All but immediately after weekly edition went, out, a surprising number of previously unannounced and interesting and largely Halloween-centric happenings landed in ye olde mailbox…
So…
Tuesday, October 31st: AM Seawright’s Halloween Open House & Halloween Safety Tips 1485 York Avenue, 12-4pm
Saturday, November 4th: The Great Pumpkin Event 2023 Manhattan Park, 30 RIver Road, Roosevelt Island, 11am-2pm
Additonal interesting – if not amazing – tidbits, too, of course:
The perfect prelude to Halloween, we say… And the many enjoyably spooky goings-on round about the UES,…
Commencing with three on an actually sunny Saturday:
Saturday, October 28th: Frozen SK/SK8 to Eliminate Cancer Wollman Rink, Central Park, 10:30-11:30am
Skate 35 laps round the rink to honor/remember those impacted by cancer!! Organized by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation!!
Saturday, October 28th: Live Music at Andrew Haswell Green Park The Esplanade at 60th Street, 1-4pm
A Halloween celebration with the Noiz R&B Band and their classic Motown music!! Complete with ice cream treats, kids’ crafts and fitness activities!! Presented by the great Esplanade Friends and MSK!!
With the partying continuing at…
Saturday, October 28th: Sutton Spooktacular Celebration Sutton Place Parks, East 55th to East 57th Streets, 2-5pm
Two days to prepare, then…
Tuesday, October 31st: Carnegie Hill Spooktacular Block Party 92nd Street between Park and Madison Avenues. 4-6pm
The Halloween fun continues with Carnegie Hill Neighbors frightfully fun block party on 92nd Street between Park and Madison!! Think a lot of candy, costume contests, music, and dancing!! While the event’s open to all, please (and you must) RSVP!!
Of course , you’ll have done plenty of pre-Halloween Greenmarket/Farmstand shopping:
Every Friday: The Lenox Hill Farmstand First Avenue & 70th Street, 11:30am-5:30pm
So great to have Greenmarket produce/honey/eggs/fruit/bread and more further south on the UES!! Yes, and with no more advance reservations/payments!! For more… Every Saturday: 82nd Street/St. Stephen’s Greenmarket 82 Street between First & York Avenues, 9am-2pm
American Pride Seafood, Bread Alone, Ballard’s Honey, Hudson Valley Duck and Haywood’s Fresh, Samascott, Cherry Lane, Ole Mother Hubbert, Valley Shepherd, Hawthorne Valley and Gajeski Farms will be in the Halloween mood!!
Every Sunday: 94th Street Greenmarket First Avenue at 94th Street, 9am-3pm
Same for our Sunday tablers… American Pride Seafood, Kimchee Harvest, Meredith’s Country Bakery, Ole Mother Hubbert, Halal Pastures, Norwich Meadows and Phillips Farms!!
What would a week be without Uberella Marketa Manager Margaret’s market insight:
“Dear Greenmarketeers:
You bet, your UES Markets are second to none in Halloween fun!!
This Saturday, we’ll be hosting Natalie from Tinker Tree who’ll not only be sharing spooky stories and songs for the young ‘uns, but an introduction to a bunch of wiggly worms and their compost-creating magic!!
Sunday, results of 94th Street’s annual “How Much Does the Big Pumpkin Weigh Contest” will be revealed!! Stop by the info tent to see how close your guess was!!
With the exception of Sikking Flowers, we’re expecting all our farmers/ fishers/bakers/kimcheers to be on hand!! Sikking’s 2023 season’s come to an end…
Lastly, these reminders/updates:
*94th Street will be closed next Sunday, November 5th for our great NYC Marathon but will back November 12th and 19th…. With the 19th being the last day of 94th’s 2023 season (Thanksgiving is on the 23rd!!)…
Every Friday: East 96th Food Scrap Drop-Off 96th Street & Lexington, 7:30-11:30am
Farewell pumpkin innards…
2022 Total: 66,962 lbs. July-September, 2023: 1,851 drop-offs; 43 bins filled, 4,667 lbs. 2023 Total to Date (9/27): 22,396 lbs.
Every Sunday: Asphalt Green Food Scrap Drop-Off 91st Street & York, 7:30am-12:30pm
But maybe try roasting the pumpkin seeds… (Remember: The AG Drop-Off will be closed on Marathon Day, Sunday, November 5th!!)
2022 Total (from 3/1/22): 46,675 lbs. July-September 2023: 2,276 drop-offs; 59 bins filled; 12,345 lbs 2023 Total to date (9/29): 35,046 lbs.
Every Day, Any TIme: GPG Compost Drop-Off at 63rd Street East River Esplanade (under the pedestrian overpass from York Avenue), round the clock
Can’t make The Smash (see just below)?? Pumpkins for compost creation are welcome here, too!!
2023 Total (from 5/2/2023): For sure, collection’s passed the 2,000 ound mark by now!! (Still awaiting exact totals from Composter-in-Chief Sheldon!!)
Coming up soon and so green:
Sunday, November 12th: Pumpkin Smash 2023!! Asphalt Green Food Scrap Drop-Off, York & 93rd, 7:30am-12:30pm
Bring on those mouldering jack-o-lanterns… Smash ’em with all your might… Know you’ve taken Step One in creating compost to nourish NYC plants and trees come spring… And that you’ve had a lot of fun doing it!!
Sunday, November 19th: No-Cost Community Shredding Roosevelt Island Motorgate Turnaround, 10am-2pm
10/17 – Ulster County, HRM 87: This afternoon, while walking about the Mohonk Preserve foothills, I came across two De Kay’s brown snakes (Storeria dekayi), each about a foot-long, lying on roads that have minimal traffic. Neither snake moved as I approached so I felt compelled to move them a short distance off the roads they occupied. As the autumn temperatures drop, snakes are found more frequently on roads coveting the warmer dark-surface, sun’s heat-absorbing surfaces these roads provide. One of Those De Kay’s Brown Snakes!!
