Shadows

It's probably because I'm back to living in darkness. Dark when I get up. Dark when I get home. That's probably why I've been enjoying watching the shadows, sitting in the sun, feeling the warmth on my face. 

Goodness knows that I avoid being in the sun most of the time. I'm one of those fair skin, burns easily types. So when I'm put gardening or walking our pup, I'm usually covered from head to toe. 

But these past few days when I feel the light slipping away and the shadows and darkness start growing stronger - I just want to grab on and make it last as long as possible. 

Never gonna happen. But you can't blame a girl for trying!

Dreary

9 times out of 10 I can find the "good" out of my day. From a latte to our pup, there's always something that makes that silver lining.

Today was the 10th day. I was reminded today of everything that is horrible and awful about living in the city, the worst of commuting and the abject evil that is within some people.

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring. But hopefully since I've spent today living "the 10th day", tomorrow will be one of the nine!

Texture

When I look at things in the city it can be overwhelmingly homogenous. Everything blends together. It's almost too much to take it all in at once.

But each little piece of it is done with artisanship and care. Someone took the time to design it, to build it, to make it last for years with heavy wear and tear.

When I look at the small pieces it really has a beauty to it that for the most part seems to go unnoticed.

Waiting

Even with so much going on in my life these days, I still find the time to wait. Wait for the train, the bus, the bathroom sink. There seems to be an abundance of time built into every day just for waiting.

I suppose that someone somewhere has figured out how to use all of these little minutes effectively. Adding them up until they amount to something worthwhile.

Me, I'm enjoying the waiting for now. It's my peaceful moment stolen from the rest of a busy day. A chance just to notice something not on the schedule.

Right now I can use a little waiting.

Light & Shadow

Sometimes my day is all about contrast. The obvious one is country vs city. Flowers you can pick vs flowers you can't. Grass you can walk on vs grass you can't touch. People who drink from coffee cups vs those who use them for a wallet.

Sometimes I spend a lot of time thinking about these differences and the depth of each situation. Who decided that those flowers needed a fence around them? Why would you let someone walk on your lawn especially in spring when you could really do some damage? What is so different between the man drinking from the coffee cup and the man holding it out?

Sometimes it's not so clear. I look at one thing and see another. Like this fire escape. I could have sworn it had a little angled side. I had to look again before I realized it was just a matter of light & shadow.

Go figure.

Monday's View

I realized this morning that I have been terribly negligent in posting in a timely manner. Also that if I keep being so neglectful, the whole year could slip by without notice - as if I did nothing even though my days have been chock full of 101 things to do and see and go.

So even though its just a Monday bus ride, I thought I'd start the week off with a little post!

Here's to a good week filled with paperwork and taxes. Yay!

Snow signals

One of the best things about spring time snow is that there is usually enough light outside for you to be able to see it snow.

The second best thing about spring time snow is that if you get to see it in the morning there is usually a lovely pink sunrise peeping through it which turns the whole sky into a painting.

The third best thing about spring time snow - and maybe I should have put this first - is that by tomorrow or the next day at the latest it will all have melted. No shoveling required.

Reflections

Something about a new year makes me think back over not just the past year but my entire remembered life as well. So much introspection can be - well - boring.

Maybe it's the way the sun is still out when I leave the city and head home. Perhaps it's the sight of chionodoxa leaves peeking out from beneath the last of the winter mulch.

Whatever it is, it seems to be screaming DO SOMETHING NEW!!!

Fortunately I have just the thing. New yarn.

Okay, still boring, but I'm well past my purple hair phase and.not quite up for my skydiving phase yet. So yarn will just have to do.

Pink and blue

The bridge was washed in pink tonight even though the sky was blue. It's that time of year when the sun sets at just the right time to make everything pink.

I think it has something to do with Valentine's Day.

So do you think that if Valentine's Day was in the fall, the official colors would be yellow, red and gold?

Hey, it could happen.

One At a Time

First there were two...

And then...

There was one.

Magic, right!?

Okay - I'm just so bored waiting for the train that I couldn't help myself.

Quiet Time

I'm not sure why there weren't a lot of people heading home from the city today.  Just one person on the  Hudson tracks.  Just me on the Harlem tracks.

Maybe I left work too early or too late and didn't notice it?

Maybe it's Saturday?

Naw - it can't be Saturday because there aren't any sheep around.  Saturday is Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival day.  Yup.  Only 31 hours from now I'll be on my way.   And this year I won't lose my camera.

