Untermyer 2023 #AtoZChallenge #WordlessWednesday

It seems, every U day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, that I return to a public park in Yonkers, New York that contains one of the most beautiful gardens I've ever been in.  

Here's a brief history (I know, it's Wordless Wednesday, but I think we need some background) of what is now called Untermyer Park and Gardens.  You can, of course, skip to the photos first.

In 1865, John Meyer, who owned the largest hat factory in the world at the time, purchased 33 acres of land in Yonkers, New York.  He had a 99 room mansion called Greystone built for him. But his fortunes reversed and Meyer had to move and offer the property for rent.

Greystone was rented, in 1879, to a man by the name of Samuel J. Tilden (if you study United States history, you will know the name of Samuel J. Tilden).Tilden built 13 greenhouses in the property but died in 1886.  Much of his estate went to fund public libraries in Yonkers and in nearby New York City.

In 1899, at the auction of the Greystone property, it was purchased by Samuel Untermyer, a lawyer and civic leader born in Lynchburg, Virginia. As a teenager, he and his family moved to New York City, where he rose in the legal ranks and became wealthy.  In 1916, Untermyer started the construction of a massive garden complex at Greystone.

Untermyer was a strong opponent of the Nazi rise to power in Germany in 1933 and spent the next few years doing what he could to sound the alarm to the American public.  At the same time, he built a garden renowned in the world.  But, his health declined, and he died in 1940.  The city of Yonkers agreed to take on about 43 acres of what had become a 150 acre complex.

After 1940, the gardens declined and eventually fell into ruin.  But, in 2011, restoration began. When I first visited them in 2015 with my spouse and his cousin who lived in Yonkers all her life, they were still mainly in ruins.  Unfortunately, I can not find the photos I took back then. 

I've visited several times since.  The last time was a brief visit in June of 2023, on the way home from a wedding in New York City.  Restoration work has blocked several of my favorite views, but there was still plenty to photograph.

Tall trees.  My iPhone plant ID built in app says these are pedunculate oaks.

Part of the garden wall.

Gardens.

Fountains.

I believe this is called the Temple of the Sky.

Mosaics.

One of the blooming shrubs - common ninebark.

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for #WordlessWednesday.

 "U" day for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Gardens, History, Art, and the Unexpected.  Only five more days to go!

Great (Novelty and Parody) Songs and Garden Goodness #MusicMovesMe #A to Z Challenge

 It's Monday it's G day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and it's time for music!

Who says I can't deviate from my own A to Z Theme?  I was going to do a history post today and  I'll do a little bit of history stuff at the end. 

Let's introduce the Music Moves me bloggers:  We blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be removed, or may  be labeled "No Music".)   Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.

Every other week, we have a theme.  On alternate weeks, we can blog on any music theme we want.  Today is a theme week, and it was chosen by lil' old me.  

Today's theme is by Cathy at Curious as a Cathy:  Novelty or Parody songs.

Because today is "G" day, all my songs or artists need to begin with G.  Let's start with someone some call the King of Novelty Songs and Comedy music, Dickie Goodman.  Goodman holds the record for Most Chart Entries for Comedy/Novelty Songs .  The only song I could find by him beginning with G was "Gerry Ford (A Special Report)" from 1973.

This was one of a number of interview songs where the interviewee answers using song clips.  It's political but in the spirit of fun so I hope you enjoy.

From 1969, Ray Stevens and his classic Guitarzan.

I'll end the music with several songs by Weird Al Yankovic (how could I not?) beginning with G.  Let's begin with his 1985 cover of George of the Jungle. Watch out for that tree!

Many of Weird Al's songs have a food theme, including "Grapefruit Diet".  This is a parody of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies song Zoot Suite Riot.

Ready for one more before a little dose of history?

 Finally, "Gump", a parody of "Lump" by Presidents of the United States.

Now, a little bit of history.  It looks like the gardens of a famous man, doesn't it?  Or at least someone who was rich?  You would be right, but it also represents an interesting (and somewhat frightening) part of our history.

This was part of the estate of one Samuel Untermyer in Yonkers, New York.  He was a prominent lawyer who was originally a corporate lawyer.  But he changed his focus and that included opposing Hitler at a time when pro-Hitler sentiment, and anti-Semitism, were running high in our country. The British called Mr. Untermyer "Hitler's Bitterest Foe".  

Earlier, he and his wife both supported woman's suffrage and donated substantial sums of money to that cause.

