Monday late afternoon, in my usual "shot out of a cannon" hustle to get to the subway and work, I was slowed in my tracks at first by a slushy, slippery and flooded street intersection. But then I voluntarily stopped for the absolutely stunning spectacle of snow-covered, neighborhood trees.
I just had to yank out my camera and click away.
I'd intended to stop at the corner grocery to pick up a few snacks for the work crew, but, mesmorized, I chose to use those few moments to feast alone on such an unexpectedly convenient and glorious offering of Nature.
Well, maybe not alone. Upon seeing me focusing the camera, a lovely young blonde woman on her challenged trudge up the snow-covered block stopped and cooed, "Oh, yes!" Nodding over to me, she pulled out her cell phone, aimed and began clicking way.
A second later we were joined by a man who had been heading north. I swear, it could have been Morgan Freeman! "Yes, indeed!" came his deep-throated endorsement. He lifted his cell phone toward the sky.
The three of us began our 360 degree rotations, savoring the majesty of each and every tree. There was even a slight, Charlie Brown-y one that looked absolutely fabulous dressed by the snow.
Assorted pedestrians came along, some annoyed at negotiating the slushy paths along with the nerve of us interfering with their journey, but others slowing, at first curious, then delighted as they, too, drank in the beauty of the trees.
It was one of those precious, short-lived but profound New York City moments of anonymous social bonding.
Lovely pictures. Nice to see it up your way. Actually miss the show...but I don't miss the no-go...Best of luck. More coming your way.
Wonderful images
We have scenes just like that and another snow storm on the way
~R~
We have scenes just like that and another snow storm on the way
~R~
Those are lovely photos of icy trees - sadly, that is the reason I'm sitting in SF airport, my flight to Philadelphia cancelled.
Wish me luck on getting there soon!
Wish me luck on getting there soon!
What a treat to find this beauty, I don't visit OS much anymore but it seems today was my lucky day! Hope you're staying warm and safe in the storms.
City's got a lot of trees and they look great in the snow
Hi LB
JT, wish you luck phlying to Philly
Hi LB
JT, wish you luck phlying to Philly
you wrote:"It was one of those precious, short-lived but profound New York City moments of anonymous social bonding. "
the perfect capper to accompany those pics!
R
the perfect capper to accompany those pics!
R
This is the only way I like snow - when it's on trees. They are glorious-looking.
A lot of beauty in those pics libby, and a charming recounting of the social bonding.
SNOW!!!!
.......and the snow fell like politicians lies, covering all in sight.
;-)
R
.
;-)
R
.
Really Good pictures.
Do you have there this much snow often?
Do you have there this much snow often?
Ande, so nice to see you. Thanks for stopping by. No go is right. We did get more snow last night and I can hear the cars struggling on the streets outside.
MCS, thanks! I know you appreciate trees as much as I do judging from your screen pic and poems!!! There is something special about this particular snowfall I'm thinking. Maybe the snow is so light but sticky and clumps a lot. I swear the trees were so pronounced after this snow on Monday morning. The third picture from the bottom above is hard to discern clearly because of the snow and framing but it is of a school yard and its basketball court at a lower level beyond the street sidewalk. The basketball net is filled up entirely with snow. It is just sitting there inside it. Maybe there was also less wind so the snow didn't drift, it just kept piling delicately and thickly on the branches and surfaces it landed upon. That is maybe why the trees were so very pronounced!
JT!!! How hard for you!! I was hearing about all the air cancellations. I hope there was a window for you to get to Philly before this recent last storm!
Bleue, how lovely to see you!!! I have been thinking about you and hoping life is going well with you. Honored you popped in to say hello on my blog! :-) hope you catch us up on some of your adventures, my friend!
kosh, thanks for stopping by! You know, most of the time we pedestrians scurry about and think all the trees are in Central Park. But it takes Xmas lights or a dramatic snowstorm to make us look up and appreciate their existence and how wonderfully their branches twist, etc. The little Charlie Brown tree, I rush by it all the time and have never even noticed it.
yes, PW!!! Great to see you. And thanks for appreciating that wonderful spontaneous dynamic. There was something sweet and civilized and wholesome with us New Yorkers then slowing down and smelling the proverbial roses together simultaneously. If only it happened more often, but when it does it gives one a great lift.
Margaret, great to see you. Something about the picturesque trees. Yes, slush is not easy on the feet nor ice for the balance. I had to wade through a veritable lake by the time I got to the actual subway first level at the bottom of the steep stairs. The drainage on street corners is also not good and the uneven street surfaces don't help matters. A new snow in New York makes the city lovely looking but soon enuf the snow gets dirtied and slushy. Then there is the danger of black ice, etc. Usually the snow doesn't hang on long nor do we get snow that often.
Abra, thanks for the validation once again. What blows me away is that these wonderful configuration of trees are in my neighborhood and so taken for granted by me. I can't wait to get over to Central Park this week if I can. Can't wait to see what happened there!!!
