Today's picture shows the eastern facade of a houseboat conversion, shortly after sunrise yesterday morning. It's one of my dozen neighbors at the marina where I reside, here in Seaford NY. During the past three years of living here I've never yet photographed any of my neighbors' dwellings, which range from houseboats, to converted houseboats, to house-barges - and even one very large, wooden cabin cruiser; but the time to do so is growing short.
Living here has been an incredible adventure, from brutal storms in winter and early spring, to the glorious days of mid spring through late autumn; but, like all good things seem to do, it is coming to an end. My marina, as well as the adjoining marina to the west, are being converted to a string of 11 waterfront McMansions: Just what Nassau County needs - more over-sized and over-priced houses on under-sized building lots!
I'm not complaining, really, as I've known since the beginning that our days here were numbered, but that doesn't make it any less of a bitter pill to swallow. I've a couple of options on where to go or what to do; but before the time comes when I've got to act, I'm going to stay focussed - both literally and figuratively - on what living here is all about. So I'll probably be posting many more images of life here on the water than I normally would.
Forgive my self-indulgence, but this sort of living arrangement is becoming a rarity in the northeast. It's not for everybody: But for those of us willing to put up with frozen water lines, during weeks of below freezing weather; pilings snapped and rooves blown off by fierce nor'easters, such as the storm we experienced here last March; the enormous wakes thrown up by passing boaters, who obviously don't comprehend what the words "5 MPH - No WAKE" mean, which cause us to violently heave to and fro and from fore to aft, and slam us against our moorings; the relentless biting of gnats and green flies, and the oppressive heat and humidity on wind-less days of mid-summer, the rewards are sublime.
My favorite experience here occurred a couple of weeks after that last nor'easter. I was standing on my dock, surveying and repairing the damage done to the staircase I'd built, which descends to the dock from my back deck. As I looked up from the dock, there - in the 6' wide channel which separates the stern of my house-barge from where I was standing - I saw a baby seal surface, take a quick lungful of air and a brief look around, and re-submerge. That instant, which lasted no more than two short seconds, is forever frozen in my memory. They may be able to force me to leave here, but they can't take the memory of that moment from me.
Camera Data
Canon
Canon EOS 5D
1/128 second
F/5.6
73 mm
125
Dec 4, 2010, 7:23:54 AM
Adobe Photoshop CS Windows
Canon EOS 5D
1/128 second
F/5.6
73 mm
125
Dec 4, 2010, 7:23:54 AM
Adobe Photoshop CS Windows