Untermyer once said, if he had to do it all over, he rather would have been the Parks Commissioner of New York City.  He loved gardens and horticulture so much.  At one time, this garden was considered one of the finest in the United States.  Now, it is almost unknown, except perhaps to the residents of Yonkers.  It is a city park now, and free for all to visit as restoration work on it continues.

Here are several photos from a 2023 visit to this historic garden that I've blogged about in several other A to Z Challenges.  I plan to blog about this spectacular garden again later in the Challenge.

"G" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Gardens, History, Art and The Unexpected.

Nostalgic Untermyer Sky #SkywatchFriday

Today - temperatures with wind chills below zero where I live in New York State.

This weekend - more cold weather.

Monday - maybe another bad snowstorm.  We lucked out of the last one (Tuesday for us) but a lot of the United States didn't.

White skies at sunrise white skies at sunset.

Enough!  Time to reminisce. 

I looked on my phone the other day, and found 79 photos taken during two visits to Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers, New York.  I am so tired of winter, and so tired of this time of isolating, so I am taking us on a little trip down my memory lane (as the old saying goes) today.

A view of the Hudson River and, beyond the Palisades in New Jersey.  I had at least the first of these pictures on my blog before, but I honestly don't care right now.

Flowers and skies.

Let's take a short walk to an overlook.

And a closer look at this tower.

Finally, a possibly a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) but I'm not sure. 
Vitex agnus-castus, or chaste tree.

Will we ever have beautiful fall like weather again?  Or will we have snow in May with chilly temperatures, like last year? (yes, I'm whining).

It's nice thinking of that beautiful day (September 9, 2019) when we were visiting Yonkers - and we hope we can go back one day to see this amazing (and free!) city of Yonkers historic garden again.

Joining up with Yogi and the sky watching bloggers at #SkywatchFriday.

Number 4100 #WordlessWednesday

Welcome to my 4,100th blog post, and I thank everyone who commented on my post yesterday.  I treasure every one of my readers and I am absorbing your suggestions now.

Untermyer Gardens is an urban garden located in Yonkers, New York, a city that borders New York City.  It is owned by the city.  If you visit my link you will discover some of its fascinating history.

My spouse and I have visited it a handful of times - once in the early spring of 2019, and once in September of 2019 , when it was in full color.  It was closed much of last year but is open again, with mandatory mask wearing and one way signage.  No timed tickets are required at this time.

Enjoy some beauty on this (almost wordless) Wednesday as I join Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Under (an) Untermyer Sky #AtoZChallenge #SkywatchFriday

Last March and April, I blogged about Untermyer Park in Yonkers, New York.

These gardens were once one of the most highly visited gardens in the United States, but, for various reasons, had fallen into ruin.  In the last several years, restoration work has attempted to bring the gardens back to their original glory.

When I visited in March of last year, the gardens were only starting to break their winter dormancy.  Spouse and I were able to return in September of 2019, and I want to share some of those pictures with you.  Alas, the gardens are temporarily closed due to the coronavirus.

Across the Hudson River, you can see the Palisades rock formations on the New Jersey side of the river.

Isadora Duncan once danced here.

The amphitheater, still in restoration.

A beautiful rock formation.

Another view of the Palisades, and a peek at the gardens.

Join Yogi and the other bloggers who watch the sky at #SkywatchFriday.

"U" day at the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme is "America the Beautiful".

Luminance #AtoZChallenge

For "L" day of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I decided to Let my iPhone pick the word I would blog about.

My iPhone chose - Luminance.  (Not Luminescence.) What a fitting topic for a time of stress and trouble?

Which of the over 10,000 photos on my phone made the Luminance cut?  There were pictures of birthday cakes with candles, and lots of sunrises and sunsets, and a few surprises.

From the LUMA festival in downtown Binghamton, New York, a now-annual September tradition.

A historic building in downtown Binghamton, also during LUMA.

A snowy street, again in Binghamton.

Cape Canaveral, Florida, from the highway - I have no idea why the iPhone selected this one.

A 60th birthday party in Yonkers, New York, at an Irish restaurant.  I've had few birthday parties in my life, and I decided to throw this one for my spouse and myself.  Don't ask why we chose an Irish restaurant, given that neither of us is Irish.

One more - a young tree in its fall foliage.  Why this tree? I'm not questioning the phone.

