In a Fog

I have done numerous stories featuring nature's impact on the city. In some cases, more prominent, in some, less. But always that the city is juxtaposed against nature. How the manmade contrasts the natural, but rarely mother nature on her own. On July 20, 2010, I wrote Back to Our Main Feature with a lucky capture of a spectacular thunderstorm and lightning bolt. In it, I said:

Please understand that I, like most New Yorkers, do love Mother Nature, but the gifts nature bestows and the power she wields often feel secondary in a city like New York.

Last night there was a brief lightning storm dramatic enough to make many of us look up and say wow. But unlike our country brethren, who may spend a pleasant evening watching shooting stars, we rarely indulge these natural phenomenon for very long. Glancing up to the sky, seeing a spectacular display of lightning complemented by a waxing moon, we acknowledge when nature has spoken. Yes, like any great commercial, we hear you, but now, Back to Our Main Feature.

Even on a foggy night, a spectacular fog is often more obstacle or at best backdrop to the city's structures. Today's photos were taken in Union Square during the ongoing Occupy Wall Street, now a daily social phenomenon. As I marveled at the beautiful effect of the various illuminated buildings filtered by the misty air, I surveyed the hundreds of park occupants and could see no eyes drawn to nature's show. Surprising, because heavy fogs are rare and spectacular, the delight of many a filmmaker.

However, this is New York City, and from time to time, without knowing it, the average New Yorker will find himself or herself In a Fog...

More nature: Come Back for Jupiter, The Tide Pool, This Is Not New Mexico, We've Got Skiing Too, White Birch Canoe, Trapped in Paradise, Conflicted, Mother Nature, Brooding, Risk Not Living

Foolish World of the Fiscally Frivolous

There is nothing more irritating for some men than the occasion when they feel the need to buy their girlfriends flowers. This obligatory event may be a minuscule effort yet looms larger than anything conceivable. And then there is the terror of Valentine's Day, where a last-minute purchase in New York City is tantamount to lunacy.

Adding insult to injury is the perception of wastefulness - buying something whimsically that is decorative and perishable is antithetical to the nature of the practical man. Flowers are a waning asset, so why invest?

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The Magic Hour

I grew up in New England, and even for residents, fall foliage was loved by all. The beauty in sparsely populated states, such as Vermont with large stands of deciduous trees, is such that many travel to and tour the area during "leaf peeping" season. When the conditions were right, my family would sometimes take a country drive. If the leaves and light were right, we were sometimes treated to jaw-dropping scenery.

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A Little Complainin'

I've been told that I am a complainer. Convenient, since there is no better place for a complainer than New York City. Here, complaining can be indulged in at any depth or breadth imaginable. One can cut a broad swath or can specialize. For example, a daily commuter traveling on a particularly troubled subway line could confine his or her complaints to just the interminable atrocities committed there on nearly a daily basis.

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Overblown

My father used to find news coverage of snowfall in Connecticut to be comical. Coming from northern Maine, one of the most inhospitable winter environments imaginable, the warnings, preparations, and particularly the news coverage of snow seemed rather ridiculous in comparison.
On Saturday at Union Square, I had an encounter with a woman of similar mind - originally from Florida, she considered the concern to be overblown.

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Keep Flying

I spent my childhood with a best friend exploring. This was our mission statement, and our summer quests knew no bounds. Only my mother's distant call for dinner would bring our daily expeditions to an end.

As young boys, we were never content to just observe. There was a desire to possess. We captured (and typically released) all manner of snakes, tadpoles, salamanders, frogs, wild birds, and butterflies.

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You Always Find Something

Some years ago, I was visited by a customer who was quite complementary to the manner in which I ran my business and the quality of my products. He had vocalized this on the internet. I thanked him. It is always heartening to hear complements in a world of high expectations.

Conversation ensued, and I was very surprised to learn that the man was a military helicopter pilot. I have no idea of what it takes to earn such a position, but I was reasonably sure that this must be a highly coveted and competitive job for the very skilled with the right stuff. This was an easy opportunity to return a complement, which I did. He did not deny my observations.

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The Legal Answer or the Practical Answer?

I have a friend, Paul Fryd, who is an attorney in New York City and, on occasion, over the years, has provided phone advice in difficult situations. His initial mantra to any question was predictable, even irritating - because he was right and I usually did not want to hear it. When I presented the details of any problem, his first response was, "What do you want first - the legal answer or the practical answer?"

