Office in the sky

Yesterday, early, before it got too hot, I walked down to Socrates Sculpture Park. It hadn't been too long since I last dropped by, but I did notice something I had overlooked before: a piece by Natalie Jeremijenko, TREExOFFICE, a "co-working" space that is a treehouse. The workspace "overlooks the East River and has magnificent views of the Manhattan skyline, wifi and locally-produced power." The poplar, your new boss?

Front yard, back yard

We've been in our apartment for three years, but we've never seen the apricot tree out front bear fruit. Today, I plucked one off the branch and took a bite. Very sour, but fresh-picked apricots in Astoria? Magical.

In our little backyard garden, the hydrangeas are beginning to bloom. The overbearing heat will set in soon, so we're enjoying it while we can!

The calm before

A view from the 36th Avenue N/Q station in Astoria, just before the rain began tonight.

Carte blanche

I'm as big a fan of New York's food carts as they come; right now, I'm particularly fond of a nice little cart at 53rd and Park where, for $3 or $4, you can get the most pungently delicious apple-carrot-celery-ginger juice in the five boroughs. Walking home today, near Northern Boulevard, I saw these two unadorned carts on the side of the street: such interesting structures, inside and out, even before cuisine and culture come into play.

Behind the fence

Walked past the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery the other day; it's at 26th Avenue and 21st Street in Astoria. The Greater Astoria Historical Society has a bit of info on the site (the cemetery is visible but otherwise abandoned), but Patty Fagan's site is phenomenal, offering a map of the plots, transcriptions from the headstones, and some notes on the church's history.

Shadow country

Though it grew cold today, the sun's been shining brightly in the city since I returned from Portland. The bare trees cast long shadow of the brick as I passed by.

I saw the sign

Fact: this sign, from an old manufacturer on Steinway in Astoria, is incredibly cool, even in its current state of disrepair.

No beggars, no peddlers

I noticed this sign at the bottom of the front door of a building I walk by a few times a week. Hard to believe I've missed it so many times before! It's almost more entertaining than the signs with long lists of prohibited activities: sitting, standing, loitering, ball playing, and so on. 

Little love note

This piece of paper, pulled from a notebook, had only one word on it: love. There was also the faint outline of a dusty sneaker print. I left it where it was, on 35th Avenue near Steinway, but I can pass it on here nonetheless.

Halloween on the horizon

It's a beautiful, beautiful day today; a great day to walk around Astoria. These balloons were floating above the fray of Steinway.