Mysteries

Nothing is more enticing than a veil of secrecy cloaking a building, a person or even a car such as the one above. My kids and I always marvel at its outfitting--does the red siren really still work? Do people actually call upon it for services?

It advertises itself as a "Wildlife Control" vehicle and the stickers covering its doors hint at sinister intentions....poor raccoons and pesky skunks. I wonder if the back contains an assortment of cages and traps. Does the owner roam the neighborhood a la Harper Marx? I imagine him prowling with a large net while blowing a whistle and herding the wild vermin into the back of his mobile.

My mission is to find the owner and get his story. Yes, that much I do know. The owner/driver is a man. Word on the street is he's a math teacher at a local public middle school. In fact, I spotted this car parked in front of the rumored school earlier today.

I'm also curious about the tenants of this landmark building, facing the Fairway parking lot in Red Hook. The ediface pays homage to New York Harbor, which it faces, with the shark head jutting above the second floor, anchors, ship's steering wheels and a metal model of the World Trade Center. Sonja asked me yesterday: "Is that a pirate's house?"

Before I get to my final mystery, I have to rant about the mystery of navigating blogspot settings. How come I can't put my photos where I want them?

All right. Nils found this succulent 'shroom in Prospect Park this fall. I looked it up in my Golden Guide to mushrooms, but couldn't find a corresponding species. No luck online. It was a beauty, though. Nils referred to it as his baby, until it turned moldy and mushy. Then it was lovingly tossed into our backyard garden to continue its life cycle, perhaps in peace from foraging raccoons and skunks.