Posts Tagged New York
December 30, 2019 at 1:42 pm · Filed under Wildflower Related, Wildflowers: Green ·Tagged Edgar Allan Poe, Holidays, Lichen, Manhattan, Moss, New York, New York City, New York City Trees, New York City Wildflowers, The Raven, Upper West Side, West Village, Wildflowers
Ever Greens . . .
Xmas Moss
(NYC 12 2019)
Brown, white, and gray dominate an outdoor day explored after Solstice past. A setting reminiscent of Poe’s bleak December can get cultivated along the Hudson when the cold rain falls heavy and straight on a still, chilled day. The poet did know the local atmosphere; he wrote the poem here on the west side of Manhattan, after all.
The living color contrast to be found like an ornament nestled deep within the tree are the ever greens, the lichen and the moss. Both plants savor the cold damp days of December and decorate the more sober wood and stone. Their colors are barometric, the verdant reflects well on the health and vigor of the local air and water.
Welcome news, for those who reside here, or visit often to soak up the season’s songs and lights.
Yule Lichen
(NYC 12 2019)
Season’s Greetings . . .
— rPs 12 30 2019
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November 30, 2019 at 10:58 pm · Filed under Wild Non-Flowering Plants, Wildflowers: Green ·Tagged Autumn, Mushrooms, New York, New York City Wildflowers, Onion Grass, Upper West Side, West Village, Wildflowers
Bed Time . . .
Underfoot: colors as savory as those on a Thanksgiving table.
(NYC 11 2019)
The still damp days of October are long gone, as are the bright autumn leaves illuminating the trees. The deep freeze and stiff winds of November have brought down the golden crowns and where rake or leaf blower hasn’t reached there lies a bed of brown oak and others where a few hardy perennial remnants remain nestled in bloom.
One is the bright green of onion grass:
Genus Allium
(11 29 2019)
Another is the rich brown of the boletus mushroom:
Genus Boletus
(11 29 2019)
The overall palette resembles the colors on a Thanksgiving table. Savory to contemplate before the sun makes an early exit.
Up Above: the brown, white, and blue season has returned.
(11 29 2019)
— rPs 11 30 2019
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May 1, 2019 at 12:28 pm · Filed under Wildflower Illustrations, Wildflower Related, Wildflowers: Yellow ·Tagged Dandelion, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Manhattan, May Day, New York, New York City, New York City Wildflowers, Spring, West Village, Wildflowers
May Day 2019 . . .
Lush Lawn Still Life: Taraxicum officinale
(NYC 05 2019)
Today, the first day of the fifth month, a century to the day after the Cleveland socialist riots, the set date of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s epic novella May Day.
“May Day!” — def: distress signal
Here. Now. Happiness. Everything green seems to be in bloom in the West Village along the verdant basalt bluffs of the Hudson River.
Winged Liberty “Mercury” dime minted in 1919.
Once in the pocket of F. Scott Fitzgerald?
(NYC 05 2019)
— rPs 05 01 2019
Postscript: Link to an online copy of “May Day” by F. Scott Fitzgerald:
https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/May_Day_(Fitzgerald)/Chapter_I?fbclid=IwAR35fVS-XMY_htrkXtSPFV7YkhvRi5zvnkVG6_2NhO8uOyHRK-8Ezu5X8nw
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January 31, 2019 at 9:19 pm · Filed under Wildflowers: Green ·Tagged Moss, New York, New York City, New York City Wildflowers, Upper West Side, West Village, Wildflowers
There’s Moss . . .
Moss Blooms Green
(NYC 2019)
January can be a month of peaks and valleys in terms of temperature. 2019 has been no exception. One day was damp and in the 50s, a few days later, there was gusting wind and single digits.
The green lining to the warmer days is a brief flowering of the moss, the bright green being the first kind of blooming to be seen in the West Village this new year.
Where There’s Moisture, There’s Moss
(NYC 01 2019)
— rPs 01 31 2019
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October 31, 2018 at 10:46 am · Filed under Wildflower Related, Wildflowers: Yellow ·Tagged New York, New York City, New York City Wildflowers, Wildflowers
Halloween Color . . .
Halloween Foliage: Somewhere in New York
(10 30 2018)
Perhaps the most iconic Halloween image is the bright orange pumpkin. Leaves of the sugar maple have a similar shade, and the wildflowers of the late autumn, if not ghost white, are a shade of yellow, gold, or Halloween orange.
Northern Bush-honeysuckle:
Diervilla lonicera
(NY 10 30 2018)
— rps 10 31 2018
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June 16, 2018 at 8:08 pm · Filed under Wildflower Related, Wildflowers: White ·Tagged Bloomsday, James Joyce, New York, New York City, New York City Wildflowers, Upper West Side, West Village, Wildflowers
Bloomsday 2018
Clover . . . Bloom.
