Not much to report today, except that there were herons in Inwood Hill Park!

There are several rooms in the house, which are decorated in the styles of various periods when the house was occupied. My favourite rooms were the early 19th century Winter Kitchen (located in the dark basement — I felt like I was in a 17th century Dutch painting!) and the Second Floor Bedroom (which features a replica of an early 20th century(?) quilt, as recently recreated by Empire Quilters):





The best part of visiting the farmhouse, however, was the backyard garden! Besides Dutch Baroque and quilting, gardens are among my favourite things. This garden was beautifully landscaped with large trees, and features a reconstructed military hut (used by German and British soldiers as winter housing during the Revolutionary War, excavated and moved to the garden from another site nearby), an old smokehouse, a sitting area with benches (would be a great spot for brown bag lunch!), and, oh, a little vegetable patch in the front!



The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum is a small and cozy museum, worth checking out if you’re in the neighbourhood, or coming up to visit if you’re interested in New York history. The staffperson there was very helpful, and answered all our questions knowledgeably. Don’t expect something fancy like the period rooms in the American Wing at the Met (which are sooo cool, by the way). While the Dyckman house may be more quaint, it’s the real thing (albeit reconstructed)! And admission is only $1!

The deets:
4881 Broadway (at 204th St.)
Wed-Sat 11-4, Sun 12-4. Closed Mon & Tues

Just thought I would let readers know that we were excellently served by long-time local locksmiths Danny McGivney and his son (who called himself Danny Jr., but I’m not sure if he was pulling my leg!) of McGivney Bros. Locksmiths. Apparently they have been locksmithing here in this neighbourhood for 35 years! I think it’s great that they’ve been around for so long. I’m sure they’ve seen Inwood change a lot in that time.

I was happy with the work, the speed (came to measure the window the day after we called, installed the window in 15 minutes today, the following weekend), and overall friendliness of service. So if you want a locksmith, I would recommend them. Their tiny storefront is located on 207th just east of Broadway (right next to the 99-cent store that burned down!):

The museum is presenting the exhibit with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is the home of the Mannahatta Project. The Mannahatta Project is a landscape ecology research project that used data from various sources (historical maps, data sets, soil surveys, tree rings, historical accounts, etc) to reconstruct a digital version of Manhattan’s landscape circa 1609. There is a lot of information on the project website, including educational materials and a really cool feature called Explore Mannahatta!, a Google Map of Manhattan with a slider at the bottom that allows you to wipe back and forth between Manhattan 1609 and Manhattan 2009. Here is a screenshot I took of the map, with the slider halfway between past and present:



It’s interesting to see how much Inwood has changed, not just in terms of how the land is used, but the shape of the land itself.

The museum exhibit runs until October 12th, but I’m guessing the project website will stay up.

Dracula is a gothic horror tale, adapted for stage from the novel by Bram Stoker. Some scenes may not be suitable for young children.

Parental discretion advised.

Due to the nature of outdoor theatre, in the event of rain, or other conditions, performances may be delayed or cancelled, but we will perform if and when it seems possible. Cancelation notice is not available until after 7:30 P.M. on the scheduled night of the performance.

More info:
http://www.moosehallisf.org/
(212) 567-5255

Did you know that this year is the International Year of Astronomy? I didn’t either, so it’s a happy coincidence that I picked this year to start stargazing! Prior to this weekend, my stargazing experience consisted of one outing to Columbia’s Rutherford Observatory, located on the roof of the university’s Pupin Physics Laboratory. They have a popular public program that includes free lectures and guided telescope stargazing about twice a month. When we went, we saw Saturn and one of its moons, and a binary star (or was it an optical double?) whose name I forget.

Anyway, instead of fireworks this year, BC and I decided to spend July 4th looking at stars with the members of the Inwood Astronomy Project. Around 9pm, we took a flashlight and wandered up an unlit path (very spooky!!! Don’t go alone!), following chalk arrows to the the top of Inwood Hill. Here is a very blurry picture (no flash, of course):

With the help of Jason and other amateur astronomers (thanks Joe!), we learned how to locate the Summer Triangle, the constellation Cygnus, Polaris (aka the North Star), and Arcturus. We also got to take a close look at the craters of the moon, and the super-cute (in my opinion!) binary star Alberio.

If you’re interested, here is a good, free resource from skymaps.com: a monthly evening sky map that you can print out.

I probably won’t have my new Galileoscope in time, but the next stargazing session with Inwood Astronomy is this Wednesday! Maybe I’ll see you there!

• Yummy blueberries, cherries, and strawberries from Samascott,
• Gorgeous dandelion greens from Hawthorne Valley
• Milk Thistle lady is apparently doing a butter-making demo at noon (not that any one is going to read this in time to make it!)
• And more regular good ol’ veggies and staples from Nolasco, Knoll Krest, and Glebocki farms

Location: Inwood Hill Park West Overlook Meadow

After the fireworks, come join us up in Inwood Hill Park at the overlook. If it stays clear there will be a great sunset followed by an evening of telescopic wonders and stargazing. We have a great view of the West, and we will certainly be able to see the fireworks of New Jersey up and down the Palisades. We’ll meet at 7:30 at Payson and Beak Streets in Manhattan. We’ll wait a few minutes before going up to the top. We’ll mark the path up with chalk for latecomers. Bring a jacket and wear long pants. It can get a little buggy. It is a dark park, so please bring a flashlight with you. We will provide red cellophane at the top to keep your night vision. It never hurts to bring a lightweight chair, since it is an open meadow at the top. I will also bring star maps so you can learn your way around the sky. I’ll also bring special NASA stuff for everyone who attends! Here is a map of our location: http://www.moonbeam.net/InwoodAstronomy/location-IHP-OVERLOOK.shtmlAs always, we will be visited by Park Rangers as they do their normal rounds in the Park. This is a no-alcohol event. It is great for kids! Please feel free to bring some binoculars.

• The Shorakapok Preserve in the Park preserves the last remaining natural forest and salt marsh in Manhattan. I love hiking through the tall trees the enormous glacial rock formations. The westernmost trail affords a great view of the Hudson River. And since there are no lights, the Preserve also a great place to do some stargazing.
• The rangers host many fun, free activities (like canoeing!).
• We have our own seal

Lately, I have been exploring the fungi in the Park. I don’t know the first thing about mushrooms, and have been meaning to check out one of the tours hosted by the NYC Mycological Society. Even though I can’t identify them, I still enjoy the hunt. I don’t pick them, just snap photos… You can take a look at the mushrooms I’ve found on my Flickr site. Maybe you fungi experts out there can help me identify them!



Have a good Wednesday!
y.

PS. Happy Canada Day! Me, I am “enjoying” (and by “enjoying” I mean not at all enjoying) my very own version of a Canada Day holiday here in the US, otherwise known as waiting endlessly for my visa to be processed…