Central Park in Early December

It's pretty consistently cold now, but there hasn't been any snow since that wacky October flurry. Things are various shades of brown... most fallen leaves drained of bright pigment, bare branches, dying grass, animals fattening up for when things take a turn.

This is a lady cardinal. I saw two bright red male cardinals in this sort of wild area in the northern part of the park, but they were acrobatic and illusive. Catching glimpses of them was amazing--they're not indigenous to California and I'd never seen one before

I blend in to the surroundings, an unintentional act of camouflage.

Central Park in November

There has been some apologizing going on for the state of autumn in Manhattan this year…“we skipped fall,” “leaves are really better upstate,” etc. I refuse to accept this! After having been constantly told that the fall I experience in California isn’t fall at all*, I want some legit leaf action! I’ve been (a little obsessively) checking the Current Foliage Report on the official I ♥ NY website, and it told me that this week is supposed to be the real deal. To Central Park!

(*Disclaimer: lots of leaves turn spectacularly red and orange and gold in the Bay Area, so I'm not entirely sure what those West Coast complainers are on about. That said, the East Coast is doing a pretty good job of fall.)

Spot the Devin!

There's some give and take--spectacular leaves in exchange for daylight. New York is considerably further north than Silicon Valley, so after the time change it's already pitch black at 5 PM, and it can only get darker. This is making us treasure each fleeting hour of sunlight all the more.

Outside In

Bought some mums, scavenged some leaves. Now it's autumn inside our apartment, too!

All the fruit I want (persimmons and pomegranates) is imported from California. Also, what is up with having only one kind of kale, NYC? Where's my Dinosaur and Russian Red?

Foraging for bouquet ingredients in Riverside Park. Time to drink some tea with honey and lemon!