I had lots of trouble deciding what to post today, but settled on these two reminders of the natural world. Whenever I walk along the path in the top image, which is usually several times per week, I'm reminded of the eternal ebb and flow of the tides, and of the oceans that cover most of our globe's surface. It's nice to get a reminder of what's beyond when you live in NYC, which can feel like the gravitational center of everything.

I took the second picture on October 12, the morning after hail the size of large marbles fell in Red Hook. During the storm I was lucky enough to be inside, but the assault of ice was a reminder of how vulnerable we are to nature, especially as our climate changes. The hail had knocked about half of the leaves off of all the trees in the neighborhood, and they carpeted the sidewalks like some kind of harvest.

8 days left.

These are mostly about shape and color. But I'm also wondering what the heck that scaffolding could be for; it doesn't seem close enough to the buildings to have any use. The second picture is of the little pebbly beach in the park at the end of Coffey Street, where many bits of colorful junk have washed ashore.

This is Ari with his dog Taco. Ari's headphones match Taco's leash. I met them walking by the water after school on Wednesday.

Elia Kazan's 1954 film On the Waterfront was based on the world of Red Hook longshoremen. I just read that originally the film was going to be written by Arthur Miller and called The Hook, but the House Un-American Activities Commission pressured the studio to change Miller's script. Miller refused and dropped the project. With the new writer, Budd Schulberg, the title was changed.

As I get ready to move, I know the proximity the the water is one of the things I'll miss most, hence my posting another picture of fishing and the piers. In the foreground is my old friend Elijah Miller. Elijah is a songwriter who works at B61, a bar on Red Hook's northern border with Carroll Gardens. In the background, that faint point on the horizon is the Statue of Liberty.

12 more days of new posts to Here in Red Hook. Enjoy this one:

I absolutely love the waterfront in Red Hook. And I love talking to guys (and once in a while gals) fishing out on the piers. But I wouldn't eat the fish they catch – straight out of Upper New York Bay. I guess that's what this picture is about.

Today I start the countdown to the end of Here in Red Hook. In exactly two weeks I will move to an apartment about a mile from where I live now, outside of the borders of the neighborhood I love. I'll still be working in Red Hook, but have decided to end this project while I'm really still Here in Red Hook. For the next 14 days I plan to post a new image at least once a day, and on October 31 I will post my last post.

It's been so rare that I've photographed any male-female pairs in Red Hook, and I think that's too bad, because couples are great. I met these two young people one afternoon when I was out shooting with the photography class that I co-teach at SBCHS. I learned their names, but didn't write them down, and have now forgotten. The white, orange and black grocery bag tells me that they'd bought their snacks at Fairway. I love that detail because I don't think I've ever seen any teenagers from the neighborhood shopping in there. (Fairway is a gourmet grocery store on the waterfront in Red Hook).