Winter Into Summer With No Between

As is so often the case in these parts, we seem to have gone from winter to full-blaze summer without the intervening spring.

I mean, literally.

“It snowed here this morning,” B told me glumly on Monday.

His "here" is Ithaca, which is 150 miles to the west of my "here", true. But still. In my "here", it was 40° with freezing rain.

Yesterday, it was 80° here. And humid. So humid, tromping was actually a bit uncomfortable.

I hiked around Norrie Point so I could snap these pictures of the Mills Mansion for thoughtsbykat.



The Mills Mansion is considerably more attractive than the Vanderbilt Mansion. Its architects actually attempted to achieve some kind of harmony with the surrounding landscape. I think maybe Stanford White was involved.

I wish I could say it was a fun hike, but it was actually pretty annoying because tiny black gnats! Who thinks of insect spray in May? Not I.

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The Mills Mansion is one of the rare decrepit houses of the defunct rich around here that has an unobstructed view of the river. You can walk straight down to it; you can dip your hands and feet in it if you want.



That’s the Esopus Lighthouse. You should be able to see Pell Island where Aleister Crowley spent 40 days and 40 nights back in 1918, fasting and muttering to himself. But, uh – you can’t.

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In the latter part of the 19th century, the defunct rich fled the Hudson Valley for Long Island.

I suspect that’s because some politico in Albany who had it out for them cited eminent domain and routed the railroads through their backyards as a big Fuck You. Some huge political struggle, no doubt written about extensively then, long forgotten now.

So it always goes with political struggles.

If you think people 100 years from now are going to give a shit about the struggle between evil President Trump and the Armies of the Blue Church Righteous, you are sadly mistaken. So why pay undue amounts of attention to it now?

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Finally, I include this photograph of the great gates of the Mills Mansion because puddleshark recently posted a picture that is practically identical though on a far grander scale:



What’s this thing that rich people and aspirational imperialists have about eagles? Eagles are actually pretty unpleasant birds. Smart little predators, though. Maybe that's it.