Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.
As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”
The monument to the great geographer Alexander von Humboldt was clumped in yesterday’s wet snow at Explorer’s Gate, Central Park West and 77th Street.
And in my own neighborhood:
The snow seems to outline the bones of the trees.
With today’s temperatures forecast for the 50s, this should all be but a soggy memory by the time you read this.
I’ve always known that entrance as Naturalists Gate, and it’s listed that way on most maps. But I see that on the Parks website Humboldt is said to be outside the Explorers Gate.
Is it both?
This is actually pretty interesting. On the Barnes & Noble map, it’s listed as Explorers Gate. But, there is a plaque embedded in the wall there that says it is Naturalists Gate, meant to honor those who come to study nature in the park under the sponsorship of the American Museum of Natural History (located across the street).
So which is it? Fascinating.
Wondering about that myself now.
The Encyclopedia of NYC and Central Park Entire both concur on Explorers Gate. But there is that Naturalists Gate plaque, http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/centralpark/monuments/1086, as well, so it seems as if there was a re-naming at some point. Note that the metal plaque is different from the carved in stone names at other gates.
Backyard and Beyond 
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