Prospect Park Days

Beautiful Am Thai Bistro opening

2012-01-27T14:49:00.004-05:00

Too wet and miserable for our spoiled darling dog to go to the park, but we humans went to Am Thai Bistro, opening today, to see the monks and their service. It was quite wonderful! I'm putting off the pictures of the park pruning I took yesterday until tomorrow, so we can see the new restaurant and the service. They blessed not only the restaurant, but a young couple recently married. One of them works for the restaurant, I believe. "2 for 1" said the monk. The ceremony was quite inspiring, even for a cynical old atheist like myself - what a spirit of community! Flowers, incense, chanting, we all donated rice to the monks' begging bowls, then sat with them as they ate. All parts of the restaurant were sprinkled with bit of water as a blessing - inside and out, including the guests! Then the owners insisted everyone taste - and the food was fantastic! Curried lobster, a kind of tofu dish, hot pork salad, mild and spicy fished, several other things. The lobster will not be on the menu, alas - it was a special dish for the monks, and others. We left notes and good luck wishes. The place is beautiful, the food is fantastic, and the people are friendly and wonderful. I have no doubt they will do well, but still, we wholeheartedly left them with good thoughts and wishes.

Winter, come and gone

2012-01-24T22:53:00.004-05:00

Well, we had two lovely days of a snow-filled park, and now spring seems to have returned. A two-day winter, truly a sign of global weirding. I wonder if we'll get any winter this year. Anyway, the first day of the snow had a completely unfrozen lake, but the second day had the frozen lake and felt quite winterish. So here are some pictures of winter in Prospect Park.

Requiem for the dead trees, again

2012-01-14T19:18:00.003-05:00

All this ugly destruction is in a spot on the south side of the lake. The former trees were all within a couple of hundred feet of each other. Note the firm trunks and healthy wood in the trunks. Please, Emily Lloyd, stop this destruction. The trees are not on the verge of becoming dangerous attacking creatures. Please check with some tree experts.

swans are safe, some geese spotted today

2012-01-11T17:25:00.003-05:00

All 10 swans are safe and sound. There were four by the beach, four under the bridge that we walk under when walking along the Lullwater from the Peninsula to the Nethermead, and two more in the lake. The two in the lake were in a hole in the middle of the thin sheet of ice that was there today. Apparently they had just landed and broken through the ice when landing.

About 20 geese on the lake today. Goose-busting man and dog were also there, having parked his car near the Peninsula. They were walking near the geese, but the dog wasn't barking ot going after them. We have no idea why they might be there in the middle of winter.

So nice to see so many birds. Hopefully, they'll all stay fine and healthy.

The good, the bad, and the truly ugly

2012-01-10T16:09:00.004-05:00

The really good news was the Christmas tree mulch that has been spread around the trees at the SW part of the park. Beautiful green and white speckled design, delightful scent of pine, two sweet little ornaments decorating the clearing, and, oh yeah. it's good for the trees, the ground etc. Hopefully it will stay beautiful and aromatic for a while, or at least until it snows.

And, we spotted a little art project in the Parade Grounds,

Three little white ducks (Muscovy?) happily wandering around the beach. I think they might be sleeping in a hollow trunk by the lake. But no one was feeding them, and they seemed really at home. Their neighbor is a cormorant.

The bad news: we have only seen 9 of the 10 swans in the last few days. Only 4 of the 5 cygnets seem to be there. B reminded me that one of the cygnets seemed to go off on his own a lot, so maybe he has found his own little spot. I hope so, but we worry about them, especially the park seems to be on the anti-goose kick again. Gooose-buster man, dog and truck have been patrolling the lake lately. No signs of any geese. I miss them.

The really ugly news is about the trees. Yesterday we saw SEVEN tree-cutting trucks along the road. I asked them what was going on, and they said they were trimming and cutting the old trees to make them "safer." I protested, and we had quite a chat about why. the Park is getting constant complaints from a certain two people. One of my anonymous commenters mentioned last October, when I first got upset about cutting down the old trees, "You can blame the glory hound duo for that scaremongering,."

Anonymous was so right. We used to be friends with the glory hound duo. They watched out for the geese and swans and ducks, and were very concerned about the fishing line. But then, everything that they did had a reporter writing about in the paper. Their "concerns" expanded to a false, paranoid level, The duo takes credit for everything that happens in the park. For example, Dog Beach in Long Meadow is closed every winter. The duo claims that it 's closed because of their publicity about the toxic water. The water is NYC tap water (it is NOT a natural water habitat), is tested regularly, and supports a wide variety of healthy wildlife. It is not toxic.

Now, the duo is railing against the trees and the ladders, claiming both are dangerous. What nonsense! Yes many of the trees are 100 years old or more. They are beautiful. When there are bad storms, they lose some branches. People are not in the park during bad storms. Even the homeless go to the rustic shelters, under the bridges, or even to other shelters in the city. The Parks Dept. seems to be spending a ton of money and time on the silly and paranoid complaints of the duo. PLEASE STOP.

The ladders are even sillier. The duo thinks that the ladders are bad, and people will drown. They imagine hordes of Brooklynites rushing into the lake and drowning. Or accidentally falling into the lake when the lake is iced over, and drowning. First, the lake around the edges is quite shallow. People go into the lake on clean-up days (with boots, it is muddy and a little disgusting). Is the Parks Dept. really going to spend thousands of dollars for better ladders?

I could go on and on about how the duo treats all the other park groups as their enemies, and accuses them of all kinds of anti-park activities, but this is enough. The rest of the people who watch the park, save the birds, pick up trash, report park problems, monitor the plants and animals, etc., need to let the Park know that the duo is not the only voice. Please, While there are still some old trees standing.

I have said nice things about Emily Lloyd, who seems to b e doing a great job running Prospect Park. But if she's listening to these two to make decisions about trees, ladders, and who knows what else, we are in trouoble.

Winter in the park---NOT

2012-01-07T13:33:00.003-05:00

Coffee Bark in the Long Meadow today - 1st Saturday, and what a beautiful day it was. Feels like spring, not winter. Compare with last winter - 1/31/11 is my closest blog date. Snow, snow, snow and more snow. Cold days, winter boots, unplowed paths. Unlike today. I think the temperature was in the 50's, and I barely needed my winter coat - unzipped it after about 10 minutes. It was great to see so many happy people and their playful digs,

Sean Casey was there - they're making a movie about animal rescue and were out filming. I ducked out of sight of the camera, but donated a few dollars. Behind the scenes, that's me. Incidentally, that's pretty much why I decided to retire last year. My principal had called me in for a little talk about "teach and screech," a phrase I had never heard before. Apparently, it's not enough just to teach. "Teach and screech" means you have to do some other things to show that it was YOUR teaching that taught the student. I countered with one of my own favorite cliches, that I had always kind of believed in hiding my light beneath a bushel, not bragging or putting my self first. Not a philosophy that is very popular today. IU don't mind being spoken to about improving my teaching skills, but to be spoken to about my lack of bragging and self-importance? No thank you.

Anyway, we had a great long walk to the other side of the park and back, including Lookout Hill and an extra turn around the Nethermead. Here's a picture from last year, when we had snow, and a couple of pretty ones from this year. Tons of seagulls on the lake, but almost no geese. Has someone come in and slaughtered them again? I didn't think so, since they are not molting and are hard to catch, but we did see the anti-goose man and his dog the other day.

Up in the trees - Professional climbers only

2012-01-03T17:26:00.005-05:00

Three or four trucks seen around in the park, taking care of the park and the trees. And we mean the GOOD kind of taking care, not the killing them kind. Along the Lullwater path, there were two workers getting up a huge, broken branch that was high up in a tree. Kind of terrifying to watch. One guy climbed up to it - 20-30 feet above the ground, along a narrow looking branch. Apparently the two guys take turns climbing. This climb, they brought up a little manual pruning saw to get the big branch out. We saw the whole thing, even took a video, but it's a little blurry - it's that 16X zoom. Anyway, they finished and I mentioned how terrified I was that the branch would break and the climber would fall. They told me it was a very strong ironwood tree, and the branch was alive and still strong. They said ironwood was so strong they used it for airplane propellers, and native Americans used it for a lot of things.

Beautiful cold, crisp day today - not too windy. there was a nice breeze yesterday, and I got some great pictures of the new flag at the Parade grounds, fluttering in the breeze. Fluttering is not the best word, but neither is waving or rippling. I need a stronger word, for a stronger and more dynamic flag movement. Any suggestions, readers?

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-01T11:30:00.002-05:00

Quiet and still his morning,. Almost no one in the park when we arrived c. 7:30 AM. Everyone sleeping late, I guess, after last night's festivities. One or two lone joggers. Fireworks papers on top of Lookout Hill - a private party, I guess, but no beer bottles or other signs of wild celebration. The Nethermead was nearly empty, but by 8:30 a fairly large bunch of dogs and owners had arrived. Blue sky, no clouds, perfectly cool-but-not-cold temperature, no wind or rain, sparkling sunlight, and the dew sparkled when the light hit it. Here's hoping this peaceful, beautiful morning is the harbinger of a peaceful, beautiful year. Stayed in the park with Tony, Mr. Cooper, and Tall Unicycler until after 9:30 (dogs back on leashed at 9, of course), basking in the glorious day.

I was told the fireworks last night were wonderful, except for the people who brought their dogs, many of whom were terrified by the noise. Or else their ears hurt. We wondered why they brought their dogs. Can't go to the park without them? The dogs are their children, and they cannot leave them alone? Thought it would be fun? ...We brought JJ with to Vermont over the Fourth, when everyone at the lake does fireworks. People loved it, but we had to put poor JJ in the car, windows closed, and a blanket to hide under, so she could get away from the sounds. DOGS DO NOT LIKE FIREWORKS!!

I'm finally posting pictures of the nice new flag outside the Parade Ground Police Station. I've been hoping for a nice brisk wind to show it in all its glory. You'd think, after the massive amounts of wind last in 2011, there's be some. Nope, not a whisper. Again, hopefully a harbinger of more peaceful weather in 2012.

Hope everyone's year is awe-inspiringly wonderful. By the way, B has done some research, and apparently the Mayan calendar doe NOT say the world will end this year. Live long and prosper!!

Starting to freeze!!

2011-12-29T13:02:00.004-05:00

Yesterday it was not freezing, and we went to the park especially early - saw the sunrise as we were walking, and there's a picture of it. It's the darker one.

Today, if finally feels like winter. Temperature in the 20's. I need to look for my warmer boots - sneakers are getting just too cold, even with the few minutes of running that I do. We decided to go and check out lakeside. There's a huge wooden fence surrounding it these days. Could this be to avoid comments such as I have made before about the project? I mean, if you can't see it, you can't comment. So we started to walk down the narrow path between the 1/2 mile of wooden fence and the mile or more os steel chain link fence. REALLY hope this stuff eventually gets recycled. The path started fine, then got narrower, with wooden pieces across the top getting lower and lower. Husband, who is 6'1" had to constantly stoop. then so did I, and I'm only 5'. A man driving a bulldozer called over to us that we couldn't go there. We weren't sure if he meant that we'd be physically unable or not allowed, but we were tired of stooping and came out. Turns out he meant unable. Near the end of the fence is a look-out hole, and the path comes to an end. Of course, the look-out is set up so that you really can't see anything. So there's an artist's rendition of what the completed project will supposedly look like. Well, the picture looks nice.