(NYC 06 2018)
Today is June 16, the date immortalized in James Joyce’s novel, Ulysses, the day now come to be called . . .
Bloomsday.
– rPs 06 16 2018
Postscript: Read the full Bloomsday story from the WWV archives here: https://wildflowersofthewestvillage.com/2010/06/16/bloomsday/
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March 22, 2018 at 11:10 am · Filed under Wildflower Related, Wildflowers: White ·Tagged Manhattan, New York, New York City Wildflowers, Upper West Side, West Village, Wildflowers
8 Great Years . . .
Spring Snow
(NYC 03 22 2018)
The flowers of Tuesday’s Vernal Equinox now rest under snow. The thaw can be expected soon, though, the white of crystalized water replaced again by blooming wildflowers. Until then . . .
Happy 8th Anniversary, Wildflowers of the West Village.
– rPs 03 22 2018
Postscript: You can revisit the view that instilled an ever growing idea in March 2010: https://wildflowersofthewestvillage.com/2010/03/22/welcome/
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November 30, 2017 at 7:36 pm · Filed under Wildflower Related, Wildflowers: Orange, Wildflowers: Red, Wildflowers: Yellow ·Tagged Asters, Manhattan, New York, New York City, New York City Wildflowers, Oaks, Thanksgiving, Upper West Side, West Village, Wildflowers
The End of November . . .
Asteraceae Gone to Seed
(NYC 11 26 2017)
One of the aspects to appreciate most during the growing season’s latter half is the evolution of the predominate color. The tired greens of September give way to the splendid yellows of October that age into the russet spread seen by the end of November.
Wildflowers on the ground have mostly gone to seed by this time. The leaves up above that remain rustle in the tannic tones of the oaks. Here is where the color action remains.
Deciduous leaves often lumped under the generic descriptive “brown” resemble many of the cooked dishes on a plentiful table of Thanksgiving. The same kind of variety is actually present within that one color. One can see tan, rust, ochre, and many more. If, by the end of November, one cannot find a plant in bloom at their feet, pause, and look up . . .
November Splendor
(NYC 11 27 2017)
. . . where the plant world meets the sky.
— rPs 11 30 2017
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October 24, 2017 at 4:14 pm · Filed under Wild Non-Flowering Plants, Wildflower Related, Wildflowers: Pink, Wildflowers: White, Wildflowers: Yellow ·Tagged Hudson River, Manhattan, Mushrooms, New York, New York City Wildflowers, Upper West Side, West Side, Wildflowers
Teasel Season . . .
Thistle Season For Teasel
(pencil on paper)
(NYC 10 2017)
I have been drawn, pun there yet unintended; I have been drawn to draw, sketch, the crown of the teasel this season.
family Caprifoliaceae
Along the way, to consistent degree in scope and scale, still bloom the:
Mallow
Mallow
(NYC 10 2017)
Lady’s Thumb
Lady’s Thumb: A Wild Buckwheat
(NYC 10 2017)
White Snakeroot
White Snakeroot
(NYC 10 2017)
Seaside Goldenrod
Seaside Goldenrod
(NYC 10 2017)
Ganoderma
Ganoderma
(NYC 10 2017)
Autumn Highlights Here, Now.
– rPs 10 24 2017
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January 23, 2017 at 4:46 pm · Filed under Wild Non-Flowering Plants, Wildflower Related ·Tagged Manhattan, New York, New York City, New York City Wildflowers, Upper West Side, West Village, Wildflowers
Brown Flowers . . .
Brown Flower
(NYC 01 2017)
Winds like sudden change bring a dust devil three stories tall. The spiral appears, carries fallen brown leaves and other debris as it pauses, then passes through a rear courtyard in Manhattan. Yesterday there was rain, a week before, snow.
January Snow
(NYC 01 2017)
Temperature. Precipitation. Wind. — The planet has a trio of tools to modulate the weather. This new year has experienced all three in just as many weeks. Climate changes almost day to day with a strobe effect at this local level.
January began with snow under the clearest, cleanest blue and white sky, the nested web of tree bark browns giving glimpses of rows of great buildings beyond.
Snow does not linger under rain. White turns into the waterlogged tans and yellowed green of the unconstructed ground when the fog rolls in with spattered showers. Park turf begins to feel like marsh. Even cross-country runners stick to the hard paths.
January Rain
(NYC 01 2017)
This marks the peak season of the brown flowers. Skeletal remnants of several species continue to covey beauty. There remains a multiplicity of forms to compensate for less diversity of color.
Asteraceae. Brassicaceae. – Asters. Goldenrod. Thistles. Peppercress. – Their upright tresses stand symmetrical, architectural.
There remains a multiplicity of forms to compensate for less diversity of color.
Wildflower beauty endures all kinds of changes in the weather, so far.
– rPs 01 22 2017
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Wildflowers of the West Village 