Greeting the sunrise in Every direction

  I greeted the end of Daylight Savings Time this year with joy because as the days grew shorter, my first 

morning walk with Russell was happening in the dark. I don't mind taking the bedtime walk in the dark 

under the street lights because Russell has befriended all the doormen on the block and it's a social event, 

and I don't mind the sun going down early in the evening--it feels like a signal to settle in and get cozy. 

When you're house-breaking a puppy you can't dawdle about getting out first thing and all the 

walking means lots of exercise and fresh air but before it's even light out? C'mon. 

But over the last couple of days as the sun rose in the east at 6:30 instead of 7:30, it shone on the 

buildings across the river and made them glow like Xanadu!  

I started to sing (to myself, of course) "Shall We Gather at the River" but then it came to me--

"Is it Granada I see or only Asbury Park?" Actually, it's Hoboken, next door to Hackensack, which made 

me thing of another song, also by Cole Porter, with these lines;

    "I took a trip to Hackensack

                            But after I gave Hackensack the once-over

I took the next train back..."

That verse in that song always makes me a little teary--do you think that's weird? I love the line, 

"I happen to love this burg." Nothing against the Garden State but I do happen to Love New York.

When I turned around I saw the actual sunrise...

Our walks are so pleasurable because of Hudson River Park. In our early days in this neighborhood we never went near the river--the way was blocked by the ruined elevated Westside Highway and it was a forbidding place. Now it's a glorious expanse of trees and lawns, views of the city including the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building and I am grateful.

We have a special connection there; our niece, Rachel Swanson, is Environmental Education Manager at Hudson River Park Trust! Here she is successfully running the NYC Marathon to celebrate her 30th birthday this week.

(Note to the Swanson Family; this shot was taken at 8:27.57 am. Pretty close, yes?)

Now I need to correct something I said last week.  

The pumpkins for the Abingdon Square Park Jack-O-Lantern festival were provided by the Abingdon Square Park Conservancy, with  generous support from D’Agostino's. As you may know the Conservancy is responsible for the maintenance of this historic urban oasis. 

If you're planning your end of year giving, especially if you live in the neighborhood--this is a worthy recipient. Here's the link to make it easy;

Abingdon Square Conservancy

And my latest drawing?  I made the improvements to the big blue house I've been talking about, added the big bird and I'm pretty happy.  I'll probably keep fussing, but this is basically it.