Most of us have heard of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzerald's novel about aspiration and corruption on the Gold Coast of Long Island. The book describes the opulence of grand estates in that area of the New York coast. While mansions and estates still exist in North Shore communities along the Long Island Sound, many of the estates owned by legendary families have been donated to the public. Taxes and the cost of maintaining the properties were onerous.
Lucky me. These former estates now have become great places to take a walk, on Wednesday or any other day of the week. Bequeathed to the public in 1966 by the family of Grenville Clark, a Wall Street financier, Clark Botanical Garden is a haven, a natural gem tucked at the border of the Long Island Railroad tracks.
Entrance to the garden is free. No matter when I go, there is something new to to see. While the standing exhibits in the garden may be predictable, nature changes every moment. There maybe a bee that alights for a moment on a flower, and then is gone.
There might be a late summer blossom that will be wilting tomorrow.
Will that squirrel be there in the spring? Will it survive the winter, or the hurricane that may be heading our way in a few days? The Adirondack Ecological Center estimates the lifespan for juvenile grey squirrels to be 1- 2 years, adults 6 years.
This squirrel looks young, but does not appear to be a juvenile. It's range is between 1 and 25 acres. Since Clark Garden covers12 acres, maybe I'll see this critter again in springtime.
How about this chipmunk?
From the description provided by Critter Control, this little creature is an eastern chipmunk. It has a range of approximately 1/2 an acre and has a lifespan of about 3 years. I hope I will meet this little fellow again in 2023.
Perhaps when I go, in spring 2023, I will sit in this gazebo.
Or, I could sit by one of the garden's many small ponds, as I did the other day when I saw this dragonfly. It lit on the stalk of a reed, and posed for me.
I got several pictures of this beautiful fellow.
Was the dragonfly watching me, as I was watching it? Or was it stalking prey? Dragonflies have been described as the most effective hunters in the animal world. It is estimated that they are successful in their attempts to capture prey 95% of the time.
The dragonfly will surely not be here in the spring. Lifespan of an adult dragonfly is estimated to be between 1 week and 6 months.
As I contemplate the lifespans of different life forms present at Clark Garden the other day, I am struck by my arrogance. Will I be there? Will I walk across the bridge pictured above, as I have several times before?
Last spring I saw these turtles sunning themselves on the pond, snapped a photo and contributed it to the LMAC Gallery, on Hive. It looks like this species might be (?) a painted turtle.
There were no turtles evident the other day. I'm still here. Where are they? Will we both be back in the spring? If these were painted turtles, they live twenty to thirty years. Maybe we'll both be back.
I may come back in winter, when there is snow on the ground, and ice in this shaded brook.
If I do go back to Clark Botanical Garden, I'll be sure to report on that walk in this community.
Credits: All pictures were taken by me. The turtle picture is mine also, and may currently be found in LIL, the LMAC Image Gallery. All images in that gallery are public domain.
This is my first post in the Wednesday Walk community. What a great idea. We share our walks with others, so we get to enjoy the experiences twice.
Amazing Pictures! Such gardens and parks are great, I really like to watch the change of seasons there.
So nice to see you here, @captainloken. Thanks for coming. I am most comfortable in natural settings. That may come through in the pictures. When I walk in a shady place with trees overhead and insects buzzing, I am happy.
Its great that these estates which used to be only seen by the few rich elite are now open to be enjoyed by all, such a beautiful park, Love the chipmunk
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)
Thank you so much for the comment. I visit the garden, and other 'retired' mansions in the area with my husband. I find it ironic that my husband's mother was a nanny in one of those mansions (I think the Vanderbilt's) when she immigrated from Ireland.
Labor was cheap back then, wasn't it? One of the costs that eventually became onerous as time marched on.🙂
I like your community very much. At this time in my life, a leisurely stroll seems much more congenial than a race.
Following my Family tree I had an distant relation that immigrated from ireland to the US and also worked as a Nanny in a Mansion so its a small world
It looks like a great place to walk at any time, I hope you will go back in the winter ♥️
This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project
Thank you for stopping by, @wrestlingdesires. If I am able, I will go back. My husband and I find it a very peaceful place to spend an hour or two. There are surprisingly few people who visit the garden.
Thank you for the curation reward. Much appreciated 😇
It was my pleasure ♥️
Maybe people are just more interested in sitting at home these days :( ...
How did I miss this? Stunning! That squirrel and the chipmunk - oh my word, gorgeously cute…cute, cute, cute.. 🥰❤️🤗❤️💕❤️🤗🤗🤗
Thank you, @itsostylish. The squirrel and chipmunk were not as skittish as those I encounter in the streets. I guess these critters are used to peaceful people walking in the garden:)
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Wow, the pictures look amazing. Nature is always soothing and pleasing to the eye. One can relax here for eternity. I bet the tortoise has been there for a century😁
I don't think that turtle has been there for a century, but I'll bet it's a long time. The pond seems pretty safe for wildlife.
Thanks very much for visiting. I love nature also. Brings me peace.
I hope I can meet squirrels because in my area there are no squirrels.
the beauty of the plantation was a friend when the banana plant was established, thank you for sharing @agmoore
Thank you very much for visiting. I love the squirrel also. I think the animals in the garden may be used to people walking by so it was easy to snap their pictures.
Greetings @agmoore, it looks super relaxing your walk through the park and enjoy pate of the Vegetation and wildlife, I love these parks as you can enjoy the fresh air and the peace and quiet in them. What a nice place to walk 😁.
Hello @vinewhite,
I'm sorry for this late response. I missed your comment somehow. Thank you for appreciating my pictures. The garden was indeed a wonderful place to walk.
Hope you are having a great day!
no problem, as the saying goes, better late than never.😂
Beauty of nature, look at the turtles so amazing. Thanks for sharing such a nice beauty.
Thank you for reading the blog. I loved taking the pictures and it was fun writing about them.
Great photos, looks like a lovely place to go for a walk👍
Thank you for your comment. It is a lovely place to go for a walk. Take care.
Now your post makes me miss so badly visiting a botanical garden! As a nature lover, I was visiting one pretty often but it's been years since my last visit. I love how well maintained is the one from your walk!
Thank you for visiting. You are correct, this is very well maintained. I think one of the reasons I like it so much is because one can walk through it in the space of an hour or two. It isn't large.
You should go back, soon😇
Nice one 👍🏾
Thank you very much!
😎👍🏾
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