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:

Nipper, The Giant RCA Dog - Part 2

I hope you saw yesterday's post which chronicled my travels across the Hudson River into the city of Albany to photograph Nipper. It's really not far and I can actually see Nipper from my bedroom window, at least when the leaves are off the trees. I arrived at the Arnoff Building on which Nipper sits:

Looking up from the sidewalk below, Nipper really looks huge. The warm sun was melting the ice on his head and sending both water and ice chunks down on of me so I didn't stay there long:

I cannot find any actual measurements of Nipper except that he weighs 4 tons. But I'd estimate that his head, from collar to crown was 4 to 5 feet high:

There's a spotlight attached to one ear. I believe that the last time I photographed Nipper, the soles of his feet were white and there were only black lines delineating his toes. I'm not sure I like this alteration, but I suppose dogs do have black pads on their feet. I also think the name, Nipper, painted on his collar is new:

Several years ago a new owner of the building announced that they were going to take Nipper down and do away with him. The outcry from the public was so great that instead of his demise, Nipper got a new paint job and restoration. Now, one or two owners later, Nipper reigns over the industrial part of North Albany:

In 1951 when Nipper was built, this was the tallest building in all of Albany. Luckily for those Nipper lovers among us, all the tall buildings since then have been built south of this part of Albany. So Nipper remains a most beloved landmark:

Well, I'd taken a lot of pictures and it was time for me to go to the gym as I'd planned. But I stopped several times as I drove away to capture Nipper as he got smaller and smaller:

Good bye, Nipper:

Nipper, The Giant RCA Dog - Part 1

This past Sunday dawned with the weather service predicting more (yes, more!) snow. But it was sunny in the morning and sunny in the afternoon when I left to go to the gym. The temperature was warm enough that snow was melting rapidly and I drove down to the Hudson River to take a look. Seeing Nipper, the giant RCA dog across the river inspired me to drive over there and take some photos. This first picture was taken from exit ramp off the highway just as I began entering the city of Albany. That's a rear view of Nipper:

As I wound my way through the industrial North Albany, I could see Nipper getting closer and closer:

I kept taking pictures as I got closer and closer:

There he is! Nipper sits atop the Arnoff Building on Broadway in Albany:

As I got closer and closer, Nipper appeared to be growing in size:

I turned up and down a few side streets looking for shots at different angles:

Nipper is the biggest RCA dog left in the country and weighs 4 tons. The only other rooftop Nipper is smaller and now sits atop the Baltimore, Maryland Historical Society

I got right up to the base of the building and began taking pictures, some of them close up. But I'll post them tomorrow so be sure to log on and take a look:

Cold Weather, Frozen Rivers And Giant Dogs

It was Sunday afternoon and the temperature was dropping precipitously. Indeed, we hit a low of 13 degrees below zero (F) that night. I'd determined to keep myself indoors as much as possible, but had to move my car to the opposite side of the street before Monday morning's parking rules took effect. So I bundled up and went out to start my car. But when I saw the beautiful sunny skies, I went right back in and got my camera. I then drove down to the Hudson River and took this shot of Albany's industrial zone on the other bank. Do you see that white speck atop a building? That's Nipper, the RCA dog:

Here's a closer shot of Nipper, one of Albany's favorite landmarks. It is one of America's last two remaining RCA Victor large Nipper statues. The owner of the building on which this four ton dog sits tried to remove it some years ago and incurred the wrath of many outraged local residents. Nipper is a beloved local landmark and is now being kept in good shape:

Here's a close-up of Nipper which I took a few years back:

As I prepared this blog post, I did a Google search for Nipper the dog and found this photo of him getting a new paint job this past October. What really amazed me was to see the photo credit. It was taken by my roommate/boarder, a person with a lot of knowledge about photography:

Anyway, while shivering beside my car on Sunday afternoon I snapped a photo of downtown Albany across the frozen Hudson River:

And this is the northern end of Albany's western shoreline. No, really - that does too make sense! Albany is on the western shore of the Hudson River, and this shot is of Albany's north end. I suppose I could have worded it better, but it was more fun this way :

I was standing in a small riverside park just a a block from my house. In warmer times, I used to take the dogs hiking along the river, beginning just at the end of this plowed driveway: