Dogwoods blooming in Western Penna.

Fort Tryon Park, yesterday afternoon.

Forsythia season at Fort Tryon Park is something I look forward to every year, and this year didn’t disappoint. We spend so much money in our country building highways, sports stadiums, and shopping malls instead of building gardens and parks and other public spaces where everyone is equal and you can get a sense of how fleeting and eternal life can seem at the same time.

Moss on rocks, Highbridge Park, just north of 155th Street.

Went to a fernery and realized it was my version of the afterlife.

Today, after seventeen (and one half) years, we said goodbye to Zephyr. It was a long time, but not long enough.

The Philadelphia Flower Show has been running since 1829 (!) and attracts 250,000 people (and not all of them older gay couples). It’s a good example of why instead of subsidizing corporate sporting events, cities should do more to promote basically anything but especially the horticultural arts and urban gardens/green spaces.

We went to Philadelphia to see some friends and spent yesterday afternoon walking around a botanical garden.

Getting ready for spring :)

Zephyr and Clio

Montour Trail, outside of Pittsburgh. Every city should have hundreds of miles of trails like this.

I went to Pittsburgh last week to visit my father, who has dementia. It’s getting worse, which means that every time he saw me, he was like ‘when did you get in? how long are you staying?’ Worse, the bad parts of his personality are becoming magnified, which means he’s often ranting about the people taking care of him or droning on about conspiracy theories. (I *do* blame Fox News for at least part of his condition.) In short, dementia is a terrible way to go, I wouldn’t recommend it. But it was nice to drive around Pittsburgh with my mother and older brother. The hills are beautiful; there’s always a sense of mystery when you’re twisting through them. There are stairs everywhere.

Manhattan skyline, January 17th, 2024. Like many New Yorkers I have many complaints about the city but sometimes it’s very beautiful.

If you ever go to Key West, the butterfly conservancy is seriously amazing. There are also lots of gays but that’s another post :)

There’s something very peaceful about sitting in the winter light, but I still have places to be.

— Clio

Fog on the Hudson is my favorite weather.

This year, I decided not to pick up any of the leaves that fell in the garden, so I just swept the path. I hope it’s good for plants: I’ve read articles saying you should and shouldn’t pick up leaves, but my gut tells me that ‘leaving’ them (sorry) is the right choice. In either case, it was a relief not to use the embarrassingly loud leaf blower and mulcher. The only tree left with leaves is the Japanese maple, which is like a child who won’t go to bed. (Or so I imagine.) I had forgotten how pretty it is.

Our climbing hydrangea is finally turning, which means I have some work to do to put the garden to bed.