Theatrics by Mother Nature

The photo atop this entry is a view of The Delacorte Theatre (located in Central Park) and is a copy of an image on one of the Public Theater's  web-pages. The Public Theatre is the company who oversees productions at the Delacorte. "Since 1962, over 5 million people have gathered inside the Delacorte to experience world class Shakespeare and other productions at no-cost. The mission of The Public and Free Shakespeare in the Park has remained constant."

Sparrows at The Delacorte

HOUSE SPARROWS ARE IN MY BOOK SERIES

HOUSE SPARROWS ARE IN MY BOOK SERIES

House sparrows often find and/or build a home in a number of places at The Delacorte Theatre in Central Park (which is in close proximity to The Swedish Cottage that is home to the Marionette Theatre). The one seen in the photographs atop this entry is "sitting" within one of the theatre's outdoor wall lights.

Unfortunately many horrific things happen to birds who visit this theatre. Some are documented in this article/report (by an unidentified writer) which you may read by clicking here.

On another note, regarding House sparrows, I'd like to let you know, dear reader, they are featured in my book series, Words In Our Beak.

THE WORDS IN OUR BEAK BOOK SERIES

Remembering Eugene Schieffelin ETC

The photograph atop this entry is of a statute in Central Park that is in very close proximity to Delacorte Clock — named after philanthropist George T. Delacorte.

According to a web-page, it "is one of the most beloved monuments in the parks of New York City, this musical clock hovers above the arcade between the Wildlife Center and the Children's Zoo."

The aforementioned page goes on to say that "Delacorte conceived of the clock as a modern version of belfries in churches and city halls dating back to the Middle Ages....

... and designer Fernando Texidor collaborated with architect Edward Coe Embury (son of the 1934 zoo’s designer, Aymar Embury II) to create a brick arcaded bridge between the Monkey House (now the Zoo School) and the main Central Park Zoo quadrangle to house the clock and its animal sculpture carousel. Italian sculptor Andrea Spadini (1912–1983) crafted the whimsical bronze sculptures, which depict a penguin, kangaroo, bear, elephant, goat, and hippo parading with a variety of musical instruments as well as two monkeys with mallets that strike the bell."

This page also explains that "Each day between eight in the morning and six in the evening, the clock--now digitally programmed--plays one of thirty-two nursery rhyme tunes on the hour. On the half-hour, the mechanical performance is a bit shorter. The animals rotate on a track around the clock and each also turns on an axis."

I came upon it the clock this afternoon when walking with a friend. I've seen it on many occasions as but in all my years of living in NYC, I've rarely arrived at the clock just as it is about to "perform."

Today is Squirrel Appreciation Day 2020 (Tuesday's Truths WK 160)

A little birdie, specifically a house sparrow is tweeting about the fact that today, January 21st is Squirrel Appreciation Day! Although I've written about this holiday in bygone years, had I not heard his tweet, I would've forgotten and missed a chance to give out a shout to the Black Squirrel who spends a lot of time (during all kinds of weather ) on the grounds alongside the Delacorte Theatre.

9. 10. 11

While many folks wanted to honor this day because of the sequence of numbers ("9-10-11"), with a celebratory event, tomorrow is a somber day for it is the tenth anniversary of September 11th, 2001. I live in New York City now, as I did when the attacks took place.

Moreover, I came very close to working in the World Trade Center (WTC), a fact that I discussed in a blog entry, which  I made on September the 11th last year; where I made mention of the names of two women, Lashawana Johnson and Margaret Mattic; whom I had met at a job interview which I had had with General Telcom Inc. — a company which had been located on the Eighty-Third floor of One World Trade Center. My interview was ten years, and one month ago today, and that is also when I received the WTC ID (posted below) which I also included in last year's blog post

In Honor of World Turtle Day

I've just learned that today, May 23rd, is World Turtle Day. According to Wiki, this holiday has been sponsored yearly since 2000 by American Tortoise Rescue "to bring attention to, and increase knowedge of and respect for turtles and tortoises, and to encourage human action to help them survive and thrive."

