No longer "Sittin on the 'Dock of the Bay:"

Today we explored the big phragmite area on the SW corner of the park, to see if we could find the place where the dock (the "floating island" of a few days ago) came from. Sure enough, it was there. You follow a path into the phragmites, noticing the stone edging that has nearly vanished, and you come upon a little clear pool of water from whence the dock was taken. Once upon a time it was next to a curling little peninsula in the park. Now it is so overgrown as to be quite mysterious. Much as I think the phragmites are actually quite attractive, I think some kind of controlled burn might be in order here, to restore the shoreline to it's original beauty. If you look at a map of Prospect Park, at the inlet is to the right and down from West Island, below an unnamed peninsula that reminds me of a dog bone. It seems to be colored gray on the map - perhaps the gray marks the spot where phragmites have taken over? ..,On second thought, a controlled burn is probably a terrible idea, since a lot of people would see it as pre-approval for burning stuff in the park.

There are bigger signs, on police barricades, announcing that there is no barbecuing on the Peninsula. I wonder if this will work? It is an absolutely gorgeous spot. I can see why people would want their parties there. Wouldn't it make more sense to put in a charcoal disposal can, as they've done in other places? After all, Prospect park is a back yard to thousands of Brooklynites. A people's park should be usable by all the people, shouldn't it? Or are we at Joni Mitchell's future, where you "take all the trees and put them in a tree museum, and charge the people a dollar and a half just to see them?" I hope not, and I hope I'/m not giving the Parks Dept. ideas by mentioning this.

After the park, I went with Austin and Norana to their florist on Staten Island to look at floral centerpieces. Just want to say for the record that as a New Jersey and Brooklyn girl, I have a surprisingly snobbish Manhattan-type attitude about Staten Island, but that I thought this arrangement was absolutely gorgeous - simple, elegant, perfect. Still playing with the candles to ascertain the best distribution, but the flowers are incredibly beautiful.