In between snakes I came across two orange-fruited horse gentian (Triosteum aurantiacum) plants that I hadn’t noticed in this location in previous years. Each plant had a few bright orange fruits tucked in their axils. – Robert Ottens
[The DeKay’s brown snake is native to Southern Ontario, Quebec, and most of the eastern half of the United States. They rarely get to be more than a foot-long and feed on slugs, snails, and earthworms. The common name, as well as the trivial name, dekayi, is in honor of American zoologist James Ellsworth De Kay (1792–1851). The species name, Storeria, honors zoologist David Humphreys Storer (Beltz, 2006). From 1842 to 1844, DeKay published the multi-volume Zoology of New York, or The New-York Fauna, covering mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians and fish. Tom Lake]
10/14 – Dutchess County, HRM 82: I spotted a behavior today that was new to me and wanted to see if you had any thoughts. We have a couple of acres in Stanfordville that were formerly hay fields but are now our front yard. We regularly mow walking paths but mostly allow the rest to go wild, save for the inevitable manual removal of invasives.
I was walking near the field this morning when I was surprised to spot a great blue heron hunting in the tall grass a short distance from our farm pond. I’ve seen herons in ponds and streams many times, but I’ve never noticed one walking in a field before. I watched it stalk unseen prey for several minutes before walking myself and my rescued terrier in the opposite direction. – Daniel Clark, Phoebe Clark That Great Blue Heron!!
[Although great blue herons have a well-earned reputation as serious fish-eaters, they also have an extensive diet of other aquatic animals as well as terrestrial prey. A great blue heron stalking in a tall grassy field, or on rocky verges, might be on the prowl for snakes, salamander, lizards, bird’s eggs, or insects such as grasshoppers. Tom Lake]10/14 – Newburgh, HRM 61: I spent some time scanning the greater Newburgh waterfront today finding all the usual gulls in attendance. One of them, however, was a bit less common, a handsome lesser black-backed gull. – Matt Zeitler
That Lesser Black-Backed Gull!!
10/17 – Town of Wappinger, HRM 67: We heard, and then saw, several skeins of high-flyer Canada geese passing over, migrating south. We continued to hear them calling in the dark sky after sunset. – Tom Lake, Phyllis Lake
[We call them “high-flyers” because that is what they do. Skeins of migrating geese, both Canada and snow geese, often miles high, strung out in Vs and large check-marks, always in flux, birds constantly changing their position in the geometrics of the sky. It always reminds me of volleyball team players switching after every point. A west wind was quartering their flight allowing the geese to save on “fuel.” Tom Lake]
10/17– Ulster County, HRM 85: While taking a hike in the Town of Esopus, I discovered dozens of Maitake (Grifola frondosa) mushroom clusters at the base of both white oaks and black oaks. Known as “Hen-of-the-woods,” they form a one foot across, grey-brown tiered cluster, much like a hen sitting on its nest. “Shroomers” seek out the “hens” for their distinct flavor and their immune-boosting properties. – Mario Meier
Those Hen-of-the-Woods Mushrooms!!
10/19 – Millbrook, HRM 82: Some Millbrook Middle School students and I were discussing the names of fishes today, common names, and then names known primarily to biologists, what we call scientific names, usually in Latin and Greek. I offered the word taxonomy, and from that spun off many more questions, such as “What is taxonomy, and why?” Carl von Linnaeus!! Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification of life, including fish. Put more succinctly, taxonomy creates order out of chaos. Eighteenth-century Swedish physician and botanist Carl von Linnaeus is the founder of the modern system of binomial nomenclature (genus, species). His major work, Systema Naturae (1735), created a series of hierarchical classification: Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. Most scientists in biological disciplines follow Linnaeus’ protocols.
None of that may have really answered the students’ questions, but I know it got them to thinking. – Tom Lake10/20 – Ulster County, HRM 76: I took several photos today of bald eagles perched along Rondout Creek near Rosendale. While these eagles were likely from local bald eagle nest NY579, there were also a good number of migrant eagles passing through in fall migration from points north and northeast. – Larry Arvidson
10/20 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: The hawk of the day was the bald eagle. Among 19 south-migrating raptors we counted today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch, bald eagle was high count with seven. Black vulture (14) and turkey vulture (5), collectively, were co-high count with the raptors. One of Those Eagles!! Six other eagles were not counted as migrants as they were noted flying up and down the Hudson River, circling over the summit or around the central valley and back. The seven we did count all headed west or south and did not turn back. – Trudy Battaly, Drew Panko, Tim BrewPretty amazing/surprising Fish of the Week:
10/15 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 41 is the goldfish (Carassius auratus), number 35 (of 237) on our watershed list of fishes.
A Hudson River Goldfish
Goldfish, a nonnative introduced species, is one of 34 minnows (Cyprinidae) documented for the watershed. Their Type Site, where it was first described to science, is China, after which it was introduced to Japan and then to the rest of the world. In China, they were originally gray-olive in color, and bred as a food fish. Following intense aquaculture and breeding, over time different, more attractive, colors were produced eventually arriving at the goldfish we see today in pet shops, backyard ponds, and in sluggish backwaters of the watershed. They arrived in North America from eastern Asia in the late 17th century. Their species name, Carassius auratus, comes from Latin: Carassius = carp; auratus = aurantium = orange (New Latin). A Giant Goldfish in the Bill of a Blue Heron!!
We are so accustomed to thinking of goldfish as an aquarium pet, that considering them having a life in the wild requires a conceptual adjustment. Goldfish favor shallow, muddy, warm vegetated backwaters where they tolerate diminished water quality. In the wild, goldfish can survive in brackish water with a salinity of up to 15.0 parts-per-thousand (ppt) and reach 16-19 inches-long. They have a varied diet that consists of algae, detritus, small crustaceans, aquatic insects and their larvae, small snails, zooplankton, amphibian larvae, and fish eggs.
In the wild, goldfish can hybridize with carp (Cyprinus sp.). In the field, to tell the juveniles apart, we must count barbels: goldfish have no barbels on their upper jaw; carp have four barbels, two on each side; goldfish-carp hybrids have 1-3 barbels. Currently, there are about 200 targeted breeds of goldfish recognized in China. They span a range of eight colors but tend to be primarily red or red-orange. Other colors can be olive or bronze-toned burnished gold and yellow. From a distance, in the wild, orange goldfish can be confused with koi (Sanke var.). The latter (Amur carp) are bred orange, with white and black patches. In field identification, the carp/goldfish barbel counts are key.
