Snake Season

Thom and I returned to the Pines after missing a week due to covid 19 quarantine.  Victor and Tommy invited us over for a belated celebration of my 67th birthday.

Tommy shot time-lapse video of the sun setting over the Great South Bay.  

After birthday cake, he also showed us mesmerizing images he shot in pre-covid New Zealand.

Later in the week, we served them Varick's chocolate peanut butter balls.

 Both Varick and Thom cooked up a storm

Have you ever eaten a sausage clock?

Thom adapted this burrata recipe from Better Homes & Gardens.  I got a free subscription after buying a floor lamp at Walmart.

Wine with that delicious lunch contributed to the spontaneity of a video we shot to commemorate Magda's & Joe's sixth wedding anniversary.  Randy & Thom knocked it out of the park with their infant and toddler impersonations.

Another house honored a Supreme Court justice.  Have flamingoes ever been used to such fabulous effect?

Returning to the Pines enabled me to swim for the first time in 6 weeks,  twice in the ocean and once in the bay.

Walks to Cherry Grove led to some interesting natural encounters, including a pair of brown snakes

. . . and a very bold buck.

"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille."

Additions to my collection of clever (and sometimes X-rated) Cherry Grove house names.

Plenty of random images, too.

Looking forward to my 34th season!

But first, the roughest ferry crossing of the Great South Bay that I've ever experienced.

That Bird

Ya gotta love the Flamingos of the Pines.  They're always up for a theme and usually it's for a community cause.  This year, all but one is wearing a mask.  A sign (you can't see it in this photo) advises "Don't Be That Bird!"

Of course I didn't know this when I boarded the ferry for our first, slightly nervous visit since the pandemic. Mostly, I wanted to document the oddity of people on the upper deck wearing masks to cross the Great South Bay.  I asked Varick to take this selfie because he and Thom were sitting in the first row.  Note the man in the red mask coming up the stairs, just to the left of my peace sign.

He took the seat next to me even though the boat was mostly empty.  Thom had waited in line for a couple of hours to make sure we could sit in the first few rows.  I didn't notice he had removed his mask until he began coughing.  The other photo bombers complied with ferry policy.

Yep, Robert Feldman is THAT bird.

"I don't mean to be an asshole, but if you're going to cough, please put your mask back on."

"It's a smoker's cough."

"I don't care,  please put it back on if you're going to sit here."

He refused.

"OK then, I'm going to report you."  

"Do you know who I am?"

I proved I did by identifying him as the attorney who lost what he called a "gay pride trial" in the Bronx.

Probably not the best tactic for de-escalating our conflict but his arrogance really pissed me off.  Downstairs, I complained to the young woman who was shepherding the 50% capacity crowd onto the boat.  She asked where the man was sitting.   I pointed to the bow.

"Was he wearing a red mask?"

"Yes."

"Oh, he's a homeowner."

"You mean he's caused problems before?  

"Not for me personally but we know him.  I'll say something after everyone boards."

By the time I returned to my seat, Feldman had put his mask back on and moved into the row behind me.  If Sayville Ferry acted on my complaint, I didn't see it.

But Feldman continued to lean forward and make hostile, bizarre comments.

"If you know so much about me, you probably know about my porn site."

Varick put an end to his harassment by standing up, all 6'4" of him.

"Move back," he commanded.  "Move away from him." 

Welcome back to the Pines.  Where homeownership, apparently, has its privileges.