#nyc spring

[futurebird]

It's spring time in New York City!

It's spring time in New York City! Yesterday it felt as if the whole city had come alive. Tulips and daffodils bloom, the moss on the old stone wall caught droplets of morning due. On my way to the bus stop in the South Bronx I encountered a DeKay's brown snake on the sidewalk near the park, the cute little snake was sunning itself after a long winter underground.

Gently, I picked her up (I had a look at the tail and I think it is a female) and moved her to a nice warm rock away from foot traffic. This is the first snake I've ever seen in NYC and it's my favorite species!

I’ve wanted to have a Dekay’s brown snake a a pet forever— I think a terrarium with Storeria dekayi and carpenter ants would be amazing— but if she now lives in the park I can go see her there.  Even better. She eat snails, slugs and worms and lord knows we have those over by that wall. I suspect there is one of NYC’s many secret buried streams and brooks under the wall in the park. It’s so moist all of the time.   Some of the local teens on their way to school and stopped to admire the snake. They were a little scared at first "oh no she's got a snake!" but I was able to tell them a little about the snake and how they are harmless and a sign that our little local park is doing well ecologically. 

Later this same day I was walking down Park Ave. down on the upper east when out of the corner of my eye I spied an ant queen. I can always tell ant queens by the way they walk... or rather waddle. Looks like Prenolepis imparis, or the American winter ant. She was hustling along the side walk as if on her way to the Chanel store. Now she’s in one of my luxury ant condos— (but don’t tell her I’ve moved her out to the Bronx.)     

I fed her a drop of sugar water which she accepted, now she is in my ant drawer snug in her test tube. I will post updates about this queen, and if she makes it. Over on Mastodon I asked for help naming her and we decided to call her "Ethel." I've never kept this species before, so I'm reading about their needs.

Ethel is cute & round, settling in to her "Luxery ant condo" (It's a test tube.) She enjoyed a little sugar water, now she's in the darkness of the ant drawer. She looks very well-fed, so I think there is a good chance she will lay lots of eggs.

In four or five days I'll check on her again. Sometimes new queens just die. So, many don't like to name a queen until she has her first workers. But I'm cheering for this little urban ant.

[angelicasdigitaldiary]

End of April 🤍

[thisislizheather]

April Activities 2023

Above Photo: Central Park, April 2023

Spring is in full force and I couldn’t be happier about it. It usually feels like the shortest season since summer arrives obnoxiously early, but this year it’s been magical. Chilly nights, sweaters instead of winter coats, tons of rain, birds chirping their asses off, there’s nothing better. Here’s what happened in April!

Above Photo: Baby Dog in Central Park

Above Photo: Baby Dog in Central Park, again

The best tweets of April can be found over here.

I visited a tulip farm in New Jersey and had the greatest meatballs from the Your Sister’s Balls food truck. 

Above Photo: Holland Ridge Farms with Diana in New Jersey

I toured the gorgeous Kings Theatre in Brooklyn.

Above Photo: The lobby of Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York

Above Photo: Mirrors + me = BFF

I went to the Museum of Failure with my friend Casey in Industry City.

I helped review some Last Crumb cookies on my friend Paul’s TikTok.

I made one of my favourite steak recipes for the first time (steak Diane) and it was really, really good. I didn’t really ignite it properly since that’s the part that scares me the most, but there were partial flames so I’m counting this as a success.

Above Photo: Steak Diane ingredients

Notice: you’re using your potato peeler wrong.

The Alison Roman chocolate chip shortbread cookies are fast becoming a staple in our home.

Above Photo: Chocolate chip shortbread cookies

I physically cannot stop making this asparagus soup (the cream is optional), it’s so good. Best to double up the recipe if you’re making it for more than two people.

When will I learn that fancy coffee shops simply don’t do it for me? I went to Ten Thousand Coffee and it was fine, but definitely overrated. One day we’ll all revolt against coffee costing over $5 and I vow to lead the revolution.

Speaking of coffee, have I already mentioned the incredible hazelnut beans we order from San Francisco Bay Coffee? Best beans I’ve ever used for iced coffee at home, by far. All you need is a french press, a small spice grinder and beans. The fact that we’re not all making iced coffee at home each day is mind boggling. 

Some things I watched:

Surviving R. Kelly (the newest season): Nathan and I watched two episodes and then abandoned it. It’s so hard to watch and really makes you wonder, “Why the hell am I watching this if it makes me feel this way?”

Dave (newest season): Words can’t express how much I love this show. Every episode is better than the last.

Succession: Okay, yes I already complained about this show. But the thing is - I haven’t hate-watched a new show in a really long time, so I think that’s why I keep going with it. The dialogue is objectively bad and I think the real appeal of the show is the fact that you can’t binge it all at once, we’re all so desperate for the days of cable and once-a-week viewing. And small side note: Adrian Brody is not a good actor, so of course he had to appear in an episode.

The Intern: What is wrong with me? Why was this on my list of movies to watch? It was so bad, but IT LOOKED BAD. Hated Anne Hathaway’s character. There was ZERO chemistry between her and De Niro. And it’s a mind-numbingly boring script. Christ.