In J.R. Greeley’s A Biological Survey of the Lower Hudson Watershed (1937), the author describes his true feelings regarding goldfish: “This species, in the wild state, constitutes a worthless, although apparently not seriously destructive addition to the fish population.” That may be a narrow definition of the worth of goldfish. In winter it seems as though a day does not go by when we do not see a bald eagle fly over with a bright orange goldfish in its talons.
Foot-long goldfish in the Hudson River are not rare. Entrepreneurs with a gillnet or seine capture goldfish for sale to wholesale aquarium fish dealers or owners of backyard pools and ponds. Goldfish have also been used as live bait by anglers, who then release their leftovers at the end of the day.
An urban legend suggests that many 5 &10-Cent Store-bought goldfish made their way into the river via flushed toilets. There was a time when a flushed toilet had a nearly uninhibited path to the river. The backstory to the flush theory would have parents warning their children to “clean your goldfish bowl, or else.” Eventually the “or else” became a trip to the river via the toilet, or a visit to the river where Mom and Dad emptied the fish bowl and released the goldfish. – Tom Lake
Eco/Bat Facts of the Week: Bats are the one and only mammal that can fly!! There’re 1,400 plus species of bats!! Mother bats consume their weight in insects daily!! NYS’s little brown bats could be recovering from white nose disease!!
Eco Tip of the Week/Reminder: Unneeded/out-of-date eye glasses can be dropped off at AM Seawright’s office at 1485 York between 78th & 79th for “recycling “/prescribing by Mount Sinai Eye & Ear to needy patients.
Could even be a dry Sunday… Okay, so they’re saying it’ll likely be cold and windy… But just cold and windy and not rain-lashed, too!!
Okay, let’s get an apology out of the way:
A couple of weeks ago we brainlessly included the upcoming Field of Light among upcoming events/volunteer opportunities… Totally blanking out on ongoing bird migration across our city and the very real peril something like this poses to our feathered friends…
So dumb.
Anyway… Potential event volunteers might consider not volunteering.
Especially when – after you’ve hit our great UES Greenmarkets – so much other great stuff’s going on:
Saturday, October 21st: MV/4NY Ruppert Park Stewardship Day Second Avenue at 92nd Street, 10am-1pm Then:
Sunday, October 27th: Carl Schurz Park’s Annual Halloween Howl Basketball/Hockey/Pickleball Court, Schurz Park, East End & 86th Street, 1-3pm (with the Healthy Hound Fair commencing at 11am) Saturday, October 28th: Frozen 5K/SK8 to Eliminate Cancer Wollman Rink, Central Park, 10:30-11:30amSkate 35 laps round the rink to honor/remember those impacted by cancer!! Organized by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation…
Then seguay eastward to…
Saturday, October 28th: Live Music at Andrew Haswell Green Park The Esplanade at 60th Street, 12-3pmWEATHER PREMITTING… A Halloween celebration with the Noiz R&B Band and their classic Motown music!! Complete with ice cream treats, kids’ crafts and fitness activities!! Presented by the great Esplanade Friends and MSK!!
Then head on to…
Saturday, October 28th: Sutton Spooktacular Celebration Sutton Place Parks, East 55th to East 57th Streets, 2-5pm
After a good night’s sleep…
Sunday, October 29th: “We Care for Harlem” Public Art Project Opening!! East River Esplanade at 100th Street, 12-2pm
Join EsplanadeFriends and partner Memorial Sloan Kettering Ralph Lauren Center for the debut of our Public Art Project, crochet mural “We Care for Harlem” by local artist Carmen Community Artist. (2000 hours including from cancer patients were contributed to make this 65-panel mural!!) Learn how to crochet and munch on some yummy candy while you get the latest in cancer prevention info!!
Then on the Pumpkin Day itself…
Tuesday, October 31st: Carnegie Hill Spooktacular Block Party 92nd Street between Park and Madison Avenues. 4-6pm
The Halloween fun continues with Carnegie Hill Neighbors frightfully fun block party on 92nd Street between Park and Madison!! Think a lot of candy, costume contests, music, and dancing!! While the event’s open to all, please RSVP!!
No kidding!! Greenmarket nutrition is essential to fully enjoy all this fun…
Every Saturday: 82nd Street/St. Stephen’s Greenmarket 82 Street between First & York Avenues, 9am-2pm
Rain or no, with us will be American Pride Seafood, Bread Alone, Ballard’s Honey, Sikking Flowers, Hudson Valley Duck and Haywood’s Fresh, Samascott, Cherry Lane, Back to Future, Valley Shepherd, Hawthorne Valley and Gajeski Farms!!
Every Sunday: 92nd Street Greenmarket First Avenue at 92nd Street , 9am-3pm
So what if it’s a bit windy!! Tables of American Pride Seafood, Meredith’s Country Bakery, Kimchee Harvest, Grandpa’s Farm, Halal Pastures, Meredith’s Country Bakery, Norwich Meadows, Phillips and Grandpa’s Farms will be weighted down with the best in vegs/fruits/ baked goods/meat/seafood/ kimchee/fish!!
As ever, a bit of Maestra Manager Margaret’s wisdom:
“Dear Greenmarketeers:
Yes… Forecast is for another rainy Saturday!! Seventh – 7th – in a row!!
So, it’s now become part of our Saturday routine…
Just put on that rain gear… Grab the umbrella… And head to the market!!
Only downside?
It’s always a moment when a fall market Saturday’s he last of the season for Sikking Flowers… A true sign that the seasons are changing…
Looking forward to next week… We’re planning some Halloween fun for the kids next Saturday!! Stay tuned for details!!
In the meantime… Shop local, stay healthy and enjoy the deliciousness on our market tables!!
Margaret“
Need we say, same applies to our new, great Farmstand…
Every Friday: The Lenox Hill Farmstand!! First Avenue & 70th Street, 11:30am-5:30pm
The latest great addition to UESide primo fruit and veg shopping!! What used to be Food Box is now a weekly mini-Greenmarket where it’s your choice to take home fresh, locally-grown vegetables, fruits, eggs, honey, bread and more!! And no more need to reserve a week in advance!! For the total rundown…
Never forgetting our (essential) compost drop-offs:
Every Friday: East 96th Food Scrap Drop-Off 96th Street & Lexington, 7:30-11:30am
Bye-bye stale cereal…
2022 Total: 66,962 lbs. July-September 2023: 1,851 drop-offs; 43 bins filled, 4,667 lbs. 2023 Total to Date (9/29): 22,396 lbs.