The lake is starting to freeze around the edges. JJ had a fine time trying to get a stick out of a frozen puddle. She kept at it for some time, then managed to break off a piece of it that was sticking out, and was very happy. I was impressed that she managed to get a "win" out of a fairly hopeless situation. Politicians should take note.

On the way home, we saw a couple of people in a truck doing things with the flags in the Parade Grounds. I asked if they were going to replace the bedraggled flag over the Police Building, the one that's been discussed in the Ditmas Park Blog. He pointed out the new flag, in it's new plastic bag, ready to be hung up. Good job! It was still too cold to wait and see it done - shall photograph it tomorrow.

Christmas in the Park

2011-12-25T14:37:00.006-05:00

Quiet and beautiful in the park this morning. Not to many people there, everyone is either sleeping late or opening presents, I guess. We now open our Christmas/Chanukah/Solstice gifts Xmas eve. No longer do we have the eager little ones playing with the goodies in their Christmas Boots until at least 6 AM, when they were allowed to wake Mummy and Daddy. Now, daughter and husband go to his parents on Staten Island on Xmas Day, so we have a nice little event Xmas eve - lighting the Chanukah candles (when it's the right time of the month), dining, opening presents, telling stories - all the usual festive things. This year, we're going for Xmas Dinner in Chinatown . It's what we did on our first Christmas together, back in 1972. So I researched the Internet, looking for the "best" place, or at least one of them. Various overly cool people tell us that the best places are no longer in Chinatown, but in Queens. Queens? No thanks. We'll wander around chinatown and find a place that's just fine, thank you.

Meanwhile, in the park, there is a little ice starting to form, a nice view from Lookout Hill, beautiful trees, and some squirrel(s?) saving acorns next to the lake. This is year 2 of the blog, and I couldn't help but think of the differences between this year and last. Last year, the park was generally very dirty, with an assortment of dead animals that made us wonder about the health of the water, dirt, air, everything. Tupper Thomas, with all the good things she did, did not concern herself much with our end of the park (the end not in Park Slope, I mean.). We came upon many dead ducks, geese, some swans, other birds, fish, raccoons, turtles,even a possum, and others. The park was filthy - garbage everywhere, especially on the weekends. Unmentionable things in the Lake, charcoal around the tree roots, piles of chicken entrails by the water.....

This year, it's so much better. Trash collection is vastly improved, both by the Parks Department and by individuals - I'm not the only one who walks around with a trash bag to contain the stuff. My husband and I have become known fixtures in the park, and we talk to so many people about what's going on! There have been no dead animals by the lake, which tells me that the lake is much cleaner than it was, even with the incredible rainfall and flooding that we've had. I know that Dog Beach in Long Meadow is closed for the winter, as it is every year, with no reports of dead and sick animals. Emily Lloyd is doing a great job. She's working well with FIDO and other park volunteers, and there's a new group called something like "Wild in the Park" to help her out. There's still too much fishing line, but the improvement from last year to this is so noticeable!

Thank you, Parks Dept, Prospect Park Alliance, and individual visitors for making sure that we have a wonderful city park, and Happy Holidays to everyone.

2011-12-15T22:46:00.002-05:00

So, the frat house was back yesterday, but not the whole Fraternity Row. We figure they had to re-take a scene or some such. Loved Mary's comment the other day about the outrage, etc., that would occur should a Frat House really move in to the nabe. So true!

I am alternating beautiful fall days in the Park with making arrangements for our plumber to take care of four, count them, four separate leaks,dripping faucets, etc. I love living in our 100 year old house, but it mind-boggling how we have to order all the parts we need to fix the simplest things.
Not just the plumbing - the electrician came once to fix a lighting problem, and he was absolutely astonished. He said that the parts in the switch were from the 1920's!!

Bark the Herald Angels Sing!!

2011-12-10T15:15:00.001-05:00

Terrific morning at FIDO's Bark the Herald Sing event this morning. Up[ at 6 to make the wassail. I was so nervous about doing a good job!! It was a hit!! People told me it was the best ever, and I had said that I wanted to hear that from only some of them. Dogs in costumes, Marty Markowitz came, and the best Santa ever. He and his wife and dogs come down from Massachusetts in his fantastic custom made Santa suit. We sang Christmas carols and Chanukah songs rewritten for dogs, had a beautiful cake, wassail, and mulled cider. Loads of people and dogs and a really good time. And the dogs could stay off-leash till 10 AM, not the usual 9. I'll put some pictures here, and many more on my Facebook page, open to the public.

At the request of many, here's the wassail recipe. This amount fills two large thermoses, about 8 quarts.

3 six-packs Brooklyn Brown Ale
1 1/2 cups sugar
Cheese cloth
6 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 cup brandy
1 cup medium sherry or port.

Warm ale, sugar, and spices. (Wrap spices in cheesecloth. ) DO NOT BOIL.
When hot, add 1 cup brandy and 1 cup sherry or port.
Pour into heated thermos(es).

Happy Holidays!!

Oh, and there was "jingle bell jog" also going on - lots of people running, dressed up as elves, reindeer, snow, Santas, etc.

Fraternity Row on Albemarle

2011-12-08T19:31:00.001-05:00

Cold, clear, beautiful day in the park today, but the real treat was the set-up for the TV show "Unforgettable" on Albemarle. They've turned those big beautiful houses into Fraternity houses, and they all look quite wonderful. The funny thing is that in small college towns, it is exactly these kinds of mansions that are frat houses. Big old houses that date from the town's glory days, but are now too expensive to maintain, repair, heat, etc. I love that the big old houses here in Ditmas Park (well, technically Prospect Park South) are so well maintained, updated, etc.

Back from Vermont

2011-12-07T21:46:00.005-05:00

Back in the park Tuesday, happy to see that Fanny, and Tony, are both fine. Mostly naked trees in all their glory - love how different the leafless trees look. Took some nice photos of some of my favorites. The dark one is from Vermont. It's in the center of town.

I go to a beautiful little town called Bellows Falls, in the southeastern part of the state. It hit it's peak in the 19th century during the early years of the Industrial Revolution. It's on a canal off the Connecticut River, with an utterly gorgeous main street. A friend of mine,an artist named Robert McBride, moved there about 15 years ago, and has been active there creating an artist community. I went with 2 other friends to help him prepare for the annual Art Auction. http://www.ramp-vt.org/ is the organization that he runs, if anyone want to learn more. Anyway, B, my husband is very busy these days programming his robots, so I went off. Had a great time. Woke up Monday thinking, "I want to be home." and came home then. Other VT photos today: giant VT snow shovels.

Autumn passes quickly in the park

2011-11-21T15:00:00.005-05:00

I've been going to the park, just not writing so much about it. Nothing particularly exciting, but every day is different in its own way, and beautiful. The foliage seems to have fallen very quickly - suddenly there were big puddles of red leaves under the maple trees, and big yellow ones undere the ginkgoes. On the sunny days before they fell, the sunlight sparkling through the moving leaves made it seem as if the light were really alive. It seemed to inspire the swans and geese to practice their flying. What a joyous feeling of being one with nature! I hope everyone manages to get to the park for a little bit right now. Things are so wonderful, and change so quickly. There's a clear vies now from the top of Lookout Hill.

Now the leaves have mostly fallen, except for a few stubborn trees, determined to keep their color a few more weeks if they can.

Other Park sights: the Brooklyn Marathon, "Stumphenge," and the cones that are supposed to make biking and walking less dangerous.

Oh, and there was a different boat on the lake the other day. Speculation: it's testing the water. there's been an unhealthy-looking green scum on it lately, and it certainly needs to be checked. Wouldn't want bad water for any of our bird and frog friends.

Yellow leaf day

2011-11-10T14:06:00.004-05:00

Tree colors changing rapidly - today I concentrated on the bright yellow trees. There are already a bunch of leafless trees, which is surprising among so much green. Anyway, the yellow ones seem to stand out a lot today, perhaps because the sun was bright and it was another beautiful day in the park.

The port-o-johns by the Wellhouse are gone. This is surprising, ecause it was a 60 degree day with sunshine and a lot of people out. Maybe because the water fountains are gradually being turned off? I have a nasty habit of wanting the world to be logical and make sense. You'd think I would know better after 60+ years, but no.

Speaking of illogicality and senselessness, there have been a few very disturbing incidents in the park lately. There was the vicious dog/irresponsible owners incident that we learned about yesterday via the poster. The other day, I was nearly run over by a bicyclist while crossing the park road. He cursed me out quite badly, of course (sarcasm). Today Mary, one of my fellow dog-owners, told me about two similar, but worse incidents. One bicylist ran into a woman named Judy Cohen, who is now in an induced coma at Kings County Hospital as a result. Another cyclist hit a small boy. In that case, the cyclist in the hospital. The boy had a bump on the head but is apparently okay. What is going on? Don't people realize that sharing a park means you kind of have to look out for other people? Be responsible? Keep your eyes open? I throw sticks for JJ and make sure that there's no one standing in the direction I'm throwing the stick. I thought it was common sense, but apparently it's advanced social consciousness or something like that.

Looking for violent pit bull, irresponsible owner(s)

2011-11-09T11:45:00.003-05:00

Here's a poster that was all around the Nethermead this morning. This is very sad. I know that people often let their dog off-leash in the Nethermead, especially after 5:00, but it is not legal, and people should be more responsible for their pets. Hope they find these owners and they do the right thing.

Autumn leaf changes

2011-11-08T19:54:00.002-05:00

The colors are definitely changing on the leaves in the park's trees. It's amazing how much difference there is just from one day to the next.

We kept thinking about going upstate for a couple of sayd in October, staying at some nice3 little B & B, and watching the colors, but it never happened., So glad it's happening here. Today, I was particularly looking for bright red trees: my favorites.

Another beautiful day in the park!

Perfect Autumn Day

2011-11-07T11:16:00.002-05:00

So glad that we turned the clocks back this weekend. It's now daylight when we wake up, around 7, to go to the park. The last few weeks I was never sure if it was actually morning or my occasional 3 AM insomnia. Since I have to actually get out of the bed to see the time ( a holdover from the need to actually wake up, not hit the button and go back to sleep), it was really infringing on my sleep time. Of course, if this is my biggest problem, I have no problems. Still, I do need to be getting enough sleep.

Anyway, it was a perfect fall day in the park - blue sky, neither hot nor cold, geese in the Parade ground, flowers around the Albanian Mosque on Albemarle, and lots and lots of happy dogs. Not all that much to report. I'm afraid my blog is becoming day after day of "another beautiful day in the park.

The trees are just starting to change colors - soft tones, not the glaring bright ones. I wonder if this is due to our strange weather - the snow while the trees were all still green and the large amounts of rain. Anyway, two trees overhead on Lookout Hill were very pretty where the two colors met.

The Snowman in all its glory

2011-11-04T10:32:00.003-04:00

Thank you, reader sssnole!! Her daughter built the snowman and she sent me a picture of the original creation. Here's a link to it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94915717@N00/6293857682/

Another beautiful fall day today. Off to visit occupy New York again. I'm looking for a cheap place to buy some space blankets, so I can bring them some.

Does my timing stink?