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The Tide Pool

The drama and grandeur of the western United States is extraordinary. One of the great joys of the West is visiting the protected lands, especially the national parks. Names like Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Yellowstone, Death Valley, et. al. are known worldwide.

There are 58 officially designated national parks in the United States and its dependent areas, however, there is only one in the northeastern United States - Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island in Maine. It was here that I scrambled one morning to get to a ranger program exploring the tide pool. It was the first time I had heard the word, and I loved the idea*.

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Drooling and Slobbering

Emotive forces play a large part in our lives, often trumping the "sensible." We eat too much or the wrong foods, date the wrong people, choose careers with dim prospects, buy things we don't need. New York City has its own brand of impractical indulgences - driving in SUVs and living with huge dogs in small apartments.

Seeing a New Yorker with a Great Dane, Mastiff, Great Pyrenees or Irish Wolfhound is not as rare an occurrence as one might expect. New Yorkers like to think big, and dogs are no exception. However, everything about these critters is big - size, weight, smell, hair, food consumed, excretions and slobbering. Many weigh more than their owners, as I imagine is the case in today's photo. A large dog dominates an apartment space. Many describe the experience as living with a roommate.

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This Is Not New Mexico

The sun and the moon are two of the few natural constants we have in New York City and the moon is one of the very few celestial bodies we can see reliably at night - with the powerful ambient urban light, we do not often have nights where many stars and planets are visible. Such is city life.

Today is the full moon. Last night saw some stormy weather and at the tail end, as skies began to clear, we had some spectacular conditions with fast moving billowy clouds providing a constantly changing canvas.

At times like this it is not unusual to see amateur and professional photographers shooting away. A number of us found a choice spot in Washington Square Park where a few leafless trees provided perfect outlines to frame the moon. It's not the Moon Over Hernandez, but hey, I'm not Ansel Adams and This is Not New Mexico :)

Related Posts: Dot My I, Back to Our Main Feature, Sun, Moon and Stars, Hell's Gate, Full Moon, Gothic Night

Close Encounter of the New York Kind

New Yorkers take things seriously. The populace is large enough to support subcultures of every interest imaginable. Interests become obsessions. What better obsession than the things we have so little of - wildlife. Wildlife in a city like New York is limited and dominated by pigeons, rats, mice, squirrels and common birds. So when real wildlife of a different kind appears, it's BIG news.

Perhaps one of the biggest wildlife stories in recent years was the nesting of red tail hawks at 927 Fifth Avenue. The first to make home there was Pale Male in 1991. The nearby boat pond in Central Park was an ideal viewing spot and became a birder's paradise. See my story here. The lineage continues to this day. The interest has spawned international press coverage, films, websites. To this day, 10 years later, birders are still found regularly on location with the requisite telescopes.

On February 7, 2007, I photographed a red-tailed hawk feeding on the remnants of a pigeon on my air conditioner overlooking Washington Square Park. At this rare opportune moment, I was able to capture a photo through my window from only inches away. The photo received tremendous traffic as would be expected. See the photo and story Hawk Fest here.

Since that time a number of red-tailed hawks have been sighted around the park. The coup de grâce, however, was the recent nesting of a hawk on the windowsill of the Bobst Library building. The window chosen was none other than that of the president of New York University himself, John Sexton. Many speculate the roost was chosen for the same reason it is the location of the president's office - the 12th floor perch affords sweeping views of the entire park, perfect for a bird of prey.

The real story here however, is the nesting and mating of Violet and Bobby (violet is the official NYU color and Bobby after the Bobst library) and the birth of offspring. Yesterday, during a Be Fit NYC event, the parks department had set up a telescope for viewing of the hawks. I was able to capture a photo with a camera up against the scope.

The New York Times set up a webcam to keep an eye on the family. The cam provides a live stream, free and 24/7. Check it out here for a Close Encounter of the New York Kind :)

Related Posts: That Should Cover It, Peregrine Falcons, Light on Bobst

Serenity, Tranquility, Peace

Although technically in the borough of Manhattan, I have always felt it was almost a little undeserving for any New York borough to take claim to something so special as the Cloisters - it is located at the northernmost end of the island, as far as one can get from Uptown, Midtown, Downtown or any other area of that one would typically associate with New York City. Apart from the small number of residents in Washington Heights/Inwood, this area is really a destination for New Yorkers and visitors alike.

