I love Memorial Day

What a beautiful Memorial Day this was! The weather was perfect, and it was truly the start of summer. Our own BBQ was not in the park - we are lucky enough to have a beautiful backyard, and on Sunday we had about 40 people over for food and laughs and a general good time. Our BBQ's are multigenerational - our friends and our children's friends. One guy said it was his 15th. He was a teenager, now he's married, a serious grad student, and waxes eloquently on the beauty of urban management. Swan Princess and Knight came (their first time) and I was thrilled to become part of the Swan sisterhood.

The Park is the backyard for so many Brooklynites! It has its own rites and traditions. First someone comes early to get the "spot." There are some favorite and choice spots this year. Usually it's grandpa. There he sits, reading his paper, guarding all the chairs, tables, coolers, cooking equipment, balloons and streamers - all the accouterments of a special family gathering. Sometimes it's the teenage son. If he's alone, he usually looks cranky - not thrilled to be up early to sit in the park. When he's there with his friends, it's a different story - 2-4 guys, hanging out, drinking sodas, laughing and making all kinds of undoubtedly tasteless jokes. Being responsible and having fun.

This year, the BBQ Plaza is really popular. All the tables were reserved. One man nearby man said he's gotten their at 7 AM, but all the spots were already taken. 5 AM next year! By Monday, all the trash cans were full with about a dozen bags around each one. It's a shame the Parks Dept,. can't do a mid-weekend pickup, but a pleasure to see that people do seem to be trying to keep the park clean. All the re3cent publicity - in the News, Post, Times, Brooklyn Paper and Channel 11 seems to have done a good job of raising consciousness of taking care of the park.

Technically, it's still spring, but it really feels like summer has arrived.

Just an average day, with no horror stories

So, the first thing we do when we get to the park these days is go and check on the nesting swans. This seems to be the only swan family in the park these days, and we are amazingly concerned about their welfare. It feels like being an imminent parent all over again - waiting for the cygnets to hatch. I'm estimating they'll hatch sometime in May, although we really don't know, since we don't know when she started setting on them. Occasionally, I wonder to myself, "What if they never hatch." and feel quite anxious and fearful about that possibility.

Papa was exceptionally protective today - came over to us and hissed and spread his wings when we were standing on the shore. We were just trying to get close enough to take a picture of an egret hanging out there - one with grayish wings at the edges. The second picture has this egret - enlarge, and it's there. This is not the all-white one we've seen and whom we saw today by the Lullwater). A birder we stopped and asked says the grayish feathers are usually the sign of an immature egret. He also tells us that they usually don't nest here, but in Jamaica Bay or Brother Island, and that they fly miles each day to search for food.

Weather stunningly gorgeous and clear today and yesterday. A little chilly - just right for walking. We spotted a robin's nest yesterday - nice to know the eggs don't all end up on the ground. Also noted progress in the playground: large, domed structure being set up. The BBQ cages are almost finished, and they are nowhere near the playground. Don't quite understand this. There used to be a nice little BBQ grove next to the playground, so the adults could socialize while the children played in the playground. Now they are quite far from each other, and the BBQ cage seems quite unwelcoming. Maybe that's the idea? And is the fence permanent? I have noticed that no fence ever seems to come down in the park - there are falling down fences everywhere. I wonder if this is a strategy or just laziness/neglect/budget cuts.

Clean-up notes: the disgusting mess is still there, but drying out. Probably good that there's no rain for a bit. Speaking of no rain, the lake level is down slightly, and some of the mini-lakes are reduced to mud puddles. We noticed yesterday that the disgusting paper was blowing around, so I gritted my teeth and picked it up and brought it to a trash can. Luckily, we now come to the park with rubber gloves and handi-wipes, in addition to the usual plastic bags for the dog.

Another can/candle/tin foil combination in the same spot as before, this time new, with no fire burning. Took it to the trash can. If I keep removing it, will the person give up? Yesterday we (well, Ber) moved the plywood near to a trash can - someone had put it back in the water, so we dragged it further away. Not picked up yet, lying on the ground by the can.