The Tree (no, not that one) December 4, 2022
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: animals, art, Christmas Tree, creche, Madison Square Park, Metropolitan Museum, NYC, photography
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The Rockefeller Christmas tree steals all of the hype and publicity but my favorite holiday tree is at the Metropolitan Museum. The ornaments and figurines were donated in 1964 by private collector Loretta Hines Howard. The crèche is much older than that. It was made in the 18th century by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Sanmartino from Naples.The magnificently lit 20 foot blue spruce looms over the 18th century Neapolitan Nativity scene surrounded by an abundant array of lifelike figures with robed angels hovering above. You can see this beauty thru January 8 2023. New York City’s first public Christmas tree was actually located in Madison Square Park in 1912. The tree arrived in Madison Square Park on December 21,1912, measuring 60 feet tall. The tree was draped with 2,300 colored electric bulbs donated by the Edison Company. Emilie D. Lee Herreshoff. She proposed a way that would allow everyone, even those who couldn’t afford their own tree, to celebrate the holiday season and participate in the tree lighting. 
Remembering the Blizzard of 2016 July 11, 2021
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Madison Square Park, nature, NYC, NYC Blizzard, photography
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It has been a hot, humid, very rainy summer in NYC. For me – it is always a bad hair day. Since summer is a time of reruns I thought remembering other weather events might be fun and in this case…cooling. It was on January 24-26 of 2016 when 27.5 inches of snow buried NYC. The NYC blizzard kept most of us close to home (little did we know that four years later we would all be staying close to home due to the pandemic). Here are a few wintry photos from my neighborhood outing at the time. A citywide travel ban was in effect. It was eerily quiet out there except for an occasional snowplow. Our NYC zoos were closed for two days. Hope you all are ‘weathering’ this crazy summer and staying safe.
Maya Lin’s Ghost Forest June 27, 2021
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Madison Square Park, maya lin, nature, NYC, photography, public art
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I am a big fan of public art. Public art is visually and physically accessible to the public; it is installed or staged in public space or the public realm, usually outside. Public art seeks to embody public or universal concepts rather than commercial, partisan or personal concepts or interests. It is not commercial and is usually temporary. Madison Square Park is my neighborhood park and has been exhibiting public art since 2004. I have adored most of the previous exhibits and was usually sad when they left but I knew another project would be coming our way and looked forward to that. Architect Maya Lin’s Ghost Forest is a grand success. She explains it much better than I can in this four minute video and shows us how she conceived and built this new work. It is on thru November 13. 2021 and I encourage a visit. You can also have a Shake Shack meal in the original Shake Shack in the park. Eataly is directly across the street and the new Harry Potter shop is one block away for you non-Muggles. Another public art project is happening the city in August. Yes, the Cow Parade is coming back to NYC from August 18 to September 30. 
Oh those April Showers May 3, 2020
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: april showers, Madison Square Park, may flowers, nature, NYC, photography
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It seemed to rain more than usual this April in NYC. The good news is that those April showers sure brought those beautiful May flowers. During my 52 days of lockdown (so far) I walk in Madison Square Park a lot both with my dog, Mr. Pepe and by myself. Round and round and round I go noticing all of the trees blooming, the flowers growing and the grass getting greener. I managed to even read all of the memorial plaques on the benches which made me both sad and nostalgic.I hope you are all staying healthy and managing to get out to smell the flowers (thru those masks if you can). 
Howl-O-Ween October 27, 2019
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: costumes, dogs, Howl-o-ween, Madison Square Park, photography
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I interrupt my 2019 Pacific Northwest zoocation photos in order to salute Madison Square Park’s Howl-O-Ween parade and doggie fest held yesterday. I have included in today’s salute some older photos of my departed Halloween doggies, Benny and One-eyed Jack. I miss them both. Enjoy today’s photos and have a great, safe, sweet Halloween. 
Walks with Jack February 25, 2018
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Jack the dog, Madison Square Park, Mary Schwalm
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I have been recuperating from shoulder replacement surgery these past few weeks with the help of some amazing friends and family. The biggest restriction I have is not being able to walk One-eyed Jack the dog. My good friend and zoocation buddy, Mary Schwalm helped out for the first 10 days. While dog walking, cat sitting, cooking, shopping and general nursing she managed to create a fun video about her ‘walks with Jack.’ Volume up and enjoy!
The Eyes Have It January 28, 2018
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Central Park Zoo, Madison Square Park, nature, NYC, photography, the dogist, wildlife, Zoos
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Zoo photography is both challenging and fun. They say the eyes are the window to the soul – I don’t know about that – but I do know if you can capture a gorgeous creature looking back at you – it is a great photo moment. Today’s montage is devoted to those moments. And yes, you will see my Jack the one-eyed dog depicted here as well. Speaking of Jack, while on a walk in Madison Square Park on Friday we met the Dogist. He took Jack’s photo, chatted and we shared some information. The rest is history. As of this morning, his Instagram photo of Jack had 155,000 likes.
Sunrises with Jack the Dog August 27, 2017
Posted by judylobo in Traveling.Tags: Madison Square Park, NYC, photography, rescue dogs, sunrise
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Having Jack the Dog in my life for the past 13 months has been almost perfect. He is an adorable, sweet, quiet, cat-loving senior pooch. However, he has one major flaw. He gets up at 4:41 AM each day (give or take a few minutes). No matter when we have a night walk he gets up at 4:41. So out we go into the quiet, mostly darkened NYC streets. We try not to wake the homeless people sleeping on the Madison Square Park benches. Our route is the same each morning. In trying to find an upside to this schedule I realized that we catch some amazing sunrises (and moon-sets) during these walks. I have been photographing them with my phone and thought it was time to share some of them with you. Enjoy.
Ahhh, Spring April 23, 2017
Posted by judylobo in Traveling.Tags: cherry blossoms, Flatiron building, Madison Square Park, NYC, photography
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NYC Blizzard January 24, 2016
Posted by judylobo in Traveling.Tags: Flatiron building, Madison Square Park, NYC Blizzard, photography
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The NYC blizzard kept most of us close to home. Here are a few wintry photos from my neighborhood outing yesterday. I especially missed Benny the dog – he loved the snow. Sigh. The citywide travel ban is in effect until 7am. It is eerily quiet out there except for an occasional snowplow. Our zoos are closed for a second day. Guess I’ll stay home with my own little feline zoo.
While at the Zoo 