And we’ve been in that pretty much stunned mode since this past Tuesday when word began to spread that the mayor – along with any number of family/child/community-oriented programs, library hours/days and so much more – was desirous of also taking an ax to NYC compost collection!!
Remember way back when new-to-the-job Mayor Bloomberg slashed what he viewed in the moment as the needless expense of all residential recycling except paper…?? And then, in a matter of weeks, was confronted with the much greater cost of transporting all those additional, previously recyclable items to far-flung incinerators and landfill sites… And then and quickly, not only restored the previous program but added compost collection at sites citywide??
Oh, yeah, and then history repeated itself when next-in-line DeBlasio – with Covid as his rationale – cut most Greenmarket/Food Box collection sites, including ours at 82nd, 92nd and 70th…
So…
Here we are in 2023… With decimation of compost collection citywide once again on the block.
BUT…
Should you believe that NYC funding for compost collection programs should remain in place… Sign the GrowNYC petition!!
Be really good if you’d also get the word out to friends and neighbors, too… And maybe even post in your building lobbies where folks can sign on by just clicking on the QR tile in the poster below…
And remember 2019!! The year we collected some 149,000 lbs. of compost at 82nd… A 50% increase from 2018’s 100,000 plus lbs.!!
That’s it and all of it for this week, folks!!
May the power-that-is’s mailbox be buried in signatures,
Yes!! Turkey… Dressing… Mashed and sweet potatoes… Cranberry sauce and green peas… Biscuits… Buckets of gravy… Pumpkin pie…
Do we Americans know how to eat or what?!!
And do we UESiders ever know where to best shop for much of that deliciousness:
Every Friday: The Lenox Hill Farmstand First Avenue & 70th Street, 11:30am-5:30pm
Commence your Turkey Day stocking up with the Farmstand’s choice local and largely organic vegs, fruit, honey, eggs, bread and more!! (Just paid a visit and- no surprise – the quality and variety is totally great!!) Spread the word, people!!) For more Farmstead details…
Every Saturday: 82nd Street/St. Stephen’s Greenmarket 82 Street between First & York Avenues, 9am-2:30pm
Present and with tables piled high will be 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!!
Sunday, November 19th: 94th Street Greenmarket’s Last Day of the 2023 Season First Avenue at 94th Street , 9am-4pm
Our last 2023 chance to load up on American Pride Seafood and Ole Mother Hubbert at 94th, Kimchee Harvest, Grandpa’s Farm, Halal Pastures, Meredith’s Country Bakery, Norwich Meadows and Phillips Farms’ lip-smacking edibles!!
Maestra Manager Margaret (who’s not been on vacay) adds her great annual holiday menu advice:
“Dear Greenmarketeers:
Indeed… Absolutely NO time for vacay this time of year!! Things are crazy… But crazy good!!
Good as in the many choices for your holiday shopping… Something for every course of your meal, right up to and including the pie!!
Case and point and from the top…
*Hudson Valley Duck charcuterie makes a great appetizer!! *A-plus potatoes for mashing!! *Tastiest yams for baking!! *Brilliant Brussel sprouts for roasting or salads!! *So many great squashes for any number of dishes!! *Both Samascott and Bread Alone have exceptional pies!!
And that’s just scraping our markets’s ever delicious surface!!
One last reminder: This Sunday is the last of 94th Street’s 2023 season… So, do stock up for Thanksgiving and beyond!!
Happy, happy holiday,
Margaret“
On to UES compost collection (with East 96th CLOSED the Friday after Thanksgiving):
Every Friday but closed 11/24/23: East 96th Scrap Drop-Off 96th Street & Lexington, 7:30-11:30am
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
2022Total (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
2023 Total (from 5/2/2023): Think 2,000 lbs. plus!!
Looking towards 2024:
And this upcoming virtual:
Wednesday, December 6th, 10am-1pm: “Office to Residential Conversions: The Carbon Story”, presented by Urban Green
Curious as to how much carbon could be saved by such conversions? Experts John Mandyck, David Farnsworth and Tess McNamara weigh in!! Non-members, $20. Professionals & Students, $10. For complete info and to sign up…
In honor of T’giving, how ’bout some inspirational community involvement (to just read about):
11/4 – Croton-Harmon, HRM 34.5: I was surprised as well as concerned to see a monarch butterfly flying across the parking lot of the Croton-Harmon train station just before noon today. She was just one small step ahead of the first serious frost—a risk-taker. It seemed like she was headed the right way, in a southwesterly direction toward the Hudson River. She was quite a ways behind their major migration. I hope she makes it. – Ricki Goe That Monarch!!