Every Sunday: Asphalt Green Food Scrap Drop-Off 91st Street & York, 7:30am-12:30pm
Parsley stem tips, too…
2022 Total (from 3/1/22): 46,675 lbs. July-September 2023: 2,1541 drop-offs; 54 bins filled; 11,447 lbs. 2023 Total to date (9/24): 35,046 lbs.
Every Day, Any Time: GPG Compost Drop-Off at 63rd Street East River Esplanade (under the pedestrian overpass from York Avenue), round the clock
Level things off with those carrot tops…
2023 Total (from 5/2/2023): Closing in on 2,000 lbs. (Still waiting latest numbers totals!!)
10/1 – Warren County, HRM 242: We walked along a trail that borders the Ice Meadows, where the Hudson River begins its climb up into the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. The river was flat this morning but not entirely calm; a closer look revealed the river was rushing on its way to the sea 250 miles downstream. The Ice Meadows is a natural grassland bisected by a fifteen-mile reach of the Hudson River, annually scoured by winter’s ice.Much of our trail wanders underneath a stand of tall white pines, the bed of which was covered with its needles. In and along the bed was a veritable carpet of small red-capped, white-stemmed mushrooms, genus Russula. our first thought was Russula silvicola, commonly known as the Emetic Russula (this was also naturalist Mike Corey’s choice). Gazing upon a Russula!! These Russulas are somewhat common in the Adirondacks in association with conifers, especially pines. We carefully conducted the lick/bite/spit test (this species is inedible and potentially poisonous) where a small nip of the cap is checked for a hot, peppery taste. It was very peppery. While they are not deadly toxic, if eaten, they can make you quite ill (note the common name “Emetic”).While this appears to be Russula silvicola, Adirondack Mountain Club mycologist Susan Hopkins reminds us of the more than 200 variations of red-capped Russula and that we would need some serious lab analysis to be certain. Short of that, we will be satisfied in calling this gorgeous example of Adirondack color, Russula sp. –– Tommy Jackson, Tom Lake
10/7– Essex County, HRM 300: Following recent overnight low temperatures in the upper 30’s around Newcomb, I headed to my cabin on Goodnow Flow to drain the water system before the real cold hit. The fall colors were just beginning to show along the shore, but the common loons had not yet decided to leave. Early this morning I watched and photographed a loon surfacing with a hybrid bluegill x pumpkinseed sunfish. – Roy Saplin That Loonand Its Catch!! [Goodnow Flow has an East and West Branch and is about five miles from Route 28N and Newcomb. It is only twelve feet deep in the deepest area and is fed by springs and numerous feeder creeks. The confluence was dammed in the 1930’s for logging purposes (logs were placed on the ice in winter and in the spring thaw they floated to the Hudson River). The Lake Association at Goodnow stocks the lake each spring with brown and rainbows trout. As the stocking commences, I always think of the loons. Bald eagles and osprey also get their share. Roy Saplin]
9/17 – Beacon, HRM 61: We conducted a training session today in preparation for our 21st annual Day-in-the-Life of the Hudson River and New York Harbor scheduled for October 5. Several dozen teachers, other educators, and students gathered at Long Dock Park where various stations familiarized them with many different aspects of estuarine ecology. An Eastern Banded Killifish!! One of the stations was fish-oriented, featuring seining and the importance of tides, with a follow-on of fish identification and familiarization. We stressed the need for keeping precise records and taking quality photographs of “mystery” fish! Among the fishes we caught were beautiful male eastern banded killifish, spottail shiner, white perch, and young-of-year American shad, blueback herring, and striped bass. The river was a delightful 72 degrees Fahrenheit (F), and the salinity was barely measurable at 1.0 parts-per-thousand (ppt). – Marisa Lynn Annunziato, Briana Gary, Tommy Jackson, Tom Lake
9/17 – Alpine, HRM 18: The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was otter-trawling in the rising tide just south of the Alpine (NJ) Marina in mid-afternoon when we caught hogchokers, bay anchovies, as well as an unexpected friend: It was a very tropical-looking, quite uncommon, juvenile Atlantic moonfish (Selene setapinnis) that measured 55 mm. – Chloe Grey That Young Atlantic Moonfish!!
9/20 – Orange County, HRM 46: I was at a friend’s house in Monroe yesterday afternoon when six white-tailed deer wandered through the yard. Along with a couple of this year’s fawns, we saw a “white” deer. It was not an albino or a piebald, because it had a dark snout and eyes. We decided that it was a leucistic white-tail. Also, for some reason this deer was very bold. After being yelled at (to save some plantings) and scattering with the herd into the woods, the white deer was the first one to quickly resume grazing activities near the residence. Those White-Tailed Deer!! After the herd left the immediate area, we saw one of the fawns running full speed through the yard. Simultaneously, we spotted a coyote slinking through the underbrush. – Alan Groth
9/20 – Yonkers, HRM 18: This morning, our staff at the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak, with much appreciated help from a Sarah Lawrence College Urban Ecology Class, made nine impressive hauls of our beach seine. Young of year Atlantic silverside (60-90 mm) was high count among fish, that also included mummichog (17), striped bass, white perch, and a single naked goby. Young-of-season blue crabs (16) were high count among invertebrates (20-90 mm), as well as grass shrimp, comb jellies, and moon jellyfish. The water temperature was 71 degrees F, the salinity was 7.7 ppt, and the dissolved oxygen (DO) was 6.5 ppm. – Jason Muller, Christina Edsall A Moon Jellyfish!! 