NATIONAL PARK AND THE CITY
TODAY I'M COMPETING WITH THE NEW YORK TIMES!
THEY CAME TO HAMILTON GRANGE (OUR 'HOOD) THIS WEEKEND AND TODAY PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE ABOUT NYC'S HIDDEN GEMS
YESTERDAY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WHO CARE FOR HAMILTON GRANGE WERE DOING GARDENING TOGETHER WITH LOCAL VOLUNTEERS. YAY!!
I LOVE GARDENING! IT'S GREAT EXERCISE FOR BODY AND MIND. BUT YOU DO HAVE TO BEND OVER A LOT!
GARDENING IS LIKE BEING A REFEREE BETWEEN PLANTS, CONTROLLING THE BULLIES AND ENCOURAGING THE SHRINKING VIOLETS. 'A WEED IS JUST A FLOWER IN THE WRONG PLACE' IS MY MOTTO.
HAMILTON GRANGE WAS THE HOME OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON, THE FIRST SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY AND FOUNDING FATHER OF THE USA. HE REPRESENTED NEW YORK IN CONGRESS AND FOUNDED THE BANK OF NEW YORK. HE DIED IN A DUEL DEFENDING HIS HONOR.
THE GRANGE IS A LOVELY REGENCY HOUSE, VERY LIGHT INSIDE AND WITH LOTS OF AIRY PORCHES: A GREAT CONTRAST TO THE DARK AND HEAVY POST CIVIL WAR BUILDINGS OF MOST OF MANHATTAN. OVER TIME BUILDINGS INCLUDING A BIG VICTORIAN CHURCH WERE BUILT AROUND HAMILTON GRANGE. SO TEN YEARS AGO IT WAS PICKED UP AND MOVED 600 FEET TO ITS CURRENT LOCATION. THE ELEGANT SIMPLICITY OF THE HOUSE AND THE INTEGRITY OF ITS FIRST OWNER ARE PARTICULARLY THOUGHT PROVOKING TODAY! DON'T YOU AGREE?