Fall Colors 2009

I was in Central Park this weekend, on a rainy Saturday (too bad for the kids attending the Pumpkin Hunt!) with camera in hand, but thankfully, it was still a photo-worthy visit. The leaves this week are green with lots of yellow but not too much red, but I expect that by this weekend, we will see some changes. It hadn't been that cold here, so fall color hasn't advanced that far. It's still awfully pretty, and I hope to capture more leaf extravaganza as October advances...

More pictures at my Flickr here.

A Nature Post

I have been trying to walk more during my days and take the trains and buses less often, when I have some time, and this week was in both Central Park and Inwood Hill Park, camera in hand. I was amused by the sight of park birds feeding in the long shadows of late afternoon- fat red robins in Central Park, and the local geese in Inwood.






It's still wintry-looking, but the grass is showing signs of Spring. I am a winter-lover, and adore the bare trees and wonderful textures that you see in colder weather. It was a windy day yesterday and I loved the wind bath that whistled by. The late shadows make for interesting photos and I was taken with the striped effect on the ground from tree shadows.



I have never seen sculling in local waters before yesterday - these rowers could be from Columbia University nearby, or some other organization. There are are two boathouses at the tip of Manhattan (pictured) and they alit from their boats on their dock on the far left.




Finally, a poignant sight - this tree stump wedged in between these iron railings. I never noticed this before, and it awes me that somehow, this tree found a way to push through this fence.

Brrrr.

Good to know that you can still get in to Central Park at 12:30 AM!


Funny how some folks wanted to walk right next to the wall - looks like their dog wanted to, as well.


I love the idea of a Children's Gate. It leads to a playground that I was taken to as a child, growing up on East 76th Street. The playground is unrecognizable now - full of modern playground amusements. I'm reminded that I must read Adam Gopnick's book about growing up on the East Side.

It was 18 degrees today. I was taking pictures of the Christmas windows at Bloomingdales (they're fun - will post soon) and had my fingerless gloves on for 5 minutes - which was enough to make the exposed bits hurt like hell for an hour afterward. It seemed possible to achieve frostbite status, and I was so happy that I thought to bring the gloves I wear with them when I was done. Naturally,there were the hardy souls (men) in sweatshirts with no hat or gloves here and there, but for the most part, people were sensible, and wore hats and scarves and layers.

I considered walking across snowy Central Park to look at the snow and grab a few pix, but when I reached Fifth Avenue, it was rip-your-face-off wind chill time, and the paths into the park hadn't been de-iced, so the sensible part of me whispered "better not", and for once, I listened.

It's supposed to be 30 degrees tomorrow, and 48 on Wednesday, so bye-bye snow, hello slush and big puddles.

A Walk In The Park

Continuing with the Fall Theme, I walked through Central Park this past week on another impossibly gorgeous day, eager to see how the leaf colors were progressing. It was only just starting, and I was thrilled by the sight of a few trees that looked as if God had dipped a dry brush in red and just touched up the edges of a few trees. That red makes me CRAZY, so I have to go back next week to chart its progress. I was in NJ over the weekend, and the fall colors are ahead of New York City's...some pix coming soon.

I photographed the Park in the East 80s, walking by the Great Lawn and the duck pond near the Delacorte Theater.