June 1, 2008
In Response To Statements Made…
…by folks who have not yet had the pleasure of visiting Gotham but believe rumors they’ve heard, I have searched New York City diligently for evidence that it is indeed a “concrete jungle”.
What I found instead is a long, wide green rectangle that dominates the map between Fifth Avenue and Central Park West, 59th Street and 110th Street called Central Park.
Hmmm, no sign of a concrete jungle above, but…but wait! I did see some water! Maybe that’s what they use to mix the concrete!
Then again, maybe not…
No, it looks to me like where flora and fauna are concerned, New York pretty much has its ducks in a row.
http://hardastarboard.mu.nu/wp-trackback.php?p=899
June 1st, 2008 at 8:11 pm
You look at the map of the Island and it is a good sized park.
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:02 am
Shoprat –
It can easily take a full day to explore the entire park, even without making any museum stops.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:40 am
That is quite a wilderness area. Keep in mind, ” If you go downhill, you will probably find water which you can follow downstream; in many cases, this will lead you to civilization. But don’t follow water downstream at night or in fog as it may go off a cliff.”
courtesy of http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-in-the-Woods
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:26 pm
hmmm, OK, so there is flora and fauna in NYC… but why is everything fenced off???
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
BB –
Central Park’s a bit more civilized than that, LOL, and there are no rapids.
Gawfer –
They only recently planted new grass for spring, and the fences are only temporary to give the grass a chance to grow in without getting trampled.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:22 am
There are many towns that are smaller than Central Park. Truly a beautiful location in the midst of the chaos of NYC. Been there and loved it!
You are surely enjoying getting re-aquainted with New York aren’t you ?!?!?!
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 am
Well, I can understand the grass thing.
Frankly, it looks a lot like Golden Gate Park in SF, only cleaner, and without homeless shanties strewn about.
I suppose, if that’s all you have, it’s better than nothing. I’d much rather have the early morning views of plush wilderness akin to your previous post. There is something to be said for knowing that what you’re looking at doesn’t just stop at the end of the block; but continues across the countryside.
It’s hard to put into words, but I’m referring to the perception of freedom inspired by the open landscape verses the confinement of large and imposing buildings. The photos my friend takes in upstate NY (Rochester) are incredible.
I guess I’m just hating the desert right now…
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Seth,
Thanks for posting both the pics and the delightful commentary about my beautiful home town!…New York is truly the city that has everything. Too bad you haven’t had time to photograph Bear Mountain Park…talk about wilderness where you feel that it will go on forever…nuff said. Again thanks!!!
June 4th, 2008 at 2:50 am
Ken –
Truly a beautiful location in the midst of the chaos of NYC.
You said it! Once you get a ways inside the park, it’s like being out in a beautiful green wilderness.
One of the finer details of my becoming reacquainted with my home town.
Gawfer –
Trust me, once you get deeper into central Park, particularly farther north where there are winding trails through the woods, neat cul-de-sacs among the trees, etc, any perceptions you may have of a finiteness to the beauty tend to disappear.
New York State itself, including Rochester where your friend lives, is a beautiful state, just like California although, truth to tell, I’m pretty partial to N.Y., as much for its variety of tree types as for the almost unruly density of its forests.
You ought to see them (and Central Park as well), when the leaves turn colors in the fall — there’s little or none of that in California.
In San Francisco, the Haight (including Yerba Buena Park), Castro and Noe Valleys, Golden Gate Park and so forth largely contain trees, plants and shrubs that are not indigenous to the terrain, but were transplanted there long ago and, thanks to the fertile nature of the area, have since flourished.
When I lived in L.A. many years ago I had a few friends who only dropped into town occasionally, as they preferred to live on the desert and in relative solitude as well. There was one couple who spent about two weeks out of every year in L.A., the rest of their time in the Mojave and this completely by preference.
NH MW –
I’m glad you are enjoying them.
It’s gotten so whenever I have a few hours on hand, I try to to spend some of them in Central Park.
I’d love to find the time to explore Bear Mountain (I haven’t been there since my age was in the single digits, more’s the pity, but that can change as time goes by), and do so with camera in hand.
June 4th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Beautiful pictures!
I’ve visited NYC a few times but have never been to Central Park. Maybe on my next trip?
June 4th, 2008 at 9:58 am
AOW –
I would highly recommend setting at least a whole day aside, on your next trip to N.Y., to devote to Central Park.
It can be interspersed with visits to the Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim, etc and maybe lunch at Tavern On The Green, a picnic or simply devoted to hiking, relaxing and watching nature at play…
At any rate, the park is a New York must-see in every way.
June 4th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Seth, who are you trying to fool??? Everyone can tell you scanned some postcards and used Photoshop to add the dates. Or is NYC such a cool place that all pics turn out good there?
June 5th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Jeff –
I’m as likely to be able to figure out Photo-Shop as I am to figure out how to program a TV remote.
I think it was more that my almost antique by now, 3 1/2 or so year old Konica-Minolta Dimage Z-6 is still full of lots of vim, more vigor and most of all, easy for a terrible photographer to use to good effect.
Then, of course, I loved the subject matter…
June 6th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
LOL! I don’t work tv remotes very well either. I’m the pc nut. I leave the remote up to hubby.
Beautiful pics, Seth. Thanks for sharing.
June 7th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Gayle –
My pleasure!
Central Park has always been one of my favorite places in N.Y.C.
I took the pics above in the south section of the park; it gets even denser and more heavily wooded the farther north you go. If I can find the time, I’ll take and post more photos from 81st Street and up.
You have me beat on the tech end of things, LOL. Not only can’t I do much with a TV remote, but when it comes to computers I make even my fellow end-users-only look like geniuses.