Smithtown Post Office Raggedy Ann Collection

While waiting in line at the Smithtown Post Office Tuesday I enjoyed their display of vintage Raggedy Ann Dolls. The vintage dolls ranged from the 1800's to the 1970's.

Old RV Friends!

last week while on Long Island NY some old friends traveling in their RV stopped by the hotel for a visit. It was so good to see them, lol!

Kings Park/Smithtown NY.

This week took my back to Long Island NY and the Kings Park/Smithtown NY area.

The Smithtown Bull is a 14' tall bronze statue. It was built in 1923 and installed here on a concrete pedestal in 1941. There are several legends surrounding the origin of Smithtown. The most fanciful is that in the 1600s, Richard Smith rode "Whisper", his pet bull, in a deal to stake out property.

In 1903 Lawrence Smith Butler, a descendent of the Town founder Richard Smith, proposed the idea of a bronze statue to his friend sculptor Charles Cary Rumsey. Butler believed that money could be raised to pay for the project and a price of $12,000 was agreed upon for the completed work. In 1923 the casting was complete and ready for shipment. However, the funds were not raised and the statue was not shipped to Smithtown. It sat instead in front of the Brooklyn Museum for a number of years before being placed into storage. In 1941 Butler renewed his quest. He convinced the Town Board to build a concrete pedestal to hold the statue, raised the $1,750 needed to cover the cost of the move, and convinced Rumsey’s heirs to donate the statue to the Town.

First by truck, then via railroad, and then by truck once more, the fourteen-foot, five-ton bronze bull made its journey to Smithtown. On May 10, 1941, Mary Rumsey, daughter of the sculptor and wife of New York Governor W. Averill Harriman, presented the statue to the people of Smithtown.

Weekend BBQ Chicken Celebration!

This weekend we were finally able to apply the last coat of deck/porch paint to the main deck off the kitchen. To celebrate the completion of this summer’s deck project we BBQ’ed our favorite ginger and sesame chicken.

Patio Garden

With our hot summer weather and daily afternoon thunderstorms our patio garden of cactus and flowering plants continues to do well. Our 4’ cactus to the right has begun its flowering stage by spouting leaves at the each stoke end. Last year it had several beautiful purple flowers that lasted about a week.

Cumulonimbus Cloud Tops

My favor past time while flying are the hours I can spend looking out the window at passing clouds. These Cumulonimbus clouds are thunderstorm clouds that form if cumulus congestus clouds continue to grow vertically. Their dark bases may be no more than 300 m (1000 ft) above the Earth's surface. Their tops may extend upward to over 12,000 m (39,000 ft). Tremendous amounts of energy are released by the condensation of water vapor within a cumulonimbus. Lightning, thunder, and even violent tornadoes are associated with the cumulonimbus.

Landing in NYC

This week I return to my home away from home as of late NYC and Long Island. It was a beautiful clear day to land at LaGuardia Airport so I videoed our approach across Manhattan.

LaGuardia has a long and storied history. The airport site was first occupied by the Gala Amusement Park, a popular destination owned by the Steinway family. In 1929, the park was transformed into a 105-acre private flying field and first named Glenn H. Curtiss Airport after aviation pioneer Glenn H. Curtiss, and then re-named North Beach Airport.

In 1937, New York City took over the airport and enlarged the grounds with the purchase of adjoining land and by filling in 357 acres of waterfront along the east side. In 1939, it re-opened with a new name, New York Municipal Airport-LaGuardia Field. The airport was leased to the Port Authority in 1947.

Today, LaGuardia Airport is one of the busiest in the nation, handling more than 23 million passengers in 2008.

Poor McCloud!

As with fireworks McCloud is really uncomfortable when thunderstorms are around. The poor guy gets really afraid!

Flowering Cactus/Succulent

My flowering Cactus/Succulent plant is in full bloom on the front porch this week. It winters in the front window but loves the direct sun and heat of the front porch during the summer.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning!

Severe Thunderstorms swept through Woodstock late this afternoon giving us high winds and pouring rain. Guess I won't have to water the lawn and gardens this evening!

Thunderstorm and Sunset!

Late afternoon thunderstorms started popping up as the sun was setting on my flight home yesterday. As you can see from the video below the thunderstorms were pretty active!

Our First 2010 Tomato Harvest

Toasted tomato sandwiches are on the menu for tomorrow’s lunch!

Thunderstorm from 40,000 feet!

On my return flight to Atlanta last night we weaved around several large thunderstorms at 40,000 feet! I took video of this one as it was very active!

July 4th Fireworks 2010

This July 4th the family gathered at the Moresi's for a BBQ and an excellent fireworks display. Hope you enjoy the video taken via my I-Phone.

Hotlanta Sunset

Last nights Hotlanta sunset was spectacular!

Deck Low Voltage Lighting

The final touch in our deck beautification project was to install low voltage lights below the handrails to softly light the deck during the evening. Now if it would just cool down we could enjoy our improved deck!

Clear Nectar!

Bowing to pressure from the SOTHBHFRN “Save Our Two Headed Baby Hummingbirds From Red Nectar” and after researching the net I confirmed that "Red Nectar" can cause health issues in baby Hummingbirds! I have changed my feeder to clear sugar nectar. Sorry baby Hummers!