The Cloisters is a museum of medieval art and architecture, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Everyone loves this extraordinary complex - it's a close as you are going to get to genuine French architecture in the city. Germain Bazin, former director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, described the Cloisters as "the crowning achievement of American museology."

The museum buildings were designed by Charles Collens and constructed from elements salvaged from five cloistered abbeys in France: Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigorre, and Froville. The sections used were disassembled brick-by-brick, shipped to New York City and reassembled between 1934 and 1938. From the Cloisters website:

Three of the cloisters reconstructed at the branch museum feature gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and poetry, garden documents and herbals, and medieval works of art, such as tapestries, stained-glass windows, and column capitals. Approximately three thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from the ninth to the sixteenth century, are exhibited in this unique and sympathetic context.

Located on four acres overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park, the Cloisters is a world apart from the glitter, glamour, hustle bustle and frenetic energy of the city. For most New Yorkers, Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters is a country getaway, a mini vacation. Visit the Cloisters if you want a small vacation from the city and Serenity, Tranquility and Peace :)

Related Posts: Down to the Cellular Level, Le Petit Chambord, Fire and Ice, Affront to Dignity, Paraiso, Steps From Paradise, Belvedere Castle, Devil's Playground

Bamboo Big as Pipe

I have had a small obsession with bamboo for decades. Like palm trees and tropical islands, they are things rarely associated with New York City, so I have had to travel and explore to feed the passion. In the 1980s, my fascination with bamboo reached its apex. I purchased a hard cover coffee table book on bamboo, helped my father fabricate bamboo fly fishing rods and sought out bamboo bonsai at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

The pièce de résistance was a trip to the island of Nevis in the West Indies, where I sought out my ultimate dream - a bamboo forest. My sister and her husband, who were traveling with me at the time, however, did not share my dream, but tolerated it, hoping that after an excursion, I may regain my sanity and normalcy. I did.

On such a small island, networking to find services is virtually an effortless process. Shortly after arrival, I was able to find a local guide who would take me to a tropical jungle. This was easy, but the most imperative for me was whether or not we would see bamboo in its native habitat. He assured me yes, I would see "Bamboo Big as Pipe."

Bamboo is a remarkably versatile material and is used in furniture, flooring, molding, fencing, textiles (I have a bamboo t-shirt), paper, as a food, musical instruments, to build homes, scaffolding, even bamboo bicycles. All taking advantage of many unique properties of the wood - it is denser than oak, harder and lighter than maple. It is very attractive, distinctive and maintains well. It is stronger than wood, brick, concrete and steel and less expensive than many other woods. Unlike many trees, which can take 20-50 years to mature, bamboo takes only about five years, making it environmentally sustainable - this is the big plus from a marketing and consumer perspective. Some are calling this wonder grass the super material of the future.

The appreciation and use of bamboo with related imagery permeates Asian cultures. This is true to a much lesser degree in the United States, however, I am not the only New Yorker to enjoy the symbolism of bamboo - scores of restaurants, spas and other shops use the word bamboo in their name.

Recently, I found a retail store display of bamboo cutting boards. Nearby were two signs - one promoting bamboo as eco-friendly and the other, "why use bamboo?", featured 5 bullet points: renewable resource, resists odors and bacteria, naturally beautiful finish, harder and lighter than maple, stronger than steel. At a number of home furnishing shops I am seeing more bamboo furniture.

I am happy to finally see bamboo sprout all over the city in so many ways, helping to complete the overused but apt metaphor of New York City as the concrete jungle. No need to travel to the forests of Nevis - just look up and imagine Bamboo Big as Pipe :)

That Should Cover It

On Sunday, April 17, two photographer friends and I were strolling in Washington Square Park where a man suddenly appeared with an enormous leashed iguana which he proceeded to walk on the lawn. As we were taking photos, the owner became immediately hostile, demanding $3. We stopped. One of our group, however, pointed out that this was a public park and there were no restrictions regarding photography.

This was not my first encounter with someone who displayed exotic pets in the parks of New York City. In 2006, I featured a story and photos about a man with a small trio of exotic animals that he marketed as photo ops to passersby - see Snake Charmer here. I also once witnessed a large Albino Burmese Python, slithering along in Central Park - see here.

