The Bluffs located in Jupiter Florida is a wonderful community that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway that offers all the pleasures of waterfront living with the convenience of city living. There is a wide choice of oceanfront condominiums, garden townhomes, lakeside single-family homes, marina condominiums, and Intracoastal condominiums or single-family homes available in The Bluffs. Seven different residential communities within The Bluffs represent Florida waterfront living at its finest. Walk to Florida’s best beaches, take your boat out for a leisurely cruise, go shopping downtown or take in a show. Each individual community provides its own private amenities that include heated swimming pools, tennis, racquetball and basketball courts, fishing lakes, jogging/biking trails, playgrounds, and much more.  The Bluffs’ 94-slip deep-water marina accommodates boats up to 60 feet in length, with docks available to residents of the Marina Island community. Close by is a wide choice of world class dining, shopping, and entertainment. Come see what living in Palm Beach County has to offer.

From The Cape Cod Times – President Barack Obama at a gathering with friends at the home of friend Valerie Jarrett in Oak Bluffs.

The house is a little quirky, very light, with 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths I think it’s a good deal at $480 per square foot.  It’s very close to the bluffs and in a great residential area.  This home should sell quickly now at this new price.

They gave up on trying to balance themselves on the warm hood of the car without denting the metal and sat together on the gravel of the small lot overlooking the river.  She leaned back on the bumper so that her head rested on the headlight and he fidgeted uncomfortably with the rusted screw holding on the license plate digging into his back.  Neither of them could decide how they wanted to spend the night so they just drove until they were far enough outside the city they thought they’d be able to see the stars but they were wrong so they just sat there not looking up, not really looking anywhere.  The quiet was unsettling but instead of talking they threw small stones into the darkness and listened to them fall.  Time passed slowly. Cicadas sang quietly.  She fell asleep on his shoulder and he wondered if this would be one of those times they would remember every now and then.  He wasn’t sure, but he was leaning towards no.

The long-awaited Part II of “The Bluffs” has arrived!

What will happen as Kat, Heather, and I explore a newly-built residential community at night?

Part II can be found in full under “New Arguments” while Part I moves to it’s own section aptly titled, “Bogosian Would Be Proud (The Bluffs)”

“Earlier in the day, we stood in awe as we read the “Rules of Etiquette” (or Etta-quit, according to Kat), a tall white sign posted at strategic intervals throughout the Quarry Lake compound. Adjacent to Rule #2 “NO FOUL OR VULGAR LANGUAGE IS PERMITTED,” a group of well-minded conscientious individuals engraved their displeasure with the regulation with a trite “FUCK THAT.”

Martin Luther, it was not.

Funny as hell? Oh yes.”

-from “The Bluffs, Part II”

oh, the bluffs. a lovely field in portland overlooking the train yards, the willamette river and all of the west side of the city.

when is the last time you had a ho-ho?

i was wondering where i was going to pee out here?

speckled legs

music listening

ahh...

post-picnic ice cream

we'll be back.

A video showcasing the beauty of weddings shot at the Galiano Island Inn, Galiano Island, BC. Other locations include Montague Harbor Provincial Park and Bluffs Park.

The hot air is heating up surrounding Ontario’s Green Energy Act, that proposes 10,000 megawatts of newly installed renewable energy by the year 2015. Of course, we can agree we need to move towards more sustainable, reliable and environment friendly energy solutions. Wind turbines are an obvious piece of the pie. The hubbub starts when we talk about investment and where these turbines should go. As taxpayers, we all have a say but when the municipal voice comes up against an immovable force such as a provincial government mandate, it’s not too long before things begin to smell fishy.

Such is the case in the greater Toronto area.

Toronto Hydro has proposed an off-shore windfarm located close to the Scarborough bluffs area in Lake Ontario. This raises an immediate flag as historically the city of Toronto does not have a good reputation for building aesthetic or sustainable waterfront projects. Toronto’s waterfront is an eye-sore and wasteland compared to other major cities in North America. But this is a small gripe compared to a multitude of concerns shared by the residents of this particular area of Scarborough.

The big issue between Toronto Hydro and the contentious voice (the good residents of Guildwood) claim Toronto Hydro has not successfully completed the environmental assessment to legally submit the application. One in which, needs to be approved by the provincial ministry in order to move forward with the plan.

With no mention of any other major projects in the works, one can assume, Toronto Hydro will be doing everything in it’s authority to see this through. Whereas the residents of Guildwood would like to have this project dumped altogether. I wish them good luck to keep fighting the proposal. Why ? It’s the democracy required to teach the Ontario government that subsidizing the true of cost power with our tax dollar while trying to sell us on green projects is unethical.

