First Hike of Spring (Bronxville to Valhalla, NY)

Two Sundays ago (3/24), I joined a group for a hike along the Bronx River Parkway in Westchester from Bronxville to Valhalla (where there are no dead Vikings feasting).

The border between winter in spring is very brown. Though even with few leaves and flowers, the landscape can still be beautiful.






Our lunch stop was in Scarsdale, which is a pretty town.



We walked through some of the residential neighborhoods where the homes have a variety of architectural styles.





However, the most impressive structure wasn't in Scarsdale but in Valhalla: the Kensico Dam.




In total, it was about 12 miles on a day when the temperature climbed from the low 30s in the morning to the mid 50s in the afternoon and stayed sunny, for the most part. A satisfying walk.

Seven Photos of Spring in Central Park

The Lake:


The Conservatory Garden:


A duck in the Harlem Meer:


The Harlem Meer:


The Pool:


The Reservoir:


A tree that looks like a Dr. Seuss illustration:

What the start of spring looks like

Thinking about spring

This past spring often felt like summer, but it was still uniquely and beautifully spring. I've posted about Philly streets in springtime and windblown tulips in Bowling Green.

Here are some more photos of the season that just passed:

Week in Seven Words #122

atmospheric
At the cafe we sit right by the huge open windows, and cool air rolls over us as the storm starts up. We breathe deeply and peacefully until I wonder aloud if lightning can come in through open windows. (Chances of that are small, very small, but it's not impossible...)

exhale
It's lovely when a subway car suddenly disgorges all if its passengers, and you're no longer standing with your nose in someone's hair line.

indolent
Turtles loll in the shallows nom-nom-nomming on leaves.

inviting
Tulips on a table laid out in rich blue paper.

lightened
Springtime in the synagogue, flowers twined around the room.

preschool
They sing "Baby Beluga" with looks of rapt innocent concentration. They're little people who can barely sit still, love to give hugs, and know the words to songs about donkeys, wheels on buses, saying good-bye and the deep blue sea.

venturesome
The bug making its slow patient way across my ceiling is an explorer of sorts, mapping out an ocean of space. Even as I stand there waiting for it with an old textbook and a bottle of Windex, I can respect its intrepid spirit.

Week in Seven Words #114

banqueting
The meal reminds me in some ways of a medieval feast. There are story-tellers, singers, a court jester, knights clashing from time to time in a joust. A dog wakes up from its long nap beneath the table to lap up flakes of matzah from the chairs and floor.

chef de cuisine
All day she's in the kitchen cooking, and here and there we jump in and help her, though for the most part she wants it to be a solo operation. She takes pride in her ability to single-handedly cater multiple feasts. There's chicken, lamb, beef with yams, and turkey, potatoes with prunes, matzah ball soup, glazed carrots, broccoli, beets, and Brussels sprouts. Charoset too (apples, bananas, nuts, wine, cinnamon, and a little honey mixed together in a blender). Am I leaving anything out? Salads, can't forget those. Anything else? Probably.

inflorescence
Many streets in downtown Philly have become gardens. The narrower ones have a roof of pink blossoms. Daffodils grow from windowboxes, and cherry trees spread their branches over brick courtyards. By the side of an unpaved parking lot tulips have sprung up.

kneydlekh (קניידלעך)
Matzah balls made from scratch with a family recipe are addictive, full of fluffy doughy goodness.

olfactory
A dog noses through fallen magnolia blossoms.

patellae
In a battle of Lego figurines, my knees are a part of the terrain. Opposing forces stand on them and lob incendiary Lego weapons at each other.

undervalue
They're real flowers, but in their surroundings they seem fake. Planted next to racks of designer purses and sunglasses and aisles that smell of perfume and new shoes, their tropical colors have the luster of plastic.

Week in Seven Words #109

discreetly
The leaves when they return will conceal rubble, graffiti, and skeletal fences.

fritillaries
Van Gogh painted flowers that vibrate and gardens that rise up to meet you.

hissy
On the grill the hamburgers are spitting grease.

latent
I like watching people sprint up the art museum steps pretending they're Rocky. Rocky's statue isn't at the top of the steps though; it's planted at the bottom, where people who can't or don't want to race up the steps and pump their arms in the air can still stand next to him and flex their biceps for the camera. Somewhere in those unused muscles is the strength of a boxer.

pristine
For his nephew he laid out almond blossoms on a blue background - the skies of early spring, explored by blossoms and criss-crossing branches.

suggested
In each portrait there's a story - a harlequin in a winter forest, a lady who doesn't meet your eyes, a man who is considering his profits while smoking a pipe.

tarrying
Back in Halloween someone strung up a plastic skeleton outside the apartment building across the street. On New Year's Day it was still there wearing a festive hat. The hat has since disappeared, and it received nothing for Valentine's Day. Now it grins down on the street, anticipating spring like the rest of us.

Week in Seven Words #62

affable
The daffodils bob their heads in courtly greeting.

buoyant
A tree on the plaza is alive with blossoms, a foamy pink haze. The next day I see a juggler and young children beneath the blossoms; the sun is bright on the petals and the white stones underfoot.

churning
How will I get everything done?

contented
It's very good to see them. They behave in familiar comfortable ways, and my place feels more cozy.

jotters
At the start of the meal I'm not sure what we'll talk about, but about ten minutes in we're surprised to discover that we both write. When we talk about it we sound like two people who have both vacationed to the same wonderful place and are now recounting all its delights and plotting our next trip back.

rapid
His words come out in a tumble about gifts, toys, cupcakes, volcanos.

terrarium
It's a sky-blue and pink-blossom day outside, and I'm watching it through a set of thick windows.

"Is hung with bloom along the bough"

Photos from 4/1/10.


The pinks disappeared in a blink.


And the whites reminded me of winter.