11/5 – Orange County, HRM 46-41: My best birding of the weekend occurred first thing on Saturday morning. I was pleased to find a nice sized flock of horned larks, and even more so to find a handful of snow buntings and a couple Lapland longspurs. Going back to Black Dirt today gave me a Carolina wren, possibly the winner for the species that is heard— “Tea-kettle, Tea-kettle, Tea-kettle, Tea” —way more than it is seen. – Matt Zeitler That Carolina Wren!![
“Black Dirt” is an area of southwest Orange County between Florida and Pine Island. The region is an important agricultural area growing farm produce such as onions, potatoes, lettuce, radishes, cabbage, carrots, corn, pumpkin, and squash in the rich black soil. The Black Dirt topsoil is immensely organic, essentially a compost heap, originating from the decaying flora and fauna of a late-Pleistocene post-glacial lake and swampland. The fields and wetlands contain bones of long extinct species such as mammoths, mastodons, elk-moose, peccary, ground sloth, horse, giant beaver, and other magnificent animals that lived and died there. Tom Lake
11/6 – Hook Mountain, HRM 31: Among the 139 south-migrating raptors we tallied today at the Hook Mountain Hawkwatch, red-shouldered hawk was high count with 94. We had two immature-plumaged golden eagles (four for the year) one in mid-afternoon, the other with slightly-differing wing plumage in late afternoon. Each golden eagle was seen in binoculars first, then with the scope, but no photos at the distances from the summit. Each bird was in full view for a few minutes moving steadily west by southwest. – Tom Fiore A Golden Eagle!!
11/7 – Saugerties, HRM 102: We have not had a sighting of our long-time semi-resident harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) in at least a month. After several throughout August and early September, it seems probable that the harbor seal (flipper-tagged 246) has left for the sea. – Patrick Landewe Harbor Seal 246!!
[August 6, 2023, was the 4th anniversary of the unprecedented attachment of a marine mammal, a male harbor seal flipper-tagged 246, to the freshwater of Esopus Creek. For three years beginning August 5, 2019, and lasting until August 5, 2022 (1,096 days), the seal found a refuge 110 miles from the open sea. In the interim, we have seen a seal back in Esopus Creek, suspected to be 246 but have not seen a flipper-tag on any of them However, seals can eventually shed tags, so there is a possibility that the saga continues. Patrick Landewe][Harbor seal 246 is a male, was born, abandoned, and subsequently rescued in April 2018 at Lower Goose Island, Harpswell, Maine. In April 2023 he turned five and is now considered an adult. As such, it is likely that his maturity has sparked a yearning for the open sea and the company of other seals. Tom Lake]
11/8 – Manhattan, HRM 1-2: Our Hudson River Park’s River Project staff checked our research gear (pots and traps) that we deploy off Piers 26 and 40 as part of our fish ecology survey and monitoring. We found no fish in our gear today at Pier 40 (last week, Pier 40 gave us a tiny (50 mm) oyster toadfish). However, we did find one adult oyster toadfish (260 mm) at Pier 26. Among the invertebrates were oyster drills, grass shrimp, and mud dog whelks. – Stefan Valdez, Vivian Chavez That Oyster Toadfish!! 11/10 – Ulster County, HRM 76: On a cold and windy day at Minnewaska State Park Preserve, my mountain biking buddies, and I, followed a small flock of field birds along the new High Point Trail. A flash of white was my first indication that this would be a new bird to add to my Life List. The flock pursued a path just slightly ahead of us and seemed to take our bikes in stride without scattering. I listened carefully to their chatter. It was a combination of bright white with a tan streak that we had never seen before. I looked at my dog-eared Petersen Field Guide, my phone’s Merlin Bird ID, and Mohonk Preserve’s Checklist of Shawangunk Birds to confirm them as snow buntings. They made a chilly ride on the carriage roads worth every minute. – Ted Fink A Snow Bunting!! [The bold black-and-white wing patches of the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) are distinctive in flight. Non-breeding birds are overall white below with warm brown and orange tones on head and back. They breed on tundra at northern latitudes, form flocks in the winter, and move south, often joining up with other species of field birds. eBird][A “life bird” or a “Life List” is a common activity for many naturalists. Typically, these are compilations of related species, like postcards from one’s travel through life. Some people keep bird lists; for others, it is fish, flowers, butterflies, mushrooms, sea-shells. Anyone can keep a list of almost anything that ultimately gives them a context and appreciation for the natural world. Tom Lake]
That Oyster Toad Fish’s also our Fish of the Week:11/9 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 242 is the oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau), number 113 (of 236) on our watershed list of fishes. An Oyster Toadfish Close-Up!!
Oyster toadfish is the only member of its family, the toadfishes (Batrachoididae), documented for the Hudson River watershed. They are classified as a temperate marine stray, favoring salt water, but completely at home in brackish areas of lower salinity.Oyster toadfish are yellowish with a pattern of brown oblique bars, complementing a generally unfinished look. As a possible adaptation for survival, toadfish have a venomous spine in the first ray of their dorsal fin. They can reach 17-inches in length and weigh 5 lb.Toadfish are ambush predators during the day and apex predators on oyster reefs, where they remain buried up to their eyeballs in sand or hidden under structure. Their cryptic coloration makes them well-camouflaged hiding in crevices on rocky-sandy-muddy substrates from where they lunge for passing prey.
They are found from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Florida, largely inhabiting inshore waters on rocky bottoms, reefs, and jetties. They are common in the waters around New York Harbor and the lower estuary where they set up shop on the bottom of the river and with a huge mouth, strong jaws, and sharp teeth, they crush and feed on shellfish such as crabs, oysters, and other bivalves.Although oyster toadfish is quite a handsome fish, it has never been treated well with its nomenclature. They are known colloquially as oyster cracker, oyster catcher, oyster toad, ugly toad, and bar dog. Oyster toadfish are so admired by anglers that, in less-enlightened times, they were lovingly dubbed the “mother-in-law” fish.