TINK!!! EXACTLY!!!! :-)
Sky, funny comparison. You know all eyes are on poor Mayor DiBlasio. Bloomberg got in big trouble for messing up a blizzard without enough plowing one year and ever since he has overcompensated. Seems like DiBlasio did the same thing underplowing. Then he dropped poor Staten Island Chuck groundhog twice on his head on Ground Hog Day (and Bill D. is very very tall so the poor critter had a long way to fall from) so Bill's gotta tighten up his act. Hah! I mean, first he was seen eating pizza with a knife and fork. Of course, compared to Chris Christie he is golden so far.
Hannu, hey there. snow is rare here. Usually we get rain when CT and MA, etc. get snow or we get a lot less snow. And when we do get it it usually disappears pretty fast. Maybe because we are near water in Manhattan? Warmer temps cuz of that?
I guess the time of day it falls impacts how much challenge it makes in transportation, etc. I'm lucky I can take two subways and end up beneath my work building and just take an escalator upstairs. Convenient. Especially on those very unusual stingingly cold and frigid days this winter. Hope we are through with them.
best, libby
MCS, thanks! I know you appreciate trees as much as I do judging from your screen pic and poems!!! There is something special about this particular snowfall I'm thinking. Maybe the snow is so light but sticky and clumps a lot. I swear the trees were so pronounced after this snow on Monday morning. The third picture from the bottom above is hard to discern clearly because of the snow and framing but it is of a school yard and its basketball court at a lower level beyond the street sidewalk. The basketball net is filled up entirely with snow. It is just sitting there inside it. Maybe there was also less wind so the snow didn't drift, it just kept piling delicately and thickly on the branches and surfaces it landed upon. That is maybe why the trees were so very pronounced!
JT!!! How hard for you!! I was hearing about all the air cancellations. I hope there was a window for you to get to Philly before this recent last storm!
Bleue, how lovely to see you!!! I have been thinking about you and hoping life is going well with you. Honored you popped in to say hello on my blog! :-) hope you catch us up on some of your adventures, my friend!
kosh, thanks for stopping by! You know, most of the time we pedestrians scurry about and think all the trees are in Central Park. But it takes Xmas lights or a dramatic snowstorm to make us look up and appreciate their existence and how wonderfully their branches twist, etc. The little Charlie Brown tree, I rush by it all the time and have never even noticed it.
yes, PW!!! Great to see you. And thanks for appreciating that wonderful spontaneous dynamic. There was something sweet and civilized and wholesome with us New Yorkers then slowing down and smelling the proverbial roses together simultaneously. If only it happened more often, but when it does it gives one a great lift.
Margaret, great to see you. Something about the picturesque trees. Yes, slush is not easy on the feet nor ice for the balance. I had to wade through a veritable lake by the time I got to the actual subway first level at the bottom of the steep stairs. The drainage on street corners is also not good and the uneven street surfaces don't help matters. A new snow in New York makes the city lovely looking but soon enuf the snow gets dirtied and slushy. Then there is the danger of black ice, etc. Usually the snow doesn't hang on long nor do we get snow that often.
Abra, thanks for the validation once again. What blows me away is that these wonderful configuration of trees are in my neighborhood and so taken for granted by me. I can't wait to get over to Central Park this week if I can. Can't wait to see what happened there!!!
TINK!!! EXACTLY!!!! :-)
Sky, funny comparison. You know all eyes are on poor Mayor DiBlasio. Bloomberg got in big trouble for messing up a blizzard without enough plowing one year and ever since he has overcompensated. Seems like DiBlasio did the same thing underplowing. Then he dropped poor Staten Island Chuck groundhog twice on his head on Ground Hog Day (and Bill D. is very very tall so the poor critter had a long way to fall from) so Bill's gotta tighten up his act. Hah! I mean, first he was seen eating pizza with a knife and fork. Of course, compared to Chris Christie he is golden so far.
Hannu, hey there. snow is rare here. Usually we get rain when CT and MA, etc. get snow or we get a lot less snow. And when we do get it it usually disappears pretty fast. Maybe because we are near water in Manhattan? Warmer temps cuz of that?
I guess the time of day it falls impacts how much challenge it makes in transportation, etc. I'm lucky I can take two subways and end up beneath my work building and just take an escalator upstairs. Convenient. Especially on those very unusual stingingly cold and frigid days this winter. Hope we are through with them.
best, libby
Hey Libby, Kosh, I made it!
My checked baggage was literally the only one that made it from the flight, too, a miracle!
- one bonus of sitting in an airport an extra 12 hours, the baggage finds its way to the right place : )
(Now hoping my brother can get through the ice down here to meet me.)
My checked baggage was literally the only one that made it from the flight, too, a miracle!
- one bonus of sitting in an airport an extra 12 hours, the baggage finds its way to the right place : )
(Now hoping my brother can get through the ice down here to meet me.)
One would have to be a pretty hardened person
wrapped up in his/her own head
not to stop and gawk at the loveliness you depicted.
wrapped up in his/her own head
not to stop and gawk at the loveliness you depicted.
you just wait...the Obama administration is going to come along and take all that lovely snow away, at taxpayer's expense of course...
Winston's Dream.
