City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York and a very Happy April Fool's Day to you.  I am so pleased to tell you that Spring is at last showing us a bit of what we have been longing for.  No fooling!

The weekend's heavy rain finally gave way to a bright blue sky and warming sunshine.  Of course, I set out for a long walk around Central Park to see what had changed since my last visit.

Green shoots were emerging from the mulch.

The ice that had covered the Lake had melted.

Parks workers were out and about trimming and raking and even watering.  The watering didn't seem necessary after the weekend's heavy rains.

Tiny buds were appearing on branches.  Very few of these buds had yet been courageous enough to open into flowers.  I imagine that when I return to the Park in a few days, I will be seeing lots of flowers.

Perhaps some of you will recall the picture I took of the all ducks sheltering on the edge of the frozen Lake?  Yesterday these ducks were having a fine swim all over the Lake, and doing lots of diving below the surface to find a late lunch.  I noticed that quite a few daffodil plants seemed to have been munched by said ducks or other feathered friends during the past months.  There will be no flowers on those daffs, but I think that within a week I will be able to see quite a few golden trumpets in other parts of the Park.

It's difficult to take photographs of the varieties of hellebores, particularly since they are planted in areas that are fenced off from pedestrian pathways.

Still, I thought I would take just a couple of photographs to show you all that the hellebores were putting on their show.

Over in the Shakespeare Garden I also saw some evidence of early bloomers.

In the shadier spots, those little snowdrops that had actually braved the snow were still in flower.

Crocus flowers in many varieties and colors were all over the sunny spots of the Shakespeare Garden.

It's still early days, but I found all that I saw to be very encouraging.

More crocus.

The warmth of the afternoon encouraged some folks to rest a while on one of the rustic benches, while others got down on their knees to get close up views of the dainty flowers.

I encountered a bunch of preteen boys in red track suits who were being encouraged by their coaches to run up and down and all around the sloping pathway around the Shakespeare Garden.  Some of these lads ran much faster than others.  I could not have run as fast as any of them.  I think all the young fellows were glad to finally be given the signal that it was time to stop the running and to begin the walk back to their school.

The next photograph shows part of the magnificent Great Lawn.  This area was one of many that is currently closed "for the season" while the grass is nourished and some pesticides are distributed.  There were lots of green and white signs around the edges of these grassy areas politely telling us to stay off.

I cannot remember if I've ever before shown a photograph of this charming over/underpass.  It's always fun, for children of all ages,  to walk through it and sing out to hear the excellent echo.

If you look very, very carefully you all might just manage to see a few daffodils in bloom in the green area below the tree.  With some more sun and warmth, the little incline will be a yellow blaze.

As I was walking westward on my way home, I took this last photograph of some pretty curvy shadows and pretty curvy elm branches.  This picture looks tranquil, but in reality just a few yards to the left of my photo's border a very raucous break dancing performer was delighting an assembled group of applauding onlookers.  I think they were tourists, but maybe they were locals.

Back home I decided to make a pot of tea, and needed to decide between cup or mug.  My Spode cup and saucer have been chipped and mended a few times, but I love using them.  I believe that Spode not longer produces china in the U.K.  The mug is another sample of my little Emma Bridgewater admiration.  I truly do hope that here potteries will stay in business for a long, long time.

I will close this post with a report that today's visit to my capable dentist resulted in the formal installation of my new molar crown.  What a relief to be able to return to chewing in a less tentative way!

I so appreciate your visits and comments.  Hoping that you all are also enjoying the change in season and that no one surprised any of you with any pesky unwanted April Fool's jokes.