Oyster toadfish bones found in prehistoric contexts (5,500 years ago) and oyster middens on Dogan Point (river mile 40) in Westchester County, provide archaeological evidence (Claassen (in Lindor-Curtin eds.) 1996) suggesting that indigenous people may have enjoyed eating oyster toadfish with their shellfish as well. – Tom Lake[There is one outlier to what is considered their tidewater comfort zone: In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (2012), an adult oyster toadfish was found in September 2012, on the beach at Norrie Point, Dutchess County (river mile 85), in freshwater fully 30 miles upriver from their favored habitat. Chris Bowser]
[In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy produced storm tides as well as incredible flooding. The extremely high water forced us to seine in the parking lot at Beacon’s Long Dock Park, where we caught a good number of spottail shiners. Tom Lake]
Yesterday, November 16th, was America Recycles Day!!
With green thankfulness,
UGS
Eco Fact of the Week: 100 billion new garments are created by the fashion industry each year… With 30% never worn but winding up as waste!! And that 30% waste goes directly to landfill (worst case) or an incinerator (not much but better case)!!
Eco Tip of the Week: If you’re guesting this Thanksgiving, bring your own containers to take those great leftovers home!!
Happy National Chicken Soup for the Soul Day on 11/12/23, UEsiders!!
Plus, that same 24 hours is also National Pizza Day!!
And where to acquire best makings for both…
Every Friday: The Lenox Hill Farmstand First Avenue & 70th Street, 11:30am-5:30pm
No more reserving that great produce/honey/eggs/fruit/bread/and even more that week in advance!! It’s all there and available to all shoppers!! One tasty way to start the weekend!! For more info…
Every Saturday: 82nd Street/St. Stephen’s Greenmarket 82 Street between First & York Avenues, 9am-2pm
At their tables will be our friends 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!!
Every Sunday: 94th Street Greenmarket First Avenue at 94th Street , 9am-3:30pm
Yup!! Just two more 2023 weeks to shop the mouth-watering stuff on the American Pride Seafood, Meredith’s Bakery, Kimchee Harvest, Ole Mother Hubbert, Halal Pastures, Meredith’s Bakery, Norwich Meadows, Grandpa’s and Phillips Farms tables!!
Of course, there comes the rare week when our great Market Manager (of all Market Managers!!) is just too busy making sure all those tables are abundantly heaped with best foodstuffs to offer up some her insightful advice…
(We totally gobbled up the beets, Brussel sprouts and soup made with the cabbagse we scarfted up last week!!)
As for UES composting:
Every Friday: East 96th Food Scrap Drop-Off 96th Street & Lexington, 7:30-11:30am
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
Back in action post-Marathon!!
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
Pumpkins still welcome in the GPG bin!!
2023 Total (from 5/2/2023): Think 2,000 lbs. plus!!
Then add this great stuff to your UES week and beyond:
Saturday, November llth: Carl Schurz Park Volunteer Day East End & 86th Entrance, 9:30am-12:30pm
Another chance to do something for a UES park that does so much for all of us…
Saturday, November llth: Roosevelt Island Stop ‘n Swap 555 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, 12-3pm (Drop-offs 11am-2pm)
Thanks to great idig2Learn and partner GrowNYC, another and pre-holiday Stop ‘n Swap’s happening!! You know the drill: Bring/donate quality items you no longer need… Go home to more closet space… Or just maybe some great thing you discovered at the event!!
Sunday, November 12th: Pumpkin Smash 2023!! Asphalt Green Food Scrap Drop-Off, York & 93rd, 7:30am-12:30pmBring 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!!
Is hiking in the winter better than hiking in the summer!?? Mappy’s here to tell you it is – or at least it’s just as much fun. They don’t let the cold get ’em down!! Instead they take advantage of winter for the quiet, the long distance views and the cozy layers… And you can, too!! Learn all about the fun
Sunday, November 19th: No-Cost Community Shredding Roosevelt Island Motorgate Turnaround, 10am-2pm
UESiders filled the shredding truck with a fat 2 tons on 10/14!! The game’s on RI!!
Great virtual stuff just keeps coming:
At your convenience: State Senator Kreuger’s 2023 Virtiual Senior Citizen Resource Fair via online
Tuesday, November 14th, 7pm: “Electrify Your Life Workshop” presented by Elders Climate Action via Zoom
Energy educator Brian Stewart leads the discussion on howour personal energy choices can help to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels!! Free but we might consider a $10 donation.. For more and to register…
Tuesday, November 14th, 7pm: “The Art of Slow Birding” hosted by NYC Audubon and Dr. Joan Strassman via online
Dr. Strassman elaborates on her new boook, Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard… A guide focusing on colorful stories of the most common birds to be found in the U.S.—birds we often see but might not consider too deeply… Free… To sign on...
