Peter
I have really wanted to see Peter lately, so yesterday I drove out to Albany. He had class until 3.00, so on the way to Schenectady, I stopped in to visit my friend Peggy Ross. Had a great lunch with her and then Peter and I drove into Albany to have a meal at the Pump Station. For a thin guy, he can really put away the eats.
Thank you note
A while back, I photographed my friend Virginia Westbrook as she needed some resume shots and would be in Amherst visiting her son. It was great to see her after a long while of little contact. A few weeks ago she sent an email asking if I could send a print of one of the shots to her mom for her birthday, which I was happy to do. Today I received this note in the mail from Virginia’s mom with the enclosed “reward”. It made me very happy.
Woods
It actually snowed yesterday morning. It melted away by late afternoon, but it was foggy and wet all day. It is much warmer this morning, and still a bit foggy. The sun is out now and all the fog is gone. / This is the view looking south off our deck. The mountain laurels should bloom in the next three or four weeks, and by mid May, there are literally hundreds of pink lady’s slippers (Cypripedium acule) that return year after year.
Bartlett Fishrod Factory Dam
It rained really hard last night, and I thought it would be a good time to start to document the old dam on Amethyst Brook in Pelham. There is some talk about removing it to allow the river to revert to its original course. It was built almost 200 years ago, and the small lake above the dam used to be a popular swimming spot for the locals. When we first moved to the area, it seemed sad that it no longer filled this purpose. Years ago the state declared it unsafe, and in 2008, the state Office of Dam Safety declared it “structurally deficient”, and the current owners were forced to either repair or remove it. Lots of dough involved here, and several local and national pro rivers organizations are trying to raise the money needed to start the demolition. I hated the idea at first (destruction of a cool old structure), but after reading an article in the Amherst Bulletin, it seems to make a sense in terms of restoring the river to its original state. It’ll be fun to watch what happens.
Crocus
This year the crocus seems to have multiplied a bit. I am always amazed that these guys pop up through the pine needles, leaves, sticks and assorted detritus of Winter. / I haven’t posted for a long time. (See previous post referring to the “posting/karma congestion ratio”.) The end of the Winter has been difficult in some ways, and the bleakness of that season had carried on into Spring. Seeing these flowers come back year after year is a terrifically reassuring occurrence, and one that ushers in a more hopeful time.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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