Layne Rodney

Another WBT Trip

WBT stands for walk, bus and train. This trip was around 80 miles of total travel. I went from my house to Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

The sequence was walk, bus, train, walk, subway, walk, subway, train, bus and last segment walking home.

The highlights were. Getting off at the Fordham train station in the Bronx and visiting the Bronx Botanical Gardens. It was opening day for the Orchid show

As you can see the show is breathtaking.

After that I walked along Fordham Road all the way to Manhattan. It was Valentines Day and the street vendors had the usual vegetables for sale plus flowers and teddy bears. I must have seen at least 50 street vendors on the walk over to Manhattan.

My destination was the Hispanic Society Museum and Library. Its location is Broadway and 155^th Street.

I crossed over the Harlem River into Manhattan at 209^th Street. Fifty blocks were too long to walk so I took the No 1 Subway down to 157^th Street.

The Museum is small and had a nice exhibit. I would classify the Museum as nice to visit but don’t make it the main goal of a visit to NYC.

I then walked down Broadway slowly edging my way east to 103rd Street.

This picture of the Brownstone buildings gives you a nice idea of the neighborhood.

I walked through the northern part of Central Park

Here is a nice picture of Nature and stonework of the park.

At 103rd Street I went underground again and took the subway to Grand Central Terminal and Metro North Home.

Total transportation costs were less than $20.00. I had a slice of pizza and soda for $5.00. I am a member of the Botanical Garden so there was no charge to see the Orchids.

Using the WBT method of traveling allows me to go all over the Metropolitan area quickly and with low cost.

Why I Walk

The other day I was asked why do I walk?

I was lost on what to say. I have many good reasons to walk, exercise, exploring, seeking out the known but unknown.

Yet I hesitated, why, I wanted that thirty sec elevator speech that captured the essence of my walking, and it is hard to put that into words.

I am going to try.

I walk because I want to. Most of my life I have gone along with the flow. Now I have the time, and I have chosen to walk. It is my constant in my life, and I love it. All the extras that come from walking are icing on the cake. They are many and a pleasure to experience.

Finally, A Good Walk

The last couple of months I have not been able to take any significant walks. I am still getting my miles every day, but not an adventure walk.

The other day I decided to go on a nice round-trip walk. Looking at the map I would describe the walk as a rectangle walk.

I started the trip with bus 331 going North on High Ridge Road till the bus came to the end of its run at Briar Brae Road. The walking part came next. I continued going North on High Ridge Road and turned right on Trinity Pass Road.

Trinity Pass Road is a rural road that has great rock outcrops along the route. The road also has Laurel Reservoir on one side.

The reservoir is going to need a lot of rain to fill it up at this point.

Trinity Pass Road starts in Stamford, goes through New Canaan for a bit and then the road enters New York State and Pound Ridge.

At Scotts Corners I turn right on Westchester Ave and head straight to New Canaan. The walk from Scotts Corners to the New Canaan Train Station was 90 minutes.

New Canaan has many beautiful homes and churches

along the walk. Downtown New Canaan has a varied selection of stores and restaurants. It is well worth a visit and if you take the train. The train drops you off right in the center of the town.

I took the train back to Stamford and then took bus 331 to my house thus completing the rectangle.

This trip accomplished two of my writing goals for this year.

USR and WBT

USR is urban, suburban and Rural

WBT is walk, bus and train.

It’s Cold Outside

People ask me all the time if I walk during the cold months of winter. My answer is always I am good to walk down to 5 degrees in the sun.

As you can see the temperature was close. I had been walking for 30 minutes when I took this photo, and I was feeling okay. Sun with many layers of clothes makes it doable

One nice part of a cold winter is seeing ice formations. The above picture of the Mill River at Broad Street gives a nice winter look.

I must get myself over to the Hudson River next week and see if there is an ice-floe happening. I have seen it in the past and hopefully with the cold temperatures it will happen again. A little fact, saltwater freezes at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

Who knows, maybe I will see skaters on the ponds one of these days.

Satisfaction

Last week in my blog I mentioned seeing a small hawk and I couldn’t identify it. The hawk flew away before I could snap a picture of it

Yesterday I saw the hawk again. It was on a power line in front of my house. This time I was able to get a picture.

I sent the picture to my bird expert, my grandson Martin. He was able to identify the hawk as a sharp-shinned hawk. This hawk is the smallest hawk in North America.

I am hopeful that Sharpie has taken up residence in my neighborhood. One nice thing about winter is that I can see the wildlife easier. Not that it is easy to see them.

