Seal on an ice floe heading towards Smith Point Bridge!

Big, fat seal sitting on a block of ice and slowly drifting east-to-west in the Great South Bay. Just passed No. 1 Beach in Mastic Beach. Will post pictures in a few minutes but posting this in case you want to run and see it like I did!

Midnight lights--mystery solved

Strange, crane-like structures have recently appeared far over to the east of the house, across the water beyond the William Floyd Estate and shore... together with some very-bright lights at night. Was wondering what was going on... someone building a giant house? Midnight football under floodlights? Someone's over-zealous security system?

No... it's the work that's being done on Moriches Inlet. It is being dredged, and the sand is going to be used to restore and protect Smith Point and other local beaches.

Sunny Sunday in January... Smith Point

Amazing how much ice has built up, even though we have had some time above freezing, and lots of sunshine. Particularly amazing because the water is brackish and so shouldn't freeze as quickly as fresh water.

It freezes on the shore, and then the rising tide lifts it to float like mini icebergs in the Great South Bay.

Today I fell in love ... and now heartbroken

(UPDATE Monday 5th: I called the shelter, and he has been adopted and left for his new home this morning. Good to know he has found a new home!)

Jade wanted to go see the dogs at the animal shelter. Like a fool, I said yes, knowing that Fury is not keen on other dogs, that I don't really want two dogs, and that it's not a good idea to see all those wagging hopeful eyes that turn sad the second you pass them.

Half way through the tour, there he was.

A Great Dane/English Mastiff cross by the looks of him. Tall and strong and gentle-eyed. A stray, now up for adoption. (They said he was a stray, and I was worried that they would adopt out a dog before the real owners claimed him... but they have had a while to find him, and surely you'd miss a dog this size pretty quickly? How can someone just "lose" a dog the size of a small horse???)

We met him in a "meet and greet" room, just us and a handler and the big guy. He learned to sit after a few tries, and then he gave his paw, and then sat back on his haunches and gave his other paw too. When he stood next to you he leaned on you. He wanted to go outside. He walked on the lead but when he pulled, my arm nearly came loose.

So we came home and fetched Fury, to see if this could be the friend she'd been waiting for.

Then we arrived at the shelter, and one of the handlers brought the big guy outside to meet Fury. She started to sing like she does when she sees a friend. He came closer, and they sniffed each other, and all was OK... and then he stood a little too close to her, his big head over hers, and then one-by-one the hairs on Fury's neck started to stand up, and her lip started to curl, and then that was it. She made sure we knew that no, she didn't like this at all.

Poor big guy. Not a murmur or a snarl or even a hackle-raised from him. Just a real gentledog.

Jade took Fury back to the truck. I said goodbye to the big fella, and the handlers took him back inside.

I hope someone gives him a really nice, loving home very very soon. I am so sorry I could not.

If you are looking for a dog who will adopt you, he was still available at Brookhaven Animal Shelter after 4 p.m. today, Saturday.

Happy New Year everyone!

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy new year. May 2009 be the best yet!

Yep. Snow.

Couldn't resist it. You can see how happy she was tho.

Christmas Eve...

Toons of Syston

This is the first picture restored from the photos that Sara found in the attic. It's my dad, and his father, Fred Toon.

The first time I saw this picture, I was shocked. I think it was the first time I saw my grandad in the same way as his children had seen him; as a tough, hard man. I remember him as an old man with a walking stick, taking his daily walk across the green to the club, or sitting in the corner of the kitchen. I remember the paints that I wasn't allowed to touch--he was a master painter, decorator and signwriter--and he was always very kind to me.

The photo is slightly out-of-focus, my dad moved as it was taken, but it has life and emotion and it's going on my wall. I wonder what they were working on?

And it's being copied for all the family along with the others. Will take a while but it will happen.

Dublin photos

Horridly cold-and-wet wintry day is a good time to upload photos.

You can now see all the Dublin photos on the photo site in the Dublin album.

Horizontal

Woke this morning before 6 (heck, it's supposed to be a day off) to a howling, rattling wind. It's hitting the house from the east, finding every single mal-fitting window and door, blowing straight through the stoopid "in wall" cheapo air-conditioner that I never use and which must either be removed (and then the wall and siding patched), or covered (it's not the right shape for the covers they sell)... showing me all the windows that at some point really really must be replaced... I swear some of the windows are 60 years older than the house itself, must have been someone's idea of recycling.