9/22 – Hyde Park, HRM 82: On this date 24 years ago (1999), our Dutchess Community College (SUNY) Behavioral Sciences department received a phone call from a homeowner asking for help in identifying two huge bones (each three-feet-long) that were discovered in his backyard pond in Hyde Park along Fallkill Creek, a Hudson River tributary (our department was the closest he could find to paleontology). A Mastodon!! This was a serendipitous discovery by the landowner. He was deepening a former glacial kettle pond with an excavator when the bones came up in the shovel. The pond, part of an ancient oxbow of the ancestral Fallkill Creek, was now a backyard pond the size of a hockey rink.Bob Schmidt identified the bones as a humerus and an ulna, likely from an “elephant.” What followed was a 13-month adventure wrapped around a mystery. Were these the bones of a large extinct mammal from the Hudson River Valley’s deep past? Or had an elephant run away from the circus and drowned in the pond?The answer took thirteen months to uncover and the journey we took touched hundreds of students and professionals creating a lifetime of memories. Dave Strayer analyzed an assemblage of mollusks found at the bottom of the pond and dated them to the Late Pleistocene, 12,000 year ago. This community of mollusks exists today in Hudson Bay, 1,200 miles north.Using ground-penetrating radar, Cornell University paleontologists found the “bone bed,” a nearly complete skeleton of a mastodon (Mammut americanum), an extinct family of proboscideans that includes modern elephants. In life, it had been ten-feet-high at the withers and weighed ten-thousand pounds. One of the tusks was radiocarbon dated to 11,480 years ago. The skeleton, 98% complete, now resides at the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, the site’s principal investigator.A year’s analysis by Cornell University concluded that the Hyde Park mastodon suffered from tuberculosis, evidence of which was substantial pitting in its long bones, a common malady among Late Pleistocene “elephants,” and may have contributed it its demise.On September 30, 2000, we closed the Hyde Park mastodon site after 392 days. Our last act was to toss a shiny 2000 Lincoln penny into the excavation as a marker for any future scientists. – Tom Lake, John Chiment
On to the Fish of the Week:
10/19 – Hudson River Watershed: Fishes-of-the-Week for Week 236 is the Atlantic moonfish (Selene setapinnis number 177 (of 237) on our watershed list of fishes. An Adult Atlantic Moonfish!! The Atlantic moonfish is one of six members of the Jacks & Pompanos family (Carangidae) documented for our watershed. Other include crevalle jack, lookdown, banded rudderfish, permit, and round scad. All are native to the estuary and are considered temperate marine strays. Their unmistakable physical countenance strongly suggests “tropical fish.”Atlantic moonfish is a very deep-bodied, short, and strongly (laterally) compressed fish. Their facial profile is nearly vertical and concave (see the related jack, lookdown, as a comparison). They tend to travel in schools, forging on the bottom on crustaceans and small fish. Juvenile moonfish are found on muddy bottoms in brackish water estuaries. Their maximum size is 24-inches but are seen more commonly at about ten-inches.In the Western Atlantic, moonfish range from Cape Cod south along the coast, into the Gulf of Mexico, and then South America to Uruguay. However, most sources consider the Atlantic moonfish to be uncommon north of the Chesapeake. In the New York Bight, Briggs and Waldman’s Fishes reported from the Marine waters of New York. (2002) finds them not uncommon. In their Documentation of the Hudson River Fish Fauna (Smith and Lake 1990), they find the Atlantic moonfish to be an occasional, seasonal visitor to the Hudson.Our most recent Atlantic moonfish appearance in the Hudson River occurred at Alpine (see 9/17), captured by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater’s otter trawl. – Tom Lake
And This Week’s Wonderful Bird:
For some reason know only to WordPress, no photo will copy/insert… So just click to see and learn all about: The Red.Necked Phalarope
Eco Fact of the Week: In 1992 Sony became the first company to commercialize the lithium-ion battery as an optional upgrade for its Handycam!!
Eco Tip of the Week: Lots of coats in that closet?? Good!! ExStart pondering Recycle unwanted thermometers – carefully packed in bubble wrap – by mailing them to to Coastal Plumbing Supply, 38-16 Stillman Avenue, Long Island City, New York 11101.
Our approach: Don rain poncho and wading boots, open umbrella and ignore whatever wetness Mother Nature decides to unleash!!
That said, impending raindrops have brought on this UES EVENT CANCELLATION:
Saturday, October 14th: Live Music at Andrew Haswell Green Park The Esplanade at 60th Street, 12-3pm rescheduled to Saturday, October 28th: Live Music at Andrew Haswell Green Park The Esplanade at 60th Street, 12-3pm
When the Noiz R&B Band will be regaling us with Motown music…
And rain or no, as ever, our great markets are undeterred:
Every Saturday: 82nd Street/St. Stephen’s Greenmarket 82 Street between First & York Avenues, 9am-2:30pm
With table canopies aloft, look for our friends American Pride Seafood, Bread Alone, Ballard’s Honey, Sikking Flowers, Hudson Valley Duck and Haywood’s Fresh, Samascott, Cherry Lane, Back to Future, Valley Shepherd, Hawthorne Valley and Gajeski Farms!!
Every Sunday: 92nd Street Greenmarket First Avenue at 92nd Street , 9am-4pm
Maybe a little less damp… Not that the stalwart folks of American Pride Seafood, Meredith’s Country Bakery, Kimchee Harvest, Grandpa’s Farm, Halal Pastures, Meredith’s Bakery, Norwich Meadows, Phillips, Green Life Family and Grandpa’s Farms wil pay raindrops any mind!!
Maestra Manager Margaret’s observes:
“Dear Greenmarketeers:
Fall colors are not only found on leaves and trees. Greenmarket tables are full of colorful produce!!
Green, purple, orange and white cauliflower… Peppers in all shades from green to red… Sooo many apples… And what about the confetti squash??!! Not to mention mini-pumpkins and gourds perfect for adding some fall decor to your table!!
As of this writing, all farmers are expected on Saturday!!
As for Sunda… Green Life Family Farm – our great flower farmers – has finishedits 2023 season, but all others are expected!!
Oh and please do stop by the info tent to welcome Emily, a former 82nd Street volunteer, who’s now the manager of 94th Street!!
Looking forward to seeing you Saturday and Sunday,
Margaret“
Then there’s our newly transformed 70th Street Food Box, which is now…
Every Friday: The Lenox Hill Farmstand!! First Avenue & 70th Street, 11:30am-5:30pm
Yup, it’s now a mini-Greenmarket where it’s your choice to take home fresh, locally-grown vegetables, fruits, eggs, honey, bread and more!! And no more advance payment!! For the total rundown…
This weekend’s paper shredding event is happening, too:
Saturday, October 14th: No-Cost Community Shredding Event!! 92nd Street & First Avenue, 10am-2pm
As will idig2Learn’s City of Forest Day celebration (which’ll move inside and with other changes noted below the flyer):
City of Forest Update: Due to rain predicted mid-day, RI’s City of Forest Day will be slightly changed as follows: Tree Care at Lighthouse Park at 11am, free Art and Dance activities (create hats from recycled paint at 12:30 and a dance performance at 2pm) will be moving indoors to Good Shepherd Church Community Center, 543 Main Street and compost activity for tree care with Big Reuse will continue outdoors at 11am at Lighthouse Park!! But Saturday’s plogging event has been cancelled!!
