Monastery at Large

Category: Urban Life

  • Urban Life: The Conversation

    Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York
    Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York

    I’d been spending a quiet afternoon in Brooklyn Bridge Park when the place was suddenly mobbed with people, all of them with phones and cameras in hand to snap a sunset shot over Manhattan.

    I could see none of them had a clue what they were doing: they just needed content to post on their socials.

    It was a super cloudy day, and I could’ve told those two-bit photographers they were wasting their time, but people have to learn these things for themselves—and I don’t talk anyway.

    As a line of solitary clout-chasers fixed their lenses on the Financial District for likes and engagement, soon to be disappointed, I watched this pair quietly engrossed in actual conversation.

    What a novel concept, I thought.

  • Urban Life: A Little Shopping

    Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
    Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

    More like suburban life, I spotted this friendly mockingbird loitering outside a big box store during a routine shopping trip.

    It’s hard to imagine a more desolate habitat for wildlife than an American shopping center, but mockingbirds are apparently resourceful little scavengers who can survive in the toughest environments.

    And make no mistake: the suburbs are tough, especially on the soul. Dear God, I detest them.

  • Urban Life: Common bumblebee

    Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens). Atlanta.
    Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens). Atlanta.

    Somehow, I managed to sneak away and have a rooftop lunch by myself. I’m sure I was exhausted by the morning’s work.

    It was a sweltering afternoon, but the skies in Atlanta were crystal clear and haze-free—a rarity for July.

    As I gazed at the Downtown skyline while I ate, this friendly bee landed on the cap of my Publix lemonade and feasted on the syrupy sweetness.

    I didn’t object.

  • Urban Life: Common pigeon in New York

    Common pigeon (Columba livia). Washington Square Park, New York City.
    Common pigeon (Columba livia). Washington Square Park, New York City.

    Picture the scene: A warm summer afternoon in Washington Square Park, lounging on a bench with a slice of pizza, probably on my way to watch an indie film.

    The air was heavy and lethargic, and the sounds of the city were muffled by the trees, except for the shrieks of nearby children running around the splash pad.

    While I was reviewing the day’s pics on my camera, I looked over and spotted this little scavenger helping itself to a snack off the ground.

    Glad someone is keeping this place clean, I thought.

  • Urban Life: Morning in Williamsburg

    I had to wake up insanely early for this shot a couple of years ago—in July, the sun rises at 5:30 a.m. over New York.

    I couldn’t believe how clear and haze-free the sky was that morning: just like a cold winter day.

    I found a quiet bench where someone had left a pair of sunglasses, and popped them on to watch the show.

    It wasn’t an innocent time, but the world felt less constricting then, and for a moment at least it was a little easier to catch my breath and find some optimism.

    There will be more golden days ahead, but I’m steeling myself for the long, hard slog to reach them.

    This is, after all, what I was built for.

  • Urban Life: Eastern gray squirrel

    Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
    Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

  • Urban Life: Northern cardinal

    Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
    Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

    It’s always a pleasure when a cardinal comes to visit. This pretty one hung around my window a lot last January and February.

    Cardinals don’t migrate, and apparently live in the same territory year-round. It’s funny how I only notice them in winter, though.

  • Urban Life: Paley Park, New York

    Paley Park, New York City
    Paley Park, New York City

    I first learned about Paley Park in William H. Whyte‘s The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, an inspiring and formative little book that I stumbled upon years ago and still occasionally thumb through and read.

    Paley Park was at the top of my list when I first visited New York, and I’ve returned many times since.

    Paley Park, New York City
    Paley Park, New York City

    Just 4,200 square feet in size,1 it’s a perfect little slice of nature in Midtown Manhattan, with a waterfall, trees, and plenty of tables and chairs.

    The park is packed every time I visit, whether on a beautiful spring afternoon or a freezing January day.

    Looking up through the canopy at Paley Park
    Looking up through the canopy at Paley Park

    References

    1. Paley Park – Wikipedia ↩︎

  • Urban Life: Northern Mockingbird

    Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
    Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

  • Urban Life: Red-shouldered Hawk

    Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus)
    Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus)

    I found this fine-feathered fiend on a recent photo excursion, giving me the sinister side-eye without moving a muscle.

    Good thing hawks aren’t any bigger—I’d have been its Thanksgiving dinner otherwise.