Hopefully I will see the hawk and the fox that are in my neighborhood. I wonder what other animals there are here that I haven’t seen. As always “Hidden in Plain Sight”

Hidden in Plain Sight

I often write about the many sights in plain sight in Stamford, that are hidden unless you are looking for them or walking

One of the many sights is art and sculpture in Stamford and especially in the downtown area.

Have you seen this sculpture. It is located right next to main Street east and the train tracks. It is really hidden well.

I wonder why they have all these bushes hiding the sculpture

Here is another sculpture right off Tresser Blvd.

Stamford has art all over the town.

A few years back I walked from Stamford to Stoning ton CT. One of my goals was to count all the artwork along the way. I soon gave up on that plan. There was little public artwork compared to what Stamford has

Our two nature centers, The Stamford Museum and Nature Center and the Bartlett Arboretum both have a nice collection of sculptures between them.

You can walk from one place to the other through the forest.

Stamford may not have a dedicated Art Museum; however, it has art all over the town.

Viewing Nature

Last week my wife and I were having breakfast. It was still dusky outside when my wife mentioned there was a fox across the Street.

Sure enough, there was a red fox roaming the neighborhood. I have seen foxes before in the neighborhood. I assume this might be the neighborhood fox.

After breakfast I started my morning walk. I was one mile on High Ridge Road when I spotted a dead deer off the road. It was a buck with a full set of antlers. This area must be a deer crossing. Last year there was also a dead deer in the same area.

Continuing my walk, I am approaching Bulls Head, and I see a blue bird land on a small tree. I am thinking is it a blue jay? The size was similar.

I was able to approach the bird, and I realized it was a hawk. I could tell by the beak. The bird flew away before I could take a picture.

I consulted with a bird expert, my grandson, about what type of small hawk it was. My grandson suggested. It might be a kestrel. It wasn’t. We still aren’t sure what hawk it was.

These three sightings happen within thirty minutes. While I do see lots of birds and animals, while walking, it is unusual to see so much animal activity in the built-up part of Stamford

One of the many joys of walking. My goal is to come upon a black bear. They are in the area and have been sighted in North Stamford.

Of course, I would probably run the other way as fast as I can.

Hartford By Train

I needed to visit a state agency last week and I decided to go by train.

I took Metro North to New Haven and transferred to Amtrak for the New Haven to Hartford segment. I could also have taken CT Rail.

The trip took two hours and fifteen minutes from getting on the train in Stamford and arriving at Hartford Station.

Driving to Hartford in a non-traffic situation would have been an hour and twenty minutes. Of course, there are very few non-traffic situations in Connecticut these days.

The train ride from New Haven to Hartford was dull from a viewing perspective. There were a lot of industrial buildings. There are many typical towns and villages and surprisingly many stretches of trees and wildlife. I am always amazed with how much forest is still in Connecticut.

The fifty-minute ride to Hartford did go by rather quickly.

Hartford is an interesting City. At one point in time, it was the richest city in the US. Walking around you can see many old buildings with beautiful architectural structures.

There are two nice museums in Hartford. The Wadsworth Atheneum Art Museum and the Science Center Museum. I have been to the art museum. It is one of the oldest museums in the US.

I plan on going back to Hartford and reporting on it more. One nice thing about being a senior and taking the train is the round-trip cost was $16.25

This is a statue of a blind girl. Thomas Gallaudet started a school for the handicapped in Hartford in the early 1800’s.

The Color of Fall

Every fall I enjoy the changing of the leaves. Especially my neighbors’ red maple.

This year I was worried about the colors because of the ongoing drought. The leaves slowly turned bright red, but it took forever.

My wife said one afternoon it looks like tomorrow will be the day that we will have peak red on the tree.

Strangely it rained that night. Not much but if forced half the leaves to fall.

I don’t think I have ever seen such a beautiful carpet of leaves on the lawn. By the end of the day the leaves had started to shrivel up.

Natural beauty can be so fleeting. I was glad to enjoy it, and I did not have to walk far to find it.

What is This Picture

What is that Picture

It is crows gathering for their night’s sleep. Reading up on crows, they gather at dusk to roost for the night. They were heading for downtown Stamford. The article mentioned that they roost together for safety in number and to keep warm.

I notice crows all the time when I am walking in Stamford. One reason I notice them is they are noisy. That is because they operate as a gang and one crow is on the lookout for humans. When I approach the crows, the lookout lets the other crows know I am approaching.

A little note about crows. When there is a flock of crows they are referred to as a murder of crows. They were given this name because they were thought as murderers when they were eating small rodents