Spring

The days are longer and not just because we added an hour in the evening. As you go north or south from the equator the seasons are more exaggerated. 

Willow Lake is  made out Willow Creek, that leads to Flushing Bay, north western Long Island. Two highways bookmark the area, the Grand Central Parkway, and the Van Wyck Expressway. The subway rail yard is on one side and Jewel Avenue the other. On the other side of the highway is Forest Hills. On the other Kew Garden Hills.

 

Thoreau

From "Walking":

"My vicinity affords many good walks; and though for so many years I have walked almost every day, and sometimes for several days together, I have not yet exhausted them. An absolutely new prospect is a great happiness, and I can still get this any afternoon. Two or three hours’ walking will carry me to as strange a country as I expect ever to see. A single farmhouse which I had not seen before is sometimes as good as the dominions of the king of Dahomey. There is in fact a sort of harmony discoverable between the capabilities of the landscape within a circle of ten miles’ radius, or the limits of an afternoon walk, and the threescore years and ten of human life. It will never become quite familiar to you."

Tidal?

Walking outside, I saw the waning moon still up. 

This lake drains into Flushing Bay, not sure how tidal the manmade "lake" is, but the water was lower today. Low tide is 8:04am and high tide is 1:43pm. So I was there near low tide. (source)

Lost a tree

 I went for a walk and when I got home they were cutting down the tree in front of my window. It's dying, and sickley, but it still had leaves. I kept pointing to the tree that didn't have leaves this year, that definitely died, and they said it was because of the alternate side parking that left the road relatively car free. They also get work orders from the boss man. But they also said if I really was upset about it they might not have cut it down. So my walk today got my tree chopped down. I was heartened that they were modifiable, and might have listened to me if I asked them not to chop it down. They were good guys and I really liked talking to them.

They said that Covid also has a backlog in planting new trees so don't expect a new one soon, but eventually I should get a new tree. I sit there and meditate and look out at that tree, but of course everything is a lesson on impermanence. They really believe in planting a million trees, and they're all about planting trees.

He talked about the microbursts in 2010 when like 500 trees were knocked over in 10 minutes. I know the tree in the park that got knocked over, I mourn that tree often. Also Sandy in 2012 knocked down a lot of trees. I'm sure they'll be back some time for the tree across the street. There are a lot of wonderful trees on my street, even with the one I stare at when I open my eyes in mediation is gone.

The guy said the microburst was 2006, I think it was 2010, and he said Hurricane Sandy was the next year, and that would be 2007 according to him, but it was 2012. I used to not care about dates, and often people will ask date questions where I don't know the answer, but I'm learning dates, it's not so bad if you can look them up for writing.

My daughter was in such a good mood because it snowed this morning. A light dusting that was quickly gone.

Getting cold feet

 

I wanted to get my daughter into Willow Lake. She wanted to go down this morning. So we went but she put her foot into a hole and got her foot wet. Then later, we were navigating logs and she got her feet wet again. She said, "This is the worst day ever." I hate to hear such a bleak rewrite of the experience, but I know it's an emotional expression. She wasn't so devastated that she couldn't play in the park. 

There was a dog there, her owner had a collar remote in which she explained low voltage shocks don't really hurt, it's communication. The dog was a little wild, but the lady had a clicker and a communicating collar that you could up the voltage if you had to. She said she paid people to help train her. Seemed like she was addressing a special needs dog quite well. She let my daughter feed her some kibble. My daughter likes dogs, and even though she's been knocked down a few times she's still not scared.

There were ducks on the lake, and I love seeing the V of birds migrating south, but I don't think they're going too far south this winter, it's a pretty mild winter.

My daughter has a bag of chips in case she gets snacky 

Lake

 I might be moving in a couple months, so some last photos of Willow Lake.