City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York on Easter Sunday.

Some of you may know that each year there is a rather informal Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue. About ten blocks of the Avenue are closed to vehicular traffic, and folks stroll along. Some pose for pictures and some, like me, take pictures.

These ladies take their hats very seriously.

This lady, wearing lots of metal, even on her head, takes her cell phone very seriously.

This very entertaining couple on a segue were graceful dancers who never spilled a drop from the tea cups on their heads.

There were many visitors from abroad on the Avenue. Three traditionally dressed Japanese ladies brought along a young friend who'd traded her obi for a backpack.

Some of the blocks were fairly uncrowded, and it was easy to stroll along.

Of course, many folks brought their dogs along; however, few dogs endured bonnets.

The above bonnets were totally encrusted with jelly beans. Wish that I could have gotten closer, but they were walking pretty quickly.

This picture taken along the esplanade at Rockefeller Center, near the famous skating rink, shows a stylish, if over the top, diva in the doorway of an expensive candy store.

This gentleman's hat is very cheery. His face is not so cheery.

I saw very few parasols. I like this lady's gloves.

Isn't this hat grand?

Now here is a bon vivant.

Which did come first, the chicken or the egg?

There are many clever folks in New York City.

This lady is definitely going green.

Here is lovely family group who might just have gone to church this morning. Note how Dad is sharing his straw boater.

I do not think that this is a genuine senorita.

Some definitely have it and flaunt it. Others stick with the hoodie.

Here is a hat with a message.

I think that this choir boy might be late for church.

Hello!

Very sharp suits and hats. Are those called fedoras?

The hats this couple made were very clever, showing how Bernard Madoff had made off with their nest eggs.

That hat looks very heavy, and I surely do hope it is not.

This lady was telling everyone the name of the milliner who designed her hat.

This is a rather subdued ensemble, except for the bunny at the top.

These are two of a quartet of fashionistas wearing wonderful vintage outfits.

Here is the quartet. Sorry that the rightmost two are so much in the shadows. It was very crowded around them.

Here is one of the churches along the Avenue, and a girl who brought along her basket.

This may seem a very unremarkable picture. Please do look closely at the man in black with his bunny ears and cotton tail.

Flowerpots!

The lady in the foreground seems a bit dark for a sunny Easter. Also have a look at the top hat in the background.

What a little sweetie and what a kind Dad.

Flowers, butterflies and bees. Spring is in the air.

One rarely sees fur coats at this Parade. The hat is beautiful.

Mother and daughter.

This lady loved posing for photos in her swaths of tulle.

This is a hat and then some.

This couple was in such a good mood.

I am hoping that you all now have a bit of an idea of what it was like on Fifth Avenue today. It is a bit of circus, but such fun to see how creative folks can be.

There have been many, many photographs in my last few blogs. It may be time for me to return to more prose. Not sure.

Happy Easter to everyone.

City Views, Country Dreams

Good afternoon from New York on Palm Sunday.

Yesterday very strong winds raced across our city for hours and hours. Surely a weather change was being delivered.

This morning's sky was bright blue, and the temperature declared it was again sweater weather, no coat required! How lucky I am to have had this day off. How lucky I am to live near Central Park on such a day.

I hope you all will allow me to take you on a brief walk around this lovely green space in the center of our city.

I usually enter the Park at the West 72nd Street entrance. The park has many walkways, but also has actual roadways that are used by cars during some hours, and used by pedicabs, horse drawn carriages, bicyclists and roller bladers at other times.

I like to walk through the Strawberry Fields area, and to pass by the pretty little wisteria tunnel. Today I saw these intricate shadows. They made me think of music.



Here is what some of the actual wisteria looks like. Later on in this season, I will try to remember to post a shot of it in full bloom.

I decided to walk east a bit along the southern end of the lake just to see what was blooming there, and if any rare (to us) birds might be around.

