Japanese Gardens

My favorite spot at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is the Japanese Garden.  

It is a beautifully designed space with weeping cherry trees

surrounding a picturesque lake. 

It includes a quaint little building

and some interesting Japanese sculptures. 

These cherries are the earliest bloomers in the park so they are a very welcome site after the winter. 

It's also the place I remember best from my childhood visits with my grandparents. 

And as you can see from these photos, which were taken over several years,

it looks quite different each spring depending upon both the way the weather breaks

and the lighting conditions on that particular day.  So it's always fun to photograph.

Enjoy!

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

Dark Pink Magnolias

Photographing spring flowers is always tricky.  

There is no consistency to when things actually bloom as it is all depends on the weather. 

Sometimes they bloom in sequence, but other times they burst on the scene all at once. 

Then there is the rain.  As the saying goes: April showers bring May flowers. 

Sometimes it's really cold too.  On Wednesday I went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. 

 I had to wear my long undies as it was in the lower 40's!

 I thought I was going there to shoot the magnolias. 

But when I arrived I found that they were mostly past their prime already. 

So I focused on the early cherries instead. 

Luckily though I have so many nice pics from previous years that I could still share these, of an exquisite dark pink variety, with you.

Enjoy!

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

Crocuses

At last, the first signs of spring.  

After a winter that is certain to make several top ten bad weather lists,

everyone in NYC is breathing a sigh of relief that the end finally seems to be here. 

Of course it is April. 

As I do each spring I varied my route around town a bit to see if I could spot anything coming up

and did see quite a few crocuses scattered around town. 

These were in Union Square. 

But my favorites were in Central Park. 

While I was out I also saw my first cherry tree in bloom, so standby. 

It's about to go crazy out there.

Off to garden.

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer

Men In Skirts

Yesterday was the 16th Annual Tartan Day Parade. 

Although I hadn't really tuned in about it in advance,

 I was lucky enough to stumble on it by chance. 

That's one of the amazing things about Manhattan. 

There's always something interesting going on.

The parade gives Scottish-Americans a chance to celebrate their heritage by dressing up in beautiful clan regalia and playing the bagpipes and drums.

While predominately men, there were some women participants too.  

And the crowd included Tartan clad fans of all ages. 

And Scottish Terriers in their finest.  

A good time was had by all.

Cheers!

PJ

(c) 2014 PJ Lehrer