CAPRESE SANDWICHES

1 baguette

1 pound fresh mozzarella

1 bunch basil

2 pounds heirloom tomatoes

olive oil (to drizzle)

red wine vinegar (to drizzle)

freshly ground pepper (to taste)

coarse salt (to taste)

Slice the baguette lengthwise.  Slice the heirloom tomatoes and the mozzarella into 1/2-inch-thick pieces.  Drizzle the baguette with olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Layer the tomatoes and mozzarella on the bread, and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Garnish with basil leaves and sandwich the slices of bread together.  Cut the baguette into 4 sandwiches and serve immediately.  http://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/cowabunga-caprese-sandwiches-mario-batali

The Hudson River is a 315-mile (507 km) river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York.  The river originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, flows through the Hudson Valley, and eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean, between New York City and Jersey City.  The river serves as a political boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York, and further north  between New York counties.  The lower half of the river is a tidal estuary occupying the Hudson Fjord, which formed during the most recent period of North American glaciation, estimated at 26,000 to 13,300 years ago.  Tidal waters influence the Hudson's flow from as far north as Troy.  The river is named after Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, who explored it in 1609, and after whom Canada's Hudson Bay is also named.  It had previously been observed by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano sailing for King Francis I of France in 1524, as he became the first European known to have entered the Upper New York Bay, but he considered the river to be an estuary.  The Dutch called the river the North River--with the Delaware River called the South River--and it formed the spine of the Dutch colony of New Netherland.  The source of the Hudson River is Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondack Park at an altitude of 4,322 feet (1,317 m).  The river is not cartographically called the Hudson River until miles downstream.  The river is named Feldspar Brook until its confluence with Calamity Brook, and then is named Calamity Brook until the river reaches Indian Pass Brook, flowing south from the outlet of Henderson Lake.  From that point on, the stream is cartographically known as the Hudson River.  The Hudson is sometimes called, in geological terms, a drowned river.  The rising sea levels after the retreat of the Wisconsin glaciation, the most recent ice age, have resulted in a marine incursion that drowned the coastal plain and brought salt water well above the mouth of the river.  The former riverbed is clearly delineated beneath the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, extending to the edge of the continental shelf.  The Narrows were most likely formed about 6,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.  Previously, Staten Island and Long Island were connected, preventing the Hudson River from terminating via The Narrows.  At that time, the Hudson River emptied into the Atlantic Ocean through a more westerly course through parts of present-day northern New Jersey, along the eastern side of the Watchung Mountains to Bound Brook, New Jersey and then on into the Atlantic Ocean via Raritan Bay.  A buildup of water in the Upper New York Bay eventually allowed the Hudson River to break through previous land mass that was connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn to form The Narrows as it exists today.  This allowed the Hudson River to find a shorter route to the Atlantic Ocean via its present course between New Jersey and New York City.  The river was called Ca-ho-ha-ta-te-a ("the river") by the Iroquois, and it was known as Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk ("river that flows two ways") by the Mohican tribe who formerly inhabited both banks of the lower portion of the river.  Read more and see pictures at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_River

EPONYMS

Bartram's Garden is the oldest surviving botanic garden in North America.  Located on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, it covers 46 acres (19 ha) and includes an historic botanical garden and arboretum (8 acres (3.2 ha), established circa 1728).  The garden is near the intersection of 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, in Philadelphia.  It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.  Bartram's Garden is the oldest surviving botanic garden in the United States.  John Bartram (1699–1777), the well-known early American botanist, explorer, and plant collector, founded the garden in September 1728 when he purchased a 102-acre (0.41 km²) farm in Kingsessing Township, Philadelphia County. John Bartram's garden began as a personal landscape.  With his lifelong devotion to plants, it grew to become a systematic collection as he devoted more time to exploration and the discovery of new North American species and examples.  Although not the first botanic collection in North America, by the middle of the eighteenth century Bartram's Garden contained the most varied collection of North American plants in the world.  John Bartram was at the center of a lucrative business centered on the transatlantic transfer of plants.  Read more and see pictures at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartram%27s_Garden

Elfreth's Alley, named for blacksmith and property-owner Jeremiah Elfreth, was home to the 18th-century artisans and trades-people who were the backbone of colonial Philadelphia.  While a modern city has sprung up around it, the alley preserves three centuries of evolution through its old-fashioned flower boxes, shutters, Flemish bond brickwork and other architectural details.  Two adjacent houses, built in 1755, are now a museum and are open to the public.  Tiny by modern standards, the two homes were considered average size in their day.  During the 19th century, eight families (27 people) shared the two homes, a situation not uncommon for the era.  http://www.visitphilly.com/history/philadelphia/elfreths-alley/

TOPONYM

Longwood Gardens is an American botanical garden.  It consists of over 1,077 acres (436 hectares; 4.36 km²) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania in the Brandywine Creek Valley.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longwood_Gardens   "I have recently experienced what I would formerly have diagnosed as an attack of insanity; that is, I have purchased a small farm,” Pierre du Pont wrote to a friend soon after purchasing the Peirce family farm in 1906.  However, he added, “I expect to have a good deal of enjoyment in restoring its former condition and making it a place where I can entertain my friends.”  An understatement if there ever was one.  It didn’t take Pierre long before he started making his mark on what he called Longwood.  The name came from the nearby Longwood Meeting House, which in turn was named for a neighboring Longwood Farm.  “Longwood” probably derives from a nearby stretch of forest known locally as The Long Woods.  https://longwoodgardens.org/history/1906-1916  

Photographic views of New York City, 1870's-1970's from the collections of the New York Public Library  The New York City photograph collection began in the 1920s, not long after the opening of the new central library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.  Historical photographs complemented contemporary images, as the collection continued to grow systematically through commissioned photographs, purchases, and gifts into the early 1970s.  Organization is by borough, and then by street address; a section of topical subjects such as Islands, Occupations, Parades, Social Conditions, Transportation augments the geographical portions of the holding.  https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/photographic-views-of-new-york-city-1870s-1970s-from-the-collections-of-the-ne-2#/?tab=about  

Bob Wolff, along with Curt Gowdy the only sports announcer that is a member of both the baseball and basketballs halls of fame, died July 15, 2017 in South Nyack, NY at age 96.  In a career that began in 1939, Wolff covered every major sporting event from World Series to Super Bowls to NBC and NHL championship series and was an institution in New York, where he broadcast for the Yankees, Knicks and Rangers.  http://deadline.com/2017/07/bob-wolff-dies-sports-broadcaster-hall-of-fame-new-york-1202130199/

Charles W. Bachman, an engineer who created software to harness business data in the early 1960s, laying a technical foundation for modern digital commerce, died July 13, 2017 at his home in Lexington, Mass.  He was 92.  Mr. Bachman was a pioneer in the field of database management software.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/16/technology/charles-w-bachman-dies.html

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1739  July 18, 2017  On this date in 1927, Ty Cobb hit safely for the 4,000th time in his career during a game between the Philadelphia Athletics (his new team) and the Detroit Tigers (his old one) at Navin Field.  (The Tigers won, 5-3.)  On this date in 1932, the United States and Canada signed a treaty to develop the St. Lawrence Seaway.  http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-07-18/day-history-july-18-2017.html

Thought For Today  If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. - Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel laureate (18 Jul 1918-2013)