Beauty... R&R ;-D
Late for work, again? Great images. Some of the most spectacular photos I have ever seen are of bright sunlight on large trees covered with ice from a winter rain. Heavy ice can pull down power lines and trees - danger. R.
JT -- good for you and so glad you got the luggage, that would have been the proverbial insult to injury! 12 hours of waiting time in an airport!! Aggghhhhh. Been there, done that. Not easy as exhaustion and frustration wears one down.
Once I was traveling back to NYC from LA with my cat who I had given a kitty tranquilizer for the flight upon arriving at the LA airport. We got stuck in LV airport as a transferring stop for most of the rest of the night re inclement back east weather. By the time we got back on a plane for NY my cat had finally woken up. To my horror I had left the bottle of the rest of her little cat sleeping pills back on my parents' kitchen table in California.
It turns out all the passengers were so exhausted they konked out within seconds of piling into the plane, as did I soon enough, so one timidly yowling little cat under the seat went pretty much unheeded by all. It seemed the plane was generating its own extra loud background "white" noise which helped to drown out much of poor indignant kitty's noise. She konked out naturally herself soon enough as I quietly cooed her name and petted her slyly in her little sherpa bag. The taxing adventure had konked out all of us, human and animal!
How's the weather in Philly? All the slush of the second snow has frozen in NY. Cold out there and slippery. Another storm due on weekend.
James, well, we'll give the NYC pedestrians some tolerance since looking down at the slushy and slippery sidewalks and ridiculously flooded street corners explains a lot about why they were so distracted and missing those gorgeous tree tops above eye level! That stop was worth it to me. Gave me such a great lift. Most of the rush-hour I was traveling in Monday was made up of people coming home from work who weren't racing the clock as I was. I hope that meant more than less did stop and have that "whose woods these are I think I know" moment of appreciation of nature!!! :-)
Oh, Rob. Don't get me started. Couldn't let me have an Obama-less blog break? Well, we could talk here about CITY politics, and just how phenomenally much revenue is being generated by fining NYC building owners for not having their sidewalks effectively cleared off within the 4 hour window. I forget the total thus far this year but it is huge. As a pedestrian I appreciate the law, but I'm hearing some stress from the finees.
JH, cryptic Orwellianism?
jmac! :-) great to see you.
lyle! :-) Yes, trying to reduce the number of photo-finish arrivals at work but not always easy. Realistic margin time estimation and discipline in travel not my forte. Nature can be awesome and can be awe-full AND AWFUL at times for sure!!!
best, libby
Once I was traveling back to NYC from LA with my cat who I had given a kitty tranquilizer for the flight upon arriving at the LA airport. We got stuck in LV airport as a transferring stop for most of the rest of the night re inclement back east weather. By the time we got back on a plane for NY my cat had finally woken up. To my horror I had left the bottle of the rest of her little cat sleeping pills back on my parents' kitchen table in California.
It turns out all the passengers were so exhausted they konked out within seconds of piling into the plane, as did I soon enough, so one timidly yowling little cat under the seat went pretty much unheeded by all. It seemed the plane was generating its own extra loud background "white" noise which helped to drown out much of poor indignant kitty's noise. She konked out naturally herself soon enough as I quietly cooed her name and petted her slyly in her little sherpa bag. The taxing adventure had konked out all of us, human and animal!
How's the weather in Philly? All the slush of the second snow has frozen in NY. Cold out there and slippery. Another storm due on weekend.
James, well, we'll give the NYC pedestrians some tolerance since looking down at the slushy and slippery sidewalks and ridiculously flooded street corners explains a lot about why they were so distracted and missing those gorgeous tree tops above eye level! That stop was worth it to me. Gave me such a great lift. Most of the rush-hour I was traveling in Monday was made up of people coming home from work who weren't racing the clock as I was. I hope that meant more than less did stop and have that "whose woods these are I think I know" moment of appreciation of nature!!! :-)
Oh, Rob. Don't get me started. Couldn't let me have an Obama-less blog break? Well, we could talk here about CITY politics, and just how phenomenally much revenue is being generated by fining NYC building owners for not having their sidewalks effectively cleared off within the 4 hour window. I forget the total thus far this year but it is huge. As a pedestrian I appreciate the law, but I'm hearing some stress from the finees.
JH, cryptic Orwellianism?
jmac! :-) great to see you.
lyle! :-) Yes, trying to reduce the number of photo-finish arrivals at work but not always easy. Realistic margin time estimation and discipline in travel not my forte. Nature can be awesome and can be awe-full AND AWFUL at times for sure!!!
best, libby
Libby, I am happily ensconced at my brother's new home with a delightful view of snow-covered meadow and creek beyond, yet town is close by. The trees here are like your photos, encased in ice that glistens in the sun - so beautiful. The stone houses, the Pa. countryside...ahhh : ) A real treat for me to be back east, visiting my brother and family, especially here where I was born and first lived.
Having the power on definitely helps all of our contentment!
Great story about your kitty ~
Having the power on definitely helps all of our contentment!
Great story about your kitty ~
No comments:
Post a Comment