Central Park: Fall 2025

 

I almost didn’t visit Central Park this fall.

NYC is having an underachieving autumn.

It was too warm and dry for peak foliage

Trees in the sun lost their leaves before those in the shade got started.

But when I was looking through my archive of photos of Central Park fall for some to post,

I realized that I wanted to visit anyway.

So, I headed over early one morning before it clouded up to check out the action.

It was past prime time of course, and it did cloud up by 10:00.

But it was still very beautiful.

It was a good reminder that Central Park is always worth a visit, even on an off year. 😉

Here are some previous Central Park fall blogs…

 

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/11/central-park-fall-2015.html

 

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2017/12/central-park-fall-2017.html

 

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2021/11/central-park-2021-p2.html

 

Happy Autumn!

PJ

 

© 2025 PJ Lehrer

NYBG sunflowers 2

 

I was walking home from the pool this week

when I was surprised to see that a new sunflower had bloomed in a street pit on York Avenue.

We haven’t quite gone below freezing yet.

But we came close enough to melt some of the tropicals planted outside.

So, I was quite shocked.

But as they say, nature finds a way.

I figured that it was a sign that I should post a few more pics

from the exhibit at the New York Botanic Garden,

even though it wrapped up at the end of October.

I wonder if they have a few late bloomers as well.

Here is the previous post…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2025/09/sunflowers-nybg.html

Cheers!

PJ

 

© 2025 PJ Lehrer

A perfect day for a marathon

Last Sunday was the 54^th running of the New York City Marathon and it was one for the record books.

The weather was perfect – 50’s to 60’s, bright sun, no wind.

No wonder the women’s champ set a new course record, and the top three finishers also bested the previous record.  The top finishing American woman – Fiona O’Keeffe (on the right) came in fourth and broke the American course record.

Here they are showing off at mile 17.   

 

And the men had a photo finish!  But at mile 17 they still had lots of company.

This is the party that I most wished I had been invited to.

While the fancy new fences were appreciated, for spectators on the UES, the biggest news was a crossing station at 72^nd & First Avenue.

Previously if you wanted to cross First Avenue you needed to go all the way down to 59^th street below the bridge.

Of course, during the heaviest time – 11:00 am to 2 pm, even the crossing minions were challenged. 

It was so amusing watching them do their little dance, that I may go to 72^nd Street for a front row seat next year. 😉

Finally, this year’s meet and greets did not disappoint.  This couple even took time out to pose for a kissing shot. 

Here are some pics from previous marathons.

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2023/11/nyc-marathon-2023.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2019/11/nyc-marathon-2019.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/11/2018-nyc-marathon.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2017/11/congratulations-shalane-flanagan.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2013/11/new-york-city-marathon.html

 

Till next year…

PJ

 

© 2025 PJ Lehrer

UES Halloween at night

 

This year I finally managed to shoot Halloween decorations at night.

And it was a mob scene.

I probably shouldn’t be surprised since the Upper East Side has become Instagram famous for their decorations.

Probably TikTok too.

Someone posting on Instagram mentioned that there were 30+ buildings decorated on the UES.

I would imagine that they have undercounted.

They fall within a roughly two mile square so catching them all can be quite exhausting.

The same person also mentioned that most of the buildings would be decorating for the holidays as well.

No pressure there.

And next year, Halloween falls on a Saturday.  I can hardly wait. 😉

More NYC Halloween pics…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2024/10/halloween-in-hood-2024.html

 

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2023/10/halloween-gone-wild-part-1.html

 

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2021/10/halloween-street-fair-on-88th-street.html

 

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloween-3.html

 

Cheers!

PJ

 

© 2025 PJ Lehrer