City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York.

Like today, yesterday was also quite cool, grey and damp.  Even so, I decided to take a walk over to Central Park, thinking that I would see lots of green.

It was interesting to learn that a little building, adjacent to the subway station, formerly used as a newsstand is now a mini Pain Quotidian take out eatery, complete with tables and seating for its patrons.  Business was quiet yesterday, but I think that it will be picking up as warmer weather returns. 

Perhaps because of the mood of the day (not my mood) I finally remembered to take a photograph of an intriguing sign that has been on the side of this West 72nd Street building for a long time.  It's amusing to see the logo of Sleepy's mattress shop nearby.

Still looking up as I continued on my way to the Park, I took a photo of the tops of some other 72nd Street buildings.  These are very different in character from the newer towers in the neighborhood.  One building has a fence around its rooftop garden.  There are a variety of shops at street level.

Just inside the Park, I was glad to see that some tulips were still in bloom.  I love the softness of the shades of green, with the delicate pink shimmer in the background and those blue flowers in the foreground.

Here is another view of a scene that the cool weather has prolonged.

I was disappointed to find that the wisteria flowers had come and gone.  Perhaps I will still be able to find some wisteria in bloom in another part of the Park.

A few pedicab pedalers were managing to find some patrons.  Warming blankets were available for the passengers.

No flowers on this wisteria vine either, but isn't it lovely anyway?

Azaleas have now begun their spring performance, and looked great in this little nook near a pathway that lots of dog walkers use.

The following photograph shows you this nook is also very close to the Park's edge.  If you did not look up, and did not hear any passing traffic, you could imagine you were in the country on a misty day in May.  I also wanted to take some close up pictures of pretty forget-me-nots, but my camera battery faded.

This short post is intended to let you all have an idea of how quickly the atmosphere of the city can change.

This afternoon I visited The Metropolitan Museum of Art for a members preview of a truly fabulous and thought provoking exhibit.

I took many, many photographs of the beautiful and interesting clothes both old and new that are included in the show.  It's going to take me a while to download my photographs and see which might be worthy of including in my next post.  It's my hope to add that much longer Met post this week.  Clearly retirement has increased my blogging frequency!

As always, thank you for your visits and comments.  It is so interesting to learn what you all think of these city views.