Dear Reader,
In my last column, I encouraged you to come out and smell the lindens. There's no need to make a special trip, though. There are linden trees all over the City, as they are one of the preferred street trees, and they are all in full bloom now.
I realize it's hard for New Yorkers to stop for a moment, but the phrase "stop and smell the roses" does not only mean the literal action of stopping to smell a flower (or in the current case, the flowers on a tree). It means pausing, if only for a moment, to notice what's going on around you. Not only the good, but the bad as well.
Notice that the West Side Market has reopened (yay!!!) with beautiful appointments and shelves full of gorgeously-presented food. Then, notice that there are still people going through the garbage for something to eat. See that there are beautiful babies who are out in the world for the first time, in their strollers that look like something from NASA, then notice the babies who cry, only to have their mothers yell at them to shut up. Pay attention to what the politicians are saying and doing, because it really does affect you and your surroundings. Yes, come out and smell the lindens, and keep in mind that those trees could be gone at a moments notice, if someone decided it was worth more money to pave them over, or build an office building on them.
There is a fantastic linden on 110th Street and Broadway, next to the Rite-Aid. That is, in fact, the first linden I ever smelled, and identified as such. It has been there for decades, well before I began working out in the Broadway Malls or the Park. But, that tree could go at any time, at the whim of the owners of the building next to it, or Rite-Aid, or who knows what. Trees, especially street trees, have a hard life in New York, which is why we should appreciate them all the more.
So, even in the hurry of running between appointments or meetings or sessions or classes or rehearsals, or whatever, take a moment to smell things and notice what's going on around you. We are part of the world, and it's good to notice that sometimes.
Sorry to be so preachy,
Catbird
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
So Much Work; So Little Time!
Dear Reader,
I reach a point every spring/summer when I feel simply overwhelmed at all I have to do out in the gardens. I reached that point yesterday, when I was out trying to finish up the "forsythia project," and the "wood chip mountain," and realized I still have three flats of vinca to plant (approximately 54 plants), the entire quince hedge to prune (nearly a block long), the 103rd quince group to prune, the other shrubs in that group to trim up, piles of woodchips to spread, the path to rake, the path along the drive to rake up and sow grass seed along, the pole pruning to be done (later on, in July or August), and general maintenance and cleaning. My work is cut out for me for the rest of the summer!
The upside is that I love the work, it gets me outside every weekend (weather permitting), I get to talk to my "park" friends and their dogs, and I get to see things like the bats flying around, or a pair of bumblebees mating (very still, and I kept my distance).
One of the great things about gardening for me is that with so many different things to be done, I can shift off from one task to the other, without really losing much headway. So, I can go in of an afternoon, pick up trash and sticks along the way, then switch off to weeding, and do some pruning in-between, then go to the big "single" project (in the case of the last few weeks, the forsythia renovation), and the other on-going project, the woodchips. The woodchips are done (until they drop off another load), the forsythia is almost done, so the next big thing is getting the vincas planted and the quinces pruned. And, as I get bored with those, I can switch off to raking or weeding, or pruning other things, until I decide to switch back to the previous task again. It's really great for short attention spans, or those of us who get easily distracted.
And I look forward to every minute of it, even as chiggers are getting on me, mosquitoes are biting me, I'm stepping in dog doo, getting stuck with thorns, having stuff fly into my eyes, whatever. It's all good!
It's hard work, and I get exhausted and hot and when I finish for the day, a lot of my body is in pain. It's not as "cardio" a workout as running or biking or tennis would be, but out of the physical activity, I have the satisfaction of seeing the results of my efforts. I refer to this as "enlightened self-interest." I garden for me; I am not serving the community or the neighborhood, or even the Park or its users. I am serving myself. I am doing something I love to do. As it happens, other people benefit from this. I see them all of the time, walking their dogs, picnicking, sitting in the sun, playing. But I am not out there for them; I'm out there for me. If I were doing the work because of a sense of duty to the Park users or the Park itself, I would burn out. I work out there for me and the garden; the garden needs me to keep it together, and the payback I get is great flowers and shrubs, healthy trees, a green lawn, bats and nesting birds. Oh, yeah, and bumblebees in flagrante delicto! Who'd have thought!