2011-10-31T15:42:00.007-04:00

So yesterday I had a glorious sleep-in (until 10:00, amazingly late for me) while Ber and JJ went to the park. It was not the gray, dreary it had been the day before, but a sunny beautiful one. So of course, Ber came back with tales of park events - a snowman, dogs and children romping in the snow, downed trees and branches, a sign at our usual entrance claiming the park was closed, but with lots of people going in and out. He doesn't take pictures. But when he came back, we checked on Ditmas Park Blog, which did claim also that the park was closed. What nonsense!

So today we went together, in the hope that I hadn't missed all the good stuff. Well, I missed the snowman, but did take a picture of the large snowball that remained of it. But there were some other great things. the downed trees and branches are still there - two on the Lullwater path were especially nice. And 1/2 the Nethermead has a nice snow blanket on top, especially around the preparations for the Halloween activities that were supposed to happen on Sunday, but were cancelled.

I got a nice shot of the hawk sitting on a lamppost in the Parade Ground. Couldn't see if he/she was red-tailed or not, but it seemed to be enjoying the weather and the view a lot.

Another cooperative park event - Tony had a flat tire and we all helped him change it. I was tempted to put up only the photo of the woman turning the jack while the men stood around and watch, but decided to me more fair - we all took turns. Good thing too - the lugs and tools were a little old and rusty and needed a communal effort. Fanny is still moving around and seems happy but a bit more quiet than usual.

Feels like winter already

2011-10-29T22:23:00.002-04:00

Just a short walk to the park today - it was cold and lightly raining. Thought it would be better to go home in the bad weather. The lake was gray and choppy and quite pretty in a fall-coming-in way. But of course, the weather later in the day made the morning look like a summer vacation. Snow while the green leaves are still on all the deciduous trees. Global weirding, as they say.

Brooklyn College in the afternoon, to see the Chinese acrobats. They are the official national troupe, and absolutely fantastic, breathtaking, impossible, etc. Costumes were as beautiful and inspirational as the performers. Definitely put the sunshine back in the day.

Beautiful golden sunshine

2011-10-25T10:00:00.003-04:00

And the title indicates the main thing in the park this morning, The light was actually sparkling through the trees. I didn't even try to take a picture because I knew it wouldn't come out anything like the reality. We took the path that sort of goes up and around Lookout Hill - a nice change from all the steps. A lot of downed trees have been cut up into logs on that side - I guess it's a nice sweep up from the road, and gets pretty windy.

Had to stop in several places, just to be still and enjoy the beauty. All 10 swans out and enjoying the perfect fall day, but not that many dogs today. I wonder why.

Below is a link to woot.com. I'm not starting to take advertising, but this is one of my absolute favorite shopping sites. They have one sale per day. Just one. Great deals. I got this new computer through it. Have also bought 3 vacuum cleaners (1 Roomba), memory foam mattress, flash drives, cedar BBQ planks, flexible BBQ skewers, a keyboard, and much more.,

Too Many People!!

2011-10-22T11:50:00.002-04:00

We saw the trucks bringing in equipment for a 5 mile run in the park yesterday. Look: pictures of trucks. Well, it was a really, really big run. The park road was surrounded by people, several feet deep, urging people on. We could hear one excited woman screaming - from our house, which is about a mile from the actual park! Very nice to see the park being so well used, but I WANT MY QUIET PARK BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cooperative medical care - for dogs

2011-10-21T13:42:00.004-04:00

Fanny is a 15 year old service dog belonging to Tony, the head of FIDO. Poor Fanny has had a great life and given a lot of people much joy and happiness, but she is not now in great shape. Old, heart problems, and now kidney problems. Now, she needs to have liquids dripped in under her skin every other day to insure that she is okay. Not so easy to do - dogs don't understand "just stay in one place for a half hour while I put a needle in your back and drip medication in. " Funny about that - they understand so many other things. So it was very nice today that we could help out Fanny and Tony by being a cooperative medical support group. 5 - 10 people altogether, holding the medication bag up high, putting the needle in, holding it in place, keeping Fanny still, comforting the dog, keeping the other dogs slightly apart from her, stopping any roughhousing nearby, and doing some documentation. One of the group is a nurse, and made sure everything was done right. Fanny got her treatment, trotted off quite briskly, looking back at us with a VERY accusing look. We were so glad that we could help them out.

In other news: two photos of "taken care of trees" on our walk - grotesque large stumps uglifying our beautiful park. Both are in locations where people don't walk right under or near them. Makes me want to cry.

Big brown dog "standing guard" at the walk up Lookout Hill. We think this is the dog that either lives on his own in the park, or is released every morning and picked up every evening, as a free doggie day care. The dog seems quite peaceful, not aggressive or angry, although he ran off when we approached. JJ didn't even bother to bark.

blue spot (and green spot) mystery solved

2011-10-18T22:59:00.004-04:00

It turns out that the blue (and green, which I hadn't yet mentioned) spots are marking the trees that are to be trimmed/pruned/tended to in some way. The parks Dept. contracts with an outside company to do this work. Sounds reasonable, but I am very concerned. How far will this pruning go? Are these trees, which all seem to be big, marvelous, possibly old ones, to be "taken care of" - aka killed? Or will they cut off all the nice branches, the ones that we walkers like to look at, stand under when there's a little rain, enjoy the shade, etc.

And aren't there better things to do with the Park's budget than cut down trees? How about that bathroom in the Wellhouse that's been promised for years? How about dredging the lake so as to clean it up a bit? How about restoring some of the classes at the Boat House that have been taken away due to budget cuts?

There was a lot of rain and storms this summer, and the park lost a lot of trees. Too many. But the ones that didn't fall seem to be healthy and solid. Why are we attacking them by trimming them? Maybe they stopped killing animals and are starting on plants? We should be nurturing the remaining trees, truly taking care of them, helping them to stay healthy. For example, there's one in the Peninsula that got blown partway over. There's a picture of it in my blog a couple of weeks ago. Someone put a stump next to it to prop it up, then attached ropes to the trunk to straighten it, and it looks like the roots are regrowing. The tree will, I think, be saved. That's the kind of tree care that should be happening.

In other news - they've started to put up the tennis house - guess fall is here. And a very clever podiatrist is advertising in the park. I actually find that the more I walk the BETTER my feet are, but maybe that's just me.

We saw a dead opossum on the walk up Lookout Hill yesterday - at about 7:30. Had no idea there were opossums in Prospect Park. By 9:00 we were coming back by the Wellhouse, saw some Park people in a truck, and told them about the poor thing. They had already picked it up!! Amazing efficiency. They said it would be analyzed to see why it died.

And I had a lovely time with my favorite small dog, Mo, a hairy chihuahua, the other day. I have to say that generally I am not a fan of small dogs, especially chihuahuas. But this one is absolutely wonderful - sweet and cute and friendly and very distinctive looking.

Mystery of the Blue Dots

2011-10-13T11:36:00.005-04:00

We noticed that a bunch of trees, especially near the Well House, have blue dots painted on them. At first, we were unconcerned, assuming they marked trees that had been counted, perhaps, or checked, or identified, something like that. But now, with the "taking care" of the trees (aka killing) we are quite concerned. Are these beautiful, majestic, remarkable trees about to come down, to look the tree trunk of last week's beautiful old tree? I certainly hope not. Inquiring minds want to know, and to stop any such arboricide. ...So many unsettling thoughts on what was a lovely fall day with a very light drizzle and a small flock of migratory geese coming in for a coffee break or some such thing.

Also spotted a bunch of tree branches and limbs near the Nethermead that have been "taken care of," and are ready to be ground to bits. We actually liked it, since we pulled out sticks for JJ to chase. Have I mentioned that JJ is great at chasing sticks, but will not let us have them again. We need a steady supply to keep her happy.

Another mystery: the duckweed is almost gone by the boathouse, so I actually did some research on why. I never thought there was poison, but still wondered why the pond is now clear and beautiful, except in a few corners. Cool weather? The weed-whacker boat? REALLY hungry ducks? None of the above. Duckweed has a life cycle. When it ages (or becomes senescent as my research calls it, it produced fronds and then dies. It is actually a good idea to skim it off at this point, or the fronds eventually sink, decay, and use up too much oxygen in the process. We don't know it it sank or was skimmed, but it is really gone. Until next year. There's still a lot of it along the Lullwater, but even there it's getting thinner and streakier.

The Times today had an article on eyebrow toupees that seem to be making their mark on the political scene, No wonder I prefer Prospect Park world. Even when I disagree with some thought or action,m there is some kind of at least semi-logical reason behind it. Unlike eyebrow toupees.

I am off to visit Occupy Wall St. this afternoon. They will be cleaning Liberty/Zuccotti park, and I want to see if that "cleaning' is anything like "taking care of" the trees. Hope not.

Migrating geese and computer angst

2011-10-10T12:59:00.003-04:00

Here are some beautiful migratory geese flying over the lake the other day. There were actually several flocks about this size, flying around and around and making happy, busy noises on their way to Florida or wherever. The third picture is of Prospect park's own residential geese, happily sitting in the weater and wondering what the fuss is all about.

We've been going to the park regularly the past few days, enjoying this beautiful weather, keeping Lookout Hill clean, doing actual running around the Nethermead to try to get myself into a little better shape, talking to many fellow dog owners. Haven't written because I am starting to use a new computer and have been a mite terrified. The one I'd been using, a nice little Dell Inspiron that's been in the family maybe 10 years, maybe more, was starting to do weird things, like stop working. So we decided to get a new one while I could get all the data off the Inspiron and put it into it. We love woot.com, a great sale-a-day website, where we found a refurbished HP Pavilion for a very reasonable price.

In this family, husband and daughter are the computer people. They are my Technical Assistance Committee. And I've gotten pretty lazy about getting daughter to do things for me. You know how they love to teach mom things. But the other day she said it would be better to teach me how to fish than give me a fish. So I've been using the new one without her. SUCCESS!!!

R. I. P. Beautiful old tree and Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T17:29:00.007-04:00

Well, the tree was taken care of yesterday. It was pretty hollow, but I still think it should have been left up. It occupied a VERY un-utilized corner of the Nethermead. Today, a tractor was starting to remove the pieces when we were there.

Otherwise, a beautiful day. Migratory geese seeing actually migrating.

Keep thinking about Steve Jobs - the man was an era. In 1975 B. and I went to Atlantic City for a computer convention,. This was before gambling - A.C. was pretty run down. B. had a brand new thing - a computer called an Imsai, small enough to own and keep in one's home. No printer, no screen, no keyboard. You had to flick switches to get programming into it.

I went horseback riding on the beach and popped into the convention. So many nerds! It was fun, but I couldn't imagine why anyone would ever want a computer in their home. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were there - 2 teenager nerds among about 4,000 - and Gates took the stage at one point to yell at everybody for not sending him money when they used Basic (a computer language).

I look back and marvel at the incredible changes in the world since then. We have about 5 computers in the house now, and I cannot imagine life without one. And I'm not particularly computer literate. And we owe so much of it to Steve Jobs!! He changed the world. He will be missed.

Tree stories

2011-10-05T12:29:00.003-04:00

So nice that it hasn't been hot and humid and muggy for days! Beautiful fall weather - some rain, just enough so that I can't seem to get the lawn mowed, but not enough to make me miserable. We just may have to put the furnace on in a week or so!