But I had suspicions regarding the iguana owner's edginess - that he might have had some concern other than losing potential modeling fees for his critter. I never did investigate the laws regarding exotic pets in the city. A quick search and I learned that housing an iguana as a pet is a violation of the New York City Health Code. There is so much rumor mongering and misinformation in life, I have decided to reprint the code here in its entirety, exactly as written, directly from the New York City government website. So here, In the spirit of Everything No, is article 161.01 - Wild Animals Prohibited:

(1) All dogs other than domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris), including, but not limited to, wolf, fox, coyote, hyena, dingo, jackal, dhole, fennec, raccoon dog, zorro, bush dog, aardwolf, cape hunting dog and any hybrid offspring of a wild dog and domesticated dog.

(2) All cats other than domesticated cats (Felis catus), including, but not limited to, lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, puma, panther, mountain lion, cheetah, wild cat, cougar, bobcat, lynx, serval, caracal, jaguarundi, margay and any hybrid offspring of a wild cat and domesticated cat.

(3) All bears, including polar, grizzly, brown and black bear.

(4) All fur bearing mammals of the family Mustelidae, including, but not limited to, weasel, marten, mink, badger, ermine, skunk, otter, pole cat, zorille, wolverine, stoat and ferret.

(5) All Procyonidae: All raccoon (eastern, desert, ring-tailed cat), kinkajou, cacomistle, cat-bear, panda and coatimundi.

(6) All carnivorous mammals of the family Viverridae, including, but not limited to, civet, mongoose, genet, binturong, fossa, linsang and suricate.

(7) All bats (Chiroptera).

(8) All non-human primates, including, but not limited to, monkey, ape, chimpanzee, gorilla and lemur.

(9) All squirrels (Sciuridae).

(10) Reptiles (Reptilia). All Helodermatidae (gila monster and Mexican beaded lizard); allfront-fanged venomous snakes, even if devenomized, including, but not limited to, all Viperidae (viper, pit viper), all Elapidae (cobra, mamba, krait, coral snake), all Atractaspididae (African burrowing asp), all Hydrophiidae (sea snake), all Laticaudidae (sea krait); all venomous, mid-or rear-fanged, Duvernoy-glanded members of the family Colubridae, even if devenomized; any member, or hybrid offspring of the family Boidae, including, but not limited to, the common or green anaconda and yellow anaconda; any member of the family Pythonidae, including but not limited to the African rock python, Indian or Burmese python, Amethystine or scrub python; any member of the family Varanidae, including the white throated monitor, Bosc's or African savannah monitor, Komodo monitor or dragon, Nile monitor, crocodile monitor, water monitor, Bornean earless monitor; any member of the family Iguanidae, including the green or common iguana; any member of the family Teiidae, including, but not limited to the golden, common, or black and white tegu; all members of the family Chelydridae, including snapping turtle and alligator snapping turtle; and all members of the order Crocodylia, including, but not limited to alligator, caiman and crocodile.

(11) Birds and Fowl (Aves): All predatory or large birds, including, but not limited to, eagle, hawk, falcon, owl, vulture, condor, emu, rhea and ostrich; roosters, geese, ducks and turkeys prohibited or otherwise regulated pursuant to § 161.19 of this Code, the Agriculture and Markets Law or applicable federal law.

(12) All venomous insects, including, but not limited to, bee, hornet and wasp.

(13) Arachnida and Chilopoda: All venomous spiders, including, but not limited to, tarantula, black widow and solifugid; scorpion; all venomous arthropods including, but not limited to, centipede.

(14) All large rodents (Rodentia), including, but not limited to, gopher, muskrat, paca, woodchuck, marmot, beaver, prairie dog, capybara, sewellel, viscacha, porcupine and hutia.

(15) All even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla) including, but not limited to, deer, antelope, sheep, giraffe and hippopotamus.

(16) All odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla) other than domesticated horses (Equus caballus), including, but not limited to, zebra, rhinoceros and tapir.

(17) All marsupials, including, but not limited to, Tasmanian devil, dasyure, bandicoot, kangaroo, wallaby, opossum, wombat, koala bear, cuscus, numbat and pigmy, sugar and greater glider.

