I Love This City!

Another face of Central Park! Be sure to catch them all in this series. From beautiful scenes to famous Statues to 'Birding' to some of the creatures that live here. A few more faces to come. Don't miss one! As you walk through out the 843 acres that make up Central Park you are of the illusion that you are not in the city. I used to 'hate' the city with the buildings, noise, smells, traffic, etc.etc. It was like chaos to me. BUT.....when I discovered the Park I then could sing "I love New York" This 'jane and barbie' adventure did not leave me wanting... Thanks Barbie for pulling me arm and enticing me to come.

In the Ramble you can walk through dense bushes, trees, small streams
and find a pond that looks like a country scene for sure.

Along the Harlem Meer people walk along the water and enjoy
the outdoors.

You would not think city when you see these people
out in their row boats for the afternoon, except for the
sky scape of NY in the background.

A brief History lesson:
New York's Central Park is the first urban landscaped park in the United States
Conceived by wealthy New Yorkers in the early 1850's, the park project
spanned more than a decade and cost the city ten million dollars
Chosen by the city and the park planners because its terrain was unsuitable
for commercial building, the site for the new park offered rocky vistas, swamps
which would be converted into lakes, and the old city reservoir.
It became the Park for the wealthy for the first decade because
it was too far uptown for the working class to come. But by the
1920's it became the Park of the People, and by the 1970's it was

fast becoming the Park of the World.
If you would like to read more about the Park go here:
History of Central Park

What the planners did not anticipate was how much wildlife would come
and stay in Central Park. The Birds would stop by in migration for a
much needed rest and refuel from travel, and somehow other wildlife would
find their way, stay and raise their families here.

As we walked through the Ramble we spotted two bull
frogs along the waters edge.

A squirrel having a peanut someone left for him.

Other squirrels chasing each other over stumps and logs.

We can't forget our adorable raccoon spotted in the N. Woods.


At Harlem Meer the Black Crown Night Heron shares his spot
with the turtles. Click for a closer look.

I haven't seen this many turtles at ponds near me.. and when
you do they skitter into the water faster than you can say boo!

One little.........

Two little.......

Three little turtles......

How many? Oh well you get the picture...

These guys weren't going anywhere, they almost seem to
pose for the photo shoot.

You never know what you will see next while walking here..
This was a pet rabbit someone brought to the Park.

And, check out this guy's, left shoulder. Yep! That's a
pet bird he brought with him!

After 9 hours of walking on the first day, we were bushed!
But that didn't keep us from coming back on the following day for
more fun in Central Park...
Please say tuned ... the second best activity and
the meeting of a special friend is next.

Squirrels With Attitude!

The Gray Squirrel is the cutest darn little guy! I know some people hate them because they can get into any feeder and yes! they can eat more bird seed than a flock of birds, and yes! they can be pests, But by Darn! They can be the cutest
entertaining little guys you ever did see!
Because I have 14 Black Walnut trees in my back yard, and I feed birds, I have a truckload of Gray Squirrels. So as I am taking bird pictures, for every 3 birds I get at least ONE of a squirrel.
The following is just a few of the funny antics, and loving features of my Gray Squirrels.

This is what the squirrel should be doing....sitting on a fence
post and eating nuts from a nearby tree!!
But Is he most of time??

NO! he is not.
He can get into any feeder and look quite comfortable as he
wipes it clean.

It can be a plate of fresh fruit, that doesn't matter to Mr. Gray.

You say Grapes!! Well heck yea, bring them on!!

Oh! They try to act cute to win your favor by sitting in your
flower pots with their little paws resting so sweetly on the side.

And hang on the side of the tree with those eyes just filled
with favor and the little ears perked right up...

But.... They will trudge through a blizzard of snow to get
to that feeder full of sunflower seeds....

And Happily sit there and munch down every last one!

They will hang precariously from a little flower pot
to get at the seeds left there for Mr. Titmouse.

And Holidays??? They will come for them all. At Halloween last
year the whole family showed up to gorge themselves
with a decorated pumpkin for the centerpiece.

And on Valentines Day he tried to act innocent and give me those
eyes, but I knew he was eating all the seeds. He held his paw out
as if to say, not me!! Nope I didn't do it.

Last year at Christmas, I put out the
gazebo feeder and the first one in
was none other than Mr. Gray.
Wiped it clean in one afternoon.

Two years ago the snowman feeder really drew him in! He liked
to pose beside it for his picture.

When they have eaten too much and it is a nice day they
just drape themselves over a stump and rest for awhile.

Sometimes they are so exhausted from stealing
the bird's breakfast, dinner and lunch, that they fall asleep
right on a limb above the porch.

And, the inspiration for this story was this little mama, I will
call her Mrs. Gray. She was munching away the other day and
I was watching her from the window when I noticed something
pink on her belly.

As she turned I could see even more closely.........So

I zoomed right in and low and behold....I believe we have even
MORE grays somewhere in a nest in a tree...just waiting for
their turn at the feeders... it takes a lot of seeds to
make milk for these little pink *puppies!!
(*American slang for boobs)

Oh No!!!! Don't do that!! Stop it right now.

Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much larger and better in every way.
John Muir