Lookout Hill had been seriously barricaded this past week. A tree had fallen to an angle over the path. The park, I guess was afraid it would fall and put up more than one barricade and some yellow tape to stop people from walking/running underneath it. So now - the tree has fallen! Barricades still there, but the path is no longer dangerous, so various Brooklynites have cleared the way. I wonder what will happen next - the tree is 1/2way up the hill, and I don't think any truck will make it up or down the stairs to remove it. For us, not runners, it makes a nice seat halfway up.

Other tree event - large truck driving up to a beautiful old tree on the edge of the Nethermead. I took photos, along with someone else who said he was from a Brooklyn Paper, and said that they were going to take care of the tree. How nice, I thought. I think I am becoming very old-fashioned. I asked him later - apparently "taking care" means killing it and cutting it down, not making sure it has appropriate nutrition, pruning, etc. I certainly hope my kids don't "take care" of me like that when I'm old and little sick.

The 5 cygnets born this spring are about 1/3 white already - seems to have happened so fast!

Mystery Art

2011-09-29T22:36:00.003-04:00

Someone seems to have a lot of fun doing some stencil art in the park. B. thinks it's Tibetans - he says he remembers having seen those letters in Tibetan writings, T-shirts, etc. I think his O.D.D. (Observational Deficit Disorder, a condition we've invented) is not so severe as mine. Anyway, I certainly hope this represents a fight for Tibetan Freedom, and not an anti-American battle.

Rollerskate Marathon!!

2011-09-24T19:32:00.007-04:00

Beautiful sky this morning - mackeral sky with hints of blue peeking through. So gorgeous!!

Apparently, NYC has a roller skate (well, rollerblade) marathon every year and today was the day. We went over to see the start. The Pros and advanced skaters do 100 kilometers! that's 41 times around the park road - I didn't figure it out, it was announced. Others do shorter rolls. So they've got 5-6 different groups, the last being latecomers. It looked like a lot of fun, especially when we saw some of them on the other side of the park when we were leaving - skating in rows, holding hands, or talking while skating. Looked like a lot of fun.

Did notice that the adults did wear wristguards, but not the small children. I remember when my kids learned to rollerblade. I learned that wristguards were the most important piece oif protection because if you fall on your knees, it's no big deal, just a scrape. But if you damage your wrist, with its 20 or so bones, it can be permanent. So I was surprised to see the kids without them. Well, I guess they're batter skaters (this was in the sort of recreational-skater section). Also, they don't have nearly as far to fall, and weighed a lot less.

2011-09-22T10:36:00.005-04:00

Lovely gray morning - the park was pretty empty when we got there. Almost no birds - just a few ducks and a cormorant by the lake, and the 3 cygnets cruising around. JJ made a new friend - a delightfully happy 6 month old boy who sat on JJ for a ride. JJ kissed him several times. Not sure how much Mom liked it, but the young lad seemed fine with it. Picture attached.

Everyone seemed to be sleeping in. There's a man we see every morning with 3 dogs. Only 2 this morning - the 2 big ones. The 3rd, little one, slept in. So we went to the end of the peninsula. sat in the rustic house, watched the cygnets and the hugely growing Lakeside, enjoying the morning. There is a huge tree that came down in the Peninsula. Really beautiful. I hope they don't cut it up. Wouldn't it be nice to let nature take it's course in the Peninsula - a little Wilderness area right here in the park? With the little paths, nicely covered with shredded bark, wending their ways through it. I may have to get a bag and clippers from Tony to pick up the trash there. Apparently, according to Emily Lloyd, the park spent $40,000 keeping our end of the park clean this summer (no wonder everything looks better), but didn't do so much in the Peninsula Woods. But it was VERY clean by the ristic house - someone is doing a pretty good job!

Many, many people and dogs when we got back to Peninsula - probably in preparation for the anticipated series of thunderstorms this afternoon.

And an exuberant volunteer squash plant growing along the Prospect Park West side of the park. Very small, round yellow squashes so far. They may never grow substantially. So many plants are hybrids, and the volunteers often revert to the original breed, which is frequently not so large or tasty (hey, why do you think they were hybridized?)

Lost dog???????????

2011-09-19T10:35:00.004-04:00

Beautiful fall day in the park today, with flying geese and flying swans (last year's cygnets) giving life to the skies. I think I'm ready for long pants, though the short ones keep me moving faster to get warm.

We saw a dog behind the fence at the SW corner of the park - the area next to the lake, near where Candleman used to light his candles (and may still, though if he does he cleans up very well). I
The dog has no collar. Took these pictures - if it's anyone's lost dog, please go and get him.

Mushroom news

2011-09-17T09:37:00.003-04:00

It's 9:35 AM, and we just heard an NPR report about the incredibly prolific crop of mushrooms and fungi this year - we are not alone in noticing the great masses of them in the park! A woman who's been collecting wild mushrooms for 40 years said this was the best she'd ever seen. The actual plants, she says, is a large one growing under the ground. The parts we see don't come up every year. Anyway, it was nice to see that our observations are part of a larger trend. We were hoping for a mention of the gorgeous elegant stinkhorn, but no. She only talked about edible mushrooms, and suggested that anyone going out to find them take a course in which ones are edible before they go. And that's "edible," not "edible but not recommended."

Crack bag diversity

2011-09-15T18:59:00.003-04:00

I was quite amazed at the 3 bags we found today - all totally different. Note the skulls decorating the one, and the smallest bag we've ever seen on the right. I wonder who makes these bags, and who decides on what designs. Last year we found purple unicorns and pink hearts. the skulls seem more appropriate - crack = death.

Park was very, very quiet today, almost eerie No bird noises at all. And they're still taking down trees.

Prospect Park...very far south

2011-09-13T19:48:00.004-04:00

Lovely time in the park as usual this morning. Swans and geese all hanging out, enjoying the morning. The regular route - up Lookout Hill, running around the Nethermead, strolling along Lullwater back to Peninsula, a swim in the lake (JJ, not us).

This afternoon, I needed a different venue, so we went out to Ft. Tilden, whgich I am now considering VERY south, Prospect Park. My daughter once lived in an apartment at 21st St., and they called that Prospect Park South, not Sunset Park. So Ft. Tilden can be Prospect park Very South. Anyway, the beach there is huge and clean and beautiful. There are WWII ruins here and there, great for exploring. Didn't bring JJ, but we can and will next time we go. The ocean waves were perfect for strolling. Two women making an art project on the beach. It was a perfect afternoon.

Trucks, trucks, and more trucks.

2011-09-11T13:24:00.006-04:00

They weren't kidding when they said they'd clean up the downed trees today. Five crews working in our little corner of the park! One rental unit had a hastily tacked on sign crediting Bloomberg with the work they're doing. Actually, I credit Emily Lloyd, who seems to be doing a great job of keeping this end of the park clean. Lots of people and dogs, mostly planning to avoid radio and TV today, and maintain a calm peaceful demeanor.

Started out with blue sky, then turning gray. Rain felt imminent, but it still feels imminent now at 1:30, but still dry.

2011-09-10T10:54:00.008-04:00

The lake is nearly down to normal. But no new photos - battery ran out of charge. I should probably check it before I leave the house every day,. but I don't seem to be that organized. Oh well. The nice photo of the supported tree will go in. I think its a great shot.

Coffee Bark today. Big crowd, great weather, friendly people. I was talking to Rine, who's a big animal rights person. She was telling me a bout something called Kapparot. This is when some ultra-religious Jews, like the Hasidim, take time just before Yom Kippur, to swing a live chicken in a circle over their heads 3 times while chanting. I had to stop her to ask if she was serious - sounds so much like a Monty Python sketch! But this is totally serious. It apparently started up on the 9th century, when some genius noted that the Hebrew word gever means both man and chicken, so it would be cool to torture a chicken and make him/her suffer for your sins. WHAT??? As a Jewish person myself, I find this embarrassingly weird, and cruel. I'm not a vegetarian, and I accept that meat-eating is a large part of nature. Doesn't mean it's all right to torture, mistreat, etc., animals. http://www.endchickensaskaporos.com/ is the website, for more info. She's trying to stop it, to replace the chicken with a bag of money for charity, has the support of several rabbis, and I hope she's successful.

The world is busy making 9/11 plans for tomorrow, the 10th anniversary. Even the park. Paths will be closed for downed tree removals. I think I want to go to the beach or a movie, and according to today's Times, I'm not the only one. I don't need anything to remind me of 9/11 because I haven't forgotten it. At all. And I think most New Yorkers feel the same. I think about frequently. When the day is beautiful, with a cloudless blue sky, I shudder - this was the 9/11 weather. Tony thinks this is PTSS. I don't know. I think it's just that life affects people.

Finally, sunshine!!

2011-09-09T15:04:00.004-04:00

For the past 3 days JJ has absolutely refused to go to the park in the rain., though we did go the 3 days before, just didn't write anything,. Finally, some sunshine! Saw Tony, who is better than us, and didn't let the rain stop him. Of course, he drives to the park, doesn't walk a mile. Just saying.

The lake is even more over its banks than it was after Irene. We saw Martin, from the Prospect Alliance, who says there is no water going in, and the drain has been on full blast for some time. He cleans the drain every day, and was happy to have a sunny day today to do it.

All the water is taking its toll on the park's trees. A lot of them have fallen down, and one is barely being held up by a stump that someone attached. Hopefully the soil will drain and the roots will re-establish themselves.

HUGE elegant stinkhorn crop all over the park - the nicest part of all this rain.

Quite a few "do not enter" places in the park, where there are downed trees. Of course, it's Brooklynites who visit the park, and we couldn't help but notice people completely disregarding every sign. Hey, it's "The People's Republic of Brooklyn" here - we don't like following directions - like the famous Brooklyn U turn that is so common. Actually, I think we have just re-interpreted traffic laws. If there's no "No U-turn" sign, then the u-turn must be legal. Lately, I notice that drivers wait for the light to go red, then do the turn through the intersection, from the right lane. Breaking 3 laws at once!!

Exploring SE Prospect Park

2011-09-01T10:49:00.005-04:00

We decided to go around the lake today, checking out the Lakeside progress and see what damage the storm did. The news is not good. The whole SE corner is looking very bad. Probably because it's getting little use, since the BBQ area is gone, the Parking lot is gone, the boat rentals are gone, the sweet rustic shelter by the water is gone, and most of it is fenced off. The huge piles of dirt have 1-2 ft. long weeds growing on them, and trash is all around them. A couple of downed trees, and trash all around them. A couple of people sleeping in the shaded nooks, with trash all around them. We decided to keep to the main path rather than the little scenic paths, since they were sleeping peacefully and we didn't want to disturb them. Some people hanging out, having breakfast, with trash all around them. There's a new altar type thing in the Haitien worship circle, but with trash all around it.

The Lakeside project seems to be gigantic, taking up 3-4 times the space of the old skating rink. And high up - do we really need this monstrous structure? It will be visible from everywhere. Even the sewage container looks big enough to house 5-6 families comfortably.

The statue of Abe Lincoln is now blocked by a fallen tree, and there's one down on the north side of the fence.

Meanwhile, the swan family is looking very content, munching on duckweed by the boathouse. Downed trees are being cut up and shredded as much as possible. I asked the woman on the team if she ever got to chainsaw, and she said yes. So glad to hear it, as I used to do a lot of chainsawing on the farm, Even taught my friend's son how to do it safely. I think women make safer chainsawers, since we're not afraid to admit we're tired and take a break. Tired chainsawers who don't admit it and take a break and lose legs, etc.

