Walking Off the Big Apple

Many New Yorkers live or work near Central Park and therefore lucky enough to have the chance to observe the city of winter slowly transform into the city of springtime. The two cities feel different. Yet, it's easy to overlook the metamorphosis, the slow natural process of seasonal change.  Since the beginning of the year, I've been passing through the lower areas of Central Park on my way to and from work. I've been enchanted by many features of the landscape - the icy veneer on the Pond, the statuesque oaks, and the lampposts that light the way. The lampposts lend the scenes at dusk a mystical quality, something right out of Narnia. Walking through the park on a regular basis, though, has provided the means to appreciate a slower tempo, certainly compared to the accelerated pace of life in the urban canyons. Now that spring has fully and dramatically arrived with scores of cherry blossoms, the later pictures are missing a soundtrack of chirping birds that undersco