PJ's Studio: 2026

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Yoshinos at Central Park: 4/4/26

We've had so much warm weather this spring, that the Yoshino cherry trees in Central Park bloomed early.

Needless to say, a trip to the park to check them out was in order.

I went by Park Avenue on the way over, but saw only one blooming tree – so far.

Meanwhile the view of the park from 72^nd and Madison was almost as pretty as it was during the white out in December.

That’s because Olmsted and Vaux had the foresight to plant a bunch of Yoshino cherry trees at the entrance to the park on 5^th Avenue.

I love those guys.

Also blooming were the white magnolias.

At 8 am on a beautiful Saturday morning.

Central Park was definitely the place to be.

Before the park got even more crowded, and the skies clouded up. 😊

Here are some more pics of spring in Central Park…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2019/04/central-park-42719.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2023/03/almost-spring-in-central-park.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2023/04/central-park-4123.html

Cheers!

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Central Park Okame trees – 3/31/26

When I saw that the forsythia in Central Park was blooming,

I knew it was time to head over to start enjoying spring.

I decided to start the season by going to the Upper West Side to check out the Okame cherry trees.

They bloom from 86^th Street to 96^th Street, across the reservoir from the Guggenheim Museum.

The view of them with the El Dorado in the background is a NYC classic.

Despite groundhog predictions, we’re actually having an early spring.

Some years I have to wear long undies when I photograph spring trees in the park.

This year – t-shirt weather!

But it’s a double-edged sword. Heat means that the flowering trees and spring flowers won’t last long.

Don’t dawdle or you might miss the show!

Here are some previous blogs from spring in Central Park…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/04/a-perfect-spring-day-in-central-park.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2019/04/central-park-41019.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2021/04/41121-spring-in-central-park-2021.html

Cheers!

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Craggaunowen Illuminated

This month’s piece from the Illuminated Ireland series features a photo of a crannog.

People first began building crannogs – dwellings on artificial islands - during the Neolithic period. Crannog ruins in Ireland have been dated 1200 – 600 B.C.

Much to my surprise, I was recently watching a tv show about Scotland and some popped up. As it turns out, they can be found in Wales as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crannog

This reconstruction can be found in Craggaunowen…

https://www.craggaunowen.ie/

Which also has a cute little castle, so it’s well worth a visit.

Here’s the drawing of the illuminated letter C. ( I thought a sea creature would be appropriate.)

And, the photoshop combination ready for printing on linen.

Here’s another photo of the final version.

Here are links to the other pieces from the Illuminated Ireland series…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2026/01/glendalough-illuminated.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2026/02/kilkea-rose-embroidery.html

And, here are some other previously posted embroideries…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2012/11/embroidery-coral-bouquet.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2024/02/embroidery-chinatown-butterfly.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2013/06/embroidery-orange-tulips.html

Cheers!

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Dublin

It’s that time of the year again,

when my thoughts go to Ireland

and the terrific visit we had.

Dublin has something for everyone. While it’s famous for its Georgian doors, when we went to check them out, Edward accused me of taking him to the most boring part of town!