(18) Sea mammals (Cetacea, Pinnipedia and Sirenia), including, but not limited to, dolphin, whale, seal, sea lion and walrus.

(19) All elephants (Proboscides).

(20) All hyrax (Hydracoidea).

(21) All pangolin (Pholidota).

(22) All sloth and armadillo (Edentata).

(23) Insectivorous mammals (Insectivora): All aardvark (Tubildentata), anteater, shrew, otter shrew, gymnure, desman, tenrec, mole and hedge hog.

(24) Gliding lemur (Dermoptera).

I think that should cover it :)

Sidewalk University

Many years ago, a number of us were on the street in the East Village talking to a bookseller. In one of many spontaneous outdoor forums on the streets of New York, the conversation was nothing less than extraordinary. When I volunteered how impressed I was with the evening's classroom, the bookseller showed little surprise. He pointed out that this was not just any place, it was in fact the streets of New York City, aka Sidewalk University.

Not a substitute for the institutions of higher learning, but, for those unable to attend or perhaps as post grad work, nothing beats the streets of New York City as a place to learn. Not to suggest that every person or conversation will be one of erudition, but with some discrimination, a person can ferret out some worthy engagements.

Saturday, my family was en route for a weekend stay in the city and was however, delayed due to traffic. Learning of this when I was already outdoors on my way uptown to their hotel, I now had some free time - why not spend it in Union Square before jumping on the train? The farmer's market is always a pleasurable stroll and opportunity to grab a healthy snack and/or beverage.

On this excursion, I was particularly drawn to a table of enormous eggs - some filled, some empty to be used decoratively. The stand was run by Roaming Acres, an ostrich farm in Andover, New Jersey. Todd Applebaum, pointed out to me that the farm made use of nearly 100% of the ostrich - its eggs, meat, bones, skin (as wallets).

However, the eggs whose color and size drew my attention were that of the emu, an Australian relative. Todd gave me a short lesson on the emu - my appetite was so whetted that, like any good student, I followed up the lecture with reading. I learned that the emu was a remarkable bird, with some of the best design features I have seen in any animal. They can go a day or two without water, weeks without food, sprint at over 30 mph if necessary. A nail on their toes serves as a knife to kick away predators and other emus. They thermoregulate and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. Their legs are among the strongest of any animals and can tear down wire fences. Their eyes, as would be expected, are equipped with a translucent secondary eyelid. Read more here.

The eggs are highly prized - the emu only produces one every few days. When I asked Todd why I saw no emu meat or products, he smiled and said that you don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg. We joked and I suggested that perhaps the emu knew its coveted status and was rather a diva. And so it was, on Saturday, March 12, 2011, that I was privileged to another tuition-free seminar on the streets at New York's Sidewalk University :)

Urban Elephants and Hydraulic Tusks

We have many many sounds in the city, some unique and some we share with our suburban and country brethren. For those whose apartments face the street, there is the unabated sound of street traffic, less or more depending on where one faces and the time of day. There are also birds, dogs barking or the occasional screams and shouts of children at play. At night there is the sound of taxis dropping off passengers - usually identifiable by the longer time between opening and closing of doors and the conversations that sometimes ensue between passengers and driver. There is the walk of the lone and confident woman with every step of her hard heels clearly audible.

Then there is the occasional late night revelry, screaming or fighting of the severely inebriated. The sounds of these individuals getting into vehicles is not a pleasant prospect. The vehicle often jettisons away with squealing tires.

In the early morning we have the trumpeting of urban Elephants, i.e. garbage trucks, and the crunching and groaning of debris caught in their hydraulic tusks.

In the case of new, substantial snow, there are giveaway sounds - the reduced frequency of cars, the telltale echo of snow shovels and the unmistakable grind of the snowplow against the pavement. In the event of rain, I can hear the spray of water against tires and the roadway.

I have windows facing a park which I have featured in the four seasons: Spring (Enchanted April), Signs of Summer, Fall (Wood, Glass, Brass and Trees), and Winter (White By Design 2). In the mornings, however, I often rise before sunrise and immediately go to my laptop, typically without even looking out the window. Instead I rely on the sounds of the city. - perhaps for any number of reasons, including a growing reliance on the Internet and also being out of tune with the outdoors and nature from living in such a high urbanized environment. This morning I had no idea we had another in a series of snowstorms until I heard a snow shovel.

