Every evening as the sun sets in a riot of colours upon the mighty Hudson, and I saunter along the river, I find myself revelling in the wonder of nature. Adi comes with once in a while. Together we spot so many pinpricks of yellow and orange in the twilight hour. The park is swarming with fireflies and it is difficult not to feel as gleeful as a child. The chubby squirrels of winter have procreated in the last few months it seems. Their tiny summer offsprings have the run of the park, their thin tailed bodies priming up for the harsher months with nature’s nutty offerings.
Meanwhile I have not fallen off the face of the blogging world quite yet. I shall hold on as long as I can — like a tenacious camel. Why camel though, you might ask here. I have no idea. Maybe because I am a child of the desert.
The season is speeding away even as we find ourselves tiding over some hot and humid days. The in-laws are visiting us and there is not enough hours in a day to slip in updates here. But they are in Washington DC for a few days, and we shall head there for the weekend, so here I am wondering if there are any recommendations you have for Adi and I.
Below are some shots from Central Park from one of our wanderings through it on a sweltering day when a sea lion we saw, slumped over a rock in a desultory fashion. I think we would have perched ourselves just so in a pool, if we had one. During our gander in the park, we watched tiny turtles swim in the mossy green waters of a pond, which is what remains of the 19th century Croton Aqueduct. As it happens, I am in the midst of a tome on the history of New York City during the Civil War. It talks of the great stretch of green today in Central Park adjoining the Turtle Pond, once a part of the aqueduct that transformed life for the multitudes of miserable residents of the city in the 1800s. You see, they had to rely on brackish water for their daily needs or pay vendors two cents a pail for ‘tea water’ (which was basically water drawn from wells up the island). Naturally New Yorkers considered it wiser to consume distilled and fermented liquor day and night than live off the filthy water that the city dispensed for the public.
Now, before I take off on the joys of discovering the city through this book, which is always a hazard when I start writing, I shall leave you with a cheery hello and a fond note on the benches of Central Park with their various plaques. If I could, I would spend a day just photographing the words they feature, because I simply adore them.
ARUNDHATI BASU 
Day dreamers welcome… 🙂 🙂 🙂 And was that a Cheshire Cat? Have a great weekend!
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Aren’t they just darling? 🙂
’tis a bobcat. I am glad the real version does not prowl the length and breadth of Central Park! Thanks, certainly a bit chuffed about the weekend. xx
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Really evocative photos, I felt as if I was there with you. Delighted to hear your squirrels have procreated, not sure what’s happened to ours. The last time we saw him, he was being chased by the magpies. Enjoy Washington DC with the in-laws, sorry I don’t have any recommendations. I’ll look forward to reading all about it. Have fun.
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Thank you Sheree. The squirrels sure look sprightly (with the eager beaver spirit of teenagers). Yours might need a bit of bolstering from my gradually fattening neighbours. Together they would manage to intimidate the audacious magpies, I am confident.
Thank you for the kind wishes too. I cannot wait to adventure my way through a new city. xx
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Lovely post. I can never get enough of Central Park, though I imagine it was blisteringly hot. Have fun in DC. I wish I had recommendations, but it has been so many years since I’ve visited (something I really must rectify). I have heard that the restaurant scene is incredible, so I suspect you’ll eat well. (I immediately gravitate towards food, of course.) I’ll look forward to reading and seeing what you get up to during your visit.
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Hey, thanks! At breakfast, I think of lunch. At noon, I dream about dinner…if you say the restaurant scene is something else, we shall keep ourselves hungry enough to do justice to a few. Meanwhile, I shall dream about what is to come. Cheers. P.S.: The humidity gets to me!
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Oh, the humidity seriously gets to me, too. Can’t wait for fall and winter to take over so I can begin complaining about the cold instead. 😛 Have fun over your weekend!
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Hahaha…weather is the perfect stooge universally 🙂 Thanks! I shall make the most of this weekend. You too have a fun one.
