This is a blog about the things you discover when you’re out walking the dog.

Esau contemplates New Jersey.

About a year ago, my family and I moved back to New York City after 16 years in Dallas, Texas. Our two cats and the dog moved with us into an apartment in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights.

Every day, sometimes twice a day, I walk the dog (I’ll call him Esau – you know, the hairy man – to protect his privacy) in Riverside Park. Sometimes we walk along the river. Most of the time we walk on the lower promenade and the upper woodsy paths, including the Forever Wild bird sanctuary. Once in a while, we stop into the 105th Street Dog Run. At night, we usually stay out of the park, and walk instead on the upper promenade along the west side of Riverside Drive.

The park is full of strange and wonderful things. Red-tail hawks. Raccoons. Feral cats. An enormous dead fish stretched out on a rock. Miniature tepees that appeared one day and disappeared the next. The smell of skunk. Boxes and baskets woven from downed twigs and small branches. Intricate driftwood sculptures. An old boot on a stick. A dinosaur in a meadow.

Really. I have pictures. I’ll show you.

Explore posts in the same categories: In the City, Introduction: things you discover when you're out walking the dog, Morningside Park, NYC Parks, October, Riverside Park, strange encounters