City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York.

Humid late July days were punctuated by a very wet Thursday, resulting in almost two inches of rainfall.  We had our Blue Full Moon on the 31st.  (I forgot to look for it when on my way home from a late shift at work.)

So far August weather has been warm, but has contained lower humidity than that of July.  I am grateful, and decided to walk across Central Park today.

Just outside my building, I spied masses of red begonias, a gleaming bike, a shiny white van, an American flag and several black cars.  I hoped to be able to cling to any available shade.

Reaching the West 72nd Street entrance to Central Park, I avoided eye contact with assembled pedicab chaps who took me for a tourist because I was taking photographs.

I also moved quickly through the shady Strawberry Fields area, trying not to hear the off-key performance of Beatles tunes that seemed to please other folks.

From the above photograph you can see just how clear the sky was.  If you look very carefully between the twin evergreen trees in the background, you can the top spire of the Empire State Building, located about two miles downtown.

I couldn't resist taking a photograph of some of the horse drawn carriages clip clopping along the park roadways.

I began to notice lots of brown, fallen leaves along the lawns.  It seems too early for spying these signs of autumn, but there they are.

As I gazed upwards, i saw quite a few nests newly revealed as leaves begin to fall.

This roadway has a curving incline that was proving a challenge for many weekend cyclists.  I just kept on walking along at a slow and easy pace.

These eye catching banners are hung throughout the Park to promote the Central Park Conservancy.  I thought it odd that the electric light was on at midday.

Lacy shadows caught my eye.  I also saw lots of acorns that had already been nibbled by squirrels, but saw no squirrels.

I took the following photograph to indicate the vast contrast between the shadowy areas and those in bright sunshine.

More shady leafy areas are apparent in the following photograph.

I believe that these flowers are a sort of impatiens, and were clearly loving the sunlight.  I'd thought that impatiens plants could also tolerate more gentle light.

I continue to somewhat fascinated by the types of signage that is placed around the Park.  Is it curious that this sign was limited to three languages?

As I left the Park and crossed Fifth Avenue, I had a peek at the below street level garden on the side of the opulent Ukrainian Institute.

A bit farther along East 79th Street, I noticed that this neatly trimmed box has a brave little weed sharing its space.  Perhaps none of the millionaires living in the building mind.  Or perhaps they are all away somewhere on holiday.

Since most of the pictures in this post are dominated by shades of green, I thought I would conclude this report of my sunny Sunday walk with these city views of two glorious planters.

These are just some of the beauties planted at the entrance way to the Greek Archdiocese building.  The plants and flowers are always very beautiful at the this address.

My destination today was once again The New York Society Library, where I picked up three books.  They are Milan Kundera's short story collection, The Festival of Insignificance; Zen Training by Katsuki Sekida; and Robert Macfarlane's The Old Ways.  I am about half-way through Mr. Macfarlane's Landmarks and want to pursue more of his writing.

I realize that a walk through Central Park is very far from a walk down a country lane, or through an old forest.  However, I am very grateful to have the Park nearby.  I am also very appreciative of all your visits and comments.

Best wishes to you all for more enjoyable summer days, whatever sort of weather may arrive.