Spring Beauty

Sorry for the long delay between posts. We had two weeks of dinner parties, mother-in-law visitations and Easter madness. I cooked a roast chicken for the first time. We went to an Easter egg hunt in the pouring rain (only to find out it was canceled). Emmett enjoyed his first Easter basket. (We put such Easter-y treats as Cheetos and star stickers in plastic eggs, since most typical Easter candy screams choking hazard.) A good time was had by all.

Spring is limping into New York this year. Every 60 degree day seems to be followed by a week of 45 degree drizzle. But the flowers are finally starting to emerge, which always leads me to think about the natural beauty that can be found in New York.

Given its uber-urban nature, there is plenty of concrete ugly to be found here. The United/American terminal at LaGuardia is pretty grim. Those tree-less blocks of row houses in Queens are damn unattractive. And Co-op city has a hulking, East German quality.

But New York has some oases of exquisite natural beauty--perhaps all the more attractive because they sit cheek-by-jowl with so much that is man-made. One of my favorites is the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. I love the BBG in snow, in bloom, in mist, and in Fall. And I love it all the more now that I only live 5 blocks away. It is like having a really fancy back yard:






Next to the Botanic Gardens is Prospect Park. Like its bigger, better known cousin, Prospect Park was designed by Frederick Olmsted. Although I appreciate Central Park's wonder, I actually like Prospect Park better. It feels less crowded than Central Park (probably because there are far fewer tourists) while retaining the same wilderness-within-a-city feel. And there are some breathtaking spots:


Both parks are true "public goods" in the best sense. In a city where apartments are far too small, yards are scarce, and concrete far too common, parks are a critical necessity. And New Yorkers take their park-going amusements very seriously. On warm weekends you can observe a whole microcosm of the city living it up on the Long Meadow: urban hipsters and their hipster babies, courting Orthodox couples, soccer teams, kite fliers, dog walkers, high schoolers looking for a quiet place to make out, and weekend warriors out for a run. (I'm sure there's the occasional hooker and John also, but I've never seen them so let me enjoy my idyllic image of the park unscathed by grim realities...)

In the coming weeks, I'll try to post occasional pictures from the parks as the flowers emerge. Right now, we're on cherry blossom watch at the Botanic Gardens. There was only one tree in bloom last week, so the full glory is yet to come.