Moving on down the week and on the podcast score:
Thursday, October 19th, 1-2pm: “In the Life of Bees – Nesting in Darkness” presented by the Xerxes Society via Webinar
Hosted by conservation biologist Leif RIchardson, coordinator of the California Bumble Bee Atlas project and an expert on the decline and restoration of the North American bumble bee!! Free!! For more… (And do check out Xerxes’ informative and fun pod cast library, Bug Banter!!)
Just over the horizon:
Saturday, October 21st: MV4NY Ruppert Park Stewardship Day Second Avenue at 92nd Street, 10am-1pm
That great, annual UES It’s My Park Beautification Day event…
Saturday, October 28th: Frozen 5K/SK8 to Eliminate Cancer Wollman Rink, Central Park, 10:30-11:30am
Skate 35 laps round the rink to honor/remember those impacted by cancer!! Organized by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Scott Hamilton Cares Foundation…
Then seguay eastward to…
Saturday, October 28th: Sutton Spooktacular Celebration Sutton Place Parks, East 55th to East 57th Streets, 2-5pm
Let’s talk compost in our hood:
Every Friday: East 96th Food Scrap Drop-Off 96th Street & Lexington, 7:30-11:30am
Farewell orange peels…
2022 Total: 66,962 lbs. July-September, 2023: 1,851 drop-offs; 43 bins filled, 4,667 lbs. 2023 Total to Date (9/29): 22,396 lbs.
Every Sunday: Aspahlt Green Food Scrap Drop-Off 91st Street & York, 7:30am-12:30pm
Grape pits, as well…
2022 Total (from 3/1/22): 46,675 lbs. July-August, 2023: 1,741 drop-offs; 43 bins filled; 9,142 lbs. 2023 Total to date (8/29): 35,046 lbs.
Every Day, Any Time: GPG Compost Drop-Off at 63rd Street East River Esplanade (under the pedestrian overpass from York Avenue), round the clock
And tortilla chip crumbs…
2023 Total (from 5/2/2023): Closing in on 2,000 lbs. (Awaiting totals!!)
That Machinery in Action!! Moving on to the Hudson River Almanac:
9/30 – Manhattan, HRM 13.5: I finally was able to stop working long enough to go rod-and-reel fishing in the Hudson River at my usual spot off Inwood Park’s Dyckman Pier. Given the incredible recent rains, I wasn’t expecting much, but I was wrong. Channel catfish, a seemingly endless parade of them, displaying an affinity to brackish/salty water, showed up across the five afternoon hours I fished. I stopped counting them. The largest was 22-inches and all were caught with supermarket shrimp. – Nicola Brennan
A Channnel Catfish!!
10/1 – Hudson River Watershed: In the fall, young-of-year ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) disperse. Research shows that young males are the first to strike out on their own — if they can find territory to claim in the fall, their chances of attracting a female in the spring increases. Most dispersal is done during the day, and on foot. Females start dispersing later than males, but they disperse farther than males — up to ten miles — whereas males only travel between one and two miles. One of Those Young Ruffled Grouse(s)
It is thought that the trend for males to end their autumn wandering sooner than females may be an evolved survival trait. In the spring, mortality rates for males are higher than for females, due largely to their visible and audible mating displays (drumming on logs). Extended dispersal by females in the fall means that autumn predation on females is greater than on males. In this way, the male-to-female population ratio is balanced. – Mary Holland10/2 – Ulster Park, HRM 78: Even wild animals like to get out of the rain. During a recent deluge, a red fox took respite in a long-unused outdoor dog house in our backyard. – Peter Relson
That Red Fox!!
10/5 – Yonkers, HRM 18: A fourth-grade class from Martin Luther King Academy in Yonkers joined our staff at the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak this morning for our contribution to the Day-in-the-Life of the Hudson and Harbor.
A Pair of Northern Pipefish!!
Our dozen mid-to-high tide seine hauls caught six fish species, led by Atlantic silverside (18). Others featured young-of-year Atlantic menhaden (65 mm), bay anchovy (75 mm), and striped bass (75-150 mm). A surprise catch was a northern pipefish (130 mm), mixed in the net with mummichogs. Invertebrates included moon jellyfish and young-of-season blue crabs (15-80 mm). The river was 68 degrees F,salinity was 6.0 ppt, and the dissolved oxygen (DO) was 7.0 ppm. – Jason Muller, Amy Lienert, Fiona Goodman
10/6 – Hudson River Watershed: The list of foods eaten by eastern chipmunks is extensive. Nuts, seeds, mushrooms, flowers and buds, berries and other fruit, fungi, insects including butterflies and dragonflies, earthworms, snails, slugs, millipedes, salamanders, young mice, small birds and bird eggs, frogs, small snakes, and occasionally star-nosed moles. One of Those Chipmunks!!
Seeds, nuts, acorns, and fungi are a chipmunk’s main winter diet. They have about one more month to collect and store these foods (as much as half a bushel) in their underground storage chambers.
Come November chipmunks disappear into their burrows where they spend the winter feeding on the food they have stored. Until then, they occasionally interrupt their frantic storage activity to feed on some of the fleshier fruits available, such as crab apples. – Mary HollandWith the Fish of the Week being:
10/3 – Hudson River Watershed: Fishes-of-the-Week for Week 238 is the northern pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus), number 133 (of 237) on our watershed list of fishes. one of two members of the pipefishes and seahorses family (Syngnathidae) documented for our watershed. The other member is the lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus). Yet Another Northern Pipefish!!
Northern pipefish are found in the Western Atlantic from the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada to northeastern Florida. They inhabit sea grass beds in bays and estuaries but also enter fresh water. They are seasonal residents in estuaries during spring through fall, before migrating into near shore continental shelf waters in winter.
C. Lavett Smith describes them as “looking like a twig, or a straightened-out seahorse.” Dark green to olive brown, they are long and slender (35 times longer than deep), and very stiff — their skin is armored by rings of bony plates. Both pipefishes and seahorses have independent eye movement, a multi-tasking adaptation for foraging (Fritsches and Marshall 2002).