I'm a little concerned about an extremely drippy fire hydrant between Peninsula and Nethermead. Is this the high lake level or will it burst and waste water? Also, all the fencing around Nethermead is down . Guess the Michael Jackson concert is canceled.

Lookout Hill off-limits today

2011-08-30T12:49:00.009-04:00

So glad we made it up Lookout Hill yesterday, because there's caution tape there and it's off limits today. I wonder if it was my tales of the jungle jim hill that made this happen. Anyway, hopefully this computer is behaving better and I can post the photos today....Lake level down only slightly, loads of joggers in the park today.

Last day of Eid today - the end of Ramadan. Large crowd of about 99 men and 1 woman on near the mosque on Albemarle, all quietly and conservatively dressed. Another large crowd, very colorfully dressed in the Parade Ground, looking prepared for a very festive celebration. So glad the weather is so great for it!

Post Irene photos.

2011-08-29T15:28:00.012-04:00

Lookout Hill felt like an old-fashioned Jungle Jim today, with all the downed trees and branches. Actually, only one tree down on the hill (just before where we go down on the other side), but a few big branches and a lot of small ones. Well, they probably would have felt large if they'd fallen on us. Great fun! Especially after the two day park closing and the beautiful day today. We became law-abiding citizens years ago, and stayed out of the park while it was closed. Unlike, for example, the two brave/idiotic/foolish/? people who decided to kayak in the ocean in the middle of a hurricane and had to be rescued. At least they got summons when they were rescued. Hope the fine is HUGE! Anyway, we got some nice pictures of the fallen green stuff. Actually, it wasn't as bad as we'd feared. Irene got calmer and went off to the west a bit before she arrived, and a lot of the really weak trees were blown in the snow storm of March, 2010.

And there were no crack bags!

Lake is a bit flooded, no more than during the big rain a couple of weeks ago. The birds all seem fine. Lots and lots of dogs out.

Wooden fences surround Nethermead, mostly still standing. they were put up last week in preparation for "an event." I looked it up - there was supposed to be a huge birthday party for Michael Jackson, sponsored by Spike Lee, yesterday. When the Mayor cancelled all Sunday events, it was moved to Saturday, which at the time had a 70% chance of rain and made no sense to me. then, of course the park was closed for two days. I wonder if the party has been cancelled or re-scheduled. I know it's a tight schedule for events in Prospect Park this time of year.

Having a computer problem. Will post more photos tomorrow.

Before the hurricane

2011-08-26T11:00:00.006-04:00

Very busy in the park this morning - everyone taking advantage before the hurricane hits this weekend. Lots of dogs, runners, cyclists, etc. One man was carrying his large (c. 80 pounds) dog out of the park. The animal is 14 years old, and still occasionally pulls his way to the park to recreate the 6-mile runs he did as a puppy. Then his bad legs kick in, and the owner has to carry him home. Owner was very pleased to talk to me and have a little break from the heavy lifting. We probably won't be back till Monday, since JJ refuses to go in the rain. Who's the Boss? Certainly not me or B.

Last year's cygnets were not at the beach, but further south, at the very Southwest corner. We got a great view from the little path there that goes right to the shore. There are two benches there, frequently occupied by napping men, but not today. So we took a seat and watched, and all of a sudden papa Swan comes swimming along to them at top speed, then flies at them very forcefully to get them out of the way of the new cygnets. Quite impressive, the strength of his turf protection instincts. Later, they all seemed to be sharing the middle of the lake. Seems only the parts near the shore call for that kind of protection.

The lake level is well below it's normal height in preparation for the hurricane. I was kind of impressed with the small amount of flooding that resulted from the record breaking rain day, but I guess it was too much for some. The Mayor and his staff seem to be desperately making up for the blizzard disaster. They're (probably) closing down the subways for 12 hours or so, and evacuating everyone 24 hours in advance of the actual storm. Of course, the blizzard disaster happened mainly because they had fired 100's of sanitation works in the weeks prior, and didn't start any cleanup until the blizzard was well under way. Not really the same thing as a big rain with wind. So we're getting a big show that probably won't help much. Typical. We are putting the yard furniture in the garage and hoping that the renovation going on next store is tied down well.

**********************
Not exactly park news, but there's a great fake car accident at Westminster and Albemarle. They're shooting a commercial that makes fun of insurance spokespeople. You can see Mayhem, Neanderthal, and the Progressive Lady hanging out. They put a fog maker under the cat hood to keep the engine "steaming" all day. I only wish I knew how to place photos near the captions in the blog. Oh well, it's not that long an entry.

Oh, Martin: the line is gone. Thank you. And we think you're a Martin, not a Marty.

Elegant Stinkhorns, continued

2011-08-24T12:50:00.004-04:00

Well, now they have the gray/black caps and look like they're being eaten. The caps contain the new spores. Bugs eat it and spread the spores to new locations, so that we'll see them again. Next year? Next week? Next rainstorm? No idea. Unlike seeds, spores are quite unpredictable about how long they stay active, when they grow, etc. They haven't been studied as much as seeds have been studied, and they are more varied. A mushroom aficionado named Terence McCenna (sp?) spent years trying to figure out what the necessary conditions were - water? pressure? heat? - and gave up. Apparently each species is different. So, Mary, maybe we'll get a lot more when/if the hurricane hits and maybe we won't. Will definitely keep an eye out. I feel sure, with almost no factual basis whatsoever, that the glorious biggest-one-day-rain in history got water down to deep spores and encouraged this magnificent growth that we're now seeing.

Cooler morning, lots of exercisers out, taking advantage. Geese looked like they were playing baseball in the Parade Ground. Also, a great soccer game going on. Usually, there are some pick-up soccer games going on, using half a field each and little portable goals. Today there was one game on the whole field,with uniformed players and some great kicking going on. Also head hits, chest hits, etc.

Fishing line hanging from a tree into the water, near the beach where the Swan family now resides. We were concerned about their getting caught, but saw Martin from the Prospect Alliance and told him about it. Next thing, he's out in his boat, waving the line at me! Well, I think - we'll check tomorrow, since there were several lines, only one hanging into the water to be dangerous.

Fungus Among Us

2011-08-22T13:33:00.005-04:00

delightful sprouting of mushrooms on the way to and in the park the last couple of days. Meema beat me to the first reporting of this invasion in the Ditmas Park ( http://ditmasparkblog.com/green/fungus-among-us#disqus_thread ) Blog - nice going, Meema! I thought I'd post my pictures anyway, since I love the way they're in so many places. Actually, they seem very ghost-like to me, since I'm sure they are growing on the roots of the treese that were planted 100 years ago when this neighborhood was built.

Besides the usual big white mushrooms, we saw some long pinky/orange ones in the Peninsula. Did some research. I believe they are Mutinus elegans [elegant stinkhorn!]. What a great name!
They could also be mutinus ravenelli, not such an interesting translation. I think it's someone's name. It's also called the Devil's Dipstick, which sounds more like a rock band than a mushroom to me. We'll keep an eye on them, because I think they'll develop a kind of disgusting gray slimy bit at the top, which provides the spore and gets eaten by bugs. But right now they look so pretty!

They are also described as "edible in egg form but not recommended." Give my imagination a lot to work on.

The new swan family has completely moved to the big lake, at the beach. They've chased last year's three cygnets over behind the Peninsula. Seems there's not much connection between each group of siblings in the swan world.

Healing

2011-08-20T13:37:00.002-04:00

That's what it seemed like in the park today. The Lake's water level has gone down some more, gradually approaching it's normal level. the storm last night brought down many, many branches. How nice that these possibly risky branches came down at night in a storm, when there was really no danger to anyone. I know that some people think these "problems" should be prevented, but I really like seeing them solved on their own. A little flooding in the park is a delightful novelty, unlike street flooding, which can be so damaging to homes, cars, people, etc. And of course, the night storms only serve to remind me of Camelot, where it only rains at night - the perfect weather situation, according to the song.

The geese seem to be always having breakfast in the two grassy fields at the Parade Ground, before going over to the lake. Probably saving the city a bundle of money in mowing costs. And Mama and Papa Swan are now in the big lake. The cygnets are probably there too, but we didn't see them. They are still a solid gray fluff, and hard for us to see. Remember, we are the ODD (Observational Deficit Disorder) people. Papa did spend some time chasing the 3 nearly grown cygnets from last year.

Beautiful but wet today

2011-08-17T10:40:00.003-04:00

We finally got back to the park today - JJ has refused to go for 3 days because of the rain. Not sure exactly when she became the ultimate boss, but she sure is. Anyway, it was beautiful today - clear, cool, and not too humid. Up Lookout Hill, around the Nethermead, back to Peninsula, the usual route.

I still pick up and count the crack bags on Lookout Hill, but haven't been listing them. It's between 5 and 10 every day. When its zero or a huge number, I'll mention it.

The geese were all feeding in one of the Parade ground baseball fields this morning. 35 of them. I guess the Lone goose has rejoined the rest of the flock.

Prospect Park Lake is now extended 3 to 5 feet outside its wall, depending on where you are. it was Sunday's record breaking rainfall that did it. I hear it was even worse the last couple of days. It is completely artificial, and someone could have gone in and drained it a bit, but they didn't. I took a picture of the ducks sitting on the actual wall, looking like they're out in the lake. Anyway, I kind of like it when Nature reminds us whose boss. there are so many people who want to control nature - killing wild animals, building in flood zones, making walls to keep out water and high tides, etc. Nature's response only gets worse when there's no room for it. Look at all the flooding along the Mississippi and Hurricane Katrina. Many of the land masses in the delta are gone now - to improve shipping, I think. So the full flooding of Katrina came into New Orleans, not stopped or slowed down as it would have been. You'd think people would be humbled by Nature's forces. Some are, but most of them just want to fight harder and deadlier to overcome it. Oh well. I've always been a believer in cooperation, not competition, and am in a tiny minority in this country.

I saw a long-haired chihuahua in the park today. So cute! And it really looks like it has hair, not fur!

Tony got his truck back and was at Peninsula with Fannie and Jupiter. Yay!!!

Mohawk Dog

2011-08-12T18:13:00.005-04:00

Poor JJ was not dealing well with the heat - her coat was growing in so fast. So on Tuesday we got her shaved again, b ut thought it might be fun to give her a Mohawk/racing stripe. She looks fabulous! And feels so cool and is much happier in this summer heat. Hard to get good pictures, with the black on black thing, but I keep trying.

I was just calling it a racing stripe, but yesterday two men passed us on their way to their fishing spot. One said to the other, "Oh look, there's that Mohawk dog we saw at the store." And on Wednesday, there were two French women at the Nethermead, looking at JJ and chattering away in French far to fact for us to understand, except for the word "Mohawk."

So it's Mohawk dog now.

Daughter and son-in-law came over and taught me how to get photos from Facebook to my computer - here's the ill goose being driven to the Sanctuary in Riverhead.

We also seem to be starting a Canine Cafe on a park bench on Prospect Park West. Here's a photo of the happy patrons!

The Park geese seem to be happily needing in the Parade Grounds - 34 of them, plus there's the one lone goose near the swans.

Zoo thoughts and park observations

2011-08-08T12:23:00.005-04:00

I need to come with better titles. I hear that the headline writers at the Times are better paid than the reporters. Don't know if that's true, but it makes a good story. And makes sense. Facts are just there, while headlines need to attract people to actually read the facts.