Wednesday, November 15th, 2:30pm: November Bat Chat “Bats & Archeology” presented by Bat Conservation International via webinar
11/1 – Newburgh, HRM 61: While looking at a nice variety of gulls on the floating docks at the Newburgh waterfront, I spotted an immature common eider (Somateria mollissima) swimming alongside the docks. l managed to get a few images before it took flight, probably heading to coastal waters. I’ve been informed by Ken McDermott that this is the first record for Orange County. [Note: Dutchess County also has just one record, a female, October 15-16, 1979, at Quaker Lake, Pawling. Stan DeOrsey] – Bruce Nott
[Flocks of these large (20–28-inch body-length) sea ducks enliven coastlines over the northern coasts of Europe, North America, and eastern Siberia. They breed in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, where they form large flocks on coastal waters. The common eider can fly at speeds up to 70 miles-per-hour). Males are white and black with a soft suffusion of green on the nape. Immature males are variable and messy-looking with patches of black and white. Common eider feed on mollusks and crustaceans. eBird] That Common Elder!! 10/27 – Hudson River Watershed: Although the breeding season for eastern bluebirds is long over, it is not unusual to see them return to nest boxes in the fall. Some are just briefly revisiting their former home, while others may linger long enough to exhibit some courtship behavior and even put grasses and nesting material in a nest box. The presence of bluebirds at bird boxes in autumn could mean that a successful male and female pair who have raised a family are staking an early claim on the box for next spring, or a male may be showing a potential new mate a good nest spot. A Bluebird and Its Bird House!!
This leads to the question, whether or not to clean bluebird houses in the fall—would a clean box entice future potential inhabitants? The jury is out on this question. One study erected 100 nest boxes and after a successful first clutch, half the boxes were cleaned out. Seventy-one percent of re-nesters chose to use a clean nest box. However, another study showed eastern bluebirds preferred nest boxes with old nests in them, where parasitic wasps killed blowfly pupae over the winter. The choice is up to the nest monitors.- Mary Holland
10/28 – Tivoli Bays, HRM 97: We had a fantastic day at Tivoli Bays with a group of fisheries scientists and stream engineers from the countries of Romania and Georgia. They were in the United States meeting with various experts on dams, stream connectivity, sturgeon, and other aspects of fish research and restoration. Today’s adventure started with checking the “eelevator” at Tivoli South Bay. This modified eel ladder allows young American eels to ascend a short ramp into a bucket where they can be removed, counted, and released. Even this late in the season the bucket had five beautiful eels in it, ranging from about four inches long to just over a foot. Next, we ventured out on canoes into Tivoli North Bay. A trio of bald eagles practiced their mating runs high overhead the rustling cattails. A beaver quietly slipped into the water from a well-tended lodge. We all practiced appreciating the marsh through art and reflection. Everyone, from all the countries, agreed that in addition to the tools of engineering and technical sciences, its just as important to appreciate what we want to save, and that education is key component to any restoration endeavor. – Chris Bowser On That Canoe Adventure!!
10/31 – Saint Andrew-on-Hudson, HRM 80: All Hallows Eve. For many fans of the season, Halloween is a time to dress up scary and go in search of tricks-or-treats. We have our own tradition. Today was year 16 of our annual pilgrimage to the grave site of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Some Halloweens past have come up as gray dismal days with rain and gloom, altogether appropriate for an All Hallows Eve visit to a graveyard. Today, however, was a sparkler. Yet, the bright sun brought with it the requisite heavy shadows, thrown by tall Norway Spruce, to blanket the graveyard. Coupled with an eerie wind whistling through the conifers, they helped create a wonderfully sinister ambiance.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a Jesuit theologian, geologist, anthropologist, paleontologist, philosopher, teacher, and renowned naturalist who died in 1955 and was buried on the grounds of the Culinary Institute of America, a former Jesuit novitiate (1833-1968). He spent much of his life searching for common ground between religious dogma and natural history, reconciling his faith with modern science. Teilhard’s philosophy on life was Darwinian—evolution through natural selection and favored traits. That made him a truly unique individual in his time.
Amongst a hundred or more identical gravestones, de Chardin’s is easy to find. There are frequently flowers and always a collection of items—tokens of natural history—left by those paying homage. Among today’s was a small, roughly-flaked smoky-gray slate side-scarper, the maker of which may have been ancestral Mohican.
In the spirit of history, theology, and geology—Teilhard de Chardin had a Ph.D. in geology—our contribution was a palm-sized piece of basalt, collected at the foot of Edinburgh’s Castle Rock in Scotland.
