mthew
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Prince’s Bay
A journey into the eroding underbelly of Staten Island.These were a surprise. Peacocks, screaming their haunting woman-in-peril scream on the grounds of the Seguine Mansion. Flannery O’Connor, who lived on a farm with 40 peafowl, said about the carrying voices of these birds, “To the melancholy this sound is melancholy, and to the hysterical it…
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Hunkered Down
A Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), one of the three dozen or so species of birds that nest in Prospect Park. This one is hunkered down before the onslaught of the Googa Mooga bullshit that has taken over the heart of the park for a week and culminates in many full porta-potties this weekend. Farther away,…
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Blooms, Bugs, BBP
What might we discover on this Sunday’s New York City Wildflower Week walk in Brooklyn Bridge Park?You can register for this free walk via the link above.Blooms we have, insects are holding out for some warmer weather, so who knows what we will discover.OK, I cheated with this last image, because Watertower II, by Tom…
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Nethermead in Bondage
The lockdown of the Nethermead is almost complete.Curious, how gated communities, the security state, and private takings of the public sphere all begin to look alike.According to the Brooklyn Paper, the Prospect Alliance is expected to make “at least $75,000” from the Great Googa Mooga Shit Pile. Or put another way, something less than $3…
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Snake/Privatization
An albino version of the New York native Black Rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta) being held by one of Prospect Park’s “Pop-Up Audubon” staffers recently. This is the largest snake species in the state, reaching up to six feet in length. They get bigger in the South. Constrictors, Black Rat snakes squeeze their prey to death,…
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Wildflower Week
New York City Wildflower Week begins tomorrow. It’s a celebration of all things wildflower, and all things habitat, because you can not separate the two, and a reminder that the NYC region has already lost over 40% of its native flora. I will be leading two walks this year. Events are free. Pictured: In the…
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Barn Swallow Nest
Underneath a bridge in Prospect Park, little mud pellets mark the beginning of a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) nest. Interestingly, the swallows seem to be using an old Organpipe Mud Dauber wasp nest as a brace or support.Five days later, the cup-like nest is coming along. A few bits of twig or the like seem…
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Frog Weather
An enormous Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) in the Lullwater.Nonchalant as a dozen people file by five feet away.
Backyard and Beyond 