My phone has spoken.  But while I'm at it, how about another LUMA picture it didn't pick?

Happy Tuesday!

"L" day for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme: "America the Beautiful".

Untermyer (Park) #AtoZChallenge

At one time one of the most popular gardens in the United States it sits, in Yonkers, New York, partially in ruins.

Untermyer Park, it is called.  Here's a brief history:

In 1865, John Meyer, who owned the largest hat factory in the world at the time, purchased 33 acres of land in Yonkers, New York.  He had a 99 room mansion called Greystone built for him. But his fortunes reversed and Meyer had to move and offer the property for rent.

Greystone was rented, in 1879, to a man by the name of Samuel J. Tilden (if you study United States history, you will know the name of Samuel J. Tilden).Tilden built 13 greenhouses in the property but died in 1886.  Much of his estate went to fund public libraries in Yonkers and in nearby New York City.

In 1899, at the auction of the Greystone property, it was purchased by Samuel Untermyer, a lawyer and civic leader born in Lynchburg, Virginia. As a teenager, he and his family moved to New York City, where he rose in the legal ranks and became wealthy.  In 1916, Untermyer started the construction of a massive garden complex at Greystone.

Untermyer was a strong opponent of the Nazi rise to power in Germany in 1933 and spent the next few years doing what he could to sound the alarm to the American public.  At the same time, he built a garden renowned in the world.  But, his health declined, and he died in 1940.  The city of Yonkers agreed to take on about 43 acres of what had become a 150 acre complex.

After 1940, the gardens declined and eventually fell into ruin.  But, in 2011, restoration began. When I first visited them in 2015 with my spouse and his cousin who lived in Yonkers all her life, they were still mainly in ruins.  Unfortunately, I can not find the photos I took back then.

We returned in March of 2019 and found a lot of progress.  It's still hard to believe, though, that what I was seeing was all that was left of what was once one of the most admired gardens in the United States.

Gate to the Garden of Love (complete with my finger).

Some of the ruins.  In the distance is the Hudson River and the Palisades.

More of the Garden of Love, showing some renovation.

Statues.

Not much was blooming besides crocus, but the leafless trees had their own stark beauty.

Speaking of crocus....actually there are a fair number of plantings of various types that have been put in by restorers.  I hope we can return sometime this summer and check them out.

Who knows, next year I might have a sequel?

"U" day on the #BloggingfromAtoZ challenge.

Beauty in the Ruins #ThursdayTreeLove

I am so excited - I've seen the first bulb in bloom (not on my land, alas) in my area of upstate New York.

Spring is here!  The squill is blooming in Binghamton.

The trees are breaking their dormancy.  We don't have bud break yet, but the sap is definitely running.

What you see here is what I think is a yellow twig dogwood (Cornus stolonifera).  I took this picture Sunday at Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers, New York.  Once called Greystone, this site (now a City of Yonkers park) is a garden that was once one of the most admired gardens in the United States but had fallen into ruins since the death of its last owner in 1940.  It is now slowly being restored.

Isn't it beautiful how this small tree glows in the early spring?

On "U' Day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I will be blogging more about Untermyer Gardens.

The message of this tree?  "Never give up hope" and "never judge a book by its cover". 

We donated some money before we left, so that we could do our little part in the renovation of Untermyer Gardens.   It is an amazing place.

Join Parul and other bloggers who blog about their favorite trees on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at #ThursdayTreeLove.

Traditions End Traditions Begin

House decorated for Christmas, December 2014, Yonkers, NY

For several years, I spent every Christmas in Yonkers, New York, with some of my husband's family.  Now, my mother in law is gone, and the woman who hosted this dinner can not do so this year.  We wouldn't have been able to come, anyway.  This year, neither of us had the heart to do anything related to Christmas.

Yet, I do have some precious memories of the years when, after dinner, my spouse, sister in law and I would walk to Cross County Shopping Center.

In Yonkers, New York, there is an outdoor shopping center. Both my spouse and I shopped there (well, our parents did - we were just along for the ride) when we were small.

Back in the early 1960's this outdoor mall, the first in Westchester County, New York, contained large and small stores, a play area, and even a hospital.

It was called Cross County Center then, and Cross County Shopping Center now.  It opened in 1954 and is still going strong, unlike many other malls of the era. 

My parents would take two buses from our apartment in the Bronx (the northern borough of New York City, which borders Yonkers) to Cross County just to shop there.  I loved those outings.

