Revisonary Poe

The other day Tony said that the statue that I thought was Edgar Allen Poe (overlooking the deconstruction...) is actually Abraham Lincoln, who has been temporarily moved to Prospect Park from Grand Army Plaza for unknown or unspecified reasons. Today we decided to walk the other direction around the lake and check it out. You can't see the face, of course, but you can get close enough to see the profile. Sad to say, Tony is right. The profile is Lincoln's. The birds, seen from the side, are eagles, not ravens. I was totally fooled by (1) the birds, (2) the cape, (3) the hair style from the back, and (4) the fact that the statue is in what we call the ethnic poet's corner - lots of other artists and musicians, all the statues sponsored by an Immigrant pride group of 100+ years ago - German, Irish, Austrian, etc. I think Poe belongs there rather than Lincoln. But it is amazing how frequently the first, logical, rational thought I have about something is wrong. Makes a girl think. Anyway, the old skating rink is now a total pile of rubble.

JJ loved the new route. Lots and lots of new places to sniff at. And a fantastic collection of squirrel bird-feeders, hitherto unseen (by us). No pictures - camera battery died. No egrets sighted today, but the whole swan family, in 3 parts - parents, son, and "the girls." Although maybe I am totally wrong about the gender thing. Sigh.

Edgar Allen Poe Overseeing the Deconstruction of the Ice Rink

NEVERMORE, NEVERMORE, cry the poet and his ravens as they watch the demolition of the Wollman Rink. There is a huge area now being fenced off around the Lakeside project. Maybe a 1/2 mile of 8 ft. high chain link fence being put up, making the whole area from the east side of the lake to the road completely inaccessible, looks like for years. This includes the parking lot and the BBQ area. It took over a year to do the little bit they did last year, and this is 5 times as much space. "Lakeside is coming" the sign reads - resonating like "The British are coming" of "The Martians are coming," and sounding very threatening. The picnic tables and BBQ stuff are piled up in one area. Wonder if they'll be thrown out or re-used? And I think I spotted the little area of 8 shrubs that hundreds of geese had to die to preserve.

On a cheerier note, we went along to check on the old swan nest from last year, and, surprise, surprise, Mama and Papa were there, doing the exact same thing! The nesting area doesn't look like much, maybe because the water level is high, maybe because the phragmites have not started their spring growth, which does give a sort of solid floor effect.

Another nice sign of spring: TWO soccer games plus the Ultimate Frisbee game going on this morning! The soccer players were less wrapped and showing a little leg, a nice harbinger of spring.

And speaking of the Parade grounds, 132 geese grazing on the one-and-a-half remaining grassy fields. (the other 2 1/2 are covered in plastic astroturf.) So, if they're not in the park, does this mean they will not be massacred? Or will they cover the rest of that green, natural, edible growing stuff with beautiful, slippery, nasty astroturf and call it an "improvement."

The Lullwater is still quite frozen, and there are still big patches of ice on the walkways. Some genius decided to throw the rescue ladder onto the ice, just to make sure that it's useless. I kind of hope that person does something clever, like walk out on the ice, and learns the consequences of stupidity. Like those Republicans who bitch about Government regulation, and then whine hysterically when some corporation spews toxic waste in their backyard and their children suffer.