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Don’t fret, pet …. when you are less frazzled you can update to your heart’s content. That’s what I keep telling me though I am running out of patience with self. And this was a lovely post to keep your readers going a while longer. But the point of this comment is to say that I was in DC in June. Of course we did Capitol Hill and The Whitehouse and the monuments and we ate and we drank and we did all the stuff. But I have to shout out for the museums. They are quite wonderful. I’d recommend eating at The Museum of the American Indian … the cafeteria is excellent and the museum is full of interest but the one not to miss is The Air and Space Museum. It’s fantastic. Very crowded so we did the round and then randomly picked off a room to fully focus on. We did Navigation based on the fact that there was no-one else in it and I learned heaps. And all the museums are free. They also have a huge variety of food trucks lining the surrounding streets which is fun. So those are my top tips … you will come away knowing you need to go back. I have a list as long as my arm of other museums to visit. We did The National Gallery of Art and the Botanic Gardens also …. Oh, and the train station is quite a cracker too xxx
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Merci beaucoup, mon amie. Did I get it right?
I love the sound of it already. Free museums!!! Wheee. Now Adi better watch out. He would love the Air and Space Museum methinks — I doubt he has been inside it — so we will be sure to look in. I will put the others on my list too. From the sound of it, a weekend is measly
I think I shall have to return already. But my fat little brown book is going to have new entries from your recommendations.
What is happening at your end? I see you have not been posting, so I am assuming you must be darned busy. xx
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You did get it right 😊 . A weekend will only scratch the surface it’s true and I was certain it left wanting more for which I will return. I have been terribly lax …. combination of some busy and some bluesy but I’m battling both and I’m trying really hard to not run away from posting tomorrow. Once I jump back in I know I’ll get motivated again. Xxxx
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I know what you mean…the strange feeling that holds you back from blogging. Do post. It’s been a while 🙂 Hugs. xx
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Thank you. I will. And thank you for bri g a real friend that gets it xx
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😍❤
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Enjoyed reading the touching memorials on the benches. What a summer walk for you and Adi! Concerts in the park, intriguing statutes with crossed swords, a lazy seal sunning itself on a rock and turtles swimming aimlessly in a green pond. Sounds and looks wonderful! Interesting about the “tea water” – I wonder if it looked brownish like tea and hence the name. Anyways, sounds like our tap water here. 😉 Hope you are well!
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Thank you Lex and Neek. Am okay…amazing that in a couple of months it shall be autumn though the weather is nowhere near autumnal yet.
As for tea water, I thought you might find this interesting. An account of an 18th century traveller in the city read: ‘There is no good water to be met with in the town itself; but at a little distance there is a large spring of good water, which the inhabitants take for their tea and for the use of the kitchen.’ I would not have imagined that tea was so important in this part of the country once. 🙂
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Interesting fact! Thanks!
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Those turtles are adorable! Sounds like you’re having a great summer. The summer has been great here as well! So long and hot. I imagine walking along the river on a cool summer evening must feel so great! Sadly there are no rivers/sea where I live, but there’s plenty of greenery!
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They were. Tiny little paddlers. The keyword is cool. When it gets hot and humid here, it carries on into the evening. But we cannot let the weather get in the way, right? I cannot wait for the cooler autumnal months to arrive. All those colours and cool breezes. Aaah.
As for river/sea, you can catch a ride to the coast there quite so easily I bet 🙂 I have always wanted to get myself to Gdansk. Have a great weekend, Pooja. xx
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I am waiting for autumn too! ❤ except that it’s rainy and cloudy most of the time in autumn but I can always be hopeful for some sun. You’re right that Gdansk is not too far but it’s extremely crowded during the summer hehe. Have a great weekend, you too! 🙂
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Thanks girl! I do hope you have a more cheery autumn this year. xx
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Good to hear from you after what’s been a while 🙂
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Thanks Anushree. How have you been? I shall drop by yours soonest 🙂 x
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Down with flu for a while 😦 but better now 🙂 Summer came early and seems to have gone already here so that’s a but of a bummer. But otherwise things have been usual and good xx
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Summer gone already? Well, let us hope the English countryside regains its lush green touch soon.
