Center Cambridge Road is one of the most beautiful roads anywhere and whenever we drive back into my county, Washington County, N.Y., this road tells me that I am coming home. It has some of the most beautiful hills and old barns anywhere, and I always stop and take a photo there. Standing there in the chill wind, it was extraordinarily beautiful. There will be a frost tonight and Maria brought a lot of our pots and flowers inside but the early evening light was especially crisp and beautiful and graced this old shed on Center Cambridge, Road, where even the collapsed old buildings are beautiful and snare the light.
Brooklyn is teeming with commerce, the usual kind – new businesses, boutiques, restaurants, shops sprouting everywhere and a booming guerrilla commerce, thousands of mostly unlicensed street peddlers from all over the world. Like much of New York Brooklyn evokes a growing contrast between rich and poor, a widening class culture of people with money and people who serve them and take care of them. This street peddler seemed poignant to me, almost rueful. Album up on Facebook. Brooklyn exudes more energy and striving than I think I have ever witnessed anywhere.
I spent the last two days in Brooklyn, the center of the new universe, visiting my daughter Emma and her boyfriend in their apartment downtown. I am her to tell you what many people already know, that in Brooklyn, the recession is over, scaffolding is everywhere, neighbors are being re-born and transformed overnight, and there are waves of people with money pouring into many formerly working-class neighborhoods of this once decidedly unglamorous borough of New York City. There are plenty of poor and working class people left, but it is impossible to turn a corner without seeing all kinds of new restaurants, shops, apartment towers and office buildings shooting up into the sky.
I love Brooklyn, even as I know this life is not for me. The place is teeming, energetic, hip against exotic, hot new restaurants spring up overnight and have waiting lines three hours long. We sat the Great Gatsby in 3-D (I loved it), walked all over the Botanical Gardens, found a Thai restaurant, a great Italian place ( had rabbit meatballs and the owner would not turn down the music speaker blasting in our ears, he gave the impression we needed him much more than he needed us). Maria and I walked for hours, and I got some nasty blisters on my feet and wore out a pair of walking shoes. it was worth it, though my daughter loves it there and is thriving and we got some energy fusion. We were happy to take a long and quiet train back and get back to our urgent business – rotational grazing. I got to see Pearl, formerly my dog, now Emma’s wonderful Yellow Lab. She is getting pretty old and struggling on her titanium legs. It was good to see her. Emma and her boyfriend Jay are both baseball writers and I heard a lot of stats and inside baseball stuff. I would love to be young in Brooklyn, or even old in Brooklyn, but we were very happy to get home and rush the dogs out onto our beautiful path for a walk. It was raining most of the time I was there but I got some photos and will put them on on Facebook as an album.
