2023 – May Day Sunrise Surprise
…………………………………………..(ignore April 30, 2017 publish date – this was published on Cinco de Mayo, 2023)
I woke up WAY too early on May 1, couldn’t get back to sleep and saw something I hadn’t seen in days – sunlight (if you’re local, you may recall that it poured ALL of last weekend, dumping 4 or 5 inches of rain – or more – in some areas).
I got up (for the usual reason) and noticed a bright, reddish-orange sky when I passed my living room – wow! Panoramic photo time!
The sun had just risen when I took this edge-to-edge PANO shot from my east-facing living room picture window (click once or twice to enlarge most of these pix):
It was 6:02am.
In that shot, I noticed that some of Manhattan was gleaming on the right horizon – especially off a couple of Hudson Yards buildings, so I took this Manhattan Skyline shot:
From a south-facing window, I saw Hackensack Hospital (old-school name) gleaming bright red a mile away – something I had never seen before (it’s usually dull brick and blue):
During a 29-hour period from 3am Sunday to almost 8am Monday, I received NINE Nixle flood notices from the Hackensack Office of Emergency Management (I live 3 blocks from the Hackensack River):
So – after checking the high-tide chart (high tide was at 6:08am), I thought I’d take a walk over there and see how bad it was.
It was 6:42am by the time I shot my first photo of the river. I had half-expected the street-level bridge I was on to be under water. The water level was high, but contained. The south PANO view:
The north PANO view:
If the tide was just a little higher, Johnson Park would have been flooded:
I decided to look under the bridge. The footing was very shaky (slippery, moving rocks in mud):
Not too bad.
One last sunrise shot at 6:51am:
And I was home by 7am – a fairly productive hour before breakfast.
Next goal (assuming we ever get another sunny day): The Great Falls in Paterson, NJ – a majestic must-see after big rains. Here’s a screen shot off their Falls Cam that I took this cloudy morning:
It’s supposed to be sunny this weekend, but if I don’t get there then, YOU can – anytime! Go here to that Falls Cam:
https://www.earthcam.com/usa/newjersey/paterson/?cam=patersonfalls
After a commercial, the Falls cam comes on (click on the full-screen view).
Best time to view is when the sun is on the Falls (sunny mornings around 10-11am Eastern). Powerful falls produce lots of mist, which, in turn, produce rainbows when the sun is present. You’ll see the Falls in shadow if you’re too early or too late. Adjust accordingly.
And a belated Happy May Day to you (he says on Cinco de Mayo, so Happy that, too!).
No more holidays until the end of the month. PRIOR to that, I hope to be making a MONSTROUS post – probably one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) posts I’ve ever made and it has a connection to Memorial Day (and music).
Don’t miss THAT one!
Lovely array of early morning scenery. It pays to get up and get out there some days, doesn’t it?
Great shots, as usual!
Don’t forget Mothers Day, for those of you lucky enough to still have your mother.
Nice!