Come out and smell the lindens,
Catbird
I reach a point every spring/summer when I feel simply overwhelmed at all I have to do out in the gardens. I reached that point yesterday, when I was out trying to finish up the "forsythia project," and the "wood chip mountain," and realized I still have three flats of vinca to plant (approximately 54 plants), the entire quince hedge to prune (nearly a block long), the 103rd quince group to prune, the other shrubs in that group to trim up, piles of woodchips to spread, the path to rake, the path along the drive to rake up and sow grass seed along, the pole pruning to be done (later on, in July or August), and general maintenance and cleaning. My work is cut out for me for the rest of the summer!
The upside is that I love the work, it gets me outside every weekend (weather permitting), I get to talk to my "park" friends and their dogs, and I get to see things like the bats flying around, or a pair of bumblebees mating (very still, and I kept my distance).
One of the great things about gardening for me is that with so many different things to be done, I can shift off from one task to the other, without really losing much headway. So, I can go in of an afternoon, pick up trash and sticks along the way, then switch off to weeding, and do some pruning in-between, then go to the big "single" project (in the case of the last few weeks, the forsythia renovation), and the other on-going project, the woodchips. The woodchips are done (until they drop off another load), the forsythia is almost done, so the next big thing is getting the vincas planted and the quinces pruned. And, as I get bored with those, I can switch off to raking or weeding, or pruning other things, until I decide to switch back to the previous task again. It's really great for short attention spans, or those of us who get easily distracted.
And I look forward to every minute of it, even as chiggers are getting on me, mosquitoes are biting me, I'm stepping in dog doo, getting stuck with thorns, having stuff fly into my eyes, whatever. It's all good!
It's hard work, and I get exhausted and hot and when I finish for the day, a lot of my body is in pain. It's not as "cardio" a workout as running or biking or tennis would be, but out of the physical activity, I have the satisfaction of seeing the results of my efforts. I refer to this as "enlightened self-interest." I garden for me; I am not serving the community or the neighborhood, or even the Park or its users. I am serving myself. I am doing something I love to do. As it happens, other people benefit from this. I see them all of the time, walking their dogs, picnicking, sitting in the sun, playing. But I am not out there for them; I'm out there for me. If I were doing the work because of a sense of duty to the Park users or the Park itself, I would burn out. I work out there for me and the garden; the garden needs me to keep it together, and the payback I get is great flowers and shrubs, healthy trees, a green lawn, bats and nesting birds. Oh, yeah, and bumblebees in flagrante delicto! Who'd have thought!
Come out and smell the lindens,
Catbird
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Goin' Batty!
Dear Reader,
I realize, given the history in this column, today's title could mean anything. What it means for yesterday, June 2, is that the bat(s) have returned to my area of Riverside Park! They're a little late; last year they came back on Memorial Day. Maybe this year they had more packing to do; still, they are pretty much on schedule.
I was so pleased to see them last night as I was sitting on the bench, recovering from my work session for the afternoon. It was warm and humid, so everything I did was tiring; especially hauling loads of woodchips up through shrubs to get them where they needed to be. But seeing "Batty" again made it all worthwhile. I'm not sure if I saw one or two bats; I did not see them simultaneously, so I'll assume one for now. They have usually returned in multiples, however. Last year I saw three at once; I'm hoping for that again this year.
The return of these bats confirms for me the work I've been doing out in the Park. I've been trying to make it a welcoming place for people and animals. So far, both seem to be partaking. People come out and really enjoy the area; how green and clean it is; how lively it is. And some of that is because the animals seem to like it too; I've had a great number of birds this year, including robins, and the squirrels are abundant.
I saw a teenage robin yesterday. He had some of the red breast (obviously a young male), but he still had brown chick feathers in among the red. I had never seen that before; he may be part of a family group that will come back next year. It would be neat to band the youngsters, if possible, to see if they come back to the same nesting areas year after year. In any case, I am gratified that the animals seem to come back as the humans do. Maybe I'm doing something right!