Castle Rock stands 430 feet above sea level upon the plug of an extinct volcano that is estimated to have risen about 350 million years ago during the lower Carboniferous period. Castle Rock is the remains of a volcanic pipe that cut through the surrounding sedimentary rock before cooling to form a very hard dolerite or diabase, a type of basalt (compare with our Hudson River Valley Palisades). Subsequent glaciers bifurcated around Castle Rock, unable to penetrate the hard igneous rock (compare to similar rock formations of the Hudson Highlands, Storm King, et al.). While the geology would have warmed de Chardin’s heart, it is the theological aspect of Castle Rock that he would have savored.Teilhard de Chardin was a devout Catholic. Mary “Queen of Scots” Stuart (1542-1587) was also a devout Catholic in a land where the Protestant Church of England reigned. Mary Stuart governed Scotland as a Catholic monarch from 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. A defensible stone fortress built on Edinburgh’s Castle Rock was her frequent refuge at several points during her turbulent life. Today’s contribution links two of de Chardin’s most cherished views on life: theology with geology, and science with the human spirit. – Tom Lake
Our Halloween tradition is a low-profile, unofficial version of such better-known examples as “Roses and Cognac” to Edgar Allan Poe’s crypt in Baltimore, or “Flowers and Poetry” to Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris. In the instance of de Chardin, it is very simply a means of remembering a kindred soul. For more in-depth thought, albeit dense reading, on Teilhard de Chardin, see Spirit of Fire: the life and vision of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Ursula King (2015). Tom Lake
11/2 – Hudson River Watershed: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) eat acorns by moving its bottom mandible back and forth, crushing the acorns with its back molars and extracting the meat. Acorns are a crucial food source for white-tailed deer as much as 25% of their autumn and early winter diet consists of these nuts. A White-Tailed Deer In Search of Acorns!!
Although acorns are low in protein content (6%), they’re high in carbohydrates (42%) and fats (52%). They are easily digested, and their nutrients readily absorbed. However, not all acorns are equally appealing to deer. They all contain a certain amount of tannic acid that affects palatability. The level of tannins is lowest in white oak acorns, making them the sweetest of all acorns—a deer’s first choice. – Mary Holland
With the Fish of the Week being:
11/2 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 241 is the Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus), number 19 (of 237), on our Hudson River Watershed List of Fishes. An Atlantic Tarpon!!
Tarpon is one of two members of the tarpon family (Elopidae) documented for the watershed. Both are relatively recent additions to our watershed list of fishes: Ladyfish (1982) and Atlantic tarpon (2017). Both are designated as tropical marine strays.Tarpon are found in the North Atlantic from Nova Scotia south to Bermuda, Florida, the Caribbean, and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. They are known to inhabit coastal waters, bays, and estuaries, even upstream into freshwater.
They feed on fishes such as mullet and menhaden, and crustaceans such as crabs.Tarpons get to be eight-feet-long and weigh up to 280 lb. Their overall form is unique and not easy to describe relative to other fish species. Their body is moderately deep and rather strongly compressed. They possess shiny, silvery scales that cover most of their bodies, excluding their head. Tarpon are uniformly silvery-blue dorsally and silvery both laterally and ventrally. They have large eyes and a large oblique [slanted] mouth with a prominent lower jaw that extends beyond their eye. Their swim bladder is attached to their esophagus and can be filled directly with atmospheric oxygen to supplement gill respiration, allowing tarpon to live in oxygen-poor waters.
Tarpon are renowned gamefish throughout their range. The world record for hook-and- line is 283 lb. from Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. In their Annotated List of Fishes Reported from the Marine Waters of New York, Briggs, and Waldman (2002) state that “large adults [tarpon] are uncommon but regular summer coastal water visitors.” It is their reputation as an almost mythical sportfish that has had Hudson River anglers yearning for one to show up.
On July 6, 2017, a tarpon showed up. A Palisades Interstate Park Commission field crew was clearing the Shore Trail about a mile south of Alpine (NJ), river mile 17, when they came upon a large fish washed up on the rip-rap near Huyler’s Landing. PIPC’s Christina Fehre said it was a fish they had never seen before. No one had. It was a six-foot-long adult tarpon with no obvious trauma or cause of death.
As far as our records showed, this was a first-time occurrence of this species in the Hudson River.Tarpon are an exotic species along this reach of the Atlantic; they are found only occasionally in nearby ocean waters but had been keenly anticipated to show up one day in the estuary.
There is a protocol for adding a new species to our list of watershed fishes. Ideally, we would have a fish-in-hand or a verifiable photo to validate a new species. There are also occasions when a fish is accepted as expert testimony from a sighting. This tarpon was dead on the shore with no proof of how it arrived there. Adding to the mystery there is a bit of a tradition with Hudson River of anglers catching fishes from faraway places and leaving them along the river for reasons unknown—perhaps for shock value.
Sharks have been a favorite shoreline deposit. However, this tarpon did not seem to fit that category. After weighing and assessing the available evidence, and applying some hazy logic, tarpon was added [on probation] to our watershed list of fishes. – Tom Lake
Never forgetting that this Saturday’s Veterans Day…
Our green best,
UGS
Eco Facts of the Week: Solar energy is the most plentiful source of energy, with over 173,000 terawatts hitting the earth every second!! That is ten thousand times the amount of power humanity uses in a day!!
NYC Audubon’s collaborated on bird-friendly window retrofits with nearly 20 buildings this year,
Eco Tip of the Week: Candy wrappers are not recyclableand should betossed into the trash!! (Virtually every candy wrapper’s made of a permanent meld of of several materials, some recyclable, most not!!)
Hard as it is to believe, we were living along First Ave on the long-ago Sunday when, late morning, we were drawn to front windows by some muted cheers and just in time to see maybe a couple dozen runners lope by…
And that was this new thing: The New York Marathon, local news said!!
