walkin' the dog

Well, actually, this pooch is riding in style.

I've never ridden in a hansom cab myself,

and probably won't.  Must admit that I can't

stand seeing these horses out here if the

weather's very hot or cold—but it does seem

as though that happens less these days.

up on the roof

Any evening after work, they can just grab
a couple of beers and some folding chairs and
chill up on the roof (aka tar beach).
Who needs a backyard anyway?

Skywatch Friday

The sky above and the sky below, reflected

in the Arno.  I think everyone who goes to

Florence takes some version of this shot—

from the Ponte Vecchio, looking west toward

Ponte Santa Trinita and Ponte alla Carraia

beyond.  I'd like to be there right now!

It's all happenin' at the zoo

I believe I told you a while back that there

would be polar bears and monkeys. Wouldn't

want to break such a promise, so I made a

little visit to the Central Park Zoo.

The bear is Aida—she's 22 years old (the

keeper told me that polar bears live about

15 years in the wild, but more like 25 in

captivity) and she weighs 500 pounds.

And these are snow monkeys; the little one

was being a real pest, so one of the adults

finally turned around and told him to get

lost (in so many words).

abc Wednesday — S is for "sun, surf, and sand"

This is Emerald Isle, North Carolina, 

a gorgeous spot at any time—even during

hurricane season, and we got slammed

about two days after I took this picture.

Still, it sure was nice while it lasted.

public safety

Not exactly sure what this officer's function

is supposed to be, but I'm not too impressed.

I mean, come on!  She couldn't even catch 

these blatant jay-walkers!

dunes

. . . out in Montauk, where I went to

hear the Lone Sharks play yesterday

at Nick's on the Beach.  And what did

you do this weekend?

friends in high places

Found this friendly window washer hanging

around the 32nd floor of the Hearst Bldg.,

where I used to work (think I've mentioned:

don't miss the job, do miss the view).

He'd better get busy, though—that's 
a lot of glass to keep clean!

peek-a-boo

Last weekend, I went to see friends

who breed, raise, and show the most

beautiful horses—even their 

barn is gorgeous.

skywatch Friday

Took this while riding home from the

airport this week.  The cabbie offered

to pull off the road so I could get the

picture—but what's the challenge in that?

fog

This is Prospect Park early in the morning,

before the fog has lifted—my favorite time

of day here.  I also love it because before

9 a.m. dogs are allowed off their leash

and have the run of the mead (the huge

meadow that makes up the center of the park).  

The pups look like they're having

so much fun—running around, greeting

their friends—it almost makes me want

to have a dog (almost!).

abc Wednesday — R is for "Rockaway"

The western end of this peninsula is a nice

place to live (if a bit of a commute from

Manhattan and definitely lacking in

diversity), and the eastern end has become

kinda sad in recent years.

The beach is great.

the national debt

. . . as of 5/3/09 at approximately 2:30 am.

Before 2000, this clock on a building facing

Union Square was counting down the minutes

until the millennium.  Now it's tracking the

national debt.  I stood there and watched for

a bit, and I didn't see the numbers going down!

Wisteria sinensis

If I had a house with a yard, the whole

place would be dripping with wisteria.

I've seen houses where the vines

brought down the porch, and thought

it would be worth having to rebuild

if you had these flowers blooming for

even a week or two every year.

pointy-topped doo-dads

That's what they are now.  Not long ago I thought they 
were just (yet) another new bank building, and 4 Times Square 
peeking out from behind. 4 Times Square is the Condé Nast Building,
home of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Gourmet, and The New Yorker 
(where I was offered a job on two different occasions and had to turn
them both down because they paid bupkis—broke my heart). 
Anyway, now I see these buildings (and lots of others) in a whole new light.

lunch "break"

These guys were entertaining the lunchtime

crowd hanging out on the steps of the

 library one day this past week.

I hope they made a few bucks, because 

they were giving it their all!

Skywatch Friday

Am headed to Virginia tomorrow for
the weekend (took this from the plane
on another trip to VA).  I'm always glad
when I get on the plane and discover
that a) it's a prop plane and b) my seat
is right here, where I can keep an eye
on things. I have a bit of a love/hate
thing for flying. How about you?
[P.S.—have posted ahead and may or
may not be able to comment.] Enjoy
the weekend.

I could drop some bucks here

If I had it to spend, I wouldn't head

for Tiffany or Saks Fifth Avenue.  

I'd go here to B and H, the huge camera 

(and more!) store at 9th Ave. and 34th St.

Just got their catalog in the mail and

it's about the size of my Yellow Pages.

abc Wednesday — Q is for "Queens Midtown Tunnel"

. . . which runs under the East River between

(duh) midtown Manhattan and Queens. After

I stood there snapping pictures in full view of

the little police box across the way, I turned

around and saw a big sign that said "NO Photos!"

rule of (green) thumb

If you're going to plant some flowers

(like these gorgeous grape hyacinths,

for example) don't hold back—go

ahead and plant thousands of them!

fashion forward?

or fashion faux pas?
I honestly can't
decide. So does
this make me
fashion feeble?

Prospect Park station

One of the Brooklyn subway stations that's

below street level but not underground.

Since the trains run 24/7/365, I do feel a bit 

sorry for those folks who live directly above.

art in the park

Went to Central Park, and just on the short

walk from the SE entrance to the zoo, I

saw all of these people drawing,

 sketching,

or painting something.

(My friend Shell

would have fit right in!)

Skywatch Friday

A storm blew in over St. Peter's Square

and quickly flooded it. Then the sun

came out, and an hour later it hailed!

It was a whole day of crazy weather in Rome.

truly?

Because I believe that if I put my mind to it 

I could think of a few Indian things they 

might not have.  This place is in a neighborhood 

(Lexington Ave. in the 20s and 30s) that's 

filled with Indian stores and restaurants.

(When I was 2-plus weeks past my due

date with Lila, we came here a few times

so I could eat vindaloo.  I guess we

were hoping to smoke her out!)

abc wednesday — P is for "pyramids"

and also Paris, since these are the ones in

front of the Louvre.  I know they were

controversial at first, but I've 

always loved them.  How about you?

(Thought I took this picture, but now I see

myself in it, so credit goes to my daughter Lila.)

Hanami*

* which is the Japanese tradition of
viewing and cherishing each moment
of the cherry blossom season.
Had to show you the cherry blossoms
in the botanic garden in their full
glory. Here's a time-lapse video of
last year's bloom.

the view from my yoga mat

. . . at my fave yoga studio, at my fave

yoga class, taught by the lovely and

talented Kevin, who would love to be

in Varanasi (and so he turns off fans

and turns on space heaters, even

though the temp is 93°F!)  That's

okay—we're schvitzing for Shiva.

pensive bride

Is she getting cold feet?

No, see—she's perfectly happy on her big day.

  But speaking of feet, I predict she'll 

jettison those high heels ASAP!

making friends at the greenmarket

The only flowers at the Saturday market last

week were daffodils and almond blossoms.

Won't be long before there will be so many

choices I won't be able to decide and I'll wind

up with flowers in every room in the house.

This little guy was much more interested

in getting to know every dog he encountered.

Skywatch Friday

This was taken from the Hearst Building

(where I used to work), looking southwest

across the Hudson River and over New Jersey.

My mother has an expression that she hauls

out to explain any otherwise inexplicable

phenomena: It's all done with chemicals.

I believe it applies here.