The picture featured atop today's blog entry is of a turtle at a lake just north of Strawberry Fields in NYC's Central Park, and he/she seems to be a perfect spokes-turtle for the occasion, given his/her quizzical expression. Turtles are often found sunbathing in this lake as they do their people-watching. This one was not camera-shy, another quality making him/her a great candidate for a spokes-turle on World Turtle Day (or any occasion for that matter). Other turtles – as is the case with yours truly — do not enjoy having their picture taken.

Saturday (Yesterday) In The Park

"Another day in the park... Everyday is the Fourth of July," are lyric lines from the song "Saturday in the Park," by the rock band, Chicago. I have quoted the song in prior posts here on Blogger when I've published an entry re my spending a Saturday in the Park, which is something I did yesterday.

I went to Central Park to see if turtles were coming out of hibernation on the third day after the official onset of spring in our hemisphere. There were only a couple of turtles swimming (such as the one seen in the image posted above) in Turtle Pond, which means many of them are still hibernating under the water; for usually that pond is oversubscribed with this type of creature.

Saw a Great Egret in Central Park Again! (Friday Follow-Up)

A few days ago, in the late evening of Wednesday, June 26, I took a walk to the landing alongside the Delacorte Theatre (in Central Park) with the hopes of observing tortoises in the Turtle Pond which the  landing overlooks. As usual there were numerous turtles swimming in the pond but there were a few teenaged boys standing near the railing so it was hard to get a close view of these reptiles.

The boys were there with fishing gear and speculating on the possibility of their being able to catch catfish.

In very close proximity to the landing a Great Egret was slowly making his/her away along one of the pond's edges. She/he can be seen doing this in the photographs atop this entry.

Park's Sprinklers Create a Painterly Effect (Monday's Musings)

It seems to me the sprinkler which was watering a grassy area in front of The Delacorte Theatre (in Central Park) created a painterly effect on the photograph featured atop this entry.

A CHARACTERISTIC OF CORMORANT'S WINGS Tuesday's Truths WK 147

CORMORANTS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

If I didn't know better, I might've thought the lone cormorant (seen in the photograph directly above) was providing some shade for a sunbathing turtle when they were both atop a large rock within Turtle Pond, near The Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.

Wednesday's Wisdom: Ask Robert DeCandido

Last evening while walking home through Central Park, I stopped by the deck near the Delacorte  Theatre in hopes of seeing a Great Egret whom I've noticed at this location often (which I've blogged about in prior entries) but he/she was not there.

However, thanks to the long lens of my camera, I was able to notice a male Red-Winged Blackbird alighting on the dense foliage (as evidenced in the photo atop this entry) so I decided to head in that direction to see if I could get a closer look at him.

By the time I got to where I had seen this creature, he was not there, but I did hear a bird singing within that dense foliage and was able to take pictures of the songster. My images can be seen directly below.

As I was heading down a path I noticed a man looking through binoculars and I assumed he was observing birds so I showed him the pictures I had just taken in hopes that he might help me ID the creature I'd just seen.

Snowy days. Starry nights. "And since we've no place to go, Let it go, Let it go, Let it go..." (A Case For Not Sending 'E' Cards)

Engaging conversations. Sipping Papillon Hermitage. Snacking on Prince De Clavrolle Cheese and a baguette from Tom Cat Bakery as we make up our own words to the "Let it snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow"  song and replace them with "Let it Go, Let it Go, Let it Go." 

We are snow-bound in my studio apartment and looking out onto my terrace garden celebrating my winter note-card collection and so this is my first 'in-between-Saturdays-post.' 

We are not 'E' card people, and while we are fairly proficient in using the computer, and are very much concerned about our environment (we don't "waste" paper), we like to keep in touch in a personal way which is often by mailing a card.