I was thinking today what I would rather be doing than working out in the garden. Pruning, hauling stuff, digging, planting, raking, chatting with people and their dogs (or vice versa). The only thing I could think of that I might rather be doing is having sex. And that would of course depend upon whom I was having sex with. How sad is that? My work, my singing and the chorus weren't even there; gardening or sex. What does that say about me? Am I totally shallow or stupid? Or, do things that involve a lot of my time and energy really not matter to me? Have I directed my life in such a way that I'm totally involved in activities that bring me no pleasure or satisfaction, and the only way I can find pleasure or satisfaction in life is to make it up on the weekends? This is what most people do in the real world, so who am I to complain?
I guess I thought that at some point I might end up loving my work, and working in a field (literal or figurative) that I loved. I guess I'm still living in the old school. But what a bummer.
So, I'll find as much joy as I can in my bats returning for another year in the park, and hope that they and I continue to meet out there for many years to come. And, I'll deal with my work and the rest of my world as best I can, and hope I get enough happiness and positive energy from the gardens to make up for the rest of my life.
Living for the Weekend,
Catbird
I realize, given the history in this column, today's title could mean anything. What it means for yesterday, June 2, is that the bat(s) have returned to my area of Riverside Park! They're a little late; last year they came back on Memorial Day. Maybe this year they had more packing to do; still, they are pretty much on schedule.
I was so pleased to see them last night as I was sitting on the bench, recovering from my work session for the afternoon. It was warm and humid, so everything I did was tiring; especially hauling loads of woodchips up through shrubs to get them where they needed to be. But seeing "Batty" again made it all worthwhile. I'm not sure if I saw one or two bats; I did not see them simultaneously, so I'll assume one for now. They have usually returned in multiples, however. Last year I saw three at once; I'm hoping for that again this year.
The return of these bats confirms for me the work I've been doing out in the Park. I've been trying to make it a welcoming place for people and animals. So far, both seem to be partaking. People come out and really enjoy the area; how green and clean it is; how lively it is. And some of that is because the animals seem to like it too; I've had a great number of birds this year, including robins, and the squirrels are abundant.
I saw a teenage robin yesterday. He had some of the red breast (obviously a young male), but he still had brown chick feathers in among the red. I had never seen that before; he may be part of a family group that will come back next year. It would be neat to band the youngsters, if possible, to see if they come back to the same nesting areas year after year. In any case, I am gratified that the animals seem to come back as the humans do. Maybe I'm doing something right!
I was thinking today what I would rather be doing than working out in the garden. Pruning, hauling stuff, digging, planting, raking, chatting with people and their dogs (or vice versa). The only thing I could think of that I might rather be doing is having sex. And that would of course depend upon whom I was having sex with. How sad is that? My work, my singing and the chorus weren't even there; gardening or sex. What does that say about me? Am I totally shallow or stupid? Or, do things that involve a lot of my time and energy really not matter to me? Have I directed my life in such a way that I'm totally involved in activities that bring me no pleasure or satisfaction, and the only way I can find pleasure or satisfaction in life is to make it up on the weekends? This is what most people do in the real world, so who am I to complain?
I guess I thought that at some point I might end up loving my work, and working in a field (literal or figurative) that I loved. I guess I'm still living in the old school. But what a bummer.
So, I'll find as much joy as I can in my bats returning for another year in the park, and hope that they and I continue to meet out there for many years to come. And, I'll deal with my work and the rest of my world as best I can, and hope I get enough happiness and positive energy from the gardens to make up for the rest of my life.
Living for the Weekend,
Catbird
Friday, June 01, 2007
599 Days to Go!
Dear Reader,
In case you're keeping count, there are 599 days left in the current term of W. This is according to a calendar I got as a gift last Christmas, the "Out of Office Countdown" calendar. 599 days is 85.57 weeks; 1.65 years; still WAY too long!
Is it possible that our long national nightmare will finally be over, or will we have Fred Thompson as president? Will this country be that stupid?
I love politics,
Catbird
In case you're keeping count, there are 599 days left in the current term of W. This is according to a calendar I got as a gift last Christmas, the "Out of Office Countdown" calendar. 599 days is 85.57 weeks; 1.65 years; still WAY too long!
Is it possible that our long national nightmare will finally be over, or will we have Fred Thompson as president? Will this country be that stupid?
I love politics,
Catbird
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