Anyway, two big boxes on the beach. Not empty, but with rolls. I dumped the rolls and put the boxes in the trash. Note: NOT feeding the animals, just dumping the rolls. Interesting that although the geese came over, they had very little interest. Many little birds started to happily peck at the rolls, while we wandered up Lookout Hill. NO CRACK BAGS TODAY! What is going on? Have people stopped doing drugs? We did see some interesting monkey graffiti on the sidewalk, with rude comments suggestive of drug advertisements.

Tony and Fannie and Jupiter were in the Peninsula, having taking a few days off to avoid stepping in the poisons. His dogs are 12 and 15 years old - caution is recommended.

Meanwhile, I keep thinking about yesterday at the Zoo. The zoo no longer has any big, dangerous animals. That stopped in 1987, after 3 11-year old boys climbed into the Polar Bear area to tease them, and one of them was bitten by a bear and died. They closed the zoo, killed the 2 Polar Bears, and got rid of the rest of the dangerous animals. Sent to other zoos, not killed. At the time I was not really into animal rights and still thought that was wrong. I was sorry about the boy, but the bears were just acting normally and naturally.

Anyway, it has since been reopened as a mild, gentle zoo. Great for educating small children and very pleasant. But I was there a couple of years ago with my class, and now it doesn't seem to be doing so well. The cafe is gone, replaced by a vending machine room. Only 2 machines with actual food, one of which was broken. No special arrangements to take care of them on Sunday, the "day of 1000 visitors" so most of the machines were empty Similar story with the gift shop, or "gift closet" as I'll now call it. Small, few things. I was talking to the girls running it. I think they're young enough to be called girls. They said there had been financial cutbacks. So, why did they cut back on money-making activities, I wondered. So did they. I said they probably could have at least made a call and gotten some hot dog trucks for the hungry children. They had such things 2 years ago, but eliminated them, I was told.

To be fair, the Wendy's down the block was equally unprepared for the numbers that came. Although they didn't run out of food, they did run out of straws and ketchup packets. It was a nice salad anyway.

I did get two really cute snake bracelets, will send them to my grand-nieces.

If the zoo fails, will Bloomberg sell the location to condo-builders? One wonders.

Free Park Day

2011-08-07T22:31:00.006-04:00

My daughter had called to tell me it was going to be Free Park Day today. The Park is always free, I said. No, not everything, she says. But it is this Sunday. So off we went. Miniature Golf by Grand army Plaza, and the zoo was completely free, including the training show with the sea lions. We had a wonderful time, and took pictures of lots of animals we don't usually see. Geese with fringe, a four-horned sheep, llamas, and a red furry thing whose name I can't remember right now.

Of course, as a resident of the "primitive" side of the park, I was most impressed with the digital bathroom they have over there. We're begging for more port-a-johns, and they have luxury modern conveniences!! Note how I am posing outside of it, in stunned disbelief of what "the other side" has.

RESERVATIONS???????????

2011-08-06T19:35:00.004-04:00

So here was something new for us, back in the park after the spraying of the poisons: Signs in BBQ Plaza reserving a table and BBQ pit for the afternoon. Is this allowed? Legal? Following some hitherto unknown park rules? Arrogant and self-promoting people too lazy to do the usual thing of sending a couple f people to the park to hold a spot? Inquiring minds want to know, and probably never will.

Other than that, the weed whacker nests in its spot across from the very tip of the Peninsula and the flowers are beautiful.

Smurfs - in Prospect Park??

2011-08-05T14:53:00.004-04:00

Since we didn't go to the park today - avoiding the anti-West Nile poisons sprayed all over last night, - I decided to visit the cinematic Prospect Park. A while ago (May 13, 2010), I blogged about seeing the set for the new Smurf movie at the Boathouse and waterfall, and said I'd probably have to go see it, even though I expected to hate the movie. Well, the Park scenes looked beautiful and the movie wasn't that bad - good news. Of course, the film has relocated the Boathouse, waterfall, etc. to Central Park!!

I had no idea what parts of the film were being made last May. No movie people around during off-leash hours, just people guarding and protecting the scenery. They had put lots of potted flowers and plants around, cleaned the place up, and it did look nice. The Boathouse turned out not to be the cafe I had thought, but a perfume launch. sort of. The PP scenes are at the very beginning and end. Smurfs arrive through a hole in the waterfall, but then they climb up on rocks, and there is Manhattan! What bothered me is that they don't mention PP at all in the half hour of credits at the end of the movie.

The movie? Good wins over evil, Clumsy Smurf becomes Hero Smurf, and there are lots of famous Manhattanites at the Boat House party (Doogie Hauser, Tim Gunn, Liz Smith, Sofia Vergara [from modern Family], others I recognized but couldn't remember the names.)

I first became aware of Smurfs in Virginia in the early 80's, when we lived without any television. My cousin gave Smurf figures to to children. I was impressed with the androgyny, and the lack of extreme gender roles. Then she told me, no, they're all male except for the 1 Smurfette, who dresses like a slut. I was so glad we didn't have TV. But the Smurfs did not fade away, and they have come up with an explanation of 1 female is all you get. Anyway, Prospect Park looked fantastic.

Delayed poisoning

2011-08-04T18:40:00.003-04:00

Because of the rain, they didn't do the anti-West Nile Spraying last night. Two very confusing announcements today. the first, that the Parks Dept. wouldn't spray because of the concert at the Bandshell tonight. Then the clarification: They will of course spray profusely , starting right after the concert. Have there been any West Nile cases this year? Maybe I just haven't noticed because of my ODD (Observational Deficit Disorder).

I'm afraid that's another day of no park for JJ. Really don't want her romping through the poisoned grass and shrubs.

A rush hour stroll

2011-08-03T22:07:00.003-04:00

Feeling a bit stodgy and lazy this morning, and about 20 minutes later than usual. 20 minutes earlier made a big difference, so does 20 minutes later. Full commuting has begun! Very noisy walk to the park - cars pulling out, honking, zooming. People walking to the train, radios, talking to each other, on phones, etc.

The geese were already at the beach, being not fed by an admirer. At least that's what I'll call it. The three cygnets are practicing their flying. Long flight, close to the water. In fact, they ware actually walking along the top of the lake while they were taking off, for a couple of hundred feet. before they managed to get up in the air - and it was only a few feet into the air. It must take incredible shoulder muscles for them to actually fly high up in the air. Explains why Papa Swan is so fearsome!

And then there were the lily pads. The picture is from the seats along the Lullwater, just north of Peninsula Meadow. You can sit on the benches, watch the water, and the fantastic strips of yellow day lily flowers across the way. So quiet, peaceful, and lovely.

Day off tomorrow, because they are spraying the whole park with anti-West Nile virus chemicals. Do not want our wonderful canine companion exposed to such poisons.....of course, it is now quite late and pouring, so I wonder if all the poison will be washed away by the morning.

News about Jamaica Bay

2011-07-31T16:30:00.003-04:00

Just to take a little break from Prospect park today, there's a great article in the NY Times today about Don Riepe and Jamaica Bay, "the only National park reachable by subway." Don Riepe (REE pee) is a retired naturalist and one of the founders of the American Littoral Society. "Littoral," by the way, rhymes with "literal" and refers to the part of the beach between the upper and lower tide levels. We met Don and the Littoral Society about 2 years ago, when we went with them for a walk on the beach there to see the a particularly low tide and the newly-revealed plant and animal life. Saw loads of animals, birds, plants, ruins, etc., all kinds of stuff, and had a great walk. There are hundreds of different birds living there.

Anyway, Jamaica Bay has been deteriorating, diminishing, etc., recently. Now there's an agreement with the city to control the nitrogen levels in the water, which should help to restore the Bay. The article explains it far better than I can. Here's a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/nyregion/jamaica-bay-a-wild-place-on-the-edge-of-change.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=jamaica%20bay&st=cse

Sit back, enjoy your Sunday, read the article, and be amazed that all this stuff exists right here, and people are trying to save/preserve it.

Busy busy park

2011-07-30T22:56:00.006-04:00

Huge crowd of dogs at the Peninsula today. Maybe because it's Saturday, or the weather was fairly cool this morning, or it rained yesterday, but there were many large dogs, all jumping and swimming in the lake. A couple of fights, one with JJ (Shame on her!) over one of her sticks or perhaps a ball lying there. Anyway, we decided JJ had enough freedom and put her back on the leash. A young dog owner thanked us for being responsible dog owners. It was so sweet!

The boathouse pond is completely covered with duckweed. Nice for the swans and ducks, but we need more boards to keep control of it.

In Manhattan yesterday...ballet dancing in the street, at 7th Ave. and 58th st. Beautiful.

Ah! the power of fans!

2011-07-29T11:34:00.003-04:00

We've been going to the park, but for some reason I've not been able to sit and write about it. Then, today, some people asked me why I hadn't written about some of Wednesday's activities. Cured whatever mini-writer's block I was having.

So, Wednesday morning was cool, clear, perfect. I'm not the only one commenting about the weather. Someone told me it is 80% of the e-mail conversations these days (rumor, not fact). Anyway, it was so nice that everyone was out. Two of my neighbors - 1 watering, 1 reading the paper - at 715 AM, We talked with both and had to tear ourselves away or we would never have gotten to the off-leash hours. Many, many people in the park, all enjoying the beautiful morning and catching up on talking and gossip and news.

The news:

1. Latest goose rescue: One of the geese was spotted looking quite ill. David, Mary Beth and Rina (from FIDO and For the Love of Geese) managed to catch it, and drive the bird to the animal sanctuary out in Riverhead. They sent me some adorable pictures of the goose on the road trip, which I shall try to post here. Bird arrived safely. Today, we learned it probably had botulism, from bad food thrown into the lake. Nice rescue, and it's great to see people working co-operatively

2. Fish poacher was actually arrested! He'd been caught before, dumped his bag of 3o-40 fish into the lake and ran off. A few days ago he was caught again, and actually ticketed! Again, with 30-40 fish in a bag. And with botulism in the lake!! From what I heard, the park police might have let him ago, but he got nasty. Good. I hope he is fined the thousands of dollars that he should be, and stops poaching. And that the case gets lots of publicity. One article with a lot of misinformation in the Brooklyn Paper so far.

Trying to be stern. It's hard. If he only had 1 or 2 fish, I'd be sympathetic and concerned that the guy was just hungry. But 40! I wonder if he sells them. I wonder if he makes other Brooklynites sick. Then, I was thinking back to my lawyer days at Legal Aid. If I was assigned to a Prospect Park fish poacher..... I think we all would just have laughed so hard. The view is so different no that I spend a lot of time in the park.

3. Park looking great. The lake had been dredged and cleaned the day before. Not perfect, but much better to look at and smell. Vive Emily Lloyd!

The Wimps are back in town.

2011-07-25T10:05:00.002-04:00

Husband had a great Dr's appt. last Tuesday - everything is fine. So we got up at 6 on Wed. AM and ran away from home. Off to NH to our friend's and their lake. It was only in the 90's, and we sat in the shade under their trees lakeside, going into the lake every hour or so to cool off. We must have thrown sticks into the lake for JJ to swim out and fetch 100 times! It was so great!!! This was the same place we went on 4th of July, only now it was just the 2 friends, son and mom, and us. Occasional trips to town - shopping, farmer's market, dinner, them back for another swim. We didn't see the wild turkeys with their babies, probably because the little field had been hayed, the grass was short, and it felt unsafe for them.

