City Views, Country Dreams

Good evening from New York.

I am having some very welcome days off from the shop.  

Tomorrow, the weather is to turn very hot, but yesterday and today, it's been quite mild for the middle of June.  Summer is just about here.

During these days off, I am fumbling around my apartment, doing some cleaning, doing some re potting of the valiant cactus survivors on my southern window, catching up on my reading, working on some crafting, and best of all, I am having fun visiting with friends.

Yesterday, it was a perfect breezy, coolish day to take a walk along the extended route of the elevated walkway on New York's west side known as the High Line.

Back when this marvelous overlook's initial route was opened, I took my first stroll along its route with my friend Elizabeth, whose blogs you would very much enjoy.  It was great fun to meet up with her again yesterday to see how the uptown, i.e. northern extension High Line route looked.

The photo below is of one of the mini gardens outside Elizabeth's apartment house that she creates.  Each of them is a taste of English country for New York City passersby.

There are various entry points for getting "upstairs" to the High Line pathway.  There are also elevators at some of these entry points that allow anyone with stair climbing difficulties to also enjoy getting up there.

To my eyes, the charm of this walkway is the contrast between the vistas you can see to the west (sometimes allowing a Hudson River view) and to the east, allowing you views of many iconic NYC architectural wonders and some other views that are just ... well, urban, ca. 2012.


There are various plantings done along the pathway, and even on a Monday afternoon, there are quite a few other pedestrians strolling along, enjoying being out, UP and about.  The plantings feature lots of greenery, and some sturdy flowers to keep us reminded of the current season.

If you take a closer look at the above photo, you'll see that the harlequin painting is a take on that famous Times Square photo taken at the end of WW II.  The painting below is of another theme.

One thing that's wonderful and a bit disorienting about walking along the High Line is that you are in the midst of some nature, both right to your left and right because of the Parks Department plantings, and can also see some beautiful gardens a bit below where you are walking (like that shown in the above photo) and also are having to occasionally dodge oncoming pedestrian traffic, while catching a glimpse of changing aspects of the New York skyline, from close up and afar.

I took the above backward photo view to indicate just how long this pathway spans.  It is not a straight path, but has lots of nooks and crannies, and occasional benches to allow strollers to sit awhile, rest, have a snack.

Here's a little puzzle for you all. If you look at the very far distance of the Eastern view in the above photo, can you spot a classic NYC building?  Clue, think Art Deco.


And, just for some contrast in scale and beauty, here is an immediate western view while walking along.  Can you spot the bit of green on the building's balcony/fire escape that echoes the big green leaves of the Parks Department planting?

At some points along the route, there is not much of a view on one side or another.  I happen to like the look of this enclosed window, but wish that whoever might be currently living or working on the other side of the brick wall might still have a view.

Ahh, here's another eastern view, just past some close up branches of another architectural icon.

And, returning for a close up, I could not resist taking a photo of this strange flowering plant. I have no idea what it might be called, but thought it resembled some sort of underwater sea animal.

As Elizabeth and I walked past this resting place, I liked the look of the juxtaposition of the pretty and happy friends enjoying the afternoon sun, with the rather severe painting on the building just behind them.  I asked the ladies for permission to take their photo and they graciously granted permission.

All along the walkway, there are railings at at height that guarantees walker safety, while also allowing walkers to easily see beyond the barriers.  There are many flowers, and these flowers were attracting lots of butterflies and bees yesterday.

I love the look of the spent flower in the following photo, since it reminds me of many of the fireworks designs that we will soon be seeing erupting over the riverside on the evening of July 4.  Nature is so full of inspiration!

As we retraced our route downtown, and found an exit staircase, I took one final photo to show the lovely afternoon sky.

Elizabeth and I made a refreshing stop along our eastward walk, for tea (for her) and coffee (for me) and some delicious cakes to fill in those little gaps our afternoon exercise had suggested.


What a marvelous day!

I will leave you with the above photo of a bit of knitting that is amongst my current yarny projects.  The grey yarn is a variegated Danish "Kauni" yarn and so will change its accenting of the changing colorways provided by my odds and ends of leftover rosy yarns.  

Tomorrow our weather is to snap sharply into summer heat.  I look forward to meeting up with other friends this week, but think that our meeting spots might involve indoor air conditioning.

Best wishes from New York.