Who knew Marathon Days would evolve into an event that includes guarding BIcycle Island Gardens from fans wanting to stand on and in them… (If you’re so moved, please speak up, too!! Spectators are 99% apologetic and comply!!)
And, of course, there’re plenty more happening in and around our UES:
Saturday, November 4th: RI Great Pumpkin Event Manhattan Park, 30 RIver Road, Roosevelt Island, 11am-2pm
IDig2Learn, Big Reuse and Community Partners invite you to The Great Roosevelt Island Pumpkin Event!! Bring your pumpkin to explore it’s afterlife as a delicious edible food source, scoop seeds and compost the rest!!
Saturday, November 4th: Take the Bait – Lower East Side Ecology Center FIshing Clinic East RIver Park, 11am-12:30pm
Come fish, catch, ID the kind of fish it is and then release… All while adding to LESEC’s East River data base!! Every skill levels welcome and it’s free!! For more and to sign up…
Sunday, November 5th: Bird Watching with Esplanade Friends and NYC Audubon
Meet on the Esplanade at 96th Street, 10am
Join your Esplanade Friends and an bonafide Audubon expert for a fun, nature-filled, outdoor morning of discovering birds… Learning about migratory patterns… And, of course, enjoying the beauty of our waterfront on a sunny, late fall day!! Free, of course!!. Just RSVP to ExecutiveDirector@EsplanadeFriends.org, dress warmly and allow time to make your way through Marathon crowds!!
November 4th & 5th: Organ Inauguration Festival Saint Peter’s Church, 519 Lexington Avenue, 11am-7pm
In early 2021, a broken City water main pipe sent hundreds of thousands of gallons of water gushing into Saint Peter’s. Not only did the Sanctuary sustain significant water damage, dehumidification to avoid a mold outbreak and other mitigation efforts cracked, warped, and stressed every piece of wood—especially the organ. Because the water brought mud along with it, a thick layer of fine silt came to cover every surface. But now in 2023, guided by a historic preservation expert, the distinctive organ has been restored to its former glory, as you’ll hear!!
Sunday, November 5th: Stuyvesant Cove Park Bringing Back the Bluebells Planting Event Stuyvesant Cove, 10am-2pm
Stuy Cove’s classic blue bells took a hit during the park’s most recent massive construction event… Time to get ’em back in the ground!! For more info and to sign on…
Saturday, November llth: Roosevelt Island Stop ‘n Swap 555 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, 12-3pm (Drop-offs 11am-2pm)
Thanks to great idig2Learn and partner GrowNYC, another and pre-holiday Stop ‘n Swap’s happening!! You know the drill: Bring/donate quality items you no longer need… Go home to more closet space… Or just maybe some great thing you discovered at the event!!
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
Last week, UESiders filled the shredding truck with a fat 2 tons!! The game’s on RI!!
And coming up in the virtual sphere:
Monday, November 27th, 6pm: Community Ecology Reading Group, organized by SolarOne/Stuyvesant Cove Park/NYCParks/Green Thumb via Zoom
Share your own and learn about others’ favorite environmentally oriented reading!! Free, of course… For more and to join in…
TIme for Farmstand/Greenmarkets:
Every Friday: The Lenox Hill Farmstand First Avenue & 70th Street, 11:30am-5:30pm
Pure produce pleasure for southern UESiders!! (Central & Northern UESiders, too!!) A mini Greenmarket with tables brimming with produce/honey/eggs/fruit/bread and more!! For the total rundown…
Every Saturday: 82nd Street/St. Stephen’s Greenmarket 82 Street between First & York Avenues, 9am-2pm
With us will be 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!!
Every Sunday: 94th Street Greenmarket First Avenue at 92nd Street , 9am-3pm
CLOSED MARATHON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH!! (Back next week, of course!!)
As always, Marketeria Maestra Margaret shares her wisdom:
“Dear Greenmarketeers,
Yes, 94th Street will be closed this Marathon Sunday… But it’ll be back Sunday, November 12 Andy due to the Marathon. It will be back open, although it’ll be for just 2 more Sundays, November 12th and 19th… With the 19th being the last day of 94th’s 2023 season…
But…
The great news is that 82nd Street will be at business as usual this week and on Saturdays all year round!!
And look forWalnut Hill Farm – with its artisanal salamis made from grass-fed Vermont pork – to be joining us this Saturday!! (Especially delicious with some of Valley Shepherds delicious cheeses and a bit of great bread from Bread Alone and/or Hawthorne Valley!!)
Last but hardly least… Fall’s finally here so layer up before you come out to shop!!
Happy marketeering, Marketeers,
Margaret“
Not forgetting compost collection:
Every Friday: East 96th Food Scrap Drop-Off 96th Street & Lexington, 7:30-11:30am
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
(Reminder: The AG Drop-Off will also 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 either Pumpkin Smash?? Pumpkins for compost creation are most welcome here, too!!
10/21 – Columbia County, HRM 121.5: A friend, Jim Barber, had his boat sink off a dock in Stockport Creek last week after his bilge pump failed during three days of solid downpour. Then it capsized. After much trial and error, he managed to haul it out and discovered a large mudpuppy living in the three-inches of mud on the deck. He had heard of them but never seen one up close. He returned it to the water.- Joan Q. Horgan That Mudpuppy!!
