Cuff'em

I found these on the steps of the apartment building next to my house yesterday morning. I guess someone had an interesting weekend.

Troy Lilies

I don't get to Troy very often and that's definitely something I need to change. But this weekend, I ventured across the Hudson to attend RiverFest and it was absolutely worth it. It was one of the better street fairs I've been to in a long time (and one band - The Neanderthals - was hilarious) and it gave me a chance to admire some of the wonderful historic architecture in downtown Troy (I recognized quite a few places where The Age of Innocence was filmed, too). These lovely lilies were at the Atrium; the store in the background is the excellent Market Block Books.

A Little Iron Angel

A petite angel atop a monument on the North Ridge of the Albany Rural Cemetery. She is missing one wing and no longer fastened to the stone, but someone must repaint her once in a while.

The Pot On Wheels

This one is just outside Albany in Watervliet, just north along the Hudson River. It's a large iron kettle mounted on wheels and it's parked just outside the Passanno Paint factory and store on 5th Street. The site was once an eight-building mill complex. Founded by one James Roy, the mill manufactured woolen goods, particularly shawls. My guess is that this rolling pot is a relic from the wool factory and was used for dying or otherwise treating skeins of wool. Of course, when I spotted it, my first thought was, "Hmmm, I could make a lot of soup in that thing."

Patterns In Wood

Gorgeous woodwork in a Maiden Lane storefront.

Eroded Grace

A badly weathered marble relief by Erastus Dow Palmer on the back of a monument in the Albany Rural Cemetery.

More on Palmer:

The Angel At The Sepulchre
The Sculptor's House

A Turtle In The Sun

A turtle sunning itself on a bit of debris near the outlet of Washington Park Lake. There were at least two other turtles visible just before I took this photo, but they vanished as soon as they heard me. This one stayed quite a bit longer, cautiously watching as I rummaged in my backpack for my camera and carefully poked the lens through the fence.

Some time ago, I rescued a baby turtle that had stranded itself on the ledge of the dry Moses fountain nearby by picking it up and carrying it over to the edge of the lake. I always look for turtles when I walk along the lake and wonder how mine fared.