NYC Parks Going to Seed
I should have warned you, dear Reader, that there would be no new blog posts in the month of August. But I didn’t plan to take a summer break from Out Walking the Dog. It just happened.
A mid-August deadline for the first draft of a new play gradually crowded out all other projects and pastimes. I’ve been living, breathing, dreaming and writing in another world. Now the first draft is complete, and I’ve more or less returned to the so-called real world, a world that includes city parks and animals, blogs and dogs, and long walks with Esau.
I spent last week on the coast of British Columbia, about two or three hours north of Vancouver.
At night, the temperature dropped into the 50s and a hot day topped off somewhere in the 80s. Glorious. We were surrounded by water, both fresh and salt, islands, Douglas firs, massive ferns and mostly unseen animal life. A lone bald eagle soared overhead in the mornings, sometimes harassed and chased away by a gull. But more about B.C. in a future post.
What’s on my mind today is … seediness.
Seedy sordid and disreputable: his seedy affair with a soft-porn starlet shabby and squalid: an increasingly seedy and dilapidated property
As soon as I arrived back in New York, I headed out with Esau to my beloved parks. After the freshness of British Columbia, I faced a sordid reality: my beloveds are looking downright seedy. Yes, I know that the trees and flowers are literally going to seed, which is, I assume, where the word, “seedy,” originated.
But I’m talking about something more than simple botanical imperatives here. Blowzy and past their early summer prime, the parks exude a kind of over-ripe dissoluteness, a laxness that feels, well, moral. I’m not much of a puritan, but really, I think Webster’s has nailed it, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that both Morningside and Riverside are engaged in summer affairs with soft-porn stars or starlets.
Watch the tabloids. You heard it here first.
Morningside, in particular, is looking down-at-heels, as if it has drunk a little too much of this summer’s endless heat, and can no longer muster the will to shave or brush its teeth. Forget picking up the trash.
The geese don’t help.
Earlier this summer, we worried about the sudden disappearance of the little Canada goose family that nested on Morningside’s island. In July, new geese began congregating, and by the end of July, there were at least 14 that hung out in the pond and field. This morning, 29 geese are preening, loafing, grazing and slathering the walkway around the pond with great green gobs of goose droppings. The water is a deep brown-green, thanks to the algae, and appears almost thick in consistency, like pureed lentil soup. Despite the lovely sound of the man-made waterfall, the pond is less than inviting. To a human, that is. The multitude of turtles seems quite happy, as do the geese, ducks and pigeons.
West at the Riverside Greenway, driftwood sculptures converse with boats and buildings.
Oh, and you can forget about the girls in their summer dresses. In Riverside, it’s the boys who shed clothes.
Heading home, we see a miniature fungi forest.
Thank you to my patient readers, wherever you are. I’m delighted to be back. More posts will follow soon.
Explore posts in the same categories: 2010, Birds, In the City, In the Country, Morningside Park, NYC Parks, Riverside Park, September, Wildlife/Natural HistoryTags: British Columbia, Canada geese in NYC, driftwood sculptures, end of summer, going to seed, Morningside Park, NYC mushrooms, Riverside Park, seediness, writing deadlines
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September 21, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Absolutely Gorgeous stuff. I cannot wait until the next post.
September 8, 2010 at 10:40 am
Very jealous of your British Columbia trip. I’m sure you’ve seen that fellow TBE contributor Luke went too and has come back with some lovely shots. As ever, you make me feel like I’m in NYC. So different from England in the summer (we never has consistently not summers) but your words and pictures always take me back to my visit in 1977 and later, in 1981. Heat you can smell AND feel.
If a post could have a soundtrack, I reckon the most appropriate for this one would be Dirty Boulevard from Lou Reed’s New York album. Good to have you back from vacation! Enjoy the fall.
September 7, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Lovely to have you and Esau back. Some cool breezes and a good rain might help brighten things up as we sashay into Fall…
September 3, 2010 at 1:43 am
Yea! Outwalkingthedog is back! love taking this walk with you at summer’s end. (and glad you included some seedy definitions, so appropriate for our times.
September 2, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Hi, This didn’t go through the first time…her’s a second try.
Welcome back from beautiful B.C. So true, after months of heat and sun our parks do seem ready for a little autumn freshening. Lovely post for summer’s end.
September 3, 2010 at 8:48 am
Thanks for stopping by, Maria, Charlotte & Daddy-o.
September 2, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Beautiful.More, more. Daddy-O