Bird Parents and Me

I know you are faking!

On Saturday evening my husband and I walked at Snyder's Flats where ponds and meadows as well as the river attract interesting birds and wildlife. On the way back to the vehicle a couple of noisy Kildeer did the broken wing performance as they attempted to divert our attention from something. I wasn't expecting them to have a nest so close to the roadway and really couldn't see much because of the bright setting sun. After we were in the truck, we noticed three birds together. There, "hidden" behind a clump of grass, was a juvenile Kildeer who was at least as big as its parents. It amused me to think that this large youngster was still so closely guarded by the adults who obviously still cared for it. I am sure it still has some life lessons to learn this season.

Juvenile Kildeer on the left

Our daughter is returning to Mexico today where she plans to continue to live and work. As her mother, I would love to do a broken wing routine and keep her close to home. Her father and sisters feel the same way and we are sad to see her six week visit come to an end. She left the nest a couple of years ago and has been under our surveillance from a distance, so to speak. But like this young Kildeer who has been exploring away from its birthplace, she must learn to defend and care for herself without her parents around.

Is that me in the foreground?

Isn't it funny how nature teaches us more about ourselves?

Wall Inscription in Central Park Zoo, New York

Cities and Thrones and Powers

Cities and Thrones and Powers,
Stand in Time's eye,
Almost as long as flowers,
Which daily die:
But, as new buds put forth
To glad new men,
Out of the spent and unconsidered Earth,
The Cities rise again.

This season's Daffodil,
She never hears,
What change, what chance, what chill,
Cut down last year's;
But with bold countenance,
And knowledge small,
Esteems her seven days' continuance,
To be perpetual.

So Time that is o'er -kind,
To all that be,
Ordains us e'en as blind,
As bold as she:
That in our very death,
And burial sure,
Shadow to shadow, well persuaded, saith,
"See how our works endure!"

Rudyard Kipling

I was intrigued by the poem of the Mexican poet-king, Nezahualcoyotl that was engraved on a wall in the rain forest area of the Central Park Zoo. In the nearby Metropolitan Museum of Art, many artifacts from past great cultures were on display;- China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome...

Rudyard Kipling's poem speaks of the rise and fall of empires and of the fleeting nature of our time. KGMom has been writing about her recent trip to Greece and has posted many interesting pictures of historical sites and ruins in that country. Film makers frequently release movies about the end of our civilization as we know it. I am Legend is a post-apocalyptic science fiction story based in Manhattan. I watched it recently and wrote it off as wildly improbable. But we know instinctively that as the world continues, civilizations rise and fall, world powers shift and our personal lifespan is very insignificant.

It is good to contemplate our mortality and the meaning of our lives.

As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalm 103:15-18

Friday Flowers: In Manhattan

Roses in Bryant Park, NYC
Reading Room in Bryant Park below

Our hotel was in easy walking distance of Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan. After pounding several blocks on concrete and surrounded by buildings, I looked forward to seeing the stands of mature sycamore trees, green lawns and many chairs in this urban park.

There has been a park here since 1847, but by the 1970s it had been nicknamed "Needle Park" due to the number of heroin dealers and users who frequented the area. A restoration of the park was started in 1988 and in 1992 it reopened to much acclaim and instant popularity with New Yorkers and visitors. It has been compared to Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris and has a French flair and atmosphere.

The main building of the New York Public library stands at one corner. There was an outdoor Reading Room where books can be borrowed for children or adults to read in the park. Roses were blooming along the walkways and annual flowers were in planters near the tables and chairs.

Peonies at the Rockefeller Center

Another area that boasted lovely flowers and fountains was the plaza at the Rockefeller Center. As we walked down towards the main fountain and bronze statue of Prometheus, fragrant peonies bloomed along the smaller fountains that led to the front of the building. This was another lovely spot to sit and watch people.


Of course, the most famous green space in Manhattan is Central Park. We walked through it from the south end, through the small zoo and up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After walking through the huge museum we were too tired to go up to the Harlem Meer. I wish I hadn't left this park until our last day! Some areas are landscaped and others are more natural. These wildflowers grew along bridle trail and track around the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir.


