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Posts Tagged ‘hurricane’

Ice Lantern and Other Photos

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2015| 2 Comments »

Last year my Wisconsin brother told me how he makes ice lanterns. (See post.) I really wanted to try my hand at this, but my first two attempts failed. Finally, yesterday, after 52 hours in the cold, my balloon produced a successful lantern. Psyched!

Among today’s other pictures is the Japanese Maple at my workplace, glorious in every season. The reflection photo was taken at Fort Point Channel in Boston. That ice is made of saltwater. If you live inland, you may not know that for saltwater to freeze, it has to be extra cold for an extra long time.

The construction scene is from the nearby Seaport area, which as everybody knows, is being recklessly overbuilt, given that it’s low-lying area exposed to hurricanes.

The gingerbread houses were at the Boston Society of Architects and featured Boston buildings, including the state house with its gold dome. The giant geometric snowballs in Dewey Square are courtesy of New American Public Art, about which, more anon.

Created with Nokia Smart Cam

my-favorite-tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gingerbread-at-BSA

Gingerbread-Statehouse

 

 

 

NewAmPublicArt-giant-snow-balls-art

 

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September 21, 1938

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 23, 2013| 2 Comments »

I remember my mother’s story about driving home to Boston with a friend and trying to cross the Connecticut River on September 21, 1938. I wish I remembered the details: where they were coming from, who was driving, whether they got across or the bridge was closed, where they spent the night.

But I will never forget the awe with which people of a previous generation spoke about the Hurricane of ’38, its unexpectedness, its devastation — and little Edrie Dodge crawling on hands and knee across her yard as the winds destroyed the farming and fishing industries of her island.

That hurricane has always held a kind of fascination for me. I was riveted reading A Wind to Shake the World, an excellent book describing places I knew and emphasizing that lack of good communication in 1938. While people in Long Island were fighting the storm, people in Rhode Island had no idea they were next.

Nevertheless, good things came of tragedy, lessons were learned. Forecasting and communication improved exponentially.

The Globe had a retrospective on the 75th anniversary.

Jeremy C. Fox wrote, “On that September afternoon 75 years ago today, the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 tore into New York’s Long Island and then Milford, Conn., and raged through Massachusetts and Vermont, leaving a path of flooded towns, flattened homes, and fires caused by downed power lines. …

“Coming before televisions, computers, or weather satellites, the storm’s speed and fury took both meteorologists and residents by surprise, according to forecasters.

“Meteorology professor Lourdes B. Avilés said the storm remains “the one to which all other New England hurricanes are sooner or later compared.”

More here.

Photo: The Boston Globe
”This enormous tree in our backyard came completely uprooted and came crashing down,” said Irene Goodwin Kane, who was 14 when the storm hit. “That was when I realized that this was really bad.”

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Boo!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on October 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Nicholas Kristof ‏of the NY Times just tweeted: “Sandy has left our neighborhood perfect for Halloween: darkened houses, spooky streets, fallen trees. Just no kids out.”

My sister, a doctor, lives in New York City. She writes: “It’s like there are two cities, one north of 34th St, the other south of 34th St. The ‘south’ city has no traffic lights, no electricity, every block is patrolled by police cars day and night, stores and schools are closed, people are climbing up 10 to 25 floors to get to their apartments because the elevators don’t work, cars that were parked on the street have floated away, etc.

“The ‘north’ city, where we are, is pretty much normal but with traffic jams because everyone is using cars to get around due to the lack of subways. … Many patients cancelled. One walked here today, from 49th to 102 St.”

Meanwhile, Halloween. Suzanne and Erik are taking their dragon-costumed baby around their old Harlem neighborhood.

Erik’s mother and sister and kids had to give up the idea of taking Amtrak to visit their old haunts in New Jersey, as Amtrak Northeast Corridor service  is cancelled post-hurricane. Still, they came all the way from Sweden to trick or treat with old friends in Princeton, so they rented a car and are knocking on doors right now.

My husband and I went to our two-year-old grandson’s neighborhood park, where all the little kids dress up and there are hot dogs and delightful festivities of all sorts. One event is a “fashion parade.” Each costumed kid emerges from a little tent, is announced to the adoring, camera-clicking adults, and walks down a runway.

My grandson had a fireman costume to go with his spiffy fireman rain boots.

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