Tag Archives: Park

Wantagh, New York, U.S. April 22, 2020. Two fishermen fish at Mill Pond Park as dusk approaches on Earth Day. (© 2020 Ann Parry, FromLongIsland.com)

Earth Day 2020: PAUSE & Webbed Feet

From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (annparry.com)
April 28, 2020

 How I spent Earth Day on Long Island

SLIDESHOW “Mill Pond Park, Earth Day 2020” with music
Click lower right corner of video to view full-screen:

Months ago, I ordered a box of 20 disposable N-95 masks. By the time they arrived, not long ago, many local first responders were short on Personal Protective Equipment and could use the masks more than I did.

After reading L.I. Herald reporter Andrew Garcia’s article on the Bellmore-Merrick EMS and how it needed PPE, I put on my makeshift face mask, grabbed the unopened box of N-95s, and drove to the not-for-profit’s nearby Bellmore HQ.

• EMT ALEX DOOLEY of Bellmore-Merrick EMS:

“Bellmore,

Bellmore, New York, U.S. April 22, 2020. EMT ALEX DOOLEY stands at entrance to Bellmore-Merrick EMS to accept PPE donation to squad. (© 2020 Ann Parry/AnnParry.com)

While dropping off the masks outside the EMS entrance door, I asked EMT ALEX DOOLEY what protective equipment donations the first responders particularly needed, other than masks, and she immediately said “gowns.”

Since dusk wasn’t far off when I left, I decided to capture Earth Day photos at a nearby South Shore park.

Normally I’d head west to Norman J. Levy Park & Preserve in Merrick, but it was closed because its sprawling trails and secluded areas weren’t social-distancing-friendly and Long Island was a major hot spot for the Covid-19 pandemic. So I instead headed east to Mill Pond Park in Wantagh.

The park borders Merrick Road, where I parked, joining two or three other cars already there, and adjusted my face mask after getting out of the car.

•  [digitally colored] Panorama of Mill Pond Park at dusk:

Wantagh, New York, U.S. April 22, 2020. Family feeds swan and geese at Mill Pond Park, as dusk approaches during Earth Day. (© 2020 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Wantagh, New York, U.S. April 22, 2020. Family feeds swan and geese at Mill Pond Park, as dusk approaches during Earth Day. (© 2020 Ann Parry/AnnParry.com)

My iPhone 11 Pro was the best and only camera I had with me. Its 2X optical zoom helped make it possible to capture photos I otherwise couldn’t have while Governor Cuomo’s executive order “New York State on PAUSE” is in effect, currently from March 22 to May 15, 2020.

New York State on PAUSE “NY State remains on PAUSE through May 15. All non-essential workers are directed to work from home, and everyone is required to wear a face covering and maintain a 6-foot distance from others in public”


FEATURE PHOTO at top of post: Wantagh, New York, U.S.  April 22, 2020. Two fishermen wearing waders fish at Mill Pond Park on Earth Day as dusk approaches.


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Mill Pond Park 2020 Earth Day:  my PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEOvimeo.com/annparry/millpondpark2020

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Photo Illustration: Cammanns Pond in Merrick, New York, USA, © Ann Parry, FromLongIsland.com

Cammanns Pond: Or, New Year’s Eve in Space

From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (ann-parry.com)
December 31, 2018

Cammanns Pond

Tonight, ten days after the shortest day of the year, and hours before the stormy last hurrah of 2018 would become the dawn of 2019, I stopped at Cammanns Pond on my way home.

Struggling through the downpour, the light from the street lamp behind me surrendered before reaching water’s edge.

Merrick, NY, USA. Dec. 31, 2018. A raft of ducks sleeps hidden at Cammanns Pond during rainy New Year's Eve. (© 2018 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Merrick, NY, USA. Dec. 31, 2018. A raft of ducks sleeps hidden at Cammanns Pond during rainy New Year’s Eve. (© 2018 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Rain coated the windshield seconds after each sweep of wipers, and dashboard lights bounced on the glass and water, so my bullseye view was light from distant buildings slashing an abyss.

But, after countless visits, I knew waterfowl must be near. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I covered the instrument lights with an infinity scarf, I saw hints of a silent, nearly still raft of ducks midway between shores.

Aiming my iPhone from the space between steering wheel and windshield, I captured rain smeared photos of two bare trees standing sentinel in front of the pond.

Going outside, I stood behind one tree trunk then the other, to avoid throwing a shadow, and leaned out to take photos of the ducks, pond, shores and beyond.

Shores & beyond

Then I sat silent and still in my car as ducks slept at the Merrick pond, on the deluged south shore of Long Island…

on the northeast coast of the United States on Earth as it orbited the Sun, in a spiral arm of the Milky Way, in the Virgo Supercluster…

as we made our way in the universe this New Year’s Eve…

forty years after the world understood global warming and still had a chance to avoid the extreme, destructive weather Earth’s now experiencing due to the climate crisis.

No home is an island.



• NASA: Global Climate Change Resources
• Bloomberg: Climate Changed
• NYTimes: Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change
• United Nations: Environment, Disasters & Climate Change


fyi fLI
In 1890 Hermann Cammann bought the Carmen farm house property on the north side of Merrick Road and rebuilt a larger version of the house, across from where Cammanns Park is now.


Cammanns Pond:  PHOTO GALLERY

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