The Park in Fall

As we walked around Central Park, I was looking for photographs of fall color on trees, seen against the background of the skyscrapers in Manhattan.  I liked this view, and then I had to stand there and wait until a person walked through the scene.  Without the person, there would be no sense of scale.  This woman seems so small compared to everything else in the scene.

The Protester on Fifth Avenue

Since this is Election day, I decided I would show this scene that we stumbled across as we were walking down Fifth Avenue last Friday.  As walked down the street, on the opposite side from Trump Tower, we saw this man with all his signs.  Turns out he is a long-time New Yorker, and he is not fond of Trump, can you tell?

Bethesda Fountain

This is Bethesda Fountain and the plaza in Central Park.  It is the "Angels of the Water Fountain."  It was made by Emma Stebbins, the first woman to do a public sculpture in New York City.  It was unveiled in 1873.  It is at the end of the mall and it has been said that "If you sit there long enough the entire city walks by."  Unfortunately the water has been turned off for winter.  

This is a closer version of the fountain.  I should have been even closer.  I give myself a "fail" for this.  I will have to go back in Spring and do a better job of showing the Angel in all her glory.  Please click on each of the images to see everything in greater detail.

Bethesda Terrace Sculpture

I am astounded at all that I discovered while touring Central Park.  At the end of the mall is Bethesda Terrace, overlooking the fountain.  More on the fountain later.  The terrace was designed by Albert Vaux, and he considered it the most important architectural achievement of his career.  There are two sculptural piers which represent the times of day: the Rooster of the Day on the east pier and the Owl and Bat of Night to the west. I was stunned by the detail of these carvings.  I think the owl is about 8 inches high, if I remember properly.

An Allee in Yellow

Once we got into Central Park I wanted to walk up to Bethesda Fountain.  That is about one quarter of the way into the park heading north from 59th street.  I was surprised how far the walk was to reach the fountain.  We walked along the mall which was beautiful and there were so many people enjoying the park and the fall colors.  This is just off the mall.  I was taken by the giant urn with flowers in it, seen against all the background trees.  At the last minute this woman came in on her bike and sat down, and there was my picture, because it had a person in it.

Maine Battleship Memorial

Lachlan and I went to New York City for the day.  It was his first visit to the city, and our object was to just walk around the streets and visit Central Park, for a start.  So we started with Central Park.  Just outside the Southwest corner, we found this monument.  This is a detail photograph, showing three statues.  The ignominy of this, if you are a statue, is having pigeons sitting on you all day!  These statues are part of an astounding memorial to the dead sailors of the USS Maine, which exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898. There were 355 sailors on board, and of these, there were 261 fatalities.

Lachlan is Here!

Lachlan is here! He has come all the way from Australia, thus the Australian flag is displayed on the porch again.  I do that for all visiting dignitaries from Australia!  I met Lachlan when he was a teenager when I visited Australia back in 1993, and we have corresponded since then, but this is the first time in 25 years that we have seen each other!  We have been talking non-stop all day, catching up, talking about telescope making and observing, and he has been asking when I am coming to Australia!