It is the most beautiful spot! We are so lucky to have these people as friends, and they are so lucky to have this spot. Grandpa bought it, and the two branches of the family share it. Our friends have July, the other side takes August. Not that they don't get along, it's just easier, and everyone can have loads of guests when they want to. The only bad part is that Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 8 years ago. She had been deteriorating very slowly, but in the last year or two it seems to have speeded up. She used to be a college professor - sharp, intelligent, political, funny, all the positive things you'd want in a mom/woman/teacher. Almost all gone. She's quite happy most of the time, so it keeps us happy, having endless conversations about how beautiful everything is. And JJ adores her and vice versa.

So when the weather changed on Saturday, we decided to head home. Imagine our surprise when it was still 97 in CT! So, we got a bit of the ultra-hot, although daughter laughs at us because we missed the heat index of 115. Oh well, tomorrow will be in the 80's - perfect park weather for wimps like us.

Too hot, bad air

2011-07-18T10:25:00.002-04:00

So: we were not up at 6 today but a little after 7 - our regular time. We barely made it to the park. Poor JJ was cooling off in the lake twice before we even made it to the Peninsula. No running around at all, the poor old thing. The air felt so thick that it was like cutting through it to walk. No Hill, no running today. It's about 2 miles for us just to go to the park and back, so I can't say we did nothing, but it felt like so little ans was exhausting.

The cormorant is back on his perch today. Maybe he had trouble flying in this air. I notice last year's cygnets are no longer gray at all, but their beaks are still not bright orange, so they are still not fully mature.

I think its time for an air-conditioned movie today. I hope the Harry potter early show is not too full up with a zillion kids. I suspect they're more the "after lunch" crowd - we'll see.

Earlier and earlier

2011-07-17T20:49:00.003-04:00

Hate to go on and on about weather, but it does seem to b e a big part of my life these days. We were up and out early, a little after 6, to avoid the humidity and heat that we expected later. Worked like a charm. Lots of energy going up Lookout Hill. NOT A SINGLE CRACK BAG!!! Lots of bottles and cups and those sweet cigar wrappers, which I did pick up. Nice young man sitting on the steps contemplating the morning or his life or whatever offered to help and did. We commiserated on whay can't people take their trash to the cans - they're at the top and the bottom, not so far away.

Four people on the top of the hill doing morning exercises! Not a group, just four individuals having their morning routines. It is such a beautiful location, being the tallest spot in Brooklyn and all.

Almost no other dogs out - maybe 3 in each meadow that we visited (Nethermead and Peninsula). They started arriving in bulk as we left, just before 8. No geese in sight when we arrived - they don't sleep near the beach. And no beautiful cormorants this morning.

Panic near the Boathouse - we saw only one big, gray, fuzzy cygnet! Looked all over, finally spotted the rest of the family coming towards the lone, independent early riser. What a relief!

A Cleaner Park!!!

2011-07-16T16:27:00.004-04:00

It doesn't feel like the heat wave is back, but NO ONE wanted to go to the park this morning. I slept late, and JJ insisted on turning around and coming home after a block or so - never even got to the block of Argyle between Church and Caton which we refer to as The Buffet - an array of food for JJ from one end of the block to the other - ribs, chicken, veggies in sauce - a doggie's heaven. VERY short leash on that block, although she usually manages to get something.

Luckily, we went yesterday, which was another beautiful day. This is kind of a boring blog message, but what can you do? I must say, the Park does seem to be looking cleaner (although we don't look under the toilet shrubs. They've gone from 1 to 2 and now 3 Dumpsters next to the Nethermead! Not totally gorgeous, but they keep the place much nicer. At one time they asked Tony to clean up there. Tony's also a Park volunteer, and regularly (along with a few others) keeps the Peninsula clean. Were they kidding? I think not, but Nethermead is at least 4 times as big as Peninsula!

Only 1 crack bag and one bottle on Lookout Hill. I wonder if there's someone else picking up trash besides me, because it had been a fabulously beautiful night the evening before, and I'm sure that many many people were hanging out., partying, etc. in the park. An extremely fit man doing Tai Chi at the top, very silently. So we were silent too, in order not to disturb him. 32 geese at the beach, and all the swans look fine.

bird and dog pictures

2011-07-14T15:09:00.005-04:00

So glad the 97 degree heat has taken a rest, though it's supposed to be back next Monday. Maybe we'll head back to NH for a couple of days, check out how the turkeys and their babies are doing. But today was fantastic - perfect temperature, blue sky, slight breeze. But my husband mentioned that he doesn't remember such a nice day since 9/11. Hmmm. Almost 10 years ago, seems like last week. Anyway, all the birds seemed to be enjoying the day as much as the people.

Saw Anne and Ed and Martin. One of the goslings (I only saw 25 today) has a fishing hook in the side of its face. Poos thing! There was a cygnet with a hook in its leg a couple of days ago - the 3 of them caught it and freed it, and it's fine now. There was a nice photo in one of the papers. But this hook is in a gosling, and Martin said he couldn't catch it. The face is swelling up, and Martin says he'll keep trying, though the bird is extremely quick and active. He does this frequently - maybe once a week or even more. These are always the illegal, barbed hooks, and they don't come out by themselves.

Earlier and earlier

2011-07-11T09:54:00.002-04:00

So, with a 2 day heat advisory in store, we were up and out at 6:30 to get all of our great outdoor time in while we could still enjoy it. Only 7 crack bags on Lookout hill (4 yesterday). We walk up, picking up trash, then sit on the nice stone wall at the top to give our huffy-puffy selves a little rest. We wear shorts and light tops. then we met another huffer-puffer, but this man was in a hoodie and long pants, with plastic around his middle and an aluminum headpiece. He's trying to loose a bunch of weight. He was 300 pounds, now is 265, wants to loose about 30 more. We had a nice chat, mostly about these young 'uns who run up and down Lookout Hill without even slowing down. At least we've started and are doing something!

B says he has heard of this method of trying to loose weight. In fact, the Army recommends it for people who need to loose 5 - 10 pounds to be ready for a weigh in. To me, it sounds like just water loss, and not really good. But I guess that if it helps you feel good about the process, than it can be a big help.

The early, the very early, and the unbelievably early

2011-07-10T13:50:00.004-04:00

We get to the park at about 7:30, which we think is pretty early. Only a few dogs and people. But there's a man carrying his not-so-small pug. So of course, I made my my usual friendly-but-slightly snarky comment about whom is exercising who [or it is who is exercising whom?] Anyway, THEY have been in the park since 6, and the poor dog wouldn't walk any more. I was certainly impressed.

I was noticing that the people in the park when we arrive are definitely different from those in the park when we leave, at about 9. When we arrive, it's lots of single people - especially in a morning like this, when it's going to be pretty hot later in the day. They're doing different things - fishing, doing a puzzle, reading, napping, tai chi, drinking coffee, just watching the lake and the birds, taking pictures, but all on their own, enjoying the morning. Two separate people at the BBQ Plaza reserving for two different parties ( I asked - probably didn't need to, cuz I noticed the tablecloths were different.) All gone by 9. Then it was groups, usually with kids. Team Frisbee players, families, hikers, birders, groups of exercisers, all out in the shade. Sunday in the Park Day!!

Large bird in a tree by the Boathouse. Seemed content to sit and watch the swan family, as did we.

They've added a Spanish "No BBQing" sign in the Peninsula, along with the English signs. Not quite as pretty as the English sign, but it gets the message across, I guess. No signs of BBQing in the Peninsula since the signs went up, although I helped Tony pick up trash there today - there was a seat from a car in the bushes!! Darn, I forgot to take a picture, but it's in the dumpster now.

By the way,. Tony [FIDO] says the Parks Dept. (or the Alliance, I forget which) told him in January that the no BBQ signs were ordered and expected soon. SOON? Six months? Seems like a lot, but then there's a tot lot on the end of my block that took three years to fix up. And yet, a "New York minute" implies speed. Hmmm,

Back in the park...

2011-07-09T22:25:00.003-04:00

After a week in New Hampshire and 3 days of sleeping late, it was great to get back to the park today. Up Lookout Hill and all the way over to the FIDO Coffee Bark in Long Meadow. We did maybe 5 miles, huffing and puffing most of the way up the hill, but it was an excellent workout. Amazing how these days I need to keep it every day or I feel like I haven't moved in weeks. I did swim back and forth across a lake in New Hampshire, but it wasn't enough to keep me in shape. Not that I'm in such great shape, but not so bad either. I remember reading that when Margot Fonteyn, the great ballerina, was in her 40's, she had to train 4 hours each day just to keep in the same shape. And she actually did it!

30 geese and the three cygnets happily swimming in the lake, near the beach. Fabulous weather, and a good crowd at the Coffee Bark. There are nice "No BBQing" signs at the Peninsula, and a lovely little bit of art - orange feathers in a few trees. Pictures included.

There were wild turkeys and their chicks all around the house in New Hampshire where we stayed. Note: the pictures of the turkeys were taken in NH.

Pupnic photos!

2011-06-30T11:04:00.005-04:00

What a great time we all had at the Pupnick! Friendly people, loads of great dogs, and wonderful food! We had a special off leash time from 5 till dusk. There were obstacle courses, etc., for the dogs. I had to take about 20 picture to get one with a dog in the middle of a leap!
The beauty of digital cameras!

Other pictures: Power demo at 14th street. The bicyclists are providing all the power for the band! This m,ay be a vision o0f the future!

The geese are saved? This is sarcasm.

2011-06-24T14:17:00.004-04:00

But before I get to the geese, there were a bunch of good things in the park this morning. Swans doing beautifully, feasting amongst the duckweed. Lots of duckweed. Ducks, too, by the boathouse, leaving clear wakes as they swim, eat, swim. The life of a waterfowl!! The statue is looking quite fabulous in the green duckweed. Perfect spots for beautiful views.

In another area, it's nice the Parks Dept. is taking good care of the plants. Beautiful mulch circles ensuring the health of the big trees.

And, outside the Park, the Brooklyn College parrots (they've been living at BC for years, keeping warm all winter by nesting on the Athletic Field lights) have been moving. I guess there's more and more of them. I got a shot of two of them outside a house in Prospect park South. A little hard to seek since they're green birds in a perfectly matching green tree, but worth a try. This was on Stratford, a few houses north of Beverley.

The geese. Everyone who cares about them is announcing that they have been saved, that the Parks Dept/USDA/whoever murdered the c. 400geese last year, listened to the geese lovers, that all is well. Excuse me. What a load of BULLS**T!! Read the New York article: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/06/geese_killers_not_even_botheri.html Don't just take my word for it.

Of course, this is my blog and I won't stop saying what I think.

Why this is BS:

1. They are killing 600-800 geese in NYC this year. Gee, they're not spending thousands of dollars to kill the approx. 26 geese now living in Prospect Park. Not only are they killing 600-800 other geese, they're keeping it a big secret so that no one tries to stop them . Apparently NYC citizens have no say in what goes on in their parks.

2. They're letting our 26 live because last year's assassinations/murders were so successful. This means that they can come back and kill any time they say there are too many. And, of course, there is no mention of what would be an acceptable number. No one anywhere is coming up with a number - typical, they might actually be held to it, and no bureaucrat ever wants that!!

