Striped Snail

Roaming in the back of the garden, not the typical brown shelled oozer. I think it is a Cepaea nemoralis.

Garden pic

The current state of the back garden as of May 24, 2010. Last year we hadn't even started yet. And the hops have sprouted. Today I planted morning glory seeds after work. They soaked for about 20 hours beforehand, which may have been overkill.

Brownstone Hops Farming

A couple Golding hop rhizomes.I planted them in the sunniest part of the back yard and improvised a twine course for the vines to climb once they emerge.

Upstate Ramps

These ramps, collected in Roscoe, New York, were being sold at the Union Square green market a couple weeks ago. I've been wanting to try them for the last couple years.I opted to saute them in some olive oil, bulbs first, then then tops. The green part cooks like spinach. After salt and pepper, I ate them as a side with macaroni and cheese. They were good but they leave you smelling worse than onions.

Bottle Beach

These are the treasures we collected in one hour at bottle beach, future vases and knick knacks.
The amount of trash is really amazing: shoe soles, sinks, bricks, horse bones, broken ceramics, and of course bottles. These pictures are at low tide, reportedly the best time to go.
The trash of the future will be much less pleasant than this place and parts of the littered beach were disgusting. At times the wind smelled of petroleum and the bottles were caked in brown slime. I can't imagine plastic will age as well. Below is a cross-section of the eroding shoreline, strata of rubbish.
To get there, get on Flatbush going away from Greater Brooklyn (toward the ocean). Once inside Floyd Bennett Field take a left at the light after the abandoned hangar. There is parking lot on the right after the turn. Turn before the toll plaza or you'll pay $5.50 round trip to get to the treasure. Once you park, cross the 6 lanes of traffic to the other side and find the trailhead across the intersection. The trail will come to a crossroads. Take the trail to the right. A short distance from there you'll come to the beach. You'll know when you get there.

Carroll Gardens Stations of the Cross

A video from last year, but this year's looked much the same.

Sunset Park

Just south of Greenwood Cemetery, Sunset Park has some commanding views of the New York Harbor. There are also some great taco shops nearby.