Memorial Day at the Rockaway Beach

After a week of rainy, damp weather, Memorial Day happily brought blue skies and warmer temps.  Unfortunately, it also brought some serious wind.

We were all eager to enjoy some pleasant weather and being that Memorial Day marks the opening of our local beaches, we decided to put that brand new wetsuit our neighbor, Dave, bought Logan to use.  Dave had mentioned he was going to go to the beach so we joined him.

Upon arrival at the beach, the damage created by Superstorm Sandy was apparent.  Many of the houses across from the beach had major damage.  The most stunning site, though, was the missing boardwalk.  I had trouble processing the boardwalk was actually gone.

These are the supports for the boardwalk.   For as far as I could see, there was no boardwalk in either direction.  This is the view to the left of where I was standing at Beach 91st Street.

 

This is the view to the right.  I was also surprised by how high the sand was under the supports.

 

I was saddened to see such damage but there was hope to be seen too as I saw stacks of wooden planks which means they are going to start rebuilding the boardwalk. 

Once we got settled on the sand, Dave and Logan took a walk to see the newly built comfort station.  I caught this picture of them as they were on the way back. 

Logan decided to try the new wetsuit and go surfing.  The water temp was only in the 50's but he was determined.  Jim helped him into the suit.  It was hilarious to watch them trying to get it on.  You can tell from Logan's face, they were working hard.  

Once it was on, however, he looked like a surfer dude with his board in hand.   He was happy to have it on because it kept him warm from the blowing wind.   About that time, I was wishing I had a wet suit, too, because I was freezing.  

I love this shot of him.  The wind had the zipper pull behind him flying.

Here he is waiting to catch a wave. 

Paddling.

Getting up.

He enjoyed surfing but it was just too cold from the wind so we decided to call it a day.  I was so glad as the two towels I had wrapped around me weren't providing much warmth or protection from the wind.  We packed up and headed back to the car.

I'm looking forward to going back later in the summer to see what progress has been made in rebuilding the boardwalk.

Hello, Friends.

I hope you are all enjoying spring.  May has been a lot more like April around here.  We got a lot of rain this month but look what all that rain has done to my plants.

There are some baby orange peppers budding here.

  First tomato of the season is already growing. 

My green pepper plants have grown a few inches too.

I even have strawberries.

This Double Million Bells is simply gorgeous.  I just love this plant. 

This picture doesn't really capture the bright pink tones of this plant.  It's really pretty.

We went to a huge flea market on Sunday where I picked up this blue bird feeder.  I bought some bird seed today.   Jim filled it up and hung it.  I think it's a bit too low so I have to raise it some.

Jim weed whacked the grass this afternoon and I love how nice it looks now.  Seeing all these flowers when I come home makes me so happy.  Although, I think I have to ask my neighbor to trim that tree a bit as it is encroaching on my walkway making it hard to get by.  

My strawberry plants in the center are flanked by flowers.  Well, they will be flowers soon.  I planted these from seed last month and they are really filling in nicely. 

Here's a picture of the porch.  See how it needs one of those 3 tiered pots on the right.  It looks unbalanced but not for long.  That brown potted bush is my neighbor's.

Here's another flower box filled with mixed seeds.  Look how full it's going to be.  I went a bit crazy planting seeds but it was easy to get carried away.  The bag of seeds I bought had more than 50,000 seeds in it.

I spray painted my little bench a bright red.  It's definitely seen better days and winter dulled the color so it needed a bit of refreshing.  I placed 3 pots on it which I planted with flower seeds.  There are sprouts popping up through the soil.  The other four pots to the left were also planted with seeds.  As you can see, it shouldn't be long before some blossoms are showing.  I'm eager to see what kind of flowers will bloom.  I bought a bag of mixed seed so who knows what's going to show.

Jim and I went to Home Depot this morning where he spotted this 3 tiered potting system.  I loved it but wondered how he would mount it to our porch.  Well, it's apparent my doubt was unwarranted because he had these up in no time.  I filled them with Wave Petunias which will cascade downward.  I'm going back to Home Depot tomorrow to get another set of tiered pots and more petunias which he will hang on the other side of my porch.   You know me, I love symmetry.

 And of course, Raven had to get in on the planting. 

 

I'm having fun doing all this planting.   I'm hoping you're having fun too this spring.

Intersection Pictures

Ok, so you read the story of how the timing of the traffic light was changed due to my request.  I thought I'd show you the intersection.  I should have included pictures in my previous post but I kept forgetting to take my camera with me.

Logan and Caterina had an early review class today for a chemistry test they are going to take tomorrow.  (We'll be up early tomorrow again so they can go to another review class.  Ugh!) Happily, I remembered to bring my camera as we were leaving the house today.  I took these pictures while we were waiting at the light.

This is at 6:30 in the morning which accounts for the lack of life in this picture except for those two  pedestrians. Trust me, an hour and something later which is when we usually go through that intersection, the picture will look quite different.  There will be double parked trucks of all sorts, from sanitation to tractor trailers, on either side of the street because their drivers have left them to get their breakfast and coffee from that coffee shop on the left just after the Just Tints car detailing shop with the blue awning.  Traffic will be backed up for blocks because of the light and the bottle neck created by the trucks.   

This is the view coming from the opposite direction after I dropped off Logan and Caterina at school.  That side will also be bottled necked because of the coffee shop on that side, again, just after the auto body place on the left.  You can see 2 trucks already double parked there on either side of the street creating that bottle neck. 

