It's Party Time!

By the time you read this, I'll be totally and permanently moved to the farm. But I wanted to show these moments with some wonderful people. Many of the folks I knew when we all volunteered at a local animal shelter threw me a going away party at a little park, a part of historic Fort Crailo, on the shores of the Hudson River:

We were just getting started when this historic ship made its way up the Hudson. I thought it was the Half Moon, but was told it was actually the OnRust. Both are faithful reproductions of Dutch Ships which plied the waters of the Hudson in the very early 1600s. You can read more about each of them by clicking on the links:

There was a magnificent cake and snack foods, balloons and lots of talk of dog rescue missions, past and present, happy and sad:

Notice the cake decoration. It's the farm house and barn, taken from a photo on this blog!

It was a most pleasant assemblage and, happily, they'd arranged to be sure we'd have a canopy because it rained lightly the whole afternoon:

I took a time out to admire the Albany skyline , or at least part of it, which was visible just across the Hudson River:

There was a little singing and then we ate the delicious cake. Then there was packing up, saying good bye and everyone went home:

I brought home lots of cake leftovers which the dogs smelled and begged for (unsuccessfully). But the big hit of the night was the floating balloons which trailed ribbons beneath them. Both Bramble and Draco got involved:

Bramble was especially happy to have such moving, interactive toys:

And I received a Bobble-head RCA Nipper in honor of my previous blog posts which you see, if you are so inclined, here, here and here. This Nipper now sits on my kitchen counter facing the door and greeting anyone who enters:

Part 4 - Riparius, New York

I continued down the road along the Hudson River and came to a pair of stone pillars with a sign telling me I was entering the Riverside Institute. I later checked Google but found no explanation of what it was. My guess is that it's a vacation home owner's association:

From what I could see, Riverside Institute appeared to be a village of summer cottages within the village of Riparius, all stretched out along the scenic Hudson River:

There were small, unpaved side streets:

And a baseball field:

A playground where I got a nice look down yet another side street:

The Alan F. Bain Memorial Museum. I'll bet I could have found out all about the Riverside Institute if only it had been open:

There were lovely small homes or summer camps along unpaved streets deep in the Adirondack forest. I found it altogether charming:

This appeared to be a headquarters of some kind for the Riverside Institute, but I was only guessing. Notice the Hudson River right behind it:

Also right on the river was the William N. Burnett Memorial Recreation Hall, 1937. It apparently had a major fireplace inside:

There were more homes or summer cottages on the river:

I traveled back up the road toward the highway. That's Route 8 crossing the Hudson River up ahead and the Riverside Train Station on the banks across the river:

As I headed out of Riparius to continue my journey to the farm, I snapped one last photo of this large home. We still had many miles to go and I'd spent a lot of time driving around Riparius:

Part 3 - Riparius, New York

I was taking a driving tour of the picturesque Adirondack town of Riparius, New York on my way up to the farm. This old church was being worked on by a crew of folks in a van. It appeared to me that the building was no longer a church and I wondered if had become an office/storage space for a local contractor. Well, it sure looked nice in the town:

And speaking of historic buildings from the past, this spectacular old building looked to me to have once been a mechanic's garage or perhaps a car dealer. It was now a thrift shop, selling second hand clothing and household goods. The mannequins in the window made it all the more fascinating:

I drove on through the village, stopping to snap a photo of this lovely old home with its picket fence and flowering crab tree:

I headed down a small road alongside the Hudson River and began seeing smaller homes which appeared to be summer vacation cottages:

And also larger, more sturdy homes with magnificent waterfront views:

The Hudson River was always a mighty presence, running right beside the road:

Another small home, but whether it was a year round home or a summer cottage, I couldn't say. It could have been either:

A very large and more modern home with White Birches and colorful Adirondack chairs:

Someone had set flower pots on the banks of the Hudson, but nothing seemed to be growing in them yet:

Another small cottage:

And another, with a very traditionally woodsy appearance:

This was clearly a year round home and apparently had a fireplace. I continued down that road to see what I could see. I'll post Part 4 tomorrow:

Part 2 - Riparius, New York

I was on my way up to the farm with the dogs, but had stopped along the way to take a driving tour of the little Adirondack town of Riparius:

There was a truss manufacturer:

And fine old homes with lilacs out front:

There was this old garage:

And an old house which apparently had a lot going on:

Another old garage, helping to give me a mental picture of the town's past:

And this lovely home with its picket fence and apple blossoms:

Riparius had a volunteer fire department:

We returned back to the center of town, driving right past the caboose at the train station and heading for the bridge which spanned the Hudson River:

This large house on the shore of the Hudson looked to have had many additions over the years:

And this place was covered in Adirondack style board and batten:

A local artisan was making rustic furniture and other Adirondack wood products. But there was still more to see in this tiny village, a lot more. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Part 1 - Riparius, New York

I took a new route up to the farm one day and was traveling Route 8. I passed through the little Adirondack town of Riparius. It looked interesting but I didn't want to slow down for photos. I drove through the town and was about to continue on my way when I decided I simply couldn't let such a picturesque town go unphotographed. So I turned around and drove through the town again - only more slowly the second time:

There were grand old homes with big porches:

And major stone foundations, not to mention stone garages:

More stonework, another big porch and a long series of stairs down to the road:

This might have been an old school house once upon a time but appeared to be someone's home now:

Newer construction in a lovely setting:

The Hudson River passed right through the center of town. In fact, I've read that the original name of the town was Riverside, but that had to be changed because there were too many other towns with that name. So the good townspeople simply changed the name to Riparius, which simply means "riverside" in Latin:

There was a riverside (literally - you can see the Hudson River in the background) train station and an old caboose:

The train station still says "Riverside" and is little changed since 1913. It is still in use today and is a stop on the Saratoga North Creek Railway scenic railway:

The next building between the road and the river was the Scenic Outlook Studios, a gallery of regional artists and a working pottery studio. Paintings, pottery, sculpture, jewelry, textiles, woodwork, toys and handmade books:

There was an old metal covered garage:

And lots of scenic views of the homes on the opposite shore of the Hudson River. I decided I'd have to cross the old bridge and have a look over there. But I'll post more about Riparius tomorrow: