Mark Twain's Backyard
Quote de jour
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than the things you did do. So,throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore...Dream...Discover...
~Mark Twain
Sometimes, the best discoveries are in your backyard, or as Mark Twain might have said, "In your neck of the woods." At the beginning of this past summer, I clipped a newspaper article about a historic home/park/arboretum with lily ponds. I love lily ponds. The plan was to go there and photograph them at the end of the summer. Summer evaporated. The file disappeared and I couldn't remember the name of the place. I knew it was overlooking the Hudson River and north of the city. So, on a gorgeous early Autumn Sunday, hubby and I went in search of this fabled place. It didn't take long. By a process of elimination, we stumbled upon Wave Hill http://www.wavehill.org The moment we passed through the gates of this former estate, I didn't care whether this was it or not. I'd found paradise. Sprawled over twenty, lush acres are sweeping lawns with charming, wooden lawn chairs for visitors to gaze at the Hudson River and the rocky cliffs of the Palisades.
There are greenhouses, formal gardens, winding paths through idylllic woods and oh, not one, but two mansions. The gray stone Georgian used to be the home of Mark Twain from 1902 to 1904. Who knew? He didn't own it but leased it. Still, impressive digs for a writer and no doubt inspirational. I can't believe I've lived in the area for seven years and didn't know about it. And, its only a twenty minute train ride from Grand Central Station.
Apparently, it's a popular place for weddings and I can see why. On that day, we saw a catering crew setting up chairs on the lawn for a sunset wedding. What a glorious setting. I thought it was a good omen despite not finding the lily ponds. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon strolling the grounds. At every turn, we found something exotic and beautiful.
Then, we entered a grove of clipped hedges and practically smacked into the wedding couple, being photographed. The icing on the cake? They were beside the lily ponds.
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than the things you did do. So,throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore...Dream...Discover...
~Mark Twain
Sometimes, the best discoveries are in your backyard, or as Mark Twain might have said, "In your neck of the woods." At the beginning of this past summer, I clipped a newspaper article about a historic home/park/arboretum with lily ponds. I love lily ponds. The plan was to go there and photograph them at the end of the summer. Summer evaporated. The file disappeared and I couldn't remember the name of the place. I knew it was overlooking the Hudson River and north of the city. So, on a gorgeous early Autumn Sunday, hubby and I went in search of this fabled place. It didn't take long. By a process of elimination, we stumbled upon Wave Hill http://www.wavehill.org The moment we passed through the gates of this former estate, I didn't care whether this was it or not. I'd found paradise. Sprawled over twenty, lush acres are sweeping lawns with charming, wooden lawn chairs for visitors to gaze at the Hudson River and the rocky cliffs of the Palisades.
There are greenhouses, formal gardens, winding paths through idylllic woods and oh, not one, but two mansions. The gray stone Georgian used to be the home of Mark Twain from 1902 to 1904. Who knew? He didn't own it but leased it. Still, impressive digs for a writer and no doubt inspirational. I can't believe I've lived in the area for seven years and didn't know about it. And, its only a twenty minute train ride from Grand Central Station.
Apparently, it's a popular place for weddings and I can see why. On that day, we saw a catering crew setting up chairs on the lawn for a sunset wedding. What a glorious setting. I thought it was a good omen despite not finding the lily ponds. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon strolling the grounds. At every turn, we found something exotic and beautiful.
Then, we entered a grove of clipped hedges and practically smacked into the wedding couple, being photographed. The icing on the cake? They were beside the lily ponds.
Posted by Layla Morgan Wilde at 10/16/2008 3:04 PM 
Categories: Writing, Travel, Photography, Spirituality
Categories: Writing, Travel, Photography, Spirituality
Such a beautiful backyard. I agree that many of our most treasured moments are close to us.
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Utterly splendid array of photos! Thanks so much for taking us along with you. I too love the beauty and serenity found in lily ponds...
Thanks, Quinn. And they're even way better when re-sized correctly
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I can't help wondering why you find my little vixen peeking through the lemon balm "spooky"? Hmmm, how curious!
Quinn, LOL guess I'm seeing things.
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Oh, you made me extremely curious as that little fox is one of my house gaurdians! He's on a "rough" side of the house too, so I was curious just what had made him spooky to you as that was such an unusual response to the basic image. lol See, you aren't nuts... or at least, you aren't nuts alone.
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Thanks Layla for the inspiration to explore my own backyard a little more!
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