The Kids leave home

Today, it wasn't just the sulky teen-aged swan that is keeping away from his family. The other 3 cygnets have also found their own place. There are more areas of non-contiguous open water, and the 3 have moved into their own area - no ducks or geese or coots there, just the three of them.

Previously, I had noticed that one of the cygnets did more displaying of aggression than the others - flapping its wings, lowering the neck, etc. So I think that there is one male - the first one to move out, and now his 3 sisters have followed suit. Don't know if I'll ever find out the truth about it, but it makes perfect sense to me.

If Mama and Papa nest again this year, it will be in another 4-6 weeks. A good time, now to get the young 'uns off to a good start. I just hope that neither the geese nor the Parks Dept have messed up last year's nest, since I believe they (the swans) tend to re-use nests. Very recycling conscious. Not to say anything bad about our beloved geese, but last year, after the cygnets were born, they did kind of rampage through the nesting site. And nobody knows what nonsense the Parks Department will do in the name of "management."

On the Personification of Spring

I've been thinking a lot about why I personify Spring as a person with intents, thoughts, plans, motivation etc. I know better. It's just weather. But when I'm in the park, I seem to revert to the animus religious beliefs that so-called "primitive" peoples, tribes, etc., have. Every force is a spirit of some kind. The really strange thing is that I am not a religious person at all. Actually, I'm kind of anti-religious. Religious beliefs, at least the big 3, have been the cause of so many wars, killings, torture, etc. Who needs them? And I usually treat the idea of god in the same way that people treat the easter bunny, the tooth fairy, Elijah the prophet coming to drink his glass of wine, the great pumpkin, etc. - a fantasy world that I have no use for. And it sometimes seems that strong religious beliefs drive logic and rational thinking right out the window. But her I am, talking about Spring being a tease, etc. Is this a cultural thing? I was, after all, raised in this world, surrounded by all these beliefs. Or is some kind of deep seated human need to explain things? Could be. Could it be that the power of abstract thought, one of the things that separates humans from other animals (as far as we know) gives rise to the need of explanation? Something that has evolved and is innate and internal, not external. It certainly feels more satisfying to attribute a spirit and a purpose to the changing of the seasons.

On Thursday, Spring was out in full force. Sunny, warmish, and the first soccer players were out in the Parade Grounds. We took both dogs to the Nethermead, and what a great time they had! There was still snow on the ground left over from the Winter Jam, and the surface had gotten quite hard and icy. Poor JJ actually hurt her paws running on it, but not badly. Chewy met two other little dogs with matching high energy and they were unstoppable. Friday: a cold, hard wintery rain. At least it wasn't more snow, like some of my Facebook friends reported from upstate and New England. Neither of the dogs would go further than 3 houses down the block!

Beautiful again today. the snow is almost gone from the Nethermead, and the ground was lovely to walk on. Note the two photos and the difference in snow coverage. The ice is gone from the steps to Lookout Hill and we went up, the first time in months. Huffing and puffing all the way, alas, but you gotta start somewhere. 9 crack bags + the accompanying sweet cigar wrappers and a bunch of string(?) Note to self: Must start carrying a bag for trash again.

Much larger area of unfrozen lake, and all the birds are spreading out a little bit. The 4 cygnets are really maturing - their beaks are a dusty rose color now, on the way from black to orange. One of them is swimming apart - the first sulky teenager to not want to be seen with the family? Oh heck, it's FUN to personify!!

Oh Spring, what a tease! Part II

Back to snow again, but this time it's a perfect snow. Big, soft moist flakes falling quietly, perfect for making snowballs, and it probably won't last more than a day or two. The Park was almost unbearably beautiful -felt like I was walking in a living Ansel Adams calendar. (Note to self: Check out the Barnes & Noble calendar sales racks for an Ansel Adams calendar. Although there are rarely any beautiful ones left by this time. Lots of sports, TV shows, dogs wearing clothes, nothing I might actually want to look at for a month at a time. An I guess no one else does either, which is why they're there.) Anyway, the delicacy of snow on trees, the cheeriness of dogs bounding in the snow, just wonderful.

The geese were out for a stroll on the snow-covered ice-covered lake. And some came flying in. Dead geese walking, what with the current plans to kill them all in July. So twisted. We saw one of the tagged geese, hanging out with a crowd of mostly ducks. Maybe he's heard and is trying to blend in with the permissible life forms.

No Frisbee players today. Maybe Extreme Frisbee would be playing on snow and ice? A little more dangerous than grass, but not as deadly as razor sharp Frisbees. (cf. previous post.)

Anne tells us she's seen a rare Cooper's Hawk in the Park the last 3 days. One Michael Castellano took the great picture she sent me, which I'm posting.

