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.

Fogalicious!

I was out running errands and noticed that the fog from Christmas Eve was still with us. The weather this weekend is warmer than usual after our snow of a week or so ago, and there's still some ugly black slush around, a little ice and a smattering of whiteness in the park here and there. It wasn't until twilight when I was able to get to the park again and the colors and mistiness were unbelievable. YES, there is s little PhotoShop magic happening, but it's very close to what it really looked like. There's more here and you can click on the slideshow to see them at their best.

Snowstorm Heaven

Well, I don't have to dig out, so it's heavenly to me. I'm also not elderly, so I don't have to worry unnecessarily about falling, unlike my Dad, who can't go out at all in weather like this. I love the different quality of sound during a snowfall - I can't describe it - it's as if the sound is both muffled and sharper at the same time.

I went out in the afternoon with the camera as I wanted to catch the twilight. It was sleeting, which you can't really tell from these pictures. Inwood Hill Park is small but beautiful, and the views of the bridge and salt marsh are always so stunning. Having the cafe at the upper end of the park is a real treat - finally, a place that's perfect for getting an infusion of hot chocolate or coffee, that's convivial, artsy and just plain cozy. Being able to visit Scavengers is always a treat and as my camera steamed up I grabbed a few shots. It was really cold out! Anyway, enjoy the pictures, and there are more here at Flickr.