Whale Tales
We just can’t stay off the boat. Last Friday, a lovely summer day, we were back on board the American Princess anticipating fun and marine adventure.
Read MoreDuck Soup
To know me is to know I love nature, particularly birds, and especially ducks. Of all our dabblers and divers, my favorite remains the very common Mallard. Few things bring me as much joy and peace as watching the birds we grew up toddling after at a local duck pond. So you can imagine my bliss when we spotted 10 freshly-hatched ducklings at my wonderful workplace, Queens Botanical Garden.
Read MoreUnder the Bridge
We love acronyms to label neighborhoods. TriBeCa, NoLIta, SoHo, DuMBO. Let me add a new one for my recent hotspot: DUCBBBO or Down Under the Cross Bay Boulevard Bridge Overpass.
Read MoreHometown Pride or, Queens -- We've Got Good Stuff!
No secret here -- I can wax poetic about city life and I'm particularly eager to talk about nature in my fair city. Sure, those big national parks are great but where else can you see endangered bird species AND catch a Broadway play all in one day?
Read MoreThe Undiscovered Country
Like a planet in a faraway galaxy, my most local wildlife area was essentially light years away. I can see Willow Lake, part of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, from my apartment window.
Read MoreUp a Creek
River, lake, estuary, fjord – these conjure majestic, pristine waterways. But I have a particular affection for the lowly creek. Like the black sheep of the family, the creek is not savored or preserved. It’s usually the place to dump things, and the place you don’t want to live near.
Read MoreGarden Companions
I was being watched. Every move I made, he was there. But I wasn’t worried – my harmless voyeur was an American Robin.
Read MoreA Tale of Two Seals
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... No -- wrong story! This is A Tale of Two Seals, not Cities, which is only about the best of times!
Read MoreMy Own Walden
Thoreau's Walden passed by my eyes many years ago -- high school, perhaps? -- and while I might appreciate the concept behind the man's work, truth be told I found it a bit dull. Enjoying a recent walk through Queens Botanical Garden has made me reconsider his deep documentation of a single landscape.
Read MoreTerrapin Tales
What a relief that I actually like the smell of bug repellent! A few days ago, I was nearly bathing in it while enjoying an outback safari-like experience complete with incessant mosquitoes. As I now liberally apply no-itch sprays, I still wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world.
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