After nearly a ten-week hiatus, I’m gently easing back into my postings with a pictorial presentation. On Sunday, July 19th, South Buffalo ALIVE, a “non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the South Buffalo area,” held its 15th annual “Garden Tour” (note: given its scale, only the hardiest would choose to actually “walk” it).
From my perspective, the event could not have been more perfectly timed. Less than three weeks have slipped by since I began the transition into the “next chapter” of my life, moving from East Aurora to my new residence in South Buffalo’s Cazenovia Park neighborhood. Most of my boxes are unpacked, and the furniture has settled into their more-or-less permanent positions. And I was restless to hop on my bike, explore the community, and meet some of my neighbors. Starting in the busy, beautiful, Olmsted-designed Cazenovia Park, here’s some of what I experienced:
A pleasant Famer’s Market:
A perfect day to participate in a baseball tournament:
Or to just relax in the shade and watch our “national past-time”:
It also was a perfect day to appreciate the natural beauty of a meandering Cazenovia Creek:
And, more solemnly, to honor the memory of five brave men, Michael Austin (39), Michael Catanzaro (37), Matthew Colpoys (47), James Lickfeld (43), and Anthony Wazkielewicz (37), who lost their lives on December 27, 1983:
While waiting for the light to change at the busy intersection of Abbott Road and Warren Spahn Way (a parkway with an appropriate maximum speed of 15 M.P.H.), I couldn’t help but appreciate the difference between the urban setting one experiences when departing South Buffalo’s Olmsted Park and the sights and sounds one is subjected to alongside North Buffalo’s Scajaquada-split Delaware Park:
The official start of South Buffalo ALIVE’s Garden Tour is at the Tim Russert’s Children’s Garden at 2002 South Park (between Choate and Whitfield avenues and next to the Dudley Library):
My bicycle tour lasted a bit more than two hours, cut short by hunger and some obligations back home. To my chagrin, I only saw a fraction of the gardens available for viewing. But I have little doubt that the 16th Annual Garden Tour will take place next July, and I’m already looking forward to it. Here are photos of a few of the personal gardens graciously shared by South Buffalo residents with the public:
As well as an institutional garden:
And two community gardens that I regularly enjoy on my morning walks around my new neighborhood: At the end of Teresa Place (off Seneca Street near Indian Church Road):
And at 2195 Seneca Street, the Seneca/Cazenovia Community Garden, conscientiously attended to by South Buffalo CREW and neighborhood residents:
With All Due Respect (and Appreciation)
Art Giacalone
With All Due Respect 