Good to hear that you have beaten the flu. It is most annoying. Time is flying always it seems! xx
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Every time I see photos of Central Park (yours are especially captivating) I’m in awe that such a treasure exists in the middle of this giant city. The bench signs are beautiful. Enjoy DC!
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Why thank you Caroline, you are ever so kind. It is a treasure and every time it feels like a piece of haven in the middle of an immensely busy city. xx
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Hello back to you and that first bench text is so lovely and sad all at once..!!
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Oh hiya! Good to hear from you. The benches seem to be the holder of stories. Rather intriguing.
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Lovely photos!! Have fun in DC xx
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Thank you Amelia 🙂 I did even though it was too brief for my liking. xx
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It’s okay awww I’m glad xx
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Oh I love that park. But those pictures of the benches are making me cry so early this morning, A. I lost the SD card with most of our pictures of Central Park, so thanks for sharing yours. 🙂
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Hey Amor, thank you. Aw I hope you get to take more photos of the park in person one day to make up for the loss of the SD card. What a bummer! But hope you are busy and well. xx
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Your pictures and style of writing offer some unique feeling which I can’t describe. I really enjoyed this post! Plus, those benches amazed me completely. 😉
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Hi Agnes, thank you for the generous words. I am delighted that you enjoyed this, and yes, the plaques on the benches always make me wonder about the lives that they are dedicated to. Cheers.
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Amzing Post Dear……..Keep posting!!
Desktop stand
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Thanks!
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Another pleasant trip to one of my three favourite cities in the world. 🙂
Love the plaques too.
There was one that stuck in my mind:
“Everyday I wake torn between the need to save the world or to savour it.”
(What say you?)
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I would savour the world, Brian ji, and where possible try to make a difference by lending a helping hand to those in need. But ‘save’ is a hefty word, so I shall steer clear of it 🙂 Hope you have a nice weekend.
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Thank you. You too. 🙂
I wrote down somewhere the name of that gentleman and his thoughtful plaque.
Over the years I have realized that the world is beyond salvation. Much to my dismay.
Sooo. Let us just savour it and help a few around us.
Good to hear form you. I have been literally “away”. I see your summer was good and happy. That pleases me no end.
Bon week-end Maa’mji.
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I have been away too. Life always has a way of asserting itself and you have to let it take over, naturally. But good to hear from you. Also, what would your take on the plaque be? It does make you think.
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On that plaque? I think I just answered that. And as usual when there is a dichotomy, or an alternative, I don’t think there is only one answer. “Saving” the world is like you say quite a challenge. Yet… small gestures do contribute. I now refuse plastic bags in shops… 98% of the time? It is a drop in the ocean, but if more and more do it, we may be able to stop the ocean’s plastic poisoning before it is too late. 🙂
Savour the week-end, dear.
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True, you did. Small gestures do build up to make a difference, I would like to believe. I too carry canvas/cloth bags for shopping. We do need to work on doing away with plastic in our daily lives. A challenge, but with time and effort, I am sure we can get there. I have begin the process of savouring it already! 🙂 You too.
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“We can do it!” 😉
(I’ve also been thinking about reintroducing the horse as a totally sustainable, environment-friendly means of transportation) 😉
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Hahaha! I will wait to see clips of your vision 🙂
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I may need some UN funding. 😉
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While I see pictures of you enjoying the Summer(except when it’s too hot) I really can’t wait for the sun to get out as it is Winter here in Australia!Until then I would just dream about the Summer in the other end of the world!
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Oh why did I think you lived in Seattle?! Your latest post on the Pacific NW possibly. Anyway, I Love winter, so we can trade some sun and hot chocolate here 😉
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