Several years ago, I was chatting with a co worker where I work in Binghamton, in upstate New York.  I don't remember how we got on the topic of our childhoods, but I discovered that she had been born in the Cross County Hospital, and spent her early childhood in Yonkers, before moving away, eventually to Binghamton.

Small world.

Then, when I shared the fact that I had Christmas dinner every year in walking distance of that same shopping center, she asked me a favor: would I take a picture of the hospital for her?

I had to break the news to her that the hospital had closed in the 1980's.  The good news was, the building was still there.  I told her I would do my best to get a picture.

So, in 2014, after Christmas dinner, my spouse, my son and I walked to Cross County.

Red and white building on the right, once a hospital, was being renovated into a hotel

 I took the picture she asked for.

Can you imagine, one day visiting the city of your birth and staying in the building where you were born in?  In a small way, I envy her.

My mother in law's passing on Black Friday, in a way, has made us realize how much of an anchor she was in our lives.  For us, we have to discard some old traditions now, but we know new ones will replace them.  Perhaps what we did this year (which I may blog about in January) will start new holiday traditions - and, in some ways, change is good.

We'll hope.

She Was Born in a Shopping Center

Today, I am rerunning a post from three years ago.

Imagine being born in a shopping center.  Imagine asking someone to take a picture of your birthplace discovering a history lesson.  This is what happened as the result of a little chat with one of my workmates.  Neither of us come from the area of Binghamton, New York, where we work today.

In the small world department, it turns out we used to live, many years ago, just a handful of miles from each other.  We are going through some similar times in our lives, and have learned so much from each other.

What started as an after dinner Christmas walk several years ago had become a holiday tradition for my spouse and me.  Little did I know that my 2014's walk might be the last one of its kind.  Times change and sometimes, traditions with them.

Here is the post:

In Yonkers, New York, there is an outdoor shopping center. Both my spouse and I shopped there (well, our parents did - we were just along for the ride) when we were small.

Back in the early 1960's this outdoor mall, the first in Weschester County, New York, contained large and small stores, a play area, and even a hospital.

It was called Cross County Center then, and Cross County Shopping Center now.  It opened in 1954 and is still going strong, unlike many other malls of the era. 

My parents would take two buses from our apartment in the Bronx (the northern borough of New York City, which borders Yonkers) to Cross County just to shop there.  I loved those outings.

Several months ago, I was chatting with a co worker where I work in Binghamton, in upstate New York.  I don't remember how we got on the topic of our childhoods, but I discovered that she had been born in the Cross County Hospital, and spent her early childhood in Yonkers, before moving away, eventually to Binghamton.

Small world.

Then, when I shared the fact that I had Christmas dinner every year in walking distance of that same shopping center, she asked me a favor: would I take a picture of the hospital for her?

I had to break the news to her that the hospital had closed in the 1980's.  The good news was, the building was still there.  I told her I would do my best to get a picture.

So, last week, after Christmas dinner, my spouse, my son and I walked to Cross County.

On the way, we saw flowers valiantly trying to stay alive in the cold early winter weather. (You knew I would try to sneak flowers into this post, didn't you?)

Red and white building on the right, once a hospital, is now, in 2017, a motel

 I took the picture she asked for. 

But then, walking further, we saw a rock.  A rock with a  historical plaque.  A rock neither my husband nor I remember from our childhoods.  But it must have been there.

It turns out that the land Cross County is located on has been a trading zone for hundreds of years.  First, Native Americans traded here, by a rock which became known as the "Trading Rock". Later, European settlers carried on the tradition.

My family and my in laws were simply carrying on a tradition already hundreds of years old.

Here is one more picture of Cross County.

Can you imagine, one day visiting the city of your birth and staying in the building where you were born in?  In a small way, I envy her.  (The good news is, since this post was written, that old hospital building is now a Hyatt Hotel.)

Summer Ramblings - New York Crepe Myrtles

I love walking around in places I am visiting, because you never know what you might find. 

Yesterday, in Yonkers, a city that borders New York City on the north, I saw a flowering plant that I had never seen before in New York State.   It was a plant that I remember well from living, years ago, in the Southern United States.

It's one of my favorite flowering plants, and I had not seen one in bloom since 2011, when we visited Virginia in July.

It's a plant I wish we could grow where I live in upstate New York, because it is so pretty and long blooming.  So may I introduce to you:

A New York crepe myrtle.

