[Journal Entry for October 5, 2011, Piermont Pier]. It's a fall day, very clear, with a wind out of the north, but fairly warm, in the mid-seventies Fahrenheit. I park at the public lot across from Flywheel Park in Piermont NY. I first visit the little viewing area on the north edge of the Piermont Marsh, off of Paradise Avenue. It's on the north bank of the Spar Kill (creek). The Kill is calm and the Phragmites grass of the marsh is lit up by the sun, as is the prominent hill that hosts the North Picnic Area of Tallman Mountain State Park. I stroll down Paradise Avenue and then onto Ferry Road, which leads out onto Piermont Pier. I stop for a few minues at the baseball field. I find that by climbing a low hill of dirt at the back of the field I can get above the level of the Phragmites and have a good view of the marsh. The flat surface of Phragmites tassels is etched with meandering tidal channels. The Tallman Park hills behind the marsh are still almost completely green, as are the trees surrounding the ball field. Many of the vines have turned bright red, though. I then continue down Ferry Road, out onto the Pier. The Pier is a earth-fill structure that extends about a mile out into the Hudson River. It's about twice as wide as the road and has trees growing along its edges. The road is closed to most traffic, and so functions as a wide pedestrian walkway. Numerous people, including walkers like myself, joggers, bicyclists and anglers are enjoying the sun this morning. I find that I can walk out onto a broad drain pipe that extends several hundred feet into the bay south of the Pier. From there I have a good view of the broad bay south of the Pier, of Piermont Marsh and of the cliffs of the Hudson Palisades to the south. I then continued my walk out onto the Pier proper. I pass numerous benches, some made of substantial sculpted hardwood logs. One is dedicated to my late friend and colleague John Diebold, who died last year. It is on the north side of the Pier and commands a good view of Hook Mountain and the Tappan Zee Bridge, to the north. On account of the north wind, the river to the north is quite rough. I stand at the water's edge for a few minutes, watching the waves. I then walk out onto the dock area of the Pier, which is a concrete structure with bitts and cleats for tying up ships. I do not recall the dock being used lately, but once, may years ago, I recall visiting Columbia University's Research Vessed Robert D. Conrad, which was moored there. The chop is particularly strong just off the end of the Pier, owing to the currents having to veer around the Pier. The view to the east is a bit hazy, owing to being in the direction of the sun. But I can see the hills of Westchester County and the towns, such as Irvington, along the river's edge. In contrast, the hills to the west are very vivid. The closest, Clausland Mountain, just west of the Pier, is very pretty and still very green. I walk back along the northern pathway which splits off from Ferry Road and follows the river's edge past the condos at the western end of the Pier and which leads to Flywheel Park. I remember when this site was the old CleavePack paper recycling plant; the massive flywheel that still stands in the park is the only remanent of its heavy machinery. I passed the rowing shells of the Piermont Rowing Club and the Parelli Park Boat Launch, inhabited (at this moment) only by a flock of ducks. I stopped to gaze for a few minutes at the Piermont Community Garden. Last month's storms apparently did the plants no good; the garden did not look particularly luxurious. About an hour and a half.