On an Apple computer the F4 key immediately displays the dashboard, a group of widgets which can be custom configured. I currently have mine to include the weather which displays the current conditions and the week's weather forecast. I can see if the sun is shining without turning around.

But not everything can be experienced through the Internet, the F4 key or even the sounds of the city. You've got to look out your window if you want to see the snow and you have to step into the streets and follow the trumpeting if you want to see Urban Elephants and their Hydraulic Tusks :)

Pecking for Pita

On April 27, 2010, I wrote Tired of Crumbs (see it here) about the plight of many street performers and other independent artists. However, for many other members of the animal kingdom, crumbs are more than a metaphor, and living off the discards of others is literally the means of survival. In a city with as large a population as New York, the amount of refuse disposed is enormous, affording life support for many.

A lover of Middle Eastern food, I was pleased to have the good fortune to run into Damascus Bakery while strolling through the Vinegar Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. It was Sunday, so the business operation was closed, however, just outside the factory, there were a large number of pigeons busy atop dumpsters covered with heavy tarps. They seemed particularly industrious and I had suspicions as to what was going on. Lifting up a corner of one tarp revealed exactly what I expected - the dumpster was entirely filled with pita bread, all polybagged, which I assume had been disposed of for a good reason.

The pigeons were undaunted by the tarp and had successfully pecked holes through it and the plastic bags holding the pita. Perhaps not as dramatic as the Hawk Fest I witnessed on my window ledge in 2007 (see Hawk Fest here), but nonetheless, this was a food fest.

Damascus Bakeries is a 3rd generation business, currently run by Edward Mafoud, grandson of Hassan Halaby, who started the business on Atlantic Avenue in 1930 and introduced Syrian bread, aka pita, to America. In addition to a variety of flavors and sizes of pita, the bakery also produces Lavash Wraps, Panini and Roll Ups. I hope to visit and tour their factory in the future.

In New York City there are many means of survival. At the corner of Gold and Water Streets in Brooklyn, for these pigeons, it's Pecking for Pita :)

White By Design 3

Another blizzard. Last night I was called at midnight and informed there was a major snowfight going on in Washington Square Park. I was too lazy to bundle up and venture out for the photo op. However, I did begin taking photos yesterday, going into last night and into this morning.

I have done many stories on this winter's blizzards and past snowstorms in New York City. I have also done a series of stories called White By Design. See the links below.

White By Design, White By Design 2, White By Desire, Blizzard, Friends P1, Friends P2, We Got Skiing Too, Shifting Gears, Snow Play, In Like a Lion, Gotta Shoot Village Cigars, Slush Fun.

We've Got Skiing Too

Most New Yorkers have limited exposure to elements of the natural world. It is possible, particularly in Manhattan, to live and work and never see a tree or blade of grass. There are times, however, when Mother Nature shows her hand and makes her power and presence known, and no urban environment stands in her way in times of blizzards, rain, blistering heat, intolerable humidity, frigid cold, astronomical events, and dramatic lightning (see Back To Our Main Feature here).

There are many physical activities that depend on certain natural environments that make all but impossible to partake of in New York City. However, for the willing, extremes of winter weather occasionally provide a tiny window of opportunity to indulge in snow play. But only if one is willing to seize that opportunity immediately when available.

Today, there were ideal conditions for cross country skiing in Manhattan. Much snow related fun can be seen in the parks of this city - building snowmen, snowball fights, sledding - but I have witnessed some extraordinary activities in new fallen snow on the streets, immediately following a blizzard, before vehicles, plows or people have had any opportunity to disturb the white powder. The two most memorable are the making of snow angels in the middle of 7th Avenue South and a man in business attire skiing down lower Broadway to what I assumed was his office.

This morning, shortly after sunrise, while gazing out my window, I observed a man circumnavigating a large lawn in Washington Square Park on cross country skis. He had the entire area to himself and the snow was a pristine white, undisturbed except for his lone circular track.

The phrase moving meditation is an overused cliche, but at times it is valid. I found myself mesmerized while watching the skier make his rounds. The soothing quality of the white blanket of new fallen snow was enhanced by the circular repetitive movement of this lone skier at dawn. There are many great things about New York City and sometimes you may find, if you are poised, that we've got skiing too :)