Nature in Manhattan

It isn't too difficult to capture a traditional nature photograph in Manhattan.  When I need a little dose of nature, I head to the northern section of Central Park.  There are quite a few forested areas, with giant native trees- These areas are mostly fenced and signs are posted letting park visitors know that these are natural areas.  While walking along "The Ravine" which eventually leads to this waterfall, I saw a Cooper's hawk, tufted titmice and chickadees, and a flock of about 20 white-throated sparrows.  Not bad for an island where most people live in tiny brick, concrete, and steel boxes stacked on top of each other.

Tom

West End Avenue & 96th Street

There's no place like Thanksgiving in New York City- and that's where Megan, Weston and I headed this past holiday weekend.  This was just a very quick trip- but there's nothing like spending a few days in Manhattan to make one appreciate the relative calm of a "little big" city like Columbus.

Tom

The Ohio Nature Blog goes Prehistoric

Visiting the parent's home can get a wee bit boring. It makes me wonder what I ever did when I was growing up here, but I think I watched an endless amount of television. Although HDTV hanging on the family room wall is amazingly awesome to watch, it can only take me so far. And I have photographed several things, including red-back and two-lined salamanders, but I am did not bring the memory card reader with me. What am I to do?

Well, I opened Google Picasa here on the 'rents computer and looked at photos that I have taken in the past, and came across several shots from our 2006 trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. If you ever wondered why the first dinosaurs that every kid learns are brontosaurus, allosaurus, T-rex, stegasaurus, triceratops and duck billed dinosaurs, a trip to the museum will clear up any doubts. These dinosaurs are the stars here, and have been for some time. Many of the mounts originated in the 1890's. Enjoy!

Skywatch Friday- Flight from Laguardia to Columbus

I know nothing really about "sky watch fridays" except several blogs that I read participate by posting images of the sky every Friday. Today, I'm doing my first sky watch post. This image was shot out the window of an Embraer 140 as Megan and I were ascending up through the troposphere after taking off from Laguardia in NYC. We were visiting Megan's grandmother in Manhattan over the Columbus Day weekend, and I just couldn't resist taking this shot. In fact, I have tons of pictures that I have taken over the past few years from airplanes, but this one may be my favorite.

It looks like we are in for a fabulous Saturday here in Ohio, and I can't wait to get out and see what is blooming. Finally, I think we'll have trilliums, dutchman's breeches, and bluebells just starting to pop this weekend.

Tom

Revisiting New York City

I took quite a few photographs in New York City, but just realized I had only posted a few.

Here were some of the highlights of the trip:

For those that have never been to Central Park, it is quite expansive and has many nooks and crannies to explore. It even has exposed bedrock. Yes, even natural landscape shots can be found in one of the most densely populated areas in the United States.

One morning, while Megan and I were walking around a pond at Morningside Park, Megan spotted this yellow lab that really, I mean really wanted to take a swim. Its owner fought back.

Megan's grandmother lives on Riverside Drive, which runs along the western edge of Manhattan, just to the west of Riverside Park. Here, you can walk down to the Hudson River. The wide open expanse of the river was really quite a contrast from the closed, confined, and tight spaces of Manhattan.

And finally, back to central park. I've realized that statures make wonderful portrait subjects. They stand still for you and they never talk back. It is a bit tough to get them to change expressions though. This lovely lady shares her space with three other women, who have their hands joined, encircling a fountain at the conservatory garden.

Tom

Morningside Park

Yesterday morning, Megan and I did a bit of naturalizng in Morningside Park, just northwest of Central Park in Manhattan. Suprisingly the pond there was full of red-eared sliders, which I'm sure were at one time pets that have been dumped. We saw about fifty turtles. This one was particularly brave, basking about five feet from the sidewalk



There were even dragonflies here, right in the middle of the city. We saw dozens of green darners, possibly a wandering glider, and this familiar bluet.


Tom

New York City

Doesn't lower Manhattan look so strange without the World Trade Towers?

Megan and I are having fun staying with her grandmother in New York City. We arrived this afternoon, hung out at the apartment for a bit on the upper west side, and then headed to Chinatown! Don't think you can naturalize in NYC? Well, how about looking at all the interesting things available to eat here.....






Squid, cappie, and even bluegill could all be purchased from streetside markets.

New York is an amazing place, truly buzzing with millions of people at all hours of the day. It is really hard to get a little peace and quiet outside. And almost every inch of Manhattan is manicured. There is very little naturalized vegetation at all. There aren't even any weedy lots. I did look up and see a bit of goldenrod growing on top of a building. That was interesting to see. I'm not sure if someone had planted it or what! If you haven't been to Manhattan, it sure is a place to see.

Tom

New York City

Megan and I spent the Holiday weekend in New York City. Here are some shots from that trip:

"The Pool" at central park. Notice the man standing on bank to the right in this photo. He was doing some funky kind of tai chi- a Chinese martial art involving slow, deliberate gestures of the body.


Pastries at Nusbaum and Wu. About the only thing of color that my camera captured on this gray weekend, literally and figuratively.


The tower at Riverside Church, from within the courtyard at Union Theological Seminary, the quarters in which we slept.


A daffodil, in full bloom, on January 14th.

Tom