I chased the moon this morning, and lost.  By the time I got away from my high-horizoned, building-intensive lair, the solstice moon only recently eclipsed, had slipped beneath the New Jersey highlands, but in spite of the cold . . . . I was not disappointed.

First I caught the sixth-boro newby Crystal Cutler pushing

barge Patricia E. Poling into the Upper Bay.

Then MSC Mandraki headed past with

bulb exposed to the cold winds and

Gramma Lee T Moran protecting Mandraki‘s assets.

Freddy K Miller (ex-Fred K and ex-Stapleton Service)  headed west on a mission.

Rarely sixth-boro-seen Marion Moran sprayed past

in the stark but intense winter solstice colors.

As my fingers were losing all sense of feeling in the wind chill 19 degree sunlight, Freddie K and Susan Miller headed back east with Weeks 533, which has appeared here

powerlifting locomotives and Sully’s Airbus 320.

And before I crawled back into a warm place, I caught Sassafras pushing some fuel in Doubleskin 34 and

What!!?? . . .   a classroom on a fieldtrip?  checking out Minerva Rita.

Well, maybe this floating classroom is a figment of my imagination brought about by the cold.

Mermaids emerge on the summer solstice and draw the crazy out in me and some of my best friends.  I MUCH prefer THAT solstice, now only a half year away again.

All fotos here by Will Van Dorp.

Unrelated:  check out these fotos of the Crowley barge on towmasters.