And we saw a very sad looking blue dog on the way home. Not liking the snow at all, that one.

Oh Spring, What a tease you are!!

My title says it all. Yesterday, it was suddenly spring. Frisbee players out on the Parade Ground - the first players of any kind we've seen in months. Daughter, who came with us with Chewy, her dog, says it's called Ultimate Frisbee, not team Frisbee. I stand corrected. Not extreme Frisbee? Apparently extreme sports require an element of danger. Maybe a metal Frisbee with razor sharp edges? Anyway, they all seemed to be having a great time.

Paths in the Park were pretty walkable, with only an occasional stretch of iciness. Kept us alert. A lot of the snow is gone, but not in the Nethermead. All that smoothing and compacting for the Winterjam made for a far more long lasting snow. All the dogs were in heaven running around on it. Assorted things are bing picked up - see the mitten and hat tree.

Of course, winter is back today - wind howling, and we've been out to round up the trashcans at least 4 times. At least there is blue sky and the sun is shining. I took an old bit of iron from the nearby abandoned house to put in the recycling can. Hopefully it will now stay upright and I won't have to chase plastic bottles down the block any more....just went ouot to check. YES!! It's still standing in its place.

If it weren't for the weather...

We'd have nothing to talk about. I thought this was a quote from somewhere, but I have googled it in many permutations, but couldn't find the source. So think I'll take credit for writing this profound thought. Heck, why not. So, yesterday it got up to 60o. Spring was in the air, the ice and snow still on the sidewalks was melting like crazy. JJ and I even broke into running several times! So nice - I've been hobbling around like a non-spry nonagenarian for the last month, at least, terrified of slipping on the ice, breaking something, etc. Very reassuring to know I'm not there yet. Today, of course, it's back in the 20's. The melting snow has re-frozen, and I'm back to my cautious hobbling.

The ice on the grass near the lake has thawed a lot, and we finally got close to the lakeside for pictures of the Swan family and all the other waterfowl. The cygnets are about 75% white-feathered, and there are some mallards with gorgeous, shiny purple heads/necks in addition to the teal ones.

Something curious: The fields covered with Astroturf are only about half-covered with snow now, while the fields still covered in actual grass are still 100% snow covered. I'm sure there's some thermal/physical explanation, but I'd love to know.

Today at the Bark

It was FIDO's Coffee Bark today, a monthly gathering of dogs and humans, with coffee and snacks for both. We walked all the way to Park Slope (and back, later) to attend. They were also selling doggie clothing along with membership renewals. JJ, of course, needs no clothing, since she loves to roll around in the snow to cool off, even on the coldest days. We thought about getting her a raincoat, but they didn't have her size and besides, we figure she's entitled to opt for short walks in the rain. But we did get an adorable, sorry, MANLY little sheepskin coat for our daughter's Australian Terrier, Chewie. He feels the cold. Complete with a pocket.

The Park: still only the car road and horse trail cleared, and of course the Greg Mocker Path. Ran into Ed and Anne, who said that after the big snow on Jan. 28, the Mocker Path (all 30 feet of it) was cleared by the 29th! I can no longer call it the Greg Mocker Memorial Path, since someone who reads this asked me if Greg had died. GREG MOCKER IS NOT DEAD - HE'S VERY MUCH ALIVE AND DOING GREAT THINGS, AS ANYONE WHO WATCHES HIS NEWS REPORTS ON WPIX CHANNEL 11 KNOWS. Just wanted to make that clear. Too damn easy to start silly rumors. Remember "The walrus is Paul?"

I noted that someone was celebrating Chinese New Year in the Park by leaving one of those Chinese plastic plaid bags in the lake. (see photo). I mean, must we? really?

The more I think about the N.Y. Times article justifying the geese killing, the angrier I get. Protecting ornamental plantings? What ornamental plantings? The only ones I've seen are the phragmites, and the Parks Dept. is constantly (excuse my language) bitching about how they're invasive and unwelcome. The other justification is protecting the water supply. THE PROSPECT PARK LAKE IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN THE CITY'S WATER SUPPLY!!!!!!!!! Just saying. Too often, the first response to any problem is "Kill something." Geese, Congresswoman Giffords ... history is way too full.

Sorry. It was a beautiful day in the Park this morning.

Snowshoe feet

Beautiful clear crisp day in the park this morning. Didn't go near the lake. After several days of rainy, miserable weather earlier in the week, followed by cold, cold, days, we didn't want to go sliding in to the lake. JJ absolutely refused to go to the park during the rainy days - she stops dead about 3 houses down, does her business, and won't go anywhere but home. Who's the boss??? Hmmm.

