[Journal entry for January 29, 2017, Levees and temporary ponds in Tallman Mountain State Park, NY] In the early afternoon of a clear but not particularly cold day, Dallas and I walk a loop in Tallman Park. No snow remains on the ground. We park at the south lot, off of Route 9W near the Palisades Market. We walk a short distance down the Bicycle Path and then headed left onto one of the old levees. These low earthen mounds, typically two to four feet high, date from the 1920’s, when Standard Oil started to construct a tank farm – fortunately never completed - on the site. They form a crude grid of three north-south levees and five east-west levees, on top of which a network of hiking trains run (though not all are passable). We take the westernmost levee northward, past numerous temporary ponds formed where the levees impound rain water and snow melt. The water’s surface is a mirror today, for no wind is blowing, and reflects the trunks of the bare winter trees. We connect with the northernmost east-west levee and take it east, across the Bicycle Path, to the cliff edge, and then take the cliff edge trail southward. One high spot near its southern end has a small overlook that commands a nice view of the Hudson River, Piermont Marsh and, in the distance, the Tappan Zee Bridge. We then follow the southernmost east-west levee eastwards, across the Bicycle Path again, to the Long Path, which follows on the easternmost north-south levee. We complete the loop by taking it back to the Bicycle Path, and follow that back to our car. About an hour.