The Long Island Blog

If you live on Long Island seeing the sun rise over the Great South Bay is a relatively common sight, but I can never get enough of it.

I was up early this morning and took the scenic route to work. I was lucky enough to catch this rower just as he crossed the reflection of the sun on the water.

This almost looks like a sunset, but it is not. This is the sun at 7:08am this morning, 28 minutes after it rose. Today, the Autumnal equinox and also the first day of fall, the sun rose directly in the east and set directly in the west. Yes, you can set your compass by it.

I would love to have been the guy in the boat, but even just catching a sight like this was a great way to start a new season.

Snapper fishing on Long Island has definitely past it’s peak, but I’d thought I’d post this anyway.

Every year near the end of August the snappers start feeding heavily before they venture out into the ocean to migrate. These fish are lean, mean, eating machines and that makes them a lot of fun to catch. They’re also very good eating.

Snapper fishing usually peaks around end of August, beginning of September. They’re still out there now, it’s just taking longer and longer to fill the bucket. If you have the patience you can still catch enough for dinner before the day is over.

If want to try your hand at this popular long Island sport have a look at my guide to snapper fishing, filleting, and cooking (with pictures and a video).

Enjoy!

One last post about the Nautical Mile…

I just added some information about Nautical Mile cruises and casino boats.

Even though it’s Labor Day I’m not going to say that summer is over. However, when I start seeing temperature inversions on the Great South Bay I know shorter days and cooler weather are on the way.

Check out this picture of the Ocean Beach water tower on Fire Island. See how the entire island seems to be floating above the bay?

This illusion is caused by something called a temperature inversion. It sounds technical, but the concept is simple: The air is much colder near the bay than above it.

Normally the opposite is true and everything looks fine, but when cold air settles in overnight and then warm air comes in to replace it, a thin layer of cold air is trapped just above the water’s surface. That cold air bends light in such a way as to make things look higher or taller than they really are.

So now you know…

Oh, and one more thing. As far as I’m concerned, here on Long Island the De facto end of summer should be Columbus day not Labor Day.

I took a trip to Atlantique on Fire Island last Friday. Atlantique is one of my favorite spots for a Fire Island day trip because it has public restrooms, hot showers, and a nice little snack bar. It’s also very close to Ocean Beach which is where I like to go for dinner after a day on the beach.

The plan is simple: I take the Fire Island Ferry from Bay Shore to Atlantique. Spend the day swimming in the ocean then take a hot shower and change into some decent clothes. Hail the Fire Island Water Taxi for a short, but exhilarating ride to Ocean Beach. When the night is over I take the ferry back to Bay Shore.

But getting back to my trip to Atlantique. Long Island’s beaches are usually great for beachcombing, but every now and then you’ll come across an accumulation of shells and polished stones that’s just unbelievable.

On a very small section of beach the waves and currents were just right to pile up this mass of goodies. No one could help but bend over here and pick things up. One guy even found a shark’s tooth.

Hope everyone had a safe 4th of July… (Although I did read about a 6 year old girl who was burned when someone thew fireworks into a bonfire. What a @#%$ moron!)

Here are a couple of shots taken right in front of my house. Not my fireworks though. Someone on the next block was launching very large and very loud fireworks from his backyard.

Of course the camera, especially without a tripod, doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the display.

I went to the Jones Beach air show back in May and finally got around to posting a short article with some pictures and a video featuring the F-22 and the Blue Angels.

Check it out here:

The Jones Beach Air Show

I don’t mean to dwell on this subject, but lightning is a significant part of summer on Long Island and we’ve had a lot lately…

Last night I was blown out of bed by tremendous blast of thunder and lightning. The kind where you see the flash and hear the boom (BOOM!) at the same time.

I checked the house to make sure it wasn’t hit, then went back to bed. This morning I woke to find my cable, phone, and internet service nonfunctional, and a tree in the backyard blown to bits.

And that’s exactly what happens when lightning hits a tree, the water inside it boils and the tree explodes sending giant wooden spears everywhere. That’s very dangerous and a good reason to stay away from trees during thunderstorms.

This oak tree is split from top to bottom and will have to be cut down.

There are thunderstorms in the forecast for the next 4 days. Hopefully I won’t have anymore pictures to post here…

We had some serious lightning on Long Island’s south shore the other night. My daughter, through sheer will and determination, snapped this picture with her cell phone as we were heading east on Sunrise Highway in Oakdale.

It’s not a great shot, but it does convey the power of a lightning bolt. The odd looking thing on the left is the windshield wiper. In the lower left corner of the picture you can see ripples of rainwater running down the window.

Had we the time we would have watched this storm from the beach (staying in the car of course), which can be quite spectacular.

The late springtime weather on Long Island can blow in some unusual looking clouds. I don’t know what kind of clouds these are, but I thought they were cool enough to take pictures of.

I had been admiring these while in my car on the way to work. When I finally parked the car they were almost gone, but you can still see the odd undulations that initially caught my eye. The clouds appear to be pushed down by some force above them and kind of look like what I imagine the surface of the sea looks like from below.

These I snapped over the Suffolk Community College campus in Brentwood during my lunch break a couple of weeks ago. The camera simply does not do justice to this majestic sight. The clouds were bright, puffy and I could see them expanding over the horizon like popcorn in slow motion.