Northern pipefish is designated as a permanent/seasonally resident marine species in the Hudson River estuary where they are reasonably common upriver through Haverstraw Bay (river mile 42). With their tubular snout, they feed on small crustaceans such as copepods and amphipods and can get to be 12-inches-long.
Pipefish reproduction is very similar to that of the lined sea horse. The female uses an oviduct to insert eggs into the male’s marsupial-like brood pouch. Incubation takes up to ten days during which time the males nourish the eggs. Once the young have hatched and are ready to leave the brood pouch, the males essentially give live birth, one of the rare instances in nature where the male gives birth to young (Hardy 1978). – Tom LakeAnd
Let’s not forget our furry friends in need of homes…
In enduring greeness,
UGS
Eco Facts of the Week: Not only has NYS’s banned wildlife killing contests, it’s also ended sale, distribution or purchase of corn, soybean or wheat seeds coated or treated with insecticides that endanger birds, bees and other wildlife!!
Yes, but as usual we’re easing our way back into the green groove (as more rain approaches)…
Commencing with…
Saturday, October 14th: No-Cost Community Shredding Event!! 92nd Street & First Avenue, 10am-2pm
Add what’s going on at our great Greenmarkets (despite rain predictions):
Every Saturday: 82nd Street/St. Stephen’s Greenmarket 82 Street between First & York Avenues, 9am-2:30pm
At their tables will be our friends American Pride Seafood, Bread Alone, Ballard’s Honey, Sikking Flowers, Hudson Valley Duck and Haywood’s Fresh, Samascott, Cherry Lane, Back to the Future, Valley Shepherd, Walnut Ridge, Hawthorne Valley and Gajeski Farms!!
(Just in case you haven’t noticed, closing time’s now 2:30pm!!)
Every Sunday: 94th Street Greenmarket First Avenue at 94th Street , 9am-4pm
With us will be American Pride Seafood, Bask to the Future, Kimchee Harvest, Halal Pastures, Meredith’s Country Bakery, Norwich Meadows, Phillips, Grandpa’s and Green Life Family Farms!!
(And 94th’s now closing at 4pm!!)
To all of which Maestra Manager Margaret adds:
“Dear Greenmarketeers,
Markets are expected to be full this weekend… With all farmers attending!!
Especially good news as it’s that very special time of year when the seasons intersect and the market tables are full of both summer produce and the first fall specialties!!
Still plentiful but not much longer: tomatoes, corn, peppers, eggplants and melons!!
Starting now and available through the fall: cauliflower, broccoli, winter squashes, apples and pears!!
Bring an extra bag just in case you have trouble deciding which way to go… OR BOTH!!.
Very happy shopping,
Margaret“
Add our equally great Fresh Food Box outpost:
Every Friday: Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Fresh Food Box
Robbins Plaza, First Avenue at 70th Street, 2:30-6:30pm
You know you want one of those weekly bags of first-rate, afforardable, local and/or organic produce!! Click on GrowNYC’s Food Box page for all you need to know to take part!! (FYI, AM Seawright’s joined Lenox Hill as a supporter!!))
(As you’ve doubtless noticed, Food Box’s moved from Tuesdays to Fridays!!)
Then there’re our UES compost drop-off sites (new totals coming soon):
Every Friday; East 96th Food Scrap Drop-Off 96th Street & Lexington, 7:30-11:30am
Farewell stale oatmeal…
2022 Total: 66,962 lbs. 2023 Total to Date (7/28): 17,729 lbs.
Every Sunday: Asphalt Green Food Scrap Drop-Off 91st Street & York, 7:30am-12:30pm
And saltines…
2022 Total (from 3/1/22): 46,675 lbs. 2023 Total to date (7/28): 25,904 lbs.
Every Day, Any Time: Green Park Gardners Compost Drop-Off at 63rd Street East River Esplanade (under the pedestrian overpass from York Avenue), round the clock
And those caramel apple cores (and only the cores)…
2023 Total (from 5/2/2023): Closing in on 2,000 lbs.
What would a newsletter be without a tidbit of activism:
9/23 – Norrie Point, HRM 85: Our DEC Science on the River event at the Norrie Point Environmental Education Center drew nearly 200 people despite persistent rain and a dire forecast of more to come. Among the many stations dedicated to presenting various aspects of Hudson River life was seining, hauling our 30-foot net through the south side shallows in the rising tide. Many of the fish were displayed closeup in tanks for all to enjoy before being released back into the river. Fish in one of those tanks!!
We were amazed by ten fish species that featured young-of-year smallmouth bass, American shad, blueback herring, bluegill, and pumpkinseed sunfish. The shallows around Norrie Point are a good place to find hybridized sunfish as well: pumpkinseed sunfish x bluegill sunfish, both genus Lepomis. Other resident fishes in our net were banded killifish (males in breeding colors), tessellated darter, brown bullhead, and American eel. During one haul, a shadow passed over; an adult bald eagle, drawn to our activity by the sight of so many fish, had come to check us out. In the even light of a gray rainy day, the bird’s white head and tail glowed. – Rebecca Houser, Briana Gary, Tom Lake
9/24 – Hudson River Watershed: For many birders in our watershed, finches are a feature of winter birding. Their winter abundance or scarcity is forecast each fall based on factors such as successful breeding season and availability of food. This year’s 25th annual Winter Finch Forecast was compiled by the Finch Research Network, Oshawa, Ontario (https://finchnetwork.org/). – Tom Lake A Purple Finch!!
Winter Finch Forecast (2023-2024) There are 17 North American finch species. These include crossbills, evening and pine grosbeaks, redpolls, and siskins. Birds in the finch family (Fringillidae) all have compact bodies, conical bills, and short necks with large jaw muscles. They also have relatively pointed wings, notched tails, and distinctive flight calls. These small to medium-sized birds seem unassuming at first. However, when looked at more closely, their true beauty emerges. From the striking plumages of the three goldfinch species to the unusual and spectacular bills of crossbills and grosbeaks, finches really do have it all.
These forecasts apply mainly to Ontario and adjacent provinces and northern (U.S.) states. This winter will include a mosaic of movements differing in intensity and area across the species. The boreal forest has generally a poor to below average cone-crop this year that is book-ended with bumper cone crops in Alaska and Newfoundland. Coastal areas to the south on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts have above-average cone crops, which seem to quickly drop in quality as one progresses inland. Large areas of the boreal forest across interior Canada have a very poor to poor cone crop. Only the Alder crop appears to be above average across the boreal forest.