I would have loved to visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, especially with the roses at their peak. Admission was included with our NYC passes. Another time I would choose the gardens over the trip to the top of the Empire State building with all of its security lines. But there was just so much one could see in three full days...

...maybe next time.

Who is in the driver's seat?

I drove to Geneva NY on the first leg of our trip. That night I awoke with a start and realized I had left my Ontario driver's license on my dresser at home. I had taken it out of my bag when I added my passport and forgot to put it back in. I am sure the State troopers are very nice, but driving without a license is an offense. I lay awake wondering whether to keep this a secret or to give up control of my vehicle to my daughters.

My father likes to be in control, and I guess I am a little like that too! He is as tense as can be when I drive his car as I rediscovered when I shared the driving on a long road trip in Mexico a couple of years ago. In my job I see how hard it is for my patients to gradually give control of their lives to their children as their abilities decline. Could I trust my responsible daughters with my life?

Daughters #1 and #2 (twins) looked at me in shock the next morning at breakfast when I confessed my forgetfulness. And they took up the driving challenge with pleasure. I sat in the backseat and was NOT relaxed even though the driving was well done. My brother had loaned us his GPS unit and it was invaluable! (Thanks again Mark) With high gas prices and fast, new roads, it was well worth while. Driving the New Jersey Turnpike was frightening, but not nearly as bad as the Lincoln Tunnel. What a narrow, dark tunnel. I was cowering in the back praying that we would get out in one piece as large vehicles zoomed by in the opposite direction just inches from us. And we had to pay $8 for this short ride.

Daughter #2 took this short video as we exited the tunnel. I had to laugh when I saw it. On the way home we left via the George Washington Bridge which is toll free and so much airier. On the way home I SLEPT part of the way in the back seat.

Maybe I will be able to relinquish control of my life to my children if I need to...

What is the city but the people?

9/11 Firefighter memorial, doorman, dog walker, tour bus employee

Grandma always wanted to take her three granddaughters (two cousins and myself) to New York City but in the 1960s and 70s she felt it was an unsafe place to visit. She and Grandad travelled there from the Toronto area several times to celebrate their wedding anniversaries in the 1930s and 40s and she found the city fascinating. I was not really interested in going there when my daughter started planning the trip this year, but then decided to go for Grandma's sake. If she were alive, she would have insisted we travel there together.

I could post pictures of the famous landmarks we visited but that would not really define the character of the city. Shakespeare wrote in his tragedy Coriolanus, "What is a city but the people?" I would have been happy to sit on a bench anywhere in New York and watch the people. Desmond Morris wrote in his book, The Human Zoo, "...the city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo." Well, I would not be as harsh in my judgement of the people we saw last week but the analogy has some truth. We were there when two crazy people climbed the outside of the New York Times building to the top. (ref) My daughter took a video of the second climber! (see it here)

Ellis Island Museum

We took the ferry to Ellis Island and I found the history of this landing place of thousands of people who arrived by ship to America so interesting. The great piles of luggage spoke volumes as did the long lists of names of people engraved in stone around the outside the museum.

Buskers at Battery Park, Pier 17, Central Park
and a fruit vendor on W42nd Street

The streets were full of performers and vendors. In Times Square a family group, mom, dad and five young children sang acappella harmonies under the night sky. They were nearly drowned out by the noise of the crowds and traffic. Where ever there were lineups buskers were present with instruments or boom boxes. And busy corners were sure to have a fruit, bagel or hot dog vendor nearby.

When I was 14 years old, my parents drove us through New York City on the way home from Atlantic City NJ. I remember sticking my head out the car window and looking up at the sky scrapers, but we did not stop at all. The crime rate in much of the city has dropped significantly in the past ten to fifteen years. What has made the difference? We walked by Ground Zero on the way from Battery Park to the Brooklyn Bridge. You could sense that this was a giant cemetery and people stood around silently looking at the great hole that remains in the ground. Nearby a small fire hall had pictures of six of its firemen who had died on that day. The police and firefighters are respected here, a respect that was well earned. Did 9/11 make the people of NYC different than they were before?


The service industry is huge. People are hired to care for the rich, the poor, the elderly, the young, the animals, and the many tourists who visit. I saw very few panhandlers but the occasional disabled person sat quietly on the sidewalk willing to accept some cash. Every city has its unpleasant side including people we would rather avoid. But they are part of the fabric of society too.

