Looking for Moss, Finding Pear Blossoms

There is a beautiful tree that I can see from the J train, right before the Williamsburg Bridge. Its trunk is all mossy. I have been thinking of photographing it for a while, but it is not a convenient place. This week was supposed to be crazy and then the plans changed at the last minute and I had an afternoon free. Even better, a thunderstorm had just passed through and the light was dramatic. So I headed out.
 

The tree was not easy to find on the ground. I often have this problem with things I see from the subway. There are many entrance ramps between the Brooklyn/Queens Expressway and the bridge. The tree is in the middle of all that, at the edge of the bus depot. While I was finding this out, I came across some Callery Pears in bloom.
 

They are usually the first trees to bloom and they are incredibly hardy. They are all over the city. I usually miss the actual blossoms, so it was great to find them in this beautiful sunlight that spilled out from the clouds.
 

Unfortunately, the sunlight was not the best to show off the moss. I had really been hoping that the dark clouds would have lingered a bit longer to make the moss luminous, but they slipped away leaving bright flat light.

Can't have everything.

Equinox

Some moss with crazy hairs sprouting on top...

I had great plans for an equinox bonfire, with Guy Fawkes watching while draped in ivy, but they were foiled by the departure of my daughter.  On Tuesday, she moved to San Francisco leaving a trail of Febreeze scented dust bunnies. So I celebrated the vernal equinox with a round of spring cleaning.
 

The cats instantly took possession of the space, no doubt thinking that I set it up for them.
 

The neighbor's apricot tree is in bloom.

Its petals drift softly down like the snow we never got this winter.
 

My bulbs are coming up.
 

My rose bush has sent out healthy red leaves.
 

Voltaire has been lording it over the garden, often sitting on the compost can like a throne.
 

Coco is more cautious. While her pose is somewhat ordinary here, I like how she has tucked all of her fat away.

Early Spring

The callery pear trees are on the verge of blooming. Once they open, the city will be in a brief intense flurry of white flowers and spring will have officially arrived. It does not seem that we will even have the fluke spring snow.

The forsythia are also close, though I feel that they do not have the usual enthusiasm.

This little tree, probably an apple, has already come out. The trees and plants all seem to be out of sync. Some are all flowery and others are holding back.

I have been working with dream images again and the image I was seeking was at the High Line. I haven't posted the dream picture here, because it is part of a bigger image.

I find the High Line to be a bit precious, but I do like the plant life.
 

This seems like the perfect urban spring image.

A Last Look at Admiral's Row?

Back in February, I heard the announced demolition of the Admiral's Row. It was not unexpected, people had been speaking of it for years. Life was hectic and I did not pay attention. The other day, I passed the Navy Yard and realized that the buildings had not yet been torn down. Apparently, the two buildings that will be saved are being shored up.

I went back to photograph the buildings for what might be the last time.
 

There were some daffodils.
 

Some of the walls had been torn away, exposing hints of the interiors.

What is left of the roofs is totally collapsing.
 

With my beloved weeds dormant for the winter, the emptiness becomes apparent.
 

For once I could appreciate the old buildings that were quietly disintegrating.