pink and green in the park

 

central park, near e89th street...

emerald city

in central park, saturday

 

portrait of a hawk, upon learning of the death of Flaco the owl

i woke to the news that Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl had died after striking a building late yesterday. the special bird had gone missing from his longtime Central Park Zoo exhibit a year ago and had since been seen mostly along the park from 80th to 104th streets. in fact, a small memorial is being set up for him today near a certain tree he liked on 104th, one he apparently first chose when he was newly exploring his freedom. 

i never saw Flaco though encountered several Red-tailed hawks in the park on my work commutes to the East Side and on weekend walks to and from the MET Museum, and can remember a surprise sighting low in the trees over a playground in Union Square Park last January, but i followed all the beautiful photographs of him, many in which he was silhouetted against rooftop water towers, and relate to the genuine sadness being expressed by fellow New Yorkers to whom he brought a sense of wonder and joy.

i set out along Riverside Drive this morning hoping to find "my" hawk in his* preferred tree for 2024, the one i and others have seen him in regularly since late January (though i have observed him for several years elsewhere nearby in our park (even on my own river- facing bedroom window ledge). there he was, feathers unruffled as it were, gazing around and down as always with his piercing eyes, softly mottled chest set against the winter white sky, his silhouette simultaneously standing out from and blending into the tangle of bare, dark tree branches. 

i like to stop and study my hawk each time i see him, knowing he is a robust bird of prey does not intimidate me, it merely fills me with greater awe -- sharp hooked beak and distinct tail completing his portrait, brownish eyes riveting.

though he did not move from his perch today, at times he quietly lifts his broad wings to fly, if only to land with a quiet rustle just a few yards away in another tree nearby, burnished red tail then on display.  today his presence seems a particular symbol of power and grace at home in nature, in contrast to a determined Flaco making his way in the unknown, urban wild.

rest in peace, brave Flaco!  New York will never forget you! 

looking east from riverside drive, w105th street

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/24/1233703492/flaco-new-york-owl-dies-building-collision

https://abcnews.go.com/US/year-concrete-jungle-flaco-famous-owl-world/story?id=106225093

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_eagle-owl

*please note: my hawk is referred to as a he but could be a she, 

female hawks being slightly larger than male hawks, 

but i really have no point of comparison for the time being...

 

blue and white, very bright

on fifth avenue and in central park...

 

Gucci goals

on fifth avenue...

 

from the bus window

 

on fifth avenue...

summer scenes

Central Park 

 

portrait in pink

 

central park...

pom poms and circumstance

on fifth avenue

 

before yesterday we could fly

 

at The MET, American Wing

family crossing

near the museum of natural history,
central park west

 

a central park morning

crossing the park toward 5th avenue and 84th street...

 

streamers

on fifth avenue...

 

veterans day

Central Park...

 

all that jazz

in central park

 

little women

in central park

 

i dissent

please visit the new statue in Central Park celebrating women's rights pioneers Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth.

the statue was created by New Jersey sculptor Meredth Bergmann and the first in the park itself to honor real life women. it is inspired by the sculptor's love of storytelling, history, art, literature and mythology, and stands as a public tribute to social justice, meant to inspire conversation and even continued action and change. 

there is so much detail to discover from every angle and i loved that just as my friend Betsy and i met up last week to wander into the park to find it together, so too did two women from another generation stroll by to look, learn and appreciate women's history and the contributions of the three great ladies cast in bronze.

                                                                       central park

      https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/arts/design/suffragist-19th-amendment-central-park.html 

just days ago on the Jewish New Year, we lost the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg, only the second woman ever to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court and a fierce advocate for gender equality, civil and human rights.   

it was announced yesterday by Mayor Cuomo that a statue in her honor will be erected in her native Brooklyn. 

"fight for the things you care about. but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."  said RBG among many other "notorious" truths.  

we must fight harder than ever now!

VOTE!

sunny

central park

THE GATES

remembering Christo and the season in the city with The Gates, photos are randomly selected from many moments scouting photo opps in Central Park....  i would get up early and walk to work a different way each day, and explore the Park top to bottom. i remember meeting visitors from all over the world every day, all happy and chatting with one another and so full of joy at discovering New York City and this installation!  i know that i have some photos taken in the snow, too, but have not found them yet in my quarantine clean up...    

THE GATES, CENTRAL PARK
https://christojeanneclaude.net/projects/the-gates