Sunset Park
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Peregrine Top
My friend Marion has had fun with the #ViewFromTheMoraine. That’s Mike’s Spike there, a notorious Peregrine perch this past winter. I’ve seen less activity there this spring, which could be accounted for by the fact that up to half of all peregrines at any given time now are currently sitting on eggs or feeding their…
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Sunset Park Elm: Backdrop
For a student film. But I would argue that this is not the tree’s best side.
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And another leaf…
…is unfurled.Meanwhile, a crab apple (Malus) begins to bloom.Less delicately, the thumb-sized bud of a Horse-chestut (Aesculus hippocastanum) still contains its upright chandelier of flowers and leaves.A young seed-ball of the London Plain (Platanus × acerifolia) blown off in Sunday’s high wind and mushed up on contact with the sidewalk. This was a little under…
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Sunset Park Elm
The chartreuse edition.And on the micro level, a single seed from the rich crop the tree is now laden with. Remember, elms are wind-pollinated, so the early flowering resulting in early fruiting. On average, it takes 70,900 of these little winged seeds to make up a pound, according to this USFS site. But wait, a…
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Thickening
If you’re new to the neighborhood, I’ve been photographing this fine old American Elm with the swooping branches in Sunset Park since November. It is in flower now: the wind-pollinated flowers have no need to be attractive to pollinators. Happy spring!
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That’s Rough: The Stinkbug is a BMSB
Wednesday’s spike in temperature began the process of bringing the invertebrates back into action. Earlier in the day, I spotted my first butterfly. Later, back in the home office, I noticed this little armored critter on an inside window. I thought at first it was one of the rough stink bugs of the genus Brochymena.…
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Sunset Park Elm ~ Breaking
A reddish tinge about the great tree means that the buds have started to break.Just barely anyway. For a fine old specimen, it’s low swooping arm — how has it survived generations of hangers-on? — means you can get unusually close.These photos were taken yesterday on my lunch break. It was in the high 50s.I’ve…
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One Tough Naturehood
At 4th Avenue and 38th Street, where the D train curves towards Coney and emerges down below for two-cars length of light, this enormous sign has lately appeared. Subway cut-friendly Ailanthus, Paulownia, and Norway Maple: my neighborhood has trees, but let’s be real, some trees do not a forest make. It’s definitely got “naturehood,” though…
Backyard and Beyond 