Mover and shaker or just taking credit?

This was supposed to be yesterday's blog. I spent a lot of time uploading pictures. One of them was a little blurry. I carefully searched the help section to find out how to delete one picture. I followed the directions carefully. Aargh!!!! The whole thing got deleted. So I rewrote the text in Word, and will take on the uploading of pictures today. I think I should write everything first in Word from now on, so I don't lose anything.


On Wednesday, I wrote about Tony from FIDO and the containers for recycling fishing line that FIDO had ordered and how they weren’t up yet. And lo and behold, there they are! Rather nice and odd looking. They remind me of the dancing tubes that I think I once saw in Cirque de Soleil. Or maybe it was Mummenschanz. At least as seen in an episode of Northern Exposure with Bill Irwin playing a mute "flying man" who romanced Elaine One of my favorite episodes. Anyway, the containers look like they should have faces painted on them. Maybe the Park can get artists to paint them. Or maybe hold a contest for the best way to decorate them. It would get people’s attention. And save the waterfowl from being strangled, always nice. We only saw two of the containers, but we didn’t circumnavigate the lake.

We also met a dog named Hooper, known as Hoop. Poor Hoop had a run-in last night at the Parade Grounds with a pitbull. The pitbull attacked Hoop for no apparent reason, and the pitbull’s owner was completely unable to control him. Hoop and owner tried to run into a ball field and close the gate, but the pitbull kept attacking. Poor Hoop was taken to Animal Kind Animal Hospital for stitches, as you can see. This happened in the early evening. Tony (from FIDO) had said one time that he thought people were training pitbulls to fight in the park at night. I wonder if this is one of those cases. It all seems pretty horrible. Dangerous, plus it is really bad for the pitbull’s reputation. BE WARNED ABOUT THE PARADE GROUNDS IN THE EVENINGS. (May 29 addition: Norana has been looking for a new dog. last week they went to the shelter - full of pitbulls! Apparently you can't insure damage from a pitbull anymore. After seeing Hooper, I am not surprised. In the law, "every dog gets one bite." Then you know the dog is a biter and you are responsible. I think pitbulls have lost that benefit of the doubt. No wonder.)

JJ had a wonderful time with her new summer coat. A little odd looking and almost unrecognizable without her usual long, thick hair. Plus, she is velvety smooth and a delight to poet. Maybe we should keep her like this . But then we’d have to get her clothes in the winter, something I do not favor for dogs.

About 2 weeks ago, I expressed delight that the trash can, which had been the lake for at least a year, was finally removed. Clearly someone else had a different perspective and missed its familiar presence. Now there’s a new trash can in the lake. I notice that the standing trash cans have begun to get chained, so they not end up in the lake.

TURTLE RESCUED

A turtle got stuck on a pile of wood chips by the lake. It was probably a lovely spot yesterday during all that rain. Poor thing thing was trying to get out, to no avail. Ber took him off the pile, and the turtle was in the water before we could get a shot of him. Faster than a speeding bullet! Whomever said turtles are slow hadn’t met this one.


May 29 addition: Cayuga duck is still at the lake and is looking a little better. He is now able to straighten out his neck almost all the way. Big Mallard and the caramel ducks seem to be checking on him.

Cayuga is injured

Well, this is really the bad news first. We spotted Cayuga with his entourage, and were glad to see him. but later, when we ran into Anne and Ed, they remarked on how injured he looked, so we went back to see. He has a red pellet looking thing on the side of his head. Could it be some kind of blister? Is it some kind of BB pellet? Are some people taking potshots with their air rifles? Is this what's been killing off the other animals? Cayuga does not look good - bedraggled and thin- and his entourage is being very solicitous. He can't straighten out his neck. Ed tried to give him popcorn, but he couldn't straighten his neck to get it. So he's certainly hungry. Whatever it is, it is possible that the injury will heal and he'll be fine. I certainly hope so. Cayuga is quite well-known at Prospect Park. He is the only duck of his kind living there, and the only black duck, which makes him stand out. He is always mentioned amongst birders, and kids love him because he is so recognizable. It's really sad to think that someone was using him for target practice. We can only hope for the best.

Other, more positive sighting: Filming in the park. They're filming for a forthcoming Smurf movie at the Boathouse. They've turned into a steak restaurant for the filming, and decorated with plastic flowers. I asked if we'd see giant smurfs walking around. No, all CGI. Though the kid (keeping pedestrian and canine traffic out of the filming zone) realized I was not of his generation and said "computer generated." Is there any cartoon or comic not being made into a movie? Whatever happened to originality. These films are all terrible and almost all make tons of money, so I guess there's no real incentive for originality,

Swans still nesting. Papa went after my sneaker. There's a hard-to-see egret behind mama - enlarge the picture and you can sort of see it.

Only two crack bags today on the steps to Lookout Hill. One is a very pretty shade of pink. Fewer users or the result of several very windy days blowing away the things? Probably the latter. No cans or bottles. We are not the only ones picking up trash. Hallelujah!!

Not directly park related, but instead of coming back and cooking breakfast, we went to our friend Nona's yard, which is a jungle of roses, with breakfast sandwiches for all 3 of us from the fabulous John's Bakery on Cortelyou. Breakfast in the Rose Garden!!! A fantastic way to honor our 36th Anniversary, which is today.