Who Done It: The Clue Documentary: Okay, if you even kind of liked the movie Clue (1985), then you really have to watch this. It’s fan-made, but it’s so good. I didn’t know that so many playwrights attempted to write it, I had no idea that Carrie Fisher was supposed to be Miss Scarlett but couldn’t because of her drug problem?? Absolutely adored Jonathan Lynn. And loved all of Michael McKean’s anecdotes.

Above Photo: Who Done It: The Clue Documentary

How many beach blankets does one person need? And why is this Target one so damn perfect?

I’ve made so much green garlic butter, I’m considering starting a butter stand outside my building.

Above Photo: Green garlic from the Union Square Greenmarket, NYC

This month in good-but-nothing-special restaurants I’ve tried: Hawksmoor (flashy and beautiful inside, but no real substance) and Pete’s Tavern (space is great, food is fine and service was attentive but odd).

That being said, I also ate at some wonderful places! Saint George Bistro in Hastings had great escargot even if the service wasn’t great, Figlia in Astoria was as good as everyone says it is so I’ll definitely return, Sunken Harbor Club was beautiful and had great drinks and it felt like you weren’t in NYC but in a good way, Amelie Wine Bar was perfect and had $13 wine flights with stellar service, and finally Satis Bistro in Jersey City which was so lovely (the duck croquettes, my god, I’ll dream about those until I return).

Above Photo: Outside Saint George Bistro in Hastings, New York with Diana & Crystal

Above Photo: Amelie Wine Bar with Jessie, West Village 

I got a facial at Glow Bar and I really don’t see the big deal with facials. This sounds psychotic, but maybe my face doesn’t… need… facials��?

My brother Gary sent me this Happy & Polly stamp of Baby Dog’s face and I can’t get over it. It’s horrifyingly perfect.

I went to a sample sale for Rent The Runway put on by 260 and it was depressing as hell, it was all so disorganized and chaotic. Think that might be the last sample sale for me.

I visited the exterior of Alder Manor since I was in the area and it’s so beautiful from the outside, I can’t imagine how gorgeous the interior must be.

Above Photo: Alder Manor in Yonkers, New York

Dying over the entire Adidas x Farm Rio collaboration (thanks Marla for telling me about it!).

Speaking of my friend Marla, she mentioned how she gives her young sons a small amount of money for birthday gifts for people in their lives and then each kid comes up with an idea based on what that person enjoys and buys the gift. And honestly, what a perfect idea. Gift giving is a skill and absolutely should be taught to young kids (especially boys) since it’s such an important part of living. Love this so, so much. Every parent should be doing this.

I am so in love with the rhubarb and strawberry soda from Trader Joe’s that I think I might finally be ready to try rhubarb for real.

Above Photo: Rhubarb and strawberry soda from Trader Joe’s

I’d never heard about the children’s book In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak but it was mentioned in that performance about Philip Glass I saw last month, so I bought the book and it’s incredible.

And finally, behold my new favourite photo of Baby Dog.

Above Photo: Hahahahah this expression! She’s so sick of my shit I love it.

Things I’m looking forward to this month: I’m going to do a post about my recent visit to the abandoned City Hall subway station, I’m definitely going to go see the new fashion exhibit that opens at The Met, I know that H&M is shit now but I’m gonna have to take a look at this Mugler collab in person, I kinda need to eat these duck fries in Toronto and I absolutely need to track down these Lichtenstein stamps ASAP.

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in March over here.

Above Photo: She brought her boyfriend (Walrus) beside her to get some sun

[free-my-mindd]

There’s this one part of spring where Brooklyn becomes very magical

[mahgnolias]

hernewyorkedit

[lemongrad]

Re-watching White Collar and like, its the perfect show- its a cop show, but its the FBI white collar division so they're going after like, hedge fund managers and shady lawyers and suchlike. Caffrey is delightful, he's charming but not sleazy, a little silly, and immensely competent at a variety of things (and I still can't believe Matt Bomer actually looks Like That). The relationship with his FBI handler is fantastic, complex, and well-developed. The FBI guy unabashedly loves his wife and I am Here For It. There is lots of art.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Cover of Life magazine, March 29, 1929. In this issue: New York Life. Illustration by John Holmgren.

Photo: Internet Archive

[whitefireprincess]

Park Slope, Brooklyn | Joe Thomas

[rootlessly]

signs of spring ⋇ 30 mar

[pwh3]

Bronx cherry blossoms on a rainy spring morning (April 3rd, 2024)

[angelicasdigitaldiary]

[amnhnyc]

Even though it's still chilly in New York, spring has technically sprung! With the start of the season comes the arrival of fragrant and colorful flowers, like the tulip. This archival image, from the Museum's library, shows tulips in the flowerbeds at the 77th Street facade. This vibrant blossom is a member of the Liliaceae family, which also includes lilies. The tulip is a bulbiferous plant, meaning its organs are stored within a bulb underground, from which the main stem and flower emerges. The tulip was first cultivated in Persia, but today, it’s widely grown for its pop of color and can be spotted around the world.

Photo: Image no. K13056, AMNH Library

[oatzmeal]

cloudy days in new york

[dazed-cherry]

Cherry blossoms in NYC

[mahgnolias]

[wgm-beautiful-world]

N Y C