While things are better now since the timing change, traffic will never flow perfectly smoothly there unless they stop the trucks from double parking.  However, those hard working men need their coffee to make this city run so we will continue going around them.  Nonetheless, I'm happy because that timing change shaved extra minutes off my commute and in this city, that's a good thing!

Here's hoping your commute is a good one. 

One voice...

or in this case, one email, can bring about a change, even in a city as big and dynamic as New York City.  It comes as a huge and pleasant surprise to me as well that a simple request submitted online to a city agency could not only be acknowledged but then fulfilled in a relatively short time frame. 

No doubt you're wondering to what am I referring.  Well, every day I travel the same route to take Logan to and from school and to generally get around in my neighborhood.  After years of experience, I've determined it's the best route due to it having the fewest traffic lights.  If you know anything about NYC, there's a light on nearly every single corner.  It can take 20 minutes to go just a few blocks because of all the lights.  My tried and true route has worked for years but in recent months, one particular traffic light has been messing up a carefully mapped out travel plan designed to get me where I need to go in the shortest time. 

This traffic light was causing a back up blocks long and it would take 4 or 5 changes for one to actually get through that intersection.  The light was longer on the north/south street and shorter on the east/west street and this was a problem because the east/west street has by far the higher traffic volume.

So one day last January after sitting at that light way too long and way too many times, once I got home I went online to the Department of Transportation's website.  After a bit of searching I discovered I could request a traffic study on that light.  At the time, I wasn't even sure such a thing could be done.  I just knew I'd wasted enough time at that darn light.  I submitted the traffic study request and this is the response I received...

Thank you for your email concerning the timing of the traffic signals on Steinway Street and 20^th Avenue  in Queens .

Signal timing cycle lengths usually fall between 45 and 120 seconds. The timing for each signal is determined based on traffic volume and traffic patterns in each particular area. Our Signal Engineering Division will conduct an analysis of the signal timing to determine if the signals are operating properly with adequate amount of time allocated for safe crossing of pedestrians.

The careful consideration of all relevant information is necessary to reach a solution that will be in the best interests of public safety as well as allowing for well managed street operations. The Borough Commissioner will inform you of our findings and recommendations by end of March 2013 .

Information about traffic signals is available on the DOT web site at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/faqs/faqs_signals.shtml.

The safety of our residents is of primary concern to the NYCDOT.  Please be assured that we will fully investigate this matter.  Your participation in transportation issues which affect your community is greatly appreciated.

Customer Service Division

New York City Department of Transportation

Ok, so after reading that, I didn't really expect anything to happen.  After all, this is New York City, a city of millions of people and nearly 12,000 traffic lights.  So imagine my surprise when the following emailed attachment came.

This is in response to January 10^th e-mail to the 311 Customer Service Center regarding the operation of the traffic signals at the intersection of Steinway Street and 20^th Avenue.

 

As a result of our investigation completed last month, we have modified the timing of the signals at this location (and adjacent intersections) to improve coordination.  We believe this change will alleviate the problem outlined in the e-mail.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

 Sincerely,

Dalila Hall 

Deputy Borough Commissioner 

Can you believe it?  Isn't that something else?  I'm very happy to report traffic is moving much better at that intersection.  Good job New York City!

 

Spring is springing!

I'm so happy Spring is here.  It's still pretty chilly outside but it's coming.

In my eagerness to welcome spring, I've been busy playing in the dirt!  I've been enjoying getting my hands dirty and not only have I been having fun but look what's happening because of it.

These are my strawberries.  There's actually 2 plants in that box but this one is much taller.  Both are flowering. 

 These are my green and red peppers.

 This is an orange pepper plant.

 These are cucumbers.  I haven't put up the wire yet that they will climb up and let the cucs hang which will yield larger ones. 

 This is a hanging pot just bursting with new flower sprouts.  I bought a butterfly garden seed mix so I'm not exactly sure what kind of flowers these will be but there will be plenty of blooms.  I'll probably have to thin these a bit. 

 This window box is also going to be flowers.  I have 2 others that will be flowers as well. 

I have plans to paint my outside railing and spray paint my little bench that sits in the front of my house.  Unfortunately, it was way too cold to be outside that long painting a fence railing today.   It was also way too windy today to do any spray painting so I'll have to wait for a better day. 

Happy Spring!!!

Another Gift

Hello, friends.

I think you'll remember last year when our neighbor, Dave, bought Logan a surfboard.  You can read about it here.

Well, tonight, that kind man did it again.  Dave came over tonight; we thought to say hello and hang out for a while.  He had a box with him which he gave to Logan.  In the box was a brand new wetsuit.  Yes, that's right.  Dave bought my son a wetsuit to go along with the surfboard he got last year. 

Logan couldn't wait to try it on.  It's a perfect fit.  The kid didn't want to take it off.  You can see how happy he is.

Look at Logan's big smile here.  He's beaming with joy.  I, on the other hand, was in tears from Dave's kindness.  His generosity towards my son has touched my heart. 

Now Logan is ready to go surfing.  They are both looking forward to a fun summer catching waves.

A most heartfelt thank you to Dave! 

Winter Woes

I guess my asking Mother Nature to keep winter away fell on deaf ears because we've got another snow storm in full swing right now.  It started as sleet earlier tonight but now we've got big flakes and it's sticking.

It's hard enough hobbling around on crutches and a walking boot in good weather.   This snow is just making things harder.  I need spring and a new ankle. 

On a happy note, I saw carts of pretty, colorful flowering plants outside the supermarket today.

Spring can't be far away if they've got the plants out for sale, right?  Until then, I'll keep singing the song........snow, snow go away.