Photographs

Saratoga Battlefield and National Historic Park

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Continuing this week’s Revolutionary War era theme, all across upstate New York (as well as New York City and Long Island) can be found many historical sites and battlefields. Even the Battle of Bennington (Vermont) was fought across the border in a town of New York.

On a recent drive through the Saratoga/Schuylerville area, my family and I saw an obelisk in the distance. We drove towards it and discovered the Saratoga Monument for the first time. It was under some renovations but we were still allowed in and around it and the family climbed up as far as they could go. For my own bragging rights, I did climb to the second level, which considering my knee and the open stairs that fed my fear of heights was a pretty good feat.

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Following Alexander Hamilton’s Footsteps in Albany, NY

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The Hamilton phenomenon is more than breaking records on Broadway and changing the face of the Great White Way, but it’s also reminding history buffs like me that we have a great and storied past to explore, often in our own backyards. As a child and an adult, I’ve been to Gettysburg, Williamsburg, St. Augustine, but I’ve forgotten that we have history from the same time right here in New York. In fact, much of our national Revolutionary War history took place in New York, from the battles to the newly formed government. This is especially true here in the capital region, near where I live.

Hamilton, the musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the country’s first treasury secretary, the first political sex scandal, a man murdered by the Vice President of the United States.

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1 of 4 remaining smaller versions of a statue that stood on Wall Street in Manhattan.

Alexander Hamilton, who made New York his adopted home, who was married in Albany and spent summers there with his family, Chief of Staff to George Washington, traveling everywhere with him has made a resurgence in the Albany Capital Region (among other places including cementing his face on the ten dollar bill).
I’m a history buff, living in the heart of it, and I missed all of this in school; or I’d forgotten it. I don’t know which.

Lucky for us, however, sites in the area have jumped on the Hamilbandwagon and have set up special tours and exhibits. I recently went on a new tour at the Schuyler Mansion: “When Alexander Hamilton Called Albany Home.”

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The front of the Schuyler Mansion. The porch and vestibule pictured were not there during the Schuylers' time in the house, but was kept during the restoration because of the renown of the architect.

The Schuyler Mansion is the home of Hamilton’s in-laws, Phillip and Catherine Schuyler, Catherine herself a member of the equally impressive Van Rensselaer family. It is also the place where Alexander married his dear Eliza, a small room about the size of my own living room in the magnificent expansive English manor house.

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The Room Where it Happened. Alexander wed Elizabeth Schuyler in this room in front of a small group of family and friends.

A smaller room off the second hall served as a study for General Schuyler and was where Hamilton and Aaron Burr pored over legal texts when they worked together on a case. I have to admit, with the colorful green and the writing desk and books and maps, this was probably my favorite room and one I wouldn’t mind spending some time in behind the velvet rope.

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Study where Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr looked over General Schuyler's massive book collection for their work as lawyers.

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Those are actual books belonging to Phillip Schuyler.

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In a recent article in the Albany Times-Union, a trifecta of Hamilton events were highlighted and the ones I’d like to share with you here today.

Put together by the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, it includes information on the tour at the Schuyler Mansion that I mentioned earlier. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 518-434-0834 or visiting their website for more information.

The second part is a Free Walking Tour. Go to their website and download the PDF. This is the next item on my to-do list for this summer.

The third is an exhibit at the Albany Institute of History and Art titled, “Spotlight: Alexander Hamilton. Their information can be found at their website or by telephone at 518-463-4478.

Hamilton isn’t the only history to explore in this area. I hope to bring you a few more as the week progresses.

The Spring Garden

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One of the things I love about my house is the backyard. I don’t get out there much because of my reaction to the sun due to one of my medications, but we have a really lovely backyard. My husband takes very good care of it. He gets his green thumb from his mother. I did well when we had an apartment and we had only containers to garden in. Those were beautiful. Gardening is hard work though.

One of the things I love about our yard is the lilac tree. Some years it blooms better than others, but every year I wait and I wait, and when it comes that is usually my first foray into the back. I love to smell them, and touch them, and of course, photograph them. They have different colors depending on how the light hits the petals.

When I went out this past week it was nice and shady by the lilacs so I got to spend a bit more time with them. There were many clusters that gave me some good pictures. I also watched some bees doing their thing and I think I caught some of them in the act.

The second Instagram set is some of the highlights that I discovered on that recent visit outside. While my kids are too big for those toys, they still made me feel like a parent of kids. It wasn’t a nostalgic feeling as much as content. I hadn’t noticed that my husband hung the windchimes in the back porch. After taking a couple of pictures, I pushed on them and listened to their perfect harmony. Some advice for buying windchimes: When you find one that you like, listen to it. They all have their own sound, so find one that you can listen to for the rest of your life.

Instagramming Across May

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When I first heard about Instagram, I thought, oh no, not another social media thingy. But once I began to use it, I really enjoyed it. Especially the way I can post directly from it to my Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Because those two latter ones are more anonymous than my FB, I do need to be careful not to post any identifying information or at least to be aware of it when I do.

In getting my new smartphone, I’ve discovered that its camera is better than my camera-camera and my Kindle camera and having 4G that actually works is the bonus, so I’ve been using it more lately. I also love the way the layout on multiple pictures looks. It lets me be creative and really use my imagination.

This May has been incredibly busy as you’ve read in the posts I’ve made and in the lack of posts I haven’t made. But I have managed to make Instagram posts because they are just so easy to upload.

I wanted to share them with you.

As a writer, I hate the saying, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

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