I didn't see any rare birds, but just across the roadway, looking south I saw lots of people and dogs relaxing on the lush lawn. See the Central Park South buildings looming over the end of the park ... about one half mile away

Who could resist a bright view of blue and yellow?

I then back tracked and took an uptown (northern) turn so I could follow a pathway along the edge of the lake. To my left was another roadway. The young man probably should have left his shirt on.

Along this edge of the lake are some quaint little summer houses. Very popular with tourists for photos! In the lake today I saw lots of the rental rowboats being put to use by romantic couples. I also saw some ducks and turtles.

The little pathway that swerved down near the summerhouses is a place where lots of pretty plants grow. I am going to share some pictures of New York hellebores.

The hellebores are protected by the wire fencing so that over enthusiastic admirers, like myself perhaps, will treat them gently.

Aren't they beautiful? I saw hundreds of them this afternoon.

Now, I continue my walk uptown, past the northern boundary of the lake. There are several transverse roads cut through the Park, so that vehicles can travel east/west. When I write about taking the bus across the park, this this the route that bus takes.

And now we are going to linger a while in my favorite part of Central Park. It is the Shakespeare Garden. This spot is beautiful in every season, and always provides a tranquil site. The next picture shows the western entry way to the Garden. The Garden is arranged on an incline.

There are several ways to walk through the Garden, some paved walkways, and also some very uneven paths made up of flat stones. Both feature gentle curves, so it is easy to "climb."

Some of the Garden gets very strong sun, and the plants in those parts are always ahead of the season. Other more shady areas have flowers, shrubs and trees that are not in such a hurry.

I love this tree.

There is a handy sun dial located near some benches made in the same rustic style as the fencing.

I took some photos of individual flowers. I am not totally sure of the exact names of many of these. Please feel free to educate me!

Look at this blue.

More rustic fencing ... and those are daffodils!

I loved this little trio with their pointy petals.

When you reach the top of the Shakespeare Garden you can exit down another sloping pathway that will take you past more flowers, and many more people, and will lead to the Great Lawn.

Pink and blue are so beautiful together. Which painters does this tree remind you of?

The Great Lawn is soooo green. Games are played here. Some concerts have been given here. I remember being at the Simon and Garfunkle reunion concert years ago, and thinking that Mr Garfunkle was singing way off key. Most of the rest of the crowd seemed not to notice.

I like these signs.

Leaving the Great Lawn, we head eastward, passing by Cleopatra's Needle, a gift to New York. Can you guess its original country?

Central Park has many graceful bridged and underpasses. I love this one because it has a wonderful echo effect. There is almost always a musician playing there, and hoping for a donation. I don't know if you can see today's saxophone player, on the left, just before the light at the end of the underpass. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is just beyond this underpass.

I almost stopped my walk in order to have another visit to the Met, but resisted. It was just too beautiful outside.

There are many statues all over the Park. This heroic figure is one of my favorites. We are about to start walking downtown (southward) on the east side of the Park.

As we walk along, Fifth Avenue is to our left. Ah, more daffs still going strong in a sheltered location.

Another typical sight in the Park is an Asian couple having their wedding photos taken.

I don't know if you all are getting tired, but my legs were beginning to say it was time to head back to the west side.

On the right hand side of this photo you'll see the old band shell. This edifice was to have been torn down years ago, but it has many nostalgic fans, and some of them must be powerful enough to continue to save it.

Roller bladers often do their thing on the paved area in front of the band shell. Today, there was a Michael Jackson impersonator whom I have often also seen doing his thing in the subway stations.

I often wonder why folks don't like to spread out a bit in the great outdoors. They have the rest of the city available if they want to be in a crowd.

Ah, maybe here's an explanation. The large open space known as the Sheep's Meadow is still closed so that the lawn can really get established for the late spring, and summer season.

I hope that you all have enjoyed the Park. Perhaps those of you who have not been to New York will know why I am so glad to live near this gem.

Easter is only a week away. I have begun looking at chocolate, trying to decide how to break my Lenten fast.

Any suggestions?