May pole dance at the White House Easter Egg Roll, Monday, April 1, 1929, National Photo Company Collection, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
First Lady Lou Hoover added May pole and folk dancing to the annual event — but only briefly. Apparently, the Depression was bad enough on its own.
(If you click on the photo and enlarge it, you can see the wonderfully fierce expression of one of the girls on the right side.)
Buying Easter flowers, Union Square, New York City, April 18, 1908 (the Saturday before Easter) by Bains News Service, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Things look pretty calm in these pictures, but only a week and a half before, on March 28, the park was the scene of a demonstration by the unemployed and then a bombing, which killed the bomber and a bystander.
Since 1976, Union Square has been the site of a thriving greenmarket (every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday), which includes flower sellers.
You can scroll through larger versions of these images (and several more) by clicking on ‘Continue reading’ below and then on any thumbnail in the gallery.
Sirenʹ or lilacs — an early color photograph taken between 1905 and 1915 — by Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Prokudin-Gorskiĭ, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,
Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love. . . .
— Walt Whitman, from “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d“
On Friday morning, I looked down from our upstairs porch and cursed the hawks.
For about a year now, they have had a huge nest in the tree right next to the house — and they have “feathered” it with all sorts of garbage, particularly dirty pieces of cloth and scraps of paper. They regularly redecorate by pushing some of their treasures out over the side.
Whenever I look up, I take in the sight of what looks like someone’s old underwear lapped over a branch.
This appeared to be the worst yet — chips of styrofoam (?) all over the ground. They really were flying pigs.
A closer inspection, however, revealed that I had to take it all back.
Thousands of tiny, tiny white mushrooms were in the grass and the planting bed.
Below, the white grains under the mushrooms are yet more mushrooms.
Sorry, hawks. . . until next time.
In more news from the same tree, the weaver birds and their amazing basket nests are back.
The yellow-colored males have been building and re-building for several weeks now, chattering loudly as they work. According to a guidebook, the males weave and the females inspect (and destroy any subpar work).
(There are much nicer photos of last year’s nests here.)
I guess the girls — who are plain brown — were finally satisfied, because it recently got much quieter up there. Then, a few days ago, I started finding halves of eggshells on the grass under the tree.
Here’s my collection so far.
There are birds here,
so many birds here
is what I was trying to say
when they said those birds were metaphors
for what is trapped
between buildings
and buildings. . .— Jamaal May, from “There Are Birds Here“
One of our cycad’s new leaves — there’s more about this plant here.
Our cycad is a sago palm or Cycas revoluta, a species of gymnosperm with origins in the Mesozoic era. Revoluta refers to the “curled back” leaves.
A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden. . .
— Gerard Manley Hopkins, from “Spring“
Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Follow Up is the 16th of every month. Check out more beautiful leaves at Digging.