This plant's bark had been wrapped in something, and I just wasn't sure of what I was seeing.  But, a few hundred feet later on my walk, I saw another plant.  And when I saw the bark, there was almost no doubt.

But, since I never expected to see this plant in southern New York, I checked with someone I know who lived for years in the South, and my ID was correct.


You just never know what will happen when you take a walk.  And now, with only one more Summer Ramblings until fall starts next week, I treasure each and every flower I see.

Local Sunday - The 104th Birthday

Today, one of my spouse's cousins called.  She invited both of us to a birthday party.  But, not just any birthday party.

Later this month, my spouse's last living aunt will turn 104.

I've blogged about her several times before, and I might just repeat one of my favorite posts about her later this month, in her honor.

We weren't able to see her for Christmas.  We last visited her in September, when she was hospitalized due to an infection.  She was on a pureed food diet, and somehow, they had managed to puree spaghetti and tomato sauce into something less than appealing.  Needless to say, this outspoken centenarian of Italian descent was having none of it.


Hopefully, the food at her favorite restaurant (where her birthday will be celebrated) will be more to her liking.

She lives almost four hours by car from us, and we will hope the January weather is in her favor. 

What is it like to be almost 104 years old?  It seems, sometimes, that we don't value our senior citizens - until they reach 100.  Then, suddenly, we are admiring them, and hanging on their every word.  And, most of all, wondering what they did to reach that magic age because, after all, we may just want to live to 104, or beyond, ourselves.

My spouse's aunt is not a perfect person.  No, far from it. But that actually seems to be the norm. 

I wondered how many 104 year old people there are in the United States.  The only answer I was able to find was approximately 10,000.  I'm not sure how accurate that is.

But I can tell you this - although her body is frail, her mind is active, and she doesn't hestitate to share her opinion with others.  Now, I hope we can travel, and help her celebrate.  The last several years, her birthday party had to be postponed time and again, due to weather.

Do you have a centenarian in your life?

Winter Wonders - The Rock

Imagine being born in a shopping center.  And imagine asking someone to take a picture of your birthplace turning into a history lesson.

That is the story of my last blog post of 2014.

What started as an after dinner Christmas walk has become a holiday tradition for my spouse and me.

This year, it also became a lesson, all because of this rock.

In Yonkers, New York, there is an outdoor shopping center. Both my spouse and I shopped there (well, our parents did - we were just along for the ride) when we were small.

Back in the early 1960's this outdoor mall, the first in Westchester County, New York, contained large and small stores, a play area, and even a hospital.

It was called Cross County Center then, and Cross County Shopping Center now.  It opened in 1954 and is still going strong, unlike many other malls of the era. 

My parents would take two buses from our apartment in the Bronx (the northern borough of New York City, which borders Yonkers) to Cross County just to shop there.  I loved those outings.

Several months ago, I was chatting with a co worker where I work in Binghamton, in upstate New York.  I don't remember how we got on the topic of our childhoods, but I discovered that she had been born in the Cross County Hospital, and spent her early childhood in Yonkers, before moving away, eventually to Binghamton.

Small world.

Then, when I shared the fact that I had Christmas dinner every year in walking distance of that same shopping center, she asked me a favor: would I take a picture of the hospital for her?


I had to break the news to her that the hospital had closed in the 1980's.  The good news was, the building was still there.  I told her I would do my best to get a picture.

So, last week, after Christmas dinner, my spouse, my son and I walked to Cross County.

On the way, we saw flowers valiantly trying to stay alive in the cold early winter weather. (You knew I would try to sneak flowers into this post, didn't you?)

Red and white building on the right, once a hospital, is soon to be a hotel

 I took the picture she asked for. 

But then, walking further, we saw a rock.  A rock with a  historical plaque.  A rock neither my husband nor I remember from our childhoods.  But it must have been there.

It turns out that the land Cross County is located on has been a trading zone for hundreds of years.  First, Native Americans traded here, by a rock which became known as the "Trading Rock". Later, European settlers carried on the tradition.

My family and my in laws were simply carrying on a tradition already hundreds of years old.

Here is one more picture of Cross County to end my blogging year.

Can you imagine, one day visiting the city of your birth and staying in the building where you were born in?  In a small way, I envy her.  (Why, I may blog about next month).

Tomorrow, 2015 begins - a year which I hope will be kinder to us all than 2014 was.

Happy New Year to my readers.