Where in Albany County #2

 Sunday afternoon, about 3:45, partly cloudy, 40°, low tide

I hope you've guessed I had a lovely walk at Henry Hudson Town Park this afternoon.  

The slanted afternoon sun came in and out of the clouds as I walked along the river enjoying the crunch of the light snow underfoot and the towering cotton woods above.  What massive trees.  With the erosion along the shoreline, a couple are just about ready to fall into the water. 

About the pictures - of which I would have taken more if my phone was not on 1% - top to bottom.

Behind the Canada geese you can see the hulk of an old barge. At low tide, if you dare to approach more closely by clambering over the fallen beech tree, you can still see the iron cleats where ropes were tied off and also the heavy decking boards. Slowly, after 100 years or more of being stuck there, it is rotting away.  

Through the brambles in the foreground of the next picture you can glimpse one of the interesting pieces of industrial remains that are by the water.  This metal object might have been part of the ice warehouse or dock that used to be here. The Hudson has been a working river for a very long time. The channel and shorelines have been changed significantly over the years since Henry Hudson came along in 1609.  

In the next photo, in the distance is Barrent Winne's house.  Hard to believe there used to be a busy wharf here complete with warehouses, general store and ice house.

Next is the deeply creased bark of a cotton wood tree.

After that is a piece of farming equipment near the side of the road on the way into the park.  Its wheels and tines blend in with the wild brambles. J. B. Lyon used to have a large estate here, his big mansion burned down in the 1960s. Farming did happen here, and Lyon also had apple orchards.  The next picture shows one of the lions that guard the entrance to the carriage roads that wind thru the estate.

Lastly is the sign at the top of the hill going down into the park.  

I wish I had had the battery power to take some snapshots of the waterfall on the Vlomankill and the wonderful mansard roof of the Best house.

Where in Albany County Am I - #1

Wednesday morning around 9 am, mostly cloudy, about 35°

Scroll along the pictures, all taken this morning, and you can figure out where I am.  They get more specific as you go along.

I'm at the Normanskill Farm Park, of course! It is in the City of Albany, just off of Delaware Avenue, a wonderful place with lots of history.  

The park is the former Stevens Farm, part of the expansive Norman's Kill Farm Dairy operation. On this farm, established about 1900, Mark Stevens and his crew raised turkeys, laying hens, and hogs, They milked 40 Golden Guernsey cows twice a day.  The larger Norman's Kill Farm Dairy also included a dairy on 9W in Glenmont (about where Walmart and Lowes are today) where 200 Guernsey's were milked, a large bottling plant in Albany (demolished for the Albany South Mall project), a milk receiving station in Washington County and a skimming station in Westerlo.  Plus an army of home delivery wagons and trucks. 

In 1975 Crowley Foods purchased the Norman's Kill Farm name and business, and in 1980 the City of Albany acquired the property I visited this morning. 

Walking here can seem so rural and bucolic, but you are definitely surrounded by our busy community.  The high bridge carrying Delaware Avenue over the Normanskill practically buzzes with traffic. The low concrete bridge, part of the old Yellow Brick Road and closed to vehicles, is crumbling but you can still walk over it. With some imagination, one can visualize the mills, ice houses, blacksmith shop, and taverns that used to be here. Plus, homes, a church and a school. I try and imagine the tollgate on the west side of the bridge where keeper Peter Esmay collected three cents for travel on horseback via the old Delaware Turnpike. 

It was a varied place on both sides of the creek. Now, it is a quiet bedroom community - quiet except for the sound of water rushing over the rocks in the channel, and those cars and trucks zipping over head.  

The Whipple Truss Bridge pictured above was constructed in 1867 in Syracuse and moved here in 1899.  It connects the Stephens Farm to the road that used to be the Delaware Turnpike.  Now that Delaware Avenue travels up high, this low route is called Normanskill Drive.  The bridge is an engineering gem and one of the very few such iron bridges still in existence.  Also, its fun to walk over!

One surprise on my walk today was how active the beavers have been along the creek - this is down by the dog park and community gardens.  There won't be many trees along the banks if they keep it up.  I couldn't see a dam or a beaver lodge - more exploring is needed!