[The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus), a relative to the salamander, is an aggressive amphibian. Their diet is made up of just about anything they can swallow from worms to insects to small fish. As a result, they are not uncommonly hooked by anglers. Tom Lake]
10/23 – Croton Point, HRM 35: We welcomed a busload of students from Byram Hills elementary in Armonk to assist us in discovering what was home in the river. We set our 30-foot seine in a cove and the students were silently focused as the net was hauled in a semi-circle and drawn close to the beach. Some of those Atlanti Silversides!!
Croton Point naturalist John Phillips knelt in the sandy shallows and carefully opened the net that was pulsating with hundreds of small silvery fish. Except for a single young-of-year striped bass, the entire catch consisted of four-inch Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia). While the catch was visually impressive, it was equally disappointing that we saw no blue crabs, shore shrimp, sand shrimp, or northern pipefish—very unusual for this beach in autumn. After a bit of show-and-tell for the students, we released the fish back into the river, except for two dozen silverside I collected for dinner. – Christopher Letts
[Atlantic silverside is known colloquially, as spearing. Legendary riverman and author Robert Boyle (1969) wrote of spearing as “a slender fish and beautiful to behold. They are a translucent bottle-green with a glittering silver band along each side.”
Boyle, a wild foods gourmet, goes on to explain that “Spearing is delicious to eat and simple to clean. I hold one in my right hand and gut the innards with a forward motion of my thumb. [Boyle was right-handed.] I snap off the head with my left hand and rinse the fish under the tap. Spearing is fried in cooking oil. In restaurants they are sold under the name of whitebait.”
The New York State Department of Health has sampled and tested silverside (Menidia sp.) and found them to be within the State’s guidelines for consumption. A recent update to the State advisory for Hudson River fish suggests that the “general population” can consume four fish meals a month if the fish are acquired south of Catskill (river mile 113). Tom Lake]
10/23 – Greene County: I was hiking in the forest when I came upon a picture-perfect small moss-covered stump with a grouping of brick-red-white-rimmed fungi. A local mycologist informed me that they were candy cap mushrooms (Galerina autumnalis). These mushrooms have a mild aroma like maple syrup, caramelized sugar, and malt, thus the name. Accented by the carpet of fallen red maple and golden beech leaves, the Autumn snapshot was perfect. – Mario Meier
Those Candy Cap Mushrooms!!
10/26 – Yonkers, HRM 18: Our staff at the Sarah Lawrence Center for the Urban River at Beczak was on the water this morning making a dozen mid-tide hauls, all of which were highly productive. The feature of our morning was a whopping 563 moon jellyfish. Some Moon Jellyfish!!
[Carefully place a few moon jellyfish into a small clear viewing container and gently rock the water. Their rhythmic, symmetrical, and altogether graceful movements are enchanting.]
A second highlight was the presence of young-of-year blueback herring (55-70 mm). These young-of-year fishes were on their way to the sea from their natal steam in the Mohawk River watershed, a 260-mile journey that still had 25 miles to go.
Among other fishes were Atlantic silverside (13), bay anchovy, and young of year striped bass. Tiny blue crabs (10-30 mm) led the invertebrates. The water temperature was 61 degrees F, the salinity was 8.1 ppt, and the dissolved oxygen (DO) was 8.0 ppm. – Jason Muller, Emma Blake, Zoe Gott, Ray Schleimer
10/27 – Putnam County, HRM 50: Avocational archaeologist Seth Dinitz was perusing an eroded stream bed when he came upon a rock that looked “worked.” Worked is an archaeology word used to describe stone that has been altered by forces other than natural, namely by human hands. It is the definition of a stone artifact. That Stone Artifact!!
The rock was rough stone (140 x 45 mm), dense sedimentary, and had been ground rather than chipped or flaked. Seth’s first assessment was a stone tool. Its attributes, including “backing,” suggested it had been used as a utilitarian tool. Backing is another archaeology word that describes the smoothing or dulling of the backside of a hand-held stone tool—the side opposite the edge—to protect the hand holding the tool during repetitive tasks like cutting, chopping, dicing, or grinding in food preparation.
In addition to a shaped cutting edge, albeit dulled over time, and being backed, the tool had a hafting element (35 mm) at one end, suggesting that a handle, fastened by natural cordage, may have been attached.
The above suggestions come from a principle of design called form-follows-function (Sullivan 1896), where as an object’s attributes reflect a solution for performing a task with an appropriate tool— i.e., identify a task, fashion a tool.
But when was it used, and what was the task? – Seth Dinitz
[These questions require some background on deep-time Stone Age human behavior. Paleo-archaeologists mark the advent of the first stone tool industry, or tradition, as having occurred with rudimentary tools more than two million years ago in the savannahs of East Africa at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania (this may have also been near the emergence of our genus, Homo).
