Sunday in Park Slope
Okay, it's been two weeks since I've blogged so this is gonna be a long one. Before I get to our perfect Sunday in Park Slope, I have to tell you about the two great outings in my last two great weekends. First, the great Jack o'lantern Blaze, and then, the long awaited . . . RHINEBECK!!
A couple of weeks ago we went to the most awesome Halloween event ever. The Great Jack o'lantern Blaze is on the grounds of one of those great old mansions in Terrytown. It features over 4500 hand carved pumpkins. From the time you enter under the pumpkin gates
it is pure magic. Everything's laid out in amazing areas. First there is the pumpkin grave yard
That features the skeleton's raising from the dead. It's hard to tell from this crappy photo, but it starts with hands peeking out of the dirt, and then the skeletons get higher and higher
The house had this cool light show that changed color
There's a whole section of pumpkins that looked like old radios
When I took some photos with the flash on it showed how the larger sculptures were made from taping multiple pumpkins together. Check this out:
Then there were the insects, snakes, the mushroom field, flowers, dinosaurs (not kidding), here are a few more pics:
As cool as that was, NOTHING could have prepared me for the glory that was the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. David and I arrived on Saturday around 1:00 pm. It was a stunningly beautiful day. Bright sky, sunny, low 70's. The first area we walked through was the kid's area. Little animals everywhere
As cute as they were, I had two missions . . 1) buy something for me & David 2) make some vendor connections and find some great things to stock at the Point. I really wanted to bring a bit of year round fiber festival to the West Village.
Saturday was all about the vendors, and visiting the animals. Here are just a handful of the hundreds of photos David took. A sample of the fiber photos (with the random tree):
And then there were those animals. We spent ages visiting the sheep, alpaca & of course the bunnies.
The world's funniest sheep picture . . . David caught the little guy right before a big old "bahhhh", but he looks like he's smiling at us.
We ended our first day when they were kicking us out. 600 yards of Alpaca (for David's vest), 1800 yards of silk/merino (for the clapotis), 2000 yards of merino wool (for a cardigan) and 5 hours later, the sun was setting on the first day of Rhinebeck.
After a nap, dinner, and a little knitting it was time for bed and an early start for a full day of events. This is the first sight that greeted us out our hotel window.
We started our day at the sheep dog trials. Very fun! Watching those dogs take off like a bat out of hell and crouching almost flat on the ground, amazing.
Next it was time for some wheel shopping. On to Carolina Homespun to admire the pretty spindles and wheels
We went to check out the sheep to shawl competition for a little inspiration and advise. Lendrum was the wheel I kept hearing over and over. I think we have a winner. Here are some of the teams. (the one in their pajamas was my favorite)
After a bit of time watching the pumpkin chucking competition (it's just what it sounds like!) It was time for my favorite part of the day. The Llama Leaping (also just what it sounds like!)
To see all of David's Rhinebeck photos, check out our photo page.
I forgot to take pics of the yarn I bought (I took it to the shop to wind), but here's the real prize
Today we had one of those perfect fall days in Park Slope. There is no greater month in no greater neighborhood than October in Park Slope. David and I walked all over the hood today.
We went to the Ghouls and Gourds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was almost over when we got there, but we managed to catch the parade.
When we got home (freshly inspired from The Great Jack o'lantern Blaze) we carved our pumpkin. A great day.
A couple of weeks ago we went to the most awesome Halloween event ever. The Great Jack o'lantern Blaze is on the grounds of one of those great old mansions in Terrytown. It features over 4500 hand carved pumpkins. From the time you enter under the pumpkin gates
it is pure magic. Everything's laid out in amazing areas. First there is the pumpkin grave yard
That features the skeleton's raising from the dead. It's hard to tell from this crappy photo, but it starts with hands peeking out of the dirt, and then the skeletons get higher and higher
The house had this cool light show that changed color
There's a whole section of pumpkins that looked like old radios
When I took some photos with the flash on it showed how the larger sculptures were made from taping multiple pumpkins together. Check this out:
Then there were the insects, snakes, the mushroom field, flowers, dinosaurs (not kidding), here are a few more pics:
As cool as that was, NOTHING could have prepared me for the glory that was the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. David and I arrived on Saturday around 1:00 pm. It was a stunningly beautiful day. Bright sky, sunny, low 70's. The first area we walked through was the kid's area. Little animals everywhere
As cute as they were, I had two missions . . 1) buy something for me & David 2) make some vendor connections and find some great things to stock at the Point. I really wanted to bring a bit of year round fiber festival to the West Village.
Saturday was all about the vendors, and visiting the animals. Here are just a handful of the hundreds of photos David took. A sample of the fiber photos (with the random tree):
And then there were those animals. We spent ages visiting the sheep, alpaca & of course the bunnies.
The world's funniest sheep picture . . . David caught the little guy right before a big old "bahhhh", but he looks like he's smiling at us.
We ended our first day when they were kicking us out. 600 yards of Alpaca (for David's vest), 1800 yards of silk/merino (for the clapotis), 2000 yards of merino wool (for a cardigan) and 5 hours later, the sun was setting on the first day of Rhinebeck.
After a nap, dinner, and a little knitting it was time for bed and an early start for a full day of events. This is the first sight that greeted us out our hotel window.
We started our day at the sheep dog trials. Very fun! Watching those dogs take off like a bat out of hell and crouching almost flat on the ground, amazing.
Next it was time for some wheel shopping. On to Carolina Homespun to admire the pretty spindles and wheels
We went to check out the sheep to shawl competition for a little inspiration and advise. Lendrum was the wheel I kept hearing over and over. I think we have a winner. Here are some of the teams. (the one in their pajamas was my favorite)
After a bit of time watching the pumpkin chucking competition (it's just what it sounds like!) It was time for my favorite part of the day. The Llama Leaping (also just what it sounds like!)
To see all of David's Rhinebeck photos, check out our photo page.
I forgot to take pics of the yarn I bought (I took it to the shop to wind), but here's the real prize
Today we had one of those perfect fall days in Park Slope. There is no greater month in no greater neighborhood than October in Park Slope. David and I walked all over the hood today.
We went to the Ghouls and Gourds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was almost over when we got there, but we managed to catch the parade.
When we got home (freshly inspired from The Great Jack o'lantern Blaze) we carved our pumpkin. A great day.
posted by Valerie at
7:48 PM
3 Comments:
Love the pix. I had to laugh - In class the other day we compared stage managers to sheepdogs. And then here is my favorite ex-stage manager with a new found attraction to a sheepdog competition. Once a sheepdog, always a sheepdog. Miss you! I hope you are as at peace as you sound. Mich
By
Michele A. Kay, at 10:34 AM
Oh my gosh, this is my favorite post everrrrrrr! The pictures are so beautiful! I was so entranced by the pictures of the jack-o-lanterns (Halloween is my favorite holiday, so they made me very happy) that when I got to the yarn pictures, I was like, "oh my god, there's yarn in this blog too?" I'd totally forgotten that there is generally something about knitting in your blog. I'm kind of clever like that. But anyway, all the pictures are so beautiful! I want to go to fun places like the ones you visited.
My mom is going to NYC next week (she flew into DC today and is taking the train to Manhattan) and she's going to visit the Point Cafe. Hopefully you'll be there when she goes in.
Also, stage managing is exciting! The class is a lot of fun and I had my first production meeting last week. It's so weird doing all this theatre stuff from a non-actor perspective, but I'm really enjoying it.
By
Alexa, at 1:56 PM
That design in your pumpkin would make a great cable on a sweater =)
By
Nettie, at 1:08 PM
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