More information:
Toronto Hydro
http://www.torontohydroenergy.com/generation_offshore.html

John Laforet’s blog (Guildwood resident)
http://laforet.ca/2009/03/30/guildwood-community-led-community-meeting-a-great-success/

I grew up in Nebraska, so I suppose I’ve taken its outdoor charms for granted. We moved around a lot as I was growing up, so I was blessed with being able to live in various parts of the state and see the variety of landscapes and natural features. On vacations, we often stayed right here in Nebraska, so I was able to see even more of this great chunk of the heartland. From the sandhills to the river valleys, the forests of the eastern end of the state to the buttes and bluffs of the west, Nebraska’s natural features are, perhaps, more subtle than oceans and mountains. Yet they’re diverse and beautiful and profoundly worthy of exploration and study. Come along with me and explore what’s outside in Nebraska!

A couple of days after the heated public meeting, we have all had a chance to reflect and consider what has happened.

What is clear is that the entire proposal has been blown out of proportion, and both sides are guilty of it. Both the proponents and opponents believe a wind farm in Lake Ontario to be the end result of the installation of a research station.

All this about an anemometer

The dust has not settled yet and Councillor Paul Ainslie (Scarborough East) is calling for another, more intimate meeting with community members. It remains unclear just how intimate this meeting will be, and more importantly how “community members” will be selected to attend the meeting. What is commendable is Toronto Hydro’s willingness to let the public have their say, even if what they are saying has little to do with their proposal.

What is obviously needed is a more reasonable approach to this debate. As strongly stated by an editorial in the Star, the anemometer test would run for two years and only after this test would wind turbines even be considered. There is a distinct possibility that wind turbines in this location would be found unviable. Even if the study shows turbines here would be successful, there is no chance of those going through without several public meetings. It is unfortunate and regrettable that many people have now been misled. The two sides have created unnecessary debate about wind farms, when the real debate should be about whether or not a wind anemometer is useful and necessary.

There is little harm to be done by this measuring station; to fish, to birds, to humans, to anything. This is why it should be allowed to go ahead.

Click here for some great photos of Chimney Bluffs State Park.

If you plan to go visit this remarkable spot in person, grab a copy of “Take A Hike – Family Walks in New York’s Finger Lakes Region” so you have directions to it and a map of the trails.

Sounds a little ridiculous doesn’t it? Well, it probably depends where you own property.

Hundreds of Guildwood and Scarborough Bluffs residents came to a public meeting on Oct. 27, most expecting to voice their great concern for the very future of their community. You see, Toronto Hydro was proposing to build a wind anemometer in Lake Ontario off the Scarborough Bluffs, with the expressed purpose of measuring the suitability of wind in the area for possible wind turbines.

This is where the energy crisis in Ontario gets localised. Those who believe turbines are a scar on the landscape are getting organised and seeing results. Unfortunately, this kind of action means that we will not be able to resolve our ongoing reliance on coal power. What is apparent in these kinds of events is that those in favour of such a project, usually the majority, do not feel inclined to show up to public meetings. This leaves those opposed to such projects the only voices heard at meetings. This happened not long ago in the same community, but the issue was a cell phone tower. This situation leads to websites such as this.

Some of the concerns voiced by residents, before the meeting had to be postponed due to crowding:

• aircraft warning lights would be attached to the turbines, turning the Bluffs into “an airport runway 24/7″
• councillor Brian Ashton chimes in saying putting turbines off the Bluffs would be “like throwing paint on the Mona LIsa”
• others were concerned about “the wildlife and pollution, the lake”

As you can see, most of the comments made were reactionary and unfounded. Many were also concerned about how the turbines would affect their view. This is the most outlandish and offensive argument of all.

While it is great that the Guildwood community is active and involved in local issues, their collective tendency to have knee-jerk reactions to any sort of change in the community must stop. It is dangerous in that it sends a message to businesses and other investors that they will have a rough ride if they ever want to try to do something that will in fact, benefit the community.

The fact that this was merely a research device is secondary to these individuals. They only see what they believe will be the end result, an imagery inserted into their minds by their own meetings and conversations with like-minded individuals.

The meeting is to be rescheduled to a later date by Toronto Hydro to accomodate the interest in wind anemometers.

Today I took a quick photography trip with Bronwen Myers along the bank of the Mississippi River. Here are some photos that I took with Jordan’s Nikon D40x:

On the Bluffs….

Join Owen on his hike on Long Island – Day Hike: Shadmoor State Park

Originally broadcast 9/16/08:

Patrick Murphy profiles the Mississippi Bluffs community as part of a special episode highlighting the distinct neighborhoods in St. Louis. The area is located just south of downtown on the Mississippi River and boasts views of the Arch and Jefferson Barracks Bridge. It was once a place where wealthy St. Louisans built their mansions. One such mansion was bought by The St. Louis Altenheim as an elderly care facility. In 1972, the building was torn down and replaced on the same site, keeping much of the original look and furnishings.