Anyway.  Quiet commute tonight.  Very refreshing.

Martha Martha Martha!

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  I celeb spotted Martha Stewart during her book signing at Grand Central Station.

Of course I had to join in with the other folks taking pictures (there were about 25 of them), or my sister would just not believe me.  So I brazenly walked in front of them and took out my little smartphone and snapped a shot.

Naturally someone else brazenly stepped in front of me to take a shot as well.  I had to laugh - Martha paparazzi!

My DH wanted to know why I didn't go up and meet her.  The reason is simple.  It was not in my budget!  It was, after all, a book signing and I would have had to buy her book.  Actually I'm not even sure which one it was - baking, cooking, crafting, sewing - but someone mentioned it was over $60.  Too much for my pocketbook especially when you consider that my mother taught me to bake, cook, craft and sew.

Maybe I'll get it one day if I see it at one of the street vendor's book tables.

At any rate, I actually felt a bit sorry for this multi-millionaire.  She looked perfectly fit, tanned, and made-up, but not very happy about having to sit at a tiny little table in the corner of Grand Central Station.  And she has to do it for 2 days - during rush hour.  It didn't seem to be an ideal location.

Of course, to make the most of it, she was filming the signing for something or another - the little disclaimer posters were posted here and there.  So she'll get the $ from her signing, the publicity for doing it at Grand Central Station and the film clips to be used in more programs and promotional spots.

All in all, not a bad days work, I guess.

Me?  Well, no one wanted an autograph for "Haiku Seasons", so I just went to catch my train.  Maybe next time.

Walking the Dog

I get how people who don't have time to walk their dogs in the middle of the day, or who aren't physically capable of walking their dogs, or for some other legitimate reason just can't walk their dogs.

But.

Every time I see a dog walker in the city, I just want to rush home and take my pup for a really long walk and then play her favorite games with her for a really long time.

She deserves quality time with me - or is it that I deserve quality time with her?

Either way - I love my pup!

Stop

Of course since I was in a hurry tonight the train was"indefinitely" delayed.  That means over an hour in Metro North speak.

So, of course when I went to leave the parking lot to go home, the gates came down and I had to wait for the train that was behind my train to pull into the station, let all of the people off, let the conductors walk through the train to make sure all of the people got off and then slowly pull out of the station and into the yard before the signal gates went up again.

Of course.

Naturally, I utilized this time to make best use of it.  I took several photos of the gates - only 1 of which came out even half decent.  I cleaned out my purse.  Made a few phone calls.  And finally just sat and stared at the train.

Yup.  Good use of time...

I blame myself, of course.  If I hadn't been in a hurry to get home, none of this would have happened.  Trains can sense when you need to be on time.

City Waterfront, Country Waterfront

I was down at the waterfront in midtown yesterday.  The amount of equipment they have right on the waterfront never ceases to surprise me.  Aside from the boats and docks and all, they have the cranes there for moving freight and then there are the dredgers.  The Hudson has a lot of silt that builds up pretty quickly - at least I think it does considering that they always seem to be dredging.  Quite the busy little waterfront.

Today I was down at the waterfront up by our bucolic manor.  It was busy in its' own way.  You know, what with the water flowing down the river - and then more water - and then some more water.   Bust little waterfront.  Yup.

City vs country...which to choose?

Canyons

Stuck on a crosstown bus in the middle of an intersection can be frustrating - stressful - and worrisome. Especially when I'm trying to catch the evening train.

Then the bus driver announced we would be sitting there for about a 1/2 hour and we shouldn't bother asking to get off, because there was no way he was going to open the doors in the middle of the intersection.

What to do?

Stare at the passers by and the people stuck in taxis heading downtown.  Call my DH and let him know I missed the train.  Watch the raindrops make their way down the window.

At least I'm not getting charged by the minute for the privilege of being late.

Next time I'll get wet and walk.

Fair Warning

Fair warning - if you walk in this area you will be photographed and your image will be used by XYZ corporation in their upcoming project.  Well, that didn't seem too fair to me.  After all, you had to be *in* the area before you could read the sign's disclaimer.  I had to take his picture.

This was the pilot show that they were filming.  A woman sitting by a lamppost outside of Bryant Park.   I hope it has a good script.

How weird that I was down by Bryant Park 2 days in a row!

But I'm off to Grand Central to wait for the train.  And apparently they're having a fashion shoot.

