Greenpoint, Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Chris says that from his apartment window you can see four iconic New York bridges .  Look into the distance in this foto and you'll identify the Willamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.  Jessie adds that if you had "superman vision," you might catch a glimpse of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn.

Wait: there's more. If you were able to look down at the street through this same window view, you'd I.D. the Euzko Etxea Sport and Social Club -- the place where the Basque community gathers to relax, tell stories, play a little pelota, and dream of the homeland.

What a remarkable melting pot Brooklyn is.  How much I love being here.  How little I know the boro.  Jessie took me to Red Hook today, and I'll add a pic from there in a bit.

Red Hook, Brooklyn, JJ, Fort Defiance Cafe.

With Diver in the car seat looking back toward the Fort Greene section, Jessie drove the XC 90 over to Red Hook  to give old Poppy the grand tour of this enchating and myserious boro.  What that means to those who don't know me well is a meet-and-greet at the best local coffee shops -- where an afficionado de cafe meets the beans of his dreams.  In this snap, JJ leaves Fort Defiance on Dikeman and Van Brunt with a brace of iced lattes -- made all the more yummy with two fingers of half-and-half from the organic dairies of the Battenkill in Upstate New York.

Rainbow Signals End of the Deluge.

It's been nothing but rain, rain, rain here in the West Metro. Days or rain.  Inches of rain. No where left in the soil for the rain to drain.  But just when we're about up-to-here with the rain ... it stops.  And as we look to the east with a mixture of gratitude and caution, we see the big, beautiful, beneficial arco iris as we used to describe a rainbow when we lived in Panama.  Ole!

Cate Charles Gallery, Stonington, CT

Pina and I visited the Cate Charles Gallery in Stonington, CT last week.  Here La Nancita talks to gallery owner Kim Charles about the big piece of work by local artist Sky Hoyt hanging on the wall behind Kim. Sky's paintings sell well at the Charles Gallery, and continue to appeal to residents and visitors alike.  Hoyt is known for her special "touch" when it comes representing the multiple facets and joys of contemporary life. Sky's view takes the perspective of women who seem somehow "balance it all." Not easy .. but they get the job done. Beautifully.

Record Lobster Taken off Block Island -- in 1936!

Way back in 1936 a record lobster was caught by the dragger, "Maurice," 20  miles off Block Island in the chilly Atlantic.  Stuffed, shellacked and mounted for posterity in Grossman's Fishmarket in Mystic, CT, you can check this 56-lb. baby out the next time you're shopping for bounty from the sea.

H. S. Reunion Choate Class of 1961.

Me and my Choate School buddies assembled in Wallingford, CT this weekend to celebrate our 50th high school reunion.

From  my left: Dave Phillips, Jim Sillin, Palmer Sessel, Paul Wachtler and Bill Braden.

Stay tuned for more about these great guys and a half century of friendship.

Corn Crib Columbia.

Old paint has faded, but Columbia Corn Crib stands tall and strong and proud along Lake Rebeca in Hennepin County's Three Rivers Park.  Looks beguiling in black & white or in color.

1,000,000 Busted Clay Pigeons

How very spring-y, colorfully unusual this is, don't you think?  Photo shows the far-field at Sportsman's Gun Club in Orono.  Taken from atop Trap House #2.  The busted clay pigeons look like a blanket of wild flowers that have already started to bloom.  Dead birds give birth to stunning colors. Pull!

Scary, Steel Sculpture, Great Northern Pike.

Some sculptor with a great sense of imagination, and a light touch on the acetylene torch,  created this awesome Great Northern -- probably in a garage workshop not far from home.  It sits at the base of Old Glory, just a few feet from the Maple Plain Municipal Library.  Check it out some time.

Cutest Little Library, Ever.

Hennepin County in MN has an enviable record of operating public libraries that serve big towns and small.  When I saw this little cutie a block off U.S. Hwy 12 headed west out of Maple Plain, I had to stop, in awe, and take a snapshot! Wouldn't you imagine that the shelves are filled with little books? No room for bigguns.

Adam's Angels in the Yucutan.

Joe and Adam (my brother and his first-born) spent Spring Break with Mom Nancy in Tulum on the Yucutan Peninsula. Joe snapped a shot of Junior and his Mayan Angels from Ek Balam -- and encouraged me to tell readers of Poppy's Velo Ventures that warm hospitality, lovely people and very happy smiles await the adventurous visitor from the north.  Que buen viaje! 

Welcome to MN Valley Wildlife Refuge.

Bloomington Ferry, MN Valley Refuge

Still cold and windy and damp, but I had a chance to explore the Nat'l. Wildlife Refuge facility at the old Bloomington Ferry landing this morning.  You would not have BELIEVED the birds. OMG. Everywhere, every kind, only wish I spoke chirp.

Thin Ice: Spring Comes to Baker Park.

"Thin Ice" sign is sole reminder of a very cold winter in Hennepin County's Baker Park. Where once you saw skaters against the far shore, now -- if you look, just so -- you can spot a brace of swans gliding in the calm pond water of Spring.

Red bricks, Big toes, Iron door mats.