Anyway, I was cozy and warm in my fuzzy new boots. The open area of the lake seems even smaller. Clearly, some people have been in the park - note the police barrier now frozen into the lake. The only clear paths are the car roads, the horse path, and the Greg Mocker Memorial Plowed Path, all 30 feet of it. However, the Peninsula was lovely. All the rain followed by ice has made a very strong crust on top of the snow, easy to walk on, chase sticks on, whatever one fancied. Just like our feet were snowshoes. But we still avoided the lake - a dog was on the ice and broke through and drowned a few weeks ago. Don't want to risk it. Luckily, JJ seemed happy enough to cool off by rolling around on the snow.

Tony (from FIDO) was there with his dogs Jupiter and Fanny. Nice to see him, and we all had a good chat, especially about the N.Y. Times article yesterday, reporting that 1,676 geese were killed last summer. the headline said "for air Safety" but admitted that the Prospect Park geese weren't killed for air safely but for other reasons, such as protecting private property (which the Park isn't) and to prevent damage to ornamental plantings and other nonsense reasons. Tony believes that Bloomberg asked the Feds to off the geese to prevent lawsuits - that it wasn't the Par officials who initiated the action. The worst part of the article? They're going to do it again next year, at more sites, with new capturing techniques. Very depressing.

Tony also has a theory as to why Central Park is so much better kept. The city doesn't run it any more - it's the Central Park Conservancy, which has a lot of money. Well, between the East Side and the West Side, they are surrounded by some of the most expensive real estate in the world, but I didn't think that they were that much more generous than we Brooklynites.

Making Winter jam

In gloriously shining sun, we bravely set forth to ice-covered Prospect Park this morning. The ROADS have been de-iced and cleared (well, of course cars come first), but the paths are all ice-covered and a bit scary. Vast tracts of shiny, plastic-looking snow, and a remarkable number of footprints on the frozen lake. The open water is even smaller, and there are more birds, including some boldly-striped shovelers, a type of duck with a beak that looks like a shovel. Black and brown and white reminiscent of Paris couture c. 1961. One poor little dead gull encased in ice (bottom photo). Could not get in for a close picture of the birds for fear of sliding right into the lake. Oh, what happened to that fearless girl of yesteryear?

The only well-shoveled path we saw was by Vanderbilt Playground where, by a STRANGE coincidence, Greg Mocker of WPIX 11 did a piece on the unshoveled walks. Greg, you need to come back and do similar great pieces on the 100's of other unshoveled paths - don't worry, they're not going anywhere.

The only snow not icy was in the Nethermead, where the park is preparing for the WinterJam festival this weekend. A huge machine (first photo) has compacted and combed the snow into beautiful hard powder for skiing, etc., and they're busy putting up mini-slopes for skiing or snowboarding, a sort of 1/10 pipe (too small to be a 1/2 pipe). Also, tent areas, looks like all kinds of things for kids. Hope it works, since there is no ice skating this year (old rink closed, new rink nowhere near open), and kids need something to enjoy winter.

Saw Anne and Ed, whom we haven't seen in a while. Anne says the birdwatchers and counters are no longer counting geese - don't want to give the Parks Dept. any info they might use to massacre them this year. There don't seem to be a huge number of them.

Maybe you can't have too much snow, but.......

What about too much rain, freezing rain, sleet, and ice? Clearly I tempted fate yesterday, when I declared my allegiance to my new-found philosophy of never too much snow. Today, it's ice and freezing rain. Not too terrible, actually, as long as you've got on decent headgear and gloves. And walk ever sooo carefully, I'm a little terrified to cross streets - visions of slipping in the middle of them, and falling under buses. So glad we live in a city with decent public transportation. All right, IT's NOT PERFECT!!! Still pretty good. And sooooo glad to have new warm boots - see photo. Probably a bit too cute for my age cohort - a bit fake UGG, a bit fake Ed Hardy, but really warm and, even better, only $20 at Century 21. Chooka's, supposedly reduced from $140 ( checked the internet - IT"S TRUE!)Deliciously warm, that's the main thing. And funny.

Speaking of my age cohort - I was amused to read on Facebook that a friend of my daughter's who's currently working temp in an office and likes to wear vintage stuff, was going in as the perfect 50's secretary today, but couldn't brew a decent cu of coffee. I had to laugh. The 50's, my childhood...No one brewed a decent cup of coffee in the 50's. It was perked, usually badly. Ran the gamut from dishwater to mud. Instant was preferred. Not very good, but at least consistent. Only in the 60's did brewed coffee arrive - drip, and the incredible Mr. Coffee. (Oh, Joe Dimaggio, the nation owes it's gourmet coffee heart to you!!) Coffee so good that it actually mattered what you put into the pot. Anyway, I told her that her badly-brewed coffee was, in fact, the true spirit of 50's coffee.

What does any of this have to do with Prospect Park Days? Hmmmmm.