Stone artifacts can be difficult to date or categorize as to function. The dating of some utilitarian stone tools can be found in the context, if it still exists, in which the tool was used. Organics such as bone, shell, pollen, and ash from a hearth associated with the tool can be radio-carbon dated and, by association, the tool as well. But if the context has been erased, precision-dating becomes extremely difficult.
Certain stone tools, such as spear points, arrowheads, and ceramics (pottery) can be dated stylistically by identifiable styles that were repeated over time with well-dated associated contexts. For example, Hudson Valley fluted “Clovis” spear points, emblematic of Paleoindian, 10-13,000 year ago.
However, for utilitarian tools, given the sheer numbers left on the landscape, perhaps with short-term use and then discarded, exact repetitive form can be difficult to identify.
Determining stone tool function is another difficult task for archaeologists. Common use stone tools have been a part of human existence for millennia. Stone knives, scrapers, awls, hammerstones, choppers, net sinkers, and others, were created with a broad range of variability. Few show consistent, temporally-unique, traits. An AD 800 hammerstone or scraper looks not unlike one from 10,000 years ago. Very few common-use stone tools fit snugly into a dateable type. Artisans never followed a blueprint; a task came up, and a likely stone solution was at hand to be fashioned to work.
The net of it all, Seth Dinitz found a stone tool that was used to fulfil a specific—for us, speculative—need. It may have been used as long ago as 13,000 years with the arrival of the indigenous First Nations. It was now memorabilia from a Stone Age Hudson Valley. –Tom Lake]
10/27 – Hudson River Watershed: Although the breeding season for eastern bluebirds is long over, it is not unusual to see them return to nest boxes in the fall. Some are just briefly revisiting their former home, while others may linger long enough to exhibit some courtship behavior and even put grasses and nesting material in a nest box. The presence of bluebirds at bird boxes in autumn could mean that a successful male and female pair who have raised a family are staking an early claim on the box for next spring, or a male may be showing a potential new mate a good nest spot. An Easern Bluebird Male Staking His Claim!!
This leads one to question whether or not to clean bluebird houses in the fall—would a clean box entice future potential inhabitants? The jury is still out on this question. One study erected 100 nest boxes and after a successful first clutch, half the boxes were cleaned out. Seventy-one percent of re-nesters chose to use a clean nest box. However, another study showed eastern bluebirds preferred nest boxes with old nests in them, where parasitic wasps killed blowfly pupae over the winter. The choice is up to you! – Mary HollandWith the Fish of the Week being:
10/24 – Hudson River Watershed: Fish-of-the-Week for Week 220 is the pollock (Pollachius virens), fish number 107 (of 237), on our Hudson River Watershed List of Fishes. A Pollock!!
Pollock is one of three cods (Gadidae) documented for our watershed. The others are Atlantic cod and Atlantic tomcod. Atlantic cod and pollock are strictly marine species; Atlantic tomcod is anadromous, migrating from the sea to inland tidewater to spawn.
Making our Hudson River Watershed Fish List can be a serendipitous proposition. Pollock has been on our list by virtue of a single occurrence, a 53-millimeter young-of-year in April 1980 at Indian Point (river mile 42). Young-of-year pollock have occasionally been found in the East River, but just the single fish for the estuary.
They are presently designated as a temperate marine stray. Nichols and Breder (1927) call the young “common” but the adults “rare” in the New York Bight. That may explain why pollack, essentially a cold-water fish favoring seawater temperatures of 52 degrees F or less, do not favor the warm estuarine waters of the Hudson River. In science we have an adage for rare occurrences: “Make it happen again.” We are waiting on pollock.
Pollock, known colloquially as Boston blue, coalfish, green cod, and saithe (Norwegian spelling), are found in the western Atlantic primarily from Nova Scotia to the New York Bight, although they are reported to Cape Lookout NC. Juvenile pollock from New England winter south inshore to Virginia. While commonly seen at 24-inches in length, large pollock can reach 42-inches and weigh 70 lb.
Pollack comes in several shades and colors including brownish-green, grayish, smoke gray, but always with an underlying greenish hue. Bigelow and Schroeder in their Fishes of the Gulf of Maine (1953) cite its beautiful olive-green color as a ready field mark when caught in the company of Atlantic cod and haddock. Another easy field mark is the lateral line: In pollack it is nearly straight; in cod the lateral line arches forward.
In the market, small cods (Gadidae, less than 3 lb.) including Atlantic cod, haddock, as well as pollock, are known as “scrod,” an acronym, the etymology of which translates as “Small Cod Remaining on the Dock.”
While immatures are common in the New York Bight (Waldman & Briggs 2002), adults are rare south of Cape Cod. Pollock feed on small fish and larger crustaceans along coastal slopes that favor a hard bottom and spawn in late autumn and early winter.
Bigelow & Schroder (1953) report of schools of young pollock running up New England estuaries in autumn in pursuit of rainbow smelt. There was a time when the Hudson River had a large population of anadromous rainbow smelt. Before serious fish lists were compiled for the Hudson River, did pollock chase smelt up our estuary in late winter to spring? Today, both smelt and pollock do not find the warm temperate waters of the New York Bight comfortable; the pollock may never have been, and the smelt are all but gone. – Tom LakeAnd The Week’s Wonderful Bird:
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This Week at The Markets 