The southern edge of the eastern boreal forest from Lake Superior eastward to the Atlantic coast and southward to the northeastern states has extensive areas of bumper Eastern White Pine crop. This area also contains an above-average deciduous tree seed crop and excellent fruiting-crop.
Also eastward from Lake Superior is a bumper crop of fruit on chokecherry, and above-average berry and deciduous seed crops. With this diverse and widespread food source available in the east, expect most birds to remain in the boreal forest and adjacent areas of Central Ontario, southern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, New England states, and New York this winter. – Tyler Hoar
9/24 – Manhattan, New York City: A recent Hudson River Almanac entry on the Lafayette, or spot [Norfolk spot], reminded me of a story from my distant past, and perhaps of some interest to readers (see 9/10–Hudson River Estuary). A Virginia Spot!!
Years ago, I worked on Wall Street in Manhattan. I used to meet regularly with management at a spot called the Duquesne Club — unbeknownst to me, the club did not allow women in the main dining room, so we dined in small private rooms. learned of this practice eventually when the club decided to let women in the main dining area (1982), and I was the first! On that day, no one had forewarned me, and the large room went silent, then broke into applause when I was escorted in that early January day.
One of the peculiar features of the lunch menu was “Virginia spot.” As I recall the tale, this was a special club tradition in honor of some member who had gone on vacation to the beach somewhere in Virginia and returned with an excessively bountiful catch of “spot” which they shared with the other members.
I was told that Virginia spot was a common fish in the Chesapeake, but not commercially available. Whenever it appeared on the menu at the club, members invariably ordered it, as did I. It was served as several small delicate filets that must have been laborious to prepare. They were pleasant, somewhat similar in taste and texture to flounder. – Emily Plishner
[Emily’s tale links our river’s folklore and legend, both historically and biologically, to that ever-present estuary connection to far-away places. Tom Lake]
9/27 – Queens, New York City: Our team of educators traveled to Francis Lewis Park at the foot of the Whitestone Bridge on the East River to conduct a seining workshop with New York City Urban Park Rangers. Our focus was the Day-in-the-Life of the River and Harbor scheduled for October 5. We made three hauls of our net and collected 84 Atlantic silverside (to 125 mm), two young-of-year Atlantic menhaden, five small blue crab, and two Leidy’s comb jellies (Mnemiopsis leidyi), all of which hinted at salty water.
Our salinity test revealed the water to be 26.0 parts-per-thousand (full salinity at this latitude in the western Atlantic ranges 32-35 ppt), and the dissolved oxygen (DO) was a healthy 9.0 ppm. The water clarity was an impressive 910 mm, with all the sand, shells, and rock flecks clearly visible until reaching chest-high water. – Margie Turrin, Marisa Annunziato (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory), Sarah Mount, Madeline McDonald (NYSDEC HREP
9/28 – Yonkers, HRM 18: Our staff at the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak made eight mid-tide hauls today with the wisdom and guidance of a third-grade class from Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the Bronx.
Atlantic silverside was back, after a one-day hiatus, as high count among fishes (52). However, the highlight among fishes was five naked gobies. Blue crab was high count among invertebrates (26). Others included grass shrimp, sand shrimp, and moon jellyfish. The water temperature was 67 degrees F, salinity was 11.3 ppt, and the dissolved oxygen (DO) was 6.5 ppm. – Christina Edsall, Jason Muller, Amy Lienert
9/29 – Hudson River Watershed: Sadly, it’s the time of year when dispersing young striped skunks are frequently hit by cars, littering the roads with their bodies. In addition to leaving their mother and seeking their own territories, young skunks are feeding voraciously trying to fatten up for the winter. Please be on the lookout if you’re driving at night!- Mary HollandThen there’s the actual Fish of the Week:
9/26 – Hudson River Watershed: Fishes-of-the-Week for Week 237 is the brindled madtom (Noturus miurus), number 85 (of 237) on our watershed list of fishes. A Brindled Madtom!!
Brindled madtom is one of eight North American Catfishes (Ictaluridae) documented for the Hudson River Watershed. Others include brown and yellow bullhead, white and channel catfish, tadpole and margined madtoms, and the stonecat. The eight represent a mix of native and introduced species. There is sufficient evidence with white catfish, brown and yellow bullhead, tadpole and margined madtom to call them native. Channel catfish, stonecat, and brindled madtom are canal immigrants from points west.
The brindled madtom has dark spots on a beige-to-white background, is short and robust (to 88 mm), with a keel-like adipose fin. They have eight whisker-like barbels around their mouths used as sensors. Their heads are flattened and round and possess a wide mouth and large eyes. Their dorsal and pectoral fins have spinous, mildly-venomous rays. When introduced into a puncture wound produced by the spine, the venom causes a painful reaction. The spines are often erected and locked in place when the madtom is alarmed, increasing the chance of a puncture.
They inhabit riffles, pools below riffles, and runs over gravel and sand mixed with sticks and leaves in creeks. They feed primarily on insect larvae. Their Type site is Philadelphia, suggesting the Delaware River watershed, where ichthyologist David Starr Jordan (1877) first described the brindled madtom to science.
In our watershed, the brindled madtom is known almost exclusively from non-tidal water. The most recent and notable record of brindled madtom, particularly in tidewater, occurred in September at river mile 153 (see 9/21-Troy).-Tom Lake
[The designation of “native” frequently accompanies our discussions of flora and fauna. Introducing students to this ecological concept is important, particularly when they are faced with assessing the perils of invasive species.
The short definition of native, in this context, is the question: Was the species present in the watershed when the first non-indigenous people arrived? (The best date for that is late 16th century.) If it was, then it is native; if it was not, then it was introduced, in one manner or another, from another watershed or even another continent. Tom Lake]
Eco Fact of the Week: Worldwide, nearly 20,000 children a day are displaced by climate change!!
Eco Tip of the Week: One more time, recycle unwanted thermometers – carefully packed in bubble wrap – by mailing them to to Coastal Plumbing Supply, 38-16 Stillman Avenue, Long Island City, New York 11101.
Then:
This Week at The Markets 