3. I don't understand why anyone can be happy about this. They are killing thousands of geese all over the Northeast, geese that have NOTHING to do with airline safety. This is summer. No geese are migrating, and the ones that do migrate in season are living up north now, not here.

DON'T FORGET PUPNIK!! TONIGHT!! 5 PM TILL DUSK IN THE NETHERMEAD!!

Make your dog take you to PUPNIC!!

2011-06-22T11:18:00.006-04:00

Prospect Park seems to get more beautiful and lush every day, although it's best to stay on the paths and not look into the tempting, thick shrubs. I guess that's one big difference between a park and the actual wilderness in Adirondack Park. Not that the wilderness is totally clean, but that's another story.

My daughter and her husband (and their wonderful dog Chewie) moved - not too far away, just to Foster and 29th - but it's too far for a regular morning walk in the park. I'm surprised at how much difference it makes in our morning walk. First, there's a bit of empty nest syndrome. All 3 of us miss them. Second, JJ does not really play with other dogs. She used to when when was younger, but she is 9 now, and is more protective than playful. I wonder if this is because of her age? Breed? Life experiences? training? Our attitudes? As the world's worst dog psychologist, I don't even dare to make a guess. Chewie's heart and soul was playing with other small dogs in the Nethermead. Now we go on some different routes, since we don't have to go to the Nethermead every day.

However, life is constantly changing, and we will certainly be there on the 24th, IN THE AFTERNOON, for the FIDO PUPNIC!! See the picture of the flyer, and the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154670501269229. Off-leash, from 5 PM to Dusk, in the Nethermead, by special permission. Bring a small dish of something (check the link). I'm hoping for great weather and a wonderful turnout. Nice to see more stuff at this end of the park. Who knows, maybe there could be bathrooms and clean-up crews in our future!

Speaking of clean-up crews, did you know that they collect cars that have re-possessed just south of the park? Quite a collection. They bring them there, then load them up and cart them off somewhere. That's what the picture of the truck being loaded up is all about.

THE REALLY GOOD NEWS: Goosebuster [man,. car, dog] is gone!! Deep Throat, Anne-Katrin, and several other people verify this. He was never needed at all this year, but still it's nice that he is finally gone. Let's hope this means very good news for the 20-30 geese still happily living in the Park, and all their many fans and admirers.

Thanks for your comments

2011-06-19T12:07:00.003-04:00

To David:

Thanks for the info about seeing about 18 geese. This is very good to know. I am so glad you were enjoying commenting on the Ditmas Park Blog. It would have driven me absolutely crazy. Keep up the good work!

To Anonymous: I have absolutely NO actual information suggesting that "law student" works for Bloomberg - it's just that he seems to be such a strong supporter of the idea of a Bloomberg park (12 square feet of grass, one tree, no animals.) And he has so much time repeating his erroneous facts about geese and everything else.

Thanks for caring.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you dads and pops.

Sun, sports, and, of course, more about the geese

2011-06-18T12:01:00.003-04:00

Gorgeous day after yesterday's dreary rain. 2 people and 2 dogs today, since our daughter is moving, and we took Chewie with us in an effort to exhaust him while the moving is going on. Some success. People in the Nethermead were actually standing in the sun, not the shade so happy to have some sun!

On of the cygnets is in the Lullwater, separated from the other two and quite near a couple of fishermen. We watched for a while from the bridge above them. The fishermen seemed careful and responsible.......I certainly hope so, couldn't stay forever!

Beautiful walk, breakfast from the Snack Bar in the Parade Grounds. It was a delicious breakfast, by the way, such a surprise for a park snack bar! Bacon/eggs/cheese on a roll, good coffee. We sat in the shade watching the sports action. On one side, youth football - kids that looked from about 7 to 17. amazing how some were very fit, others huffing and puffing. Nice to see them all out there. On the other side, the Cosmos had some kind of soccer game going, and we watched for a while. Better quality than the usual weekday morning crowds, but they almost never score!

The geese: The rumor is that they were "accidentally" locked up behind the Lakeside fence, and someone cut the fence to release them. However, I saw zero (0) geese today. And then there's the Ditmas Park Blog story.

Ditmas Park Blog is our local neighborhood blog. I like it a lot, as it reports all kind of things in the neighborhood. FULL DISCLOSURE: They list this blog on the side in a side column, and had a little article about me, but I liked them long before they did those things. Link: (http://ditmasparkblog.com/news/saving-the-geese) Anyway, they list items and people comment. Most items get from 0 to 5 comments. Hot neighborhood issues (e.g. will the new Dunkin Donuts destroy the neighborhood by driving the Gourmet coffee places away?) get maybe 20 comments. SO, they had a little article about the geese. 248 comments, and then they stopped taking new comments. Not 248 people, but rather a few people on each side, pro and con the geese. Some who claims to be a law student (I think he actually works for Bloomberg) who HATES the geese, and a lot of people who love them. Makes fascinating reading, at least for a while. I think people comment like they're having a conversation. But conversations end. People get tired, or bored, or have to go to the bathroom, or even fight, ;but at some point the conversation stops. Not on the Internet. I think we all have to eventually adopt the position: I made my point. In several different ways. this idiot can't see it. I cannot convince him/her. Let it go. Of course, that's NOT what makes the Internet interesting, or so people say. Oh well.

Nice to see clean up crews out in the park, on what will sure be a picnic-filled weekend.

??????? Geese ?????

2011-06-16T20:34:00.003-04:00

I don't know exactly what's happening with the geese, except that I only saw 4 of them today - one swimming, three flying low. there are some incredibly wrong and misleading writings about the geese right now, now that they are molting and vulnerable. Some moron named Andrew Burman, writing for AOL travel, has an astonishing collection of misinformation about them. He claims that someone started killing the geese in 2009. WRONG! It was 2010, when there were hundreds of them in the park - too many, I thought. He claims the scandal was a few geese landing in a landfill. WRONG!! It was 100's of them being murdered in the middle of the night, with no warning, no knowledge from the parks Dept., and then the murderers lying about for a week. He claims it was an air traffic safety thing. WRONG!! The Park geese were RESIDENTIAL. This means they stayed here, flew low from one end of the lake to the other, and endangered NO planes at all. The really dangerous ones were the ones at Gateway, right next to JFK, but they are federally protected and cannot be killed.

And then there's the N.Y. Times, who have a delightful (this is sarcasm) article about how someone is planning to kidnap the c. 25 geese from the park, drive them to Pennsylvania, then kill them and feed them to some homeless people there. ARE THEY SERIOUS?? Is this the stupidist idea ever? How many hundreds of dollars will this cost, to feed some poor homeless people a bunch of stressed out geese? Do we really want our beautiful Park to become a butcher shop?

FACT: It was not the Parks Dept. who had the geese killed. It was Bloomberg, and apparently he didn't even bother to tell the Parks Dept. about it.

FACT: There are very few geese this year. There are no piles of goose poop. No geese are attacking humans. This is a beautiful opportunity for Brooklyn children to learn a little about wildlife.

The Park was beautiful today except for the complete chaos, misinformation, confusion, and possibly death of the geese.

Animal Life in the Park

2011-06-15T10:56:00.007-04:00

Gorgeous morning in the park, and it looks like the entire borough of Brooklyn was there. Perfectly clear blue sky, and the lights and darks in the trees, etc., were so crisp and clear!

Many fisherman around the lake - they all looked responsible, let's hope so. Tons of dogs and owners on the newly mowed Nethermead. So nice not to get wet sneakers! I keep taking pictures of the dog groups, but they never come out looking like much. Oh well. The geese seem happily hanging out on the beach. Lots of turtles sunning, including one teeny one on a huge log. The picture does not do it justice - it was only about 2 inches long, but the zoom lens makes it look bit.

There was a white egret in the Audubon lake, as well as the swans. And there was a cygnet riding on Mama's back! So cute!! I don't know if only one rides or if they take turns, and will probably never know. All the cygnets look exactly alike to me. My husband and I have ODD (Observational Deficit Disorder).

The only think subtracting from the total perfection of the day was a black helicopter which kept going around and around the Nethermead - big, close, noisy.

Nice hike over Lookout Hill. Only 3 crack bags, but 6, count them, 6 plastic trash bags (no longer there.) Need I ask what is wrong with people yet again? The top of the hill used to be flat and empty, but now is fully grown. Lovely plant life around the edges. Raspberries not ready to eat - give them another week or two.

Swans: the stars of Prospect Park

2011-06-13T14:10:00.004-04:00

The new swan family seems to have moved permanently into the Lullwater, near the Audubon Bridge. Well, they'll probably be there while the duckweed lasts. That's the sheet-like layer of green stuff growing flat on top of the water. Ambrosia and nectar to the water fowl, especially the swans. I took some nice family pictures. As long as I'm quiet, they let me get quite close. B and I took turns, keeping JJ a distance away so as not to disturb the swans. Papa spreads his wings when I got too close (about 8 ft. away). Happy Father's Day, Papa!!

Amazing how the cygnets already look swan-shaped.

There are some ducks there also. One couple spends all its time chasing each other back and forth. The male got a bit close to Papa Swan, and Papa merely stretched out his neck in duck's direction, and duck went a bit further away. Excellent communication skills all around.

The wetness of the last month has made for lots of mushrooms in the park - don't know if they're edible and I won't try them, but they look all woodsy and wonderful.

Geese still there. I know a lot of geese-lovers are worried that they will come and kill them again, like they did last year, when they killed hundreds. I saw my friend Deep Throat, who works with the Parks Dept, who is convinced there will be no killing - way too few geese this year (12-50, depending on who you talk to and the time of day) He says it would be insane to kill them. I agree, but am not so sure that the city won't do the insane thing. You read the news sometimes, and you wonder if there is any sanity left in this world. Well, I do.

One more photo: our friend from F.I.D.O., who was busy walking his dog, picking up trash, telling people about F.I.D.O., and avoiding too much sun on his skin, all while keeping both hands free!! I asked him for permission to put the photo here, and mentioned that he might look a little silly. He just laughed and suggested I have a caption contest, like they do in the New Yorker. What a great idea! I look forward to hearing possible captions!

Assorted observations

2011-06-10T20:49:00.003-04:00

26 geese, all at the beach end of the Lake, and we didn't go around the lake. So, the Eastern part is unknown to me today. 10 crack bags on Lookout Hill. Am I becoming completely OCD? My daughter says I should not count anything for a few days, go home, and see if I worry about it. Probably a good idea, but I'd rather keep track of things right now.

Truck tire on end at the Parade Grounds, looking very artistic. Temperature was reasonable today - so nice after yesterday's 97+ degrees.....saw the little white duck, very cute.

And the swan family is swimming delightfully around the Audubon Boat house part of the Lake.

too hot

2011-06-09T10:22:00.002-04:00

Thanks, commentators, for the information about the birds. How many kinds of herons are there? It seems that every time I see a new, large bird in the park, it's a different kind of heron.

Both dogs complained like crazy about the suddenly "long" walk to the park. Today, they refused to go at all, so their walks were a few blocks around here, doing a couple of little errands. No everyone is at home, keeping cool. We don't have full house AC, and last night was the first night we used the bedroom AC. We have an old house with lots of cross-ventilation and very little direct sunlight. We are very happy for all this.

Stay cool, everyone. It's supposed to be reasonable this weekend.