Central Park in Fall …

Anyway, it was October 16th (almost a month ago!) that I walked back through Central Park, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to where I was staying near Hell's Kitchen. I was on a hunt for autumn leaves ... and I found them!

Central Park

October 2013

 

Different kinds of music remind me, of different times of the year. Some are obvious, like the Beach Boys in the summer and Vivaldi's Primavera, in the spring. Some, are maybe not so obvious.

The soundtrack to When Harry Met Sally always reminds me of the fall. Maybe it's because I first saw the movie at the beginning of fall and continued to wear out the cassette tape (yes, that was a while ago) throughout the season. Or, maybe it's because of the scene where Harry and Sally walk through Central Park and the trees are a a spectacular mix of gold and orange. In any case, that's why this is the music I chose, for your stroll through Central Park!

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others

only a green thing that stands in the way.

Some see nature all ridicule and deformity…

and some scarce see nature at all.

But to the eyes of the man of imagination, 

nature is imagination itself.

~William Blake

Bethesda Fountain and Terrace
The fountain, created by Emma Stebbins, is the only piece of sculpture commissioned for the park, and was the first time a woman had received a public art commission in NYC. 

from the Central Park website:
Rising from Bethesda Terrace is Bethesda Fountain, with the famous Angel of the Waters statue atop. The statue references the Gospel of John, which describes an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda and giving it healing powers. The fountain commemorates the Croton water system, which first brought fresh water to New York City in 1842. The angel carries a lily in her left hand -- a symbol of the water's purity, very important to a city that had previously suffered from a devastating cholera epidemic before the system was established.

Trees are poems 
that the earth writes upon the sky.
~Kahlil Gibran 
from Sand and Foam

from the website:

When the Park was designed 150 years ago, the Mall was a place for park visitors to parade in their Sunday best. Today you might see visitors in jeans, jogging and exercise outfits, but it’s still the place to see and be seen. 

(When I was there it was filled with artists selling their work and all different types of musicians … a man playing the sax, a trio of young classical musicians, and a folk singer playing the guitar. There were also a lot of people, like me taking photographs or having their picture taken.)

The Mall is the only straight line in the Park and is Central Park’s most important horticultural feature.  The main attractions are the American elm trees. They form a cathedral-like canopy above the Park’s widest pedestrian pathway. These elms are one of the largest and last remaining stands in North America, and one of the Parks most photographed areas.

The Mall in Central Park

The southern end of the Mall is called the Literary Walk …

Robert Burns by Sir John Steell (1804-1891)

Somehow Columbus (below) snuck in with poets … (?!)

"Listen to the trees talking in their sleep,' 
she whispered, 
as he lifted her to the ground.
'What nice dreams they must have."
~L.M. Montgomery
from Anne of Green Gables

 

Out of the magical oasis and back into the vibrant energy of the city!

And for your viewing and listening pleasure, here is a very young Harry Connick Jr. video, that came out to promote the movie and the soundtrack. 

To check out the Central Park website and learn more about it, click here.

Next up … New England and some aMAZing foliage and natural beauty!

Hoping November is finding you in gratitude and vibrant health!
Blessings and light!