Walking Off the Big Apple

On an immaculately groomed green lawn near Central Park's Sheep Meadow, an elegant-looking group gathered for the sport of lawn bowling. Dressed in their formal whites, the group attracted a modest group of curious onlookers, as if they had stepped out of time from a lost empire. They certainly made a handsome group, even more so for not focusing on their own elegance but on the procedures of the game afoot. In fact, these are members of the New York Lawn Bowling Club, and according to their website, they invite you to join them. Official site www.nybowls.com

On June 28, 1969 police raided The Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York's Greenwich Village, arresting 13 people, and word of the arrest spread quickly among the community. That was 44 years ago today. Subsequent protests led to the first gay and lesbian march. On Wednesday of this week, the inn served as the instinctive rallying point for two historic U.S. Supreme Court rulings. In one case, the court ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional on the grounds that the law denied same-sex couples "equal liberty" as protected in the Fifth Amendment. The other case involving California's Proposition 8 paved the way for same-sex marriages in California to resume. Today, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that California counties could issue marriage licenses immediately. It's Pride Week in New York. Yes, it is. The march takes place this Sunday, June 30, 2013. The march begins at 36th St. & Fifth Avenue

On a night in New York City when the moon draws close to the earth, it makes sense to head for the East River if you want to see the moon rise. While the moon will technically not turn fullest until Monday, June 23 at 7:32 a.m. ET, the moon looked perfectly fine last night. And large. View of the East River and Brooklyn Bridge Park from the South Street Seaport. 8:23 pm Look for the big pale moon in this picture. There it is. The moon over Brooklyn. 8:24 pm

The first weekend of summer is upon us. Yesterday, the weather fully cooperated for the season's arrival, sending rays of sunshine into New York's famously dim urban canyons. This view is from Fifth Avenue, slightly north of 19th Street, looking south along the avenue at approximately 6:08 p.m. Image by Walking Off the Big Apple. Made with Instagram on an iPhone5. Throughout the hot months, this website will be updated in a light and whimsical fashion, even more so than usual. Hard to imagine. You will likely see more pictures and less text  - breezy reading for the beach. Happy summer!  

Many locals in Greenwich Village experienced big bird drama in early June as three baby red-tailed hawks took their first flights from their home ledge on NYU's Bobst Library in Washington Square. The first one fledged on May 31, an event I missed and that apparently produced much nervous excitement. The remaining two young hawks took off on Sunday, June 2, one in the early morning and another nearly twelve hours later. I saw some of it. June 2, 2013 9:10 am Washington Square North. Parents and fledgling. Bobby (left), Rosie (middle), and fledgling (right, obscured by the tree branch).  June 2, 2013 10:39 a.m. Rosie is now perched on NYU's Silver Center for Arts and Science, one of the focal points for hawk activity on Washington Square East. Built in 1895 by NYU for academic and commercial purposes, the lower floors once housed The American Bank Note Company.  J une 2, 2013 11:13 a.m. While watching the fledgling on Washington Square North, hawk watchers he