School girls in Central Park

There were many groups of children, some visiting in school groups and others who live here and already are confident in their big city. Central Park was a child's paradise with many playgrounds, a zoo and plenty of room to run and play.

The people were the city for me. I did not need to go to Broadway to experience New York. This show is free and plays day and night all year long.

The Journey

Seneca Lake NY

New York City is about a 10 hour drive from our home without any stops or border delays. We initially planned to do the trip in one day, starting very early in the morning. In the end we decided to break it up in two easy days with a stop in the Finger Lakes region of upper New York state. The trip should be as enjoyable as the destination and this proved to be true as we travelled through New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I never knew there were so many Bald Eagles along the Delaware River in the Poconos Mountains.

Greater Scaup

We spent a night each way at Geneva NY on the shores of Seneca Lake. There is an extensive park and walkway along the lake and I walked three miles or so on the pathways.

Horned Grebe

I was surprised at the waterbirds that were feeding in the shallow waters near the docks. Our Mergansers, Scaups and Grebes left southern Ontario in March for the north, yet these birds were here on Seneca Lake in June.

Purple Martins

I was pleased to find a Martin house that was occupied by many noisy Purple Martins. These swallows are present in our area, but I have never found them yet. There were plenty of Bank and Barn Swallows at the lake too. Great Blue Herons and the usual summer ducks and geese were also found.

Some of our friends thought we were crazy to drive to NYC and wondered why we didn't fly instead. But trips, like life are a journey, not just a destination. And aren't memories of road trips the most interesting in our repertoire?!

“When you set out on your

journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,

full of adventure,
full of knowledge.”

Constantine Peter Cavafy

New York City: Initial Impressions

We are home again after an interesting week in New York City. Our eldest daughter had her heart set on this trip and planned it herself. She did most of the driving including all of the driving in the city itself...with no nicks or bangs or losses! We used taxis, subways and our feet to get around once we were in Manhattan.

NYC Subway...lots of stairs required to access the trains!

This city is well designed for walking, and that seemed to be the preferred way to get around for the many pedestrians. We pounded many, many miles of pavement in a short period of time.

Fortunately the weather was cool and it was overcast most of the time. KGMom commented that NYC is one of the greenest cities in America and she was surprised that we felt it was smoggy. I agree that the environment is taken very seriously in this urban centre.

FedEx Convoy

The streets were clean, public transit was readily available and the citizens appeared healthy and fit on the whole. But with such a high population density, smog is inevitable, especially on days when there is little wind and considerable humidity. The air quality was listed as unhealthy for sensitive groups when we were there according to the AIRNow web site. But compared to other giant cities of the world, the air pollution was negligible. Mexico City is one city that I have visited where the smog and dirt is likely beyond measure.

Bus Convoy at Central Park

In Central Park, the air quality is noticeably better and the breezes on Liberty and Ellis Islands were refreshing compared to the vehicle exhaust in the urban canyons of Manhattan Island.

Police Convoy near Times Square

My initial impressions of the city were that...

...it was surprisingly clean
...the people were friendly and helpful
...I felt safe day and night in the areas we visited
...taxis and public transit were reasonably priced
...hotels and food were expensive
...it is a city of great diversity

Taxi Convoy at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

My friend, Dr. Jim compared New York City to Rome. It is a cross-cultural meeting place and an important hub of our society, politically, financially and socially. Toronto, Ontario is a smaller metropolitan area but shares the diverse ethnic neighbourhoods, cultural and business centres, extensive parks and an interesting historical waterfront like New York City.

In our first day, I was impressed by the long lines of people, taxis, buses, and service vehicles. The police cars travelled in long lines together with sirens and lights flashing. People and vehicles merged and flowed in controlled chaos. We purchased NYC passes which provided admission to many attractions for one price of $106.00 for three days. We made good use of them, but I doubt many people would get their money's worth out of them unless they had the tolerance to be on their feet sightseeing for 9-12 hours a day.

Worthwhile trip? Yes!
Glad to be home? Yes!

Wordless Wednesday: Where am I?