Now the wind is carrying sleet and very cold rain, horizontal to the house, straight across the bay and the wetlands. But the streets are clearing of snow and ice,

Just heard of a man being rescued from up-to-his-chest in freezing mud in the marshes near Moriches. I cannot imagine how terrifying that must have been. Someone found him and bravely pulled him out, and the man is being looked after in hospital. Now that is one good Christmas present! (News article)

That was interesting

Haven't driven on snow and ice since France, about nine years ago; last year we didn't have much, and the years in California were pretty-much snow-and-ice-free (you don't count frost that has disappeared by 9 a.m.)

While there was someone ploughing the snow off the street outside about midnight last night, I don't believe there was any salt, not down here, not anywhere south of Sunrise. The streets are packed with snow and ice until you get up to Neighborhood Road, which is clear down the middle. Mastic Beach Road was sorta-clear and it was OK then all the way to William Floyd Parkway. The parking lot by Kohls/Marshalls/Stop'n'Shop was a joke; too many people, too many cars, and too much snow and ice.

The truck had icicles underneath it when I returned with bags of potatos and cheese for cheese-and-potato-pie-tonight. Snow had melted off the roof and cried down the side windows. Went into a gentle slide as I turned left at the ATT store... just a reminder to keep slow and in low.

A security car driver was seeing how deep he could bury his car in the parking lot near Blockbuster. Don't have any idea what he was trying to do. Bizzare sighting of the day.

This is the first time I have ever seen traffic stick to the 45-mph speed limit on William Floyd Parkway.

The sky is grey and heavy again; there may be more tonight. It does look beautiful. Fury and I walked to the wetlands beach earlier; came back thinking I'd left my face and thighs behind in the numbing wind.

"Battleship grey... hardship grey"

(Sound of wheels spinning on ice outside. This is not a day to be in a hurry.)

Yes, snow it did

Made Fury run and jump and play. Made the cat very snippy. Even more so than usual.

It was real snow... but now it's sleeting and there is a dripping from the gutters. The streets have a clear line where a plough has been through, but there are no tracks on my driveway as I have stayed warm and dry, indoors, all day. Though I did throw a couple of snowballs from the deck.

It's going to snow!!!!!!!!

(At least in most of New York state. We may just get a slush-storm on southern Long Island. Right now it's frosty, and Fury slid right across the deck when she ran out to find deer, raccoons, possums, cats, squirrells, fish? Dunno what but she was very excited until she skated)

Sunrise before the snow...

We had snow and then rain already this week. Then this morning, a sharp frost. Snow, sleet, forecast for tomorrow, then a freeze, then more snowy-mushy stuff... and then maybe a white Christmas!

Darn that pond... (but darning isn't watertight either)

So I was away just over a week. I made sure there was plenty of water in the pond before I left, in case there was a severe freeze, so that the fish had a good depth to hide in.

Went and checked an hour ago... and there was only a couple of feet left. If that. Either the fish were extremely thirsty, or we had many days of very strong, drying winds, or a big freeze and thaw have re-split the cracks that I thought I'd fixed.

It is becoming a really expensive pain-in-the-neck. It would cost a fortune to have it lined properly. It's already cost a fortune in new pumps/filters/cleaning/fixing/etc. etc. etc.

Maybe I should find the fish new homes and cover it all with a deck. But then I'd need to do something to make sure it doesn't fill up with rainwater and mosquitos and more mosquitos.

Am in need of some inspiration here...

Back home, again

Will post some pics from Ireland/Dublin tomorrow...

... soundtrack for the return journey:

ABBA: Winner takes it all (guess what movie??????) (and that one started a theme....)
Phil Collins: Against all odds
Style Council: You're the best thing
Steve Winwood: Dust
Thin Lizzy: Still in love with you
Simply Red: Stars
Alison Moyet: This house
Peter Hammill: Just good friends
Pat Metheny: It's for you

See what happens when you take one song and then play with the iPod and make a playlist-on-the-go? Smoooooooooth... even managed to doze through the little Swedish kid who kept elbowing me all the way from Munich to New York. Though I discovered that I can understand Swedish for "I think I'm going to throw up" (he didn't but he did go very white as we danced a couple of circles over Long Island before coming in to land at JFK).

Another nice sunrise

The entry hall today

I'm very happy with the way the tiles turned out! Now all I have to finish is the woodwork/trim. Left this until after the tiles 'cos I knew there would be some damage (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it... but yes, there was some damage and I still have to add some skirting/baseboards).

Anyone remember what it looked like when the stairs went the other way, there was no way up from the main entry, and there was a dancer's pole just inside the front door???

(BTW, the sideboard is for sale, see craigslist)

One day I will go and see these trees close-up

There's something very scenic about them and how they appear to be talking to each other.