been pestering me all year for lessons. maybe we can get more in next summer. she does very well and was happy to finally begin posting. holly ribello, the owner, is a great teacher and is loved for challenging her students.

peach pie

we went to a peach festival last saturday after dropping k off at the bus station. it was in glastonbury at belltown orchards and the peach trees were so pretty! we picked about 15 lbs of peaches. we've been eating them all week . . they are deliciously juicy and sweet. finally, today we made a peach pie (with a few blueberries in it that we had picked that same day!) i love pie and this came out extra special. m of course did the crust . . i just don't have the delicate touch she has for crimping the edges and cutting out hearts . . !

sturbridge village

m and c made special dresses which they wanted to wear to sturbridge village. so after swimming lessons this morning we hopped in the car and drove up. since they had were dressed sort of 19th century, many people wanted to take pictures of them along with the volunteers. as one young volunteer said, "you're going to be in a lot of people's scrapbooks." yes, including one sweet couple from germany.

beach lake

there are a lot of ducks this year. i counted 43 in the lake this morning. they like to eat our food, of course, and will grab a sandwich from your hand if you're not careful!

swimming in connecticut . . in the lake part II

swimming in connecticut . . in the lake part I

swimming in connecticut . . in the pool

nonno's birthday

the girls and i came up to connecticut for swimming lessons. we come up every year. k and m have completed their red cross classes, but will be doing an endurance class for two weeks. (well, m will. k will swim in the class for a week before FINALLY returning to her beloved city). c is in level IV this year. g stayed home to take care of xena. today we celebrated my dad's birthday. he's 83 now. everyone is slowing down around him, but not my dad. well, he's slowed down a little bit since he had his surgeries for several aneurysms last year. but his "slowing down" is probably equal to a middle aged man's slowing down. he's very healthy (considering he began smoking at 13 years old and only quit in his 60's) and very much a leo.

salsa!

we're up in vermont enjoying the crickets and frogs and farm smells. we've also been salsa dancing! it's very quiet here, and very peaceful. the girls had fun sleeping outside in a tent and cooking over an open fire (swallows and amazons). it's green and blue and white and brown . . i know my friend would like to live up here all year round . . i don't know if i would . . i like the city (when we don't have a million and one things to do) . . i like being up here and having absolutely nothing to do . . except take a few photos.

dancing on staten island

the girls had a dance performance at the alice austen house on staten island with the isadora duncan dance company. they had a beautiful, clear day, and the audience this year seemed to be double the size of last year.

. . . waiting to go on . .