And of course the tourists passing through are taking pictures of the zodiac paintings on the ceiling.

Seems like everyone had their cameras out today.  Naturally I followed suit.  I wouldn't want to be an exception!

Sheep in the City

Today I played hooky from work this morning and headed down to midtown.  To see some sheep.

Normally there aren't any sheep in midtown, but the Campaign for Wool was having an event, so they shipped in some sheep from way upstate, along with some yarn art, displays about wool and how using wool is a much better environmental choice than say - plastic.

The entrances were flanked by these cute sculptures of sheep in dyed fleeces.  And since the whole thing was started by Prince Charles, they had some mannikins dressed up in English military outfits.  Made from wool, of course.

This little sheep was all about promoting the English roots of the wool event.  He even brought along his umbrella.  I had to laugh!

No wool event these days is complete without a "yarn bombing".  That's where they take an object and coat it in yarn.  They took it one step further in the fountain, though.  They made water out of yarn.

Well, actually it was roving - unspun fibers.  But I think it really gave the artist the ability to show a lot of movement in the wooly water.

I just loved the colors though.  I could definitely make a nice pair of mittens out of that mossy green, or a sweater out of the grey...  But I'm here to see the sheep!

They had 2 types of sheep - the Katahdins still have their fleece on.

They were all about eating the hay that the farmer put out for them.  Well, eating the hay and staying away from all of the people that were right up against the glass fencing.

I was sitting back, enjoying my coffee and knitting, of course.

This must have come from that guy over on the right.  The color sort of matches, don't you think?

The sheep came from a farm pretty close to where our bucolic manor is.  Just down the road aways.  I was happy that they didn't have to take the train down to the city.  That would have made for one smelly ride.  Bryant Park had their own guy acting as the shepherd - he was shepherding the people from leaning on the fence.  The sheep totally behaved themselves, though.

That is, until Dog-Z came by.  Dog-Z is a chow that lives in the area.  His owner had no idea that there were sheep in Bryant Park - until Dog-Z pulled him at a full run right up to the fence.  At that point, the owner lost the leash and Dog-Z was on his own.  Fortunately for the sheep, Dog-Z really had no idea what to make of them.  They stared at each other through the plexiglas - sizing each other up.  And then I noticed...

Look closely - that Katahdin is sticking it's tongue out at the chow!  That's one tough talking country sheep.

The 2nd type of sheep were the Southdowns.  Unfortunately for them, they had recently been sheared.  Alone, bald and ostracized by the Katahdins, they hung out around the outside of the pen.  The joke is on the Katahdins.  They're bred for meat - the Southdowns are bred for wool.

Overall it was a wonderful way to spend the morning.  I felt as if my two lives were colliding!  Sheep in Bryant Park, right!?

But all good things must come to and end - so off to the subway and back to the office.  I'll see the sheep again when I get home tonight.

End of Summer Mystery

The end of summer brought not only a traffic jam, but also ... a mystery!  Who were these men with their cameras and sound equipment filming at the intersection of the train station?

I was curious.  Curious enough to go back down to the street and take a closer look.

It was a small camera group.  One guy was operating the camera.  Another one the sound boom - which he kept sticking up in the tree.  (Maybe he was listening to see if it needed water?)  One guy pointing at various things.  One guy carrying whatever the pointing guy said to carry.  And one woman on a cellphone nodding and waving disinterestedly.

So maybe they were just getting stock footage for filler in some production of whatever?  Then I ask you, why were there also cameras on every corner?  And not professional crews, but people with DSLR cameras - not smartphones.  That's 7 other people taking pictures of the same space today.

That's just plain strange.  Which makes it a mystery.  Which is a perfect thing to end the summer with, because in my opinion, it just isn't summer unless you get to read a good mystery (preferably on the beach while soaking in the sun).

I'll bet the butler did it.

Storm's a Comin'

There are a lot of old country sayings that tell you what to look for when a storm is coming.  Red sky in morning, sailors take warning...Cows facing west, rain coming fast...Sheep crowd together, here comes the bad weather.  Old sayings.

But what about if you're in the city?  So I took a look around to try to find a definitive way to tell that rain was coming.

Crane folded down...ummm...rain coming anon?  Nah.

Flag standing straight...ummm...weather not so great?  I don't think so.

Pigeons on the ground, rain coming down.  That's it!  The city version of how to tell if it is actually going to rain.  Pigeons.