Peppers

This is the output of four pepper plants so far this summer, two peppers, and some bonus tomatoes. I added one of the peppers to curry and tonight we had pizza with homemade dough, pesto (garden basil), tomato slices and the other pepper. They were mild to moderate in spiciness.

As for the poor pepper output, from my limited research it could be because of the high temperatures over the last month and the excessive rain in July. I'm hoping that September will be better for production. The eggplant has a flower so maybe we'll get one of those yet, this from a garden started at the end of June.

181st Street Subway Station

This old tunnel collapsed the night after we were in it on the way home from the cloisters. I took these shots before the cave-in.
There are plenty of other photos of the 181 at this neurotic website.

The Waterpod

The Waterpod is trademarked, which seems to subtract from its renegade image. Nevertheless, this is a great concept: take a barge and fill it with a miniature farm and a lot of innovative irrigation devices. There's even a couple chickens and there might be a hive of pollinators. There certainly were a bunch buzzing about.

The Cloisters

At the northern end of Manhattan along the Hudson, the Cloisters is truly not like the rest of the boisterous island. The Pallisades are directly across the immense channel. With four medieval cloisters incorporated into its structure, this branch of the Met is unique among US museums. The collection is mostly medieval, most of the art religious from around 1000 to 1600. There are a collection of sarcophagi in the Gothic chapel, with many of the monks lying with dogs at their feet. From my research, this is a symbol of fidelity, most likely to God in this case. The dogs, or lion as in the case of a knight, are not foot warmers.
Here's a statue of Saint Roch, closet hipster and patron saint of those suffering from disease. That's why he has a sore on his left thigh. It's a good thing his dog is bringing him a bagel.
To get home we took the bus that leaves outside the cloisters to the 1 stop at 181st Street.

Underground Train Tunnel

After seeing this scene a month ago, I was intrigued. What could induce people to climb down a manhole in the middle of Atlantic Avenue? In this well-organized adventure into an underground train tunnel, two rent-a-cops control traffic around the open manhole. A generator roars above ground to light a string of lights within the tunnel.This is the line for the first tour. A second line for the second tour was lined up when we left.
Information about the tunnel is available at the website. In short it was built in the 1800s to haul goods under Atlantic Avenue. It was then abandoned for other routes and eventually sealed off. The tour guide found the tunnel in the early 80's and has spent his life since talking about it. The history is fascinating but the tale of the tunnel's discovery was just as long and not that exciting. I could have had more history. The tunnel is cool, since it's always sealed off. It was a welcome difference in temperature from subway platforms in August. It's uniform and straight, running for half a mile. The walls are lined with rock dug from Manhattan and the arched ceiling is made of brick. Flashlights came in handy. Honestly, there isn't much to see after five minutes, except more darkness. At $15 it's a little expensive, but the novelty of climbing down into an old tunnel in the middle of Atlantic Avenue will keep the crowds coming.

Brooklyn Bread

Offering a variety of bread products of every size and type, I've only sprung for the bagel. And for my money I don't think there's any reason to go further than that. For $1.50, it's the best bagel with butter around. This is not the typical dense bagel, but rather a lighter, air-bubble containing masterpiece. Saturday morning breakfasts will never be the same. Unfortunately Brooklyn Bread doesn't really stock sandwich-sized loafs or provide bread slicing services if they did exist. There's always room for improvement.

301 Church St
New York, NY 10013-2403
(212) 334-8282

The High Line

Following the trend of rails to trails conversions all over the country, the High Line opened in June 2009. It takes the idea a step further though, since the train line is elevated. The section from Gansevoort to 20th Street, roughly paralleling 10th Avenue, is open, fully landscaped with benches. The website is well-designed and worth checking out before going. There's an entrance on either end, but also a few access points in the middle. On the north end of the currently open high line, visit the General Theological Seminary. The grounds and old church are spectacular. Looking for cold drinks and caffeine we wandered into La Taza de Oro. It doesn't take long to realize this place hasn't changed in years. It seems like a good place to get octopus soup, beef tongue, ox-tail, and a codfish sandwich.