snug harbor

Two Sundays ago we spent some time at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.  There was a plant sale and I took the opportunity to stock up on some plants for the garden.  I picked up some small dahlias, European wild ginger, some dusty miller for the window boxes, a pink iris (Beverly Sills,) cherry tomatoes (to grow in pots this time around,) and trollius (alabaster.)  It was a little hard to resist buying more.

A little background history on Snug Harbor via their website:

"Robert Richard Randall, Snug Harbor Cultural Center’s founder and benefactors’ bequest of 1801, created Sailors’ Snug Harbor’s original three buildings as a “haven for aged, decrepit and worn out sailors.” Over the next century, Snug Harbor expanded to 50 structures and 900 residents from every corner of the world. By the turn of the 20th century, Snug Harbor was the richest charitable institution in the United States and a self-sustaining community composed of a working farm, dairy, bakery, chapel, sanatorium, hospital, music hall and cemetery."

Snug Harbor currently has many garden spaces including a beautiful peony garden.

There are tons of lovely old growth trees as well.  I believe these are sycamore trees:

The Chinese Scholar's Garden  was open and had free admission for the day.  Neither of us had ever been there before so we decided to check it out.  To enter the garden you pass through one of the Victorian cottages on Cottage Row (currently a gift shop) and walk down a path.  All of a sudden you will come to a forest of bamboo.

I must admit I was a little intimidated by the bamboo.  It was beautiful but whenever the wind blew and the stalks touched my shoulders I wondered if the bamboo somehow knew what we did to its relatives!
After passing through the bamboo we came upon the garden complex:

I think the photos say it all. Breathtaking.

katydid trap and release

Saturday night we were awakened by a strange sound coming from the air conditioner in the office. Fernando jumped up and realizing there was something trapped inside of the AC, started to thump on the side. He saw something huge fly out but it was so fast he lost sight of it.
The next day he walked into the office to find this on his computer screen:

I grabbed two plastic cups and Fernando swiftly trapped her between them.

When we released her outside, she seemed to not want to leave the cup. Her pause gave us the opportunity to examine her leaf-like wings.

Then she quickly flew away and landed near the living room window.

I'm glad we found her before the cats did.

island living

Horton's Row: for sale!

I love passing by this brick row of houses on Westervelt Avenue, close to Victory Boulevard:

photo via Landmarks Preservation Commission
I think this area is usually considered part of Tompkinsville but it so close to St. George who really knows? The lines between neighborhoods in NYC are so blurry.

photo via SI Treasure Blog
The row, known as "Horton's Row," was built from 1880 - 1882 by prominent New York City banker and broker Harry L. Horton. Originally, the row had twelve identical attached rowhouses that were built as affordable rental houses for middle-class families. While rowhouse are common in all of the other boroughs of NYC, this housing style is rare for Staten Island where mostly freestanding, single-family frame houses were built at that time.

Horton's Row, front view, circa 1885:

Photo source: Staten Island Historical Society Collection
Horton's Row, Park (Rear) View, circa 1885:

Photo source: Staten Island Historical Society Collection
View of Tompkinsville from Pavillion Hill, circa 1885:

Photo source: Staten Island Historical Society Collection
View from Brighton Heights, circa 1888:

Photo source: Staten Island Historical Society Collection
Today, only four of the nine remaining houses remain intact and they received landmark status in 2009.

photo via Landmarks Preservation Commission

photo via Landmarks Preservation Commission

photo via Landmarks Preservation Commission

photo via Staten Island Advance

photo via Staten Island Advance
I discovered today that two of the rowhouses are currently for sale and listed here and here. I really wish they had some interior photos!

More about Horton's Row can be found here, here, here and here.

a quick trip down south

Last Sunday we had a baby shower for my sister-in-law. Julie is a certified master dog trainer and sometimes works with the Staten Island Animal Care Center to rescue dogs that are about to be put to sleep, fosters and trains them and then finds new homes for them. She is awesome.
After her shower, Julie went to pick up a Lab from the shelter and we tagged along for fun. I successfully resisted the urge to adopt another cat. After the shelter, we headed over to the nearby Conference House Museum in Tottenville to let the pup run around and get some fresh air.
Fernando used to live a few streets away from the Conference House (c. 17th Century) and somehow never really ever walked around the grounds! Tottenville is the Southernmost tip of New York State and is still a part of New York City even though it feels like you could be a hundred miles away. The historic houses on the Conference House grounds are literally the last houses in New York City.
The Conference House or Billopp House was the site of a 1776 conference resulting in a failed attempt to halt the American Revolution starring Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge.
The Conference House/Billopp House:

photo from Wikipedia (we forgot to take one!)

The back of the Conference House/Billopp House:

There's an amazing herb garden at the side of the Conference House. I love the brick paths. I think a similar style garden would look great in our backyard. Maybe next year.




The Ward House - closed for renovations:


The Rutan-Beckett House:

Jealous of this greenhouse:


Next we happened upon the Biddle House:

There was a woman doing some garden work in the yard. Her mother works for the Parks Department and their family gets to live in the house as it's caretakers! Where can I apply for that job?

There is a staircase at the back of the house that leads down to the shoreline:

This contemporary beauty (complete with indoor pool) lives next door:

The sliver of beach was littered with things washed in from the sea:

My sister Gab and I picked things up along the way:

Julie's boyfriend found some kind of hatched nest:

My sister's booty back at the Russell Pavilion:

Tottenville is accessible by NY public transportation and makes a nice day trip away from the rest of the city. Read more on Tottenville over at Forgotten NY.