Paul D. Natkin: park

Showing posts with label park. Show all posts

Friday, April 29, 2011

There are many beautiful trees in the area, not only at the Viewpoint, but also in the surrounding neighborhoods.

The Cherries, Apr. 3, 2011

Friday, January 21, 2011

Some visitors come to the Viewpoint dressed in a mixture of colors and patterns. But some come in an outfit where one color predominates.

Woman in Yellow, Jan. 1, 2011

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

I nearly forgot about this sunset.

Sunset, Jan 11, 2011

Sometimes the movement at the Viewpoint is more to the right, sometimes more to the left, and sometimes in various directions.

Up- and Downhill, Jan. 1, 2011

Thursday, January 6, 2011

There are certain moments when the movement of bodies in and out of the space of the upper park becomes a virtual parade. Dogs and their human walkers add to the sense of procession.

Parade of People, Jan. 1, 2011

Monday, January 3, 2011

Each person who visits the Viewpoint comes in some sort of outfit. Over time, the nature of the clothing one observes on visitors changes in accordance with stylistic trends. But the way these people dress also varies in relation to changes in weather. Temperature, humidity, degree of windiness and level of precipitation all have a bearing on the clothing choices made by individuals who come to the Viewpoint.

Viewpoint, Red Gloves, Jan. 2, 2011

Saturday, January 1, 2011

The mountains have been out for the last few days.

Union Bay and Cascade Mountains, Dec. 31, 2010

Friday, October 8, 2010

This is the walkway.

The Walkway at Night, Fall, 2010

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

If only I'd been to the Viewpoint today, how happy I'd be. Instead I had to write an email that ended up being a little longer than I wish it had.

The Park Above at Night, Fall, 2010

Thursday, September 30, 2010

People who sit in this bench are usually in a good mood, I think. I see people who look sad, or lost in thought, more often at some of the other benches.

Four Guys on a Bench (c.u.), July 24, 2010

Friday, September 24, 2010

The most common place to sit, especially for an extended period, is under the laurel tree.

Conversation (4), July 24, 2010

Friday, September 3, 2010

It can be hard to decide which is the definitive image of a given subject, even when one is making a selection from amongst images taken within a period of a few seconds. The multiplicity of images and the unresolved decision as to which should represent the subject may, in fact, be the subject.

A More Reasonable Version, July 24, 2010

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Crows

Crow on a Wire, Sept. 14, 2009

One can observe birds of a large number of species in and around the parks below the Viewpoint. Let's start with the crows. Sometimes huge numbers of them congregate in the treetops just below the Viewpoint, making a terrific racket. I'm always fascinated by this. They're very active in the cemetery across the street, too.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Blue Genie

When I was at the Viewpoint this evening, I noticed that the five lights that illuminate the park after dark do cast some light onto the trees growing in the ravine below. You don't much see this cast light unless you walk under the laurel tree, where there's no light shining in your eyes, our you walk right up to the edge and look outwards, towards the view. I'll have to deal with this further.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Like Birds

I stopped by the Viewpoint this evening. There was a circle of five or six young people, probably in their late teens or twenties, sitting in a circle to one side of the laurel tree. They were talking up a storm, but once I walked into the center of the park, they suddenly grew silent. I didn't go any closer to them. It's like birds--you don't go too near, or they might take off in a hurry.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Three Trees and the Effects of Perspective

There are essentially three trees defining the edge. One of these, as I've mentioned, has two trunks. Then there's a fourth tree just a little further to the east, actually on the property of the adjacent home. In addition, there are trees within the park, further in from the edge. And, of course, there are the trees that grow up from below the edge. But it's the three trees at the edge that fascinate me the most. To some people it might seem sort of out old hat, but I love the effects of perspective as I approach the Viewpoint from the north and then, entering the park, walk along the path to it's end on the southeast side. I'm intrigued by how, as I walk, the spaces between the three trees get smaller and smaller, to the point where these spaces disappear, and then reappear, in reverse, as I walk further.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Sentinel in Shadow

Very often, when the rest of the park is in bright sunlight, the Sentinel is in shadow.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Early Afternoon

There are just two people at the moment: a woman with gray hair, wearing glasses, a red blouse and gray slacks; and a man eating take-out under the laurel, wearing a derby hat, a yellowish-brown patterned shirt and dark blue slacks, drinking a beverage from a clear plastic container.

Clematis vines swirl around the bottom of the trunk of the old maple--the "Sentinel." Two red sports cars are parked, back to back, on the adjacent street. I look again, and one of the cars is gone. The street, with it's well-kept gardens, is a riot of color. There's a great variety of rockery plants, from traditional to exotic, along with a sign for a political candidate. The various colors all have a little yellow mixed in--even the blue of the sky--which I guess is because of the sunlight. It's past noon, but the sun is still near its zenith.

On Union Bay, near the shore that's closest to me, there's a motorboat moving westward.

A jogger--a tall, middle-aged guy in a white shirt and dark blue shorts, with red hair and pale skin--runs through the park.

A locust tree grows from below the trail--from a point maybe about 100 feet below the edge. (Is it a Black Locust?)

A woman in black shorts and a dusty fuchsia halter top, who has a brown, medium-sized short-haired dog on a leash, comes jogging by, then quickly disappears into the distance. And then another jogger--a guy in sunglasses and a gray T-shirt and dark blue running shorts--passes by.

I admire the red doors of the neighboring house that's almost black but not quite. (I think of this color as the color of licorice ice cream.) I've always admired this color combo on this house, which has been the same for years.

The guy under the laurel tree gets up to leave. He throws his garbage into the garbage can. He's holding a newspaper.

There are a few sailboats and motor boats on the lake, and now there's one light-green sailboat on the bay. I hear crows cawing as though it were the end of the world.

A seaplane flies over the bay and the stadium. I'm alone now in the park. A white cabbage moth flutters about. I tune out the sound of the cars passing back and forth behind me.

Two guys in black T-shirts swagger by on the other side of the hawthorns, which are just in from the sidewalk. Then a woman in a red shirt, with black hair and a pale green purse comes by.

A spray of scarlet flowers grows on the steep hillside under one of the neighboring houses to the east. Underneath the scarlet flowers are white ones, then more scarlet ones.

I hear a jet flying overhead. I notice cream-colored clematis blossoms along the edge. Each blossom has four petals, with many spikes in between each two petals. These blossoms grow in clusters of 3 x 3, if that makes any sense. There are nine blossoms per large cluster, and then these large clusters are divided into three sections with three blossoms per section. I'm not sure if this is always the case, but this is what I found in my limited sampling.

A light green aphid lands on my left arm. There's a vaguely sweet, aromatic plant smell in the air. I see one pink blackberry blossom and, in places, a few green berries.

Paul D. Natkin