Today was easily one of the nicest days I have ever seen in New York City. After a miserably rainy day yesterday, the sun came out and brought the gorgeous autumn weather with it. Central Park in autumn is rivaled only by Central Park in springtime. My allergies respond equally to both, unfortunately. So my eyes are swollen and itchy…at least I could see well enough to get some good photos.
Ella and I took a sunset walk around The Reservoir, and here are some of the winning shots from the evening… (click on the photos to enlarge them)
Just wanted to quickly share some shots from this morning’s trek into Central Park. Ella and I have found a little spot all to our own that, as you can see by these photos, also has a pretty nifty view of the city skyline in the background. Ella enjoys her tennis ball, I enjoy the view…tough to beat.
Enjoy.
(the images are kind of small here-click on any of the pictures or go here to view them in full screen)
Ella and I recently came upon a lovely Ballerina Mime in Central Park. I have seen her once or twice before, but this was Ella’s first glimpse. The mime stands still as a statue until a passerby gives her money and then she performs some improvisational ballet moves. Always on the lookout for a good photo op, I must admit I wanted to give her some money in exchange for her agreeing to strike a pose or two with the pup for the camera. Do you think for 10 bucks she’d be agreeable to trying some sort of lift combo with Ella?
Anyway, I realized pretty quickly that I left the apartment without my wallet which is pretty typical. I usually forget something -- cell phone, Ella’s ball, etc -- and frankly I’d rather forget my wallet than poop bags which I have done before and was forced to come up with some very creative clean up solutions which won’t be discussed here. Anyway, priorities in line, I did remember my camera, so I decided to try to discreetly get a few pics of her from afar. The Ballerina Mime may have done a lift combo without the cash (how far does “pretty please” get you these days?), but my morals told me it was better to steal a photo from afar instead.
I found out when I got home that apparently the Ballerina Mime is pretty well known in these parts. Her name is Therisa Barber, and she’s a classically trained dancer who moved from England to New York City hoping to make it on Broadway. You can read a really nice bio of Therisa here, and here’s a short clip of her in action:
Ella and I started our morning as we usually do, by walking up to the dog run so she can chase tennis balls for an hour until she’s at least tired enough when we get home to lay down for a couple of hours and let me do some work. Unfortunately, our morning routine went very awry. I knew we were in trouble when I got there and there were no tennis balls to be found. Usually there are at least a half dozen or so available so I have the luxury of throwing balls in rapid fire succession to tire her out even faster. But this morning…nada. And I stopped bringing her own ball because Ella is so passive the she drops it the second we get there and other dogs play with it and she just stares at them for an hour. Just as I was trying to figure out an alternative to tiring her out, a man walked in with his dog…and a brown paper bag. He walked over to a bench, sat down, and proceeded to take a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich out of that bag and rest it on his lap. In the blink of an eye – literally – Ella ran over, pawed half the sandwich onto the ground and swallowed it whole! Mortified I ran over as fast as I could to pry her away from him in the hopes of salvaging the other half.
It doesn’t take much to get Ella excited. Everytime we head outside she acts as though it’s the very first time. If only we could all experience life with such wonderment…and if only random strangers didn’t tell me I ought to get a trainer as Ella bounds out the door, barrels over sidewalk traffic, and sprints down the block with glee.
But if you think that sounds crazy, you should see her when it snows (or rains or hails…any inclement weather really). We always try to make it to Central Park early before the snow starts to melt or has been soiled by the masses. It truly is a winter wonderland perfectly suited for a goofy puppy and a woman with a camera.
I have a hankering to try my hand at photography…couldn’t resist the amazing backdrop.
Shot of Ella’s rear and the Conservatory Water/East Side of Manhattan.
I couldn’t even launch that snowball before Ella made a go for it.
Ella peers back longingly at the kiddies sledding on the hill in the background. Ella on a snow saucer? Hmmm…
And finally, the requisite stick – even better frozen.
What kind of dog is Eli? Ella is my first Golden and I...
