Thursday, September 18, 2008

A walk in the garden






By popular demand, a peek at some of the better local trees. These were not, in fact, taken at the park, as requested, but rather at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is delightfully walking distance from my home, and to which my mom bought me a membership for my birthday. Wonderful!

This is just a taste of the arboreal splendor to come (ie: I'll be out there again at some point with my camera and more time). By the way, can I just mention that I'm so excited that autumn is upon us! it's just the most perfect time of year for trees.

Oh, and if you simply MUST see a shot or two of trees in The Park, you'll have to make due with this poor quality photo (taken on my phone) of a glorious late afternoon moment:


Cheers!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

like a whisper







Ack! It is high time for some tree art.
These are some fine-art photos that I stumbled upon. They are so quiet. So spacious. This is the work of Lou Raizin, an "emerging artist" according to VERVE Gallery and I don't know much else about Lou.

Enjoy!

Monday, September 1, 2008

my new home, and the new neighborhood trees





I live in Brooklyn now. The trees aren't so plentiful as before, but they are still just as interesting and varied. There so many wonderful places to explore and I've just begun to get to know the city trees around me. The trees pictured above are my new local friends. I don't live in one of those charming brownstones, but all I need to do is walk out the door and turn a corner, and the side streets are filled with these charming views. Walking these new streets fills me with amazement. This is where I live now. Mostly, it's impossible not to notice each tree's surroundings here. You don't see any lonely trees or forests. But the trees have wonderful backdrops of ornate churches or interesting buildings. Some are oddly placed so that they poke through the sidewalks along a busy street of shops and cafes.

My impression is that most of the trees around here are just a little confused. They don't seem terribly unhappy...this isn't, after all, the most enticing place for a tree to live...but they just seem a little unsure of how they're supposed to be living here in this big city with very little grass and too many people. Some of them seem particularly awkward...but most are just trying to be graceful the best they can, living between a pile of garbage bags and a fire hydrant...growing out of their little open square in the sidewalk.

The more I think about it, the sadder it seems. But really, like I said...maybe they aren't all that unhappy. Like a baby animal born in a zoo. They don't know life any differently. It's sad and it's not. And the joy they bring others!

So. I still like them, and I'm sure glad they live here in the city with me.