Snow(y) Day!

We have lots and lots of snow today in New York City, and I've been hanging out at home editing my photos of the incredible bird I was blessed to visit on Staten Island just before and after Christmas.

Snowy owl, Staten Island, December 20, 2017

This was the first snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) I had seen in the wild. (I have visited a snowy owl in the Bronx Zoo.) I was walking on the sand on the beach looking for the owl but seeing only gulls, when I turned and glimpsed what I first thought was an overturned paint bucket. What a joy to find this largest of the North American owls hanging out on a cold beach in New York City! I spent three and a half hours watching the owl, the first two hours pretty much by myself, and this video, although a little long, reflects the time I spent sitting on the beach and the burrs as the bird perched on the sand. If you are not as fascinated by the owl's turning her head 180 degrees one way, and then 180 degrees the other, you can skip to about minute 1:30 to see the bird poop and then walk around, then head to minute 14 to see those golden eyes as the sun starts to set. (I returned twice after Christmas to see the owl again, and will post those photos and videos soon.)

I took hundreds of photos on December 20, but these are my favorites.

Merry Christmas 2017!!!

Christmas lasts all year long in Christmas Monsterland, and now, after the daily videos have appeared on Facebook, they are coming to the Chronicler's Tales and the PM Saga Web site! It has been a joy to share Christmas in New York 2017!

The Tree! at Rockefeller Center, Christmas 2017

South Street Seaport, Christmas 2017

Part 1 of Christmas in New York 2017 — O, Christmas Trees! — features the big trees flickering around New York City. There are many more huge trees than are shown here, but these are a nice representation. We see the Rockefeller Center tree, the Money Trees (Bloomberg Tower, Wall Street's tree in front of the New York Stock Exchange, the trees in the atrium of J.P. Morgan), the tree at Bryant Park with its huge reflecting ornaments (and some birdies thrown in for comfort and joy), the art in the arch at Washington Square, the tree at South Street Seaport heralded by a Sea of Light, the designer trees at Brookfield Place, and more lights at Madison Square Park.

Here are some photos from this collection. First, some shots from the Rockefeller Center tree and the decorations surrounding it.

The trees in the video really photograph well!

Madison Square Park, Christmas 2017

Here Comes Santa Claus!

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is the unofficial launch of the Christmas season in New York City. Yes, some of the stores have already put up decorations and installed their holiday windows, but until Santa Claus arrives at Herald Square on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas isn't really on the horizon in the Big Apple!

Santa Claus at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Nov. 23

I went to the parade on November 23, and though I was somewhat back of the crowd at 72nd Street and Central Park West, I managed to film the balloons and some of the tops of the floats. No chance to really see the marching bands (until I ran down to Sixth Avenue and Central Park South to see Santa a second time). I set the parade movie to some fun music from the YouTube Audio Library.

I don't go to the parade every year. It is just too stressful. (I almost lost it with an alpha male who complained that I was bumping into him when I lifted my camera to film — maybe he had a point, but his complaint was so hostile and threatening, and he was in a crowded area where one would definitely expect to be bumped — so I tried to move away from his as best I could.)

Harold the Baseball Player

But all in all, it was fun to see the balloons and watch the kids wave back to the people on the floats.