Montana may lay claim to the phrase “big sky country,” but New York is no slouch when it comes to panoramic vistas. Near a hilltop, or just beyond the boughs of the Forest‘s trees, you can catch the blue expanse above the NYBG without the cityscape that usually frames it. No radio towers, no skyscrapers marking up the periphery–just clouds of every shape and consistency.

It’s good for daydreaming.

On afternoons where the barometer reads high and the sun is clear, you see opal blue in rich or dusky shades. Other days, the sky is a scatter of swoops and ruffles that you’d have to climb pretty high to enjoy elsewhere in the city. But as I remember it, “show, don’t tell” is a rule you pick up in middle school language arts class. I suppose I should follow it, huh?
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Not what you’d expect to find growing in the Bronx, is it?

If your love for New York’s hip-hop history runs smack into a penchant for urban gardening, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Literally. I mean, how often do you get to blend the defining musical stylings of the Bronx with the green thumb’s art?

It’s called the Bronx Urban Farm Tour, and this year’s trip leads you through some of our borough’s finest working farms, as guided by a pioneer of the hip-hop movement which started here in the 1970s. It’s an enlightening way to see and experience the food, music, and culture of the Boogie Down through the eyes of one of its most esteemed supporters–this year’s tour narrator will be none other than the prolific Grandmaster Melle Mel! For the uninitiated, that’s Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Or maybe The Sugarhill Gang rings a bell.
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Peahen sighted! The subdued colors of the female aren’t so easily recognizable as the flamboyant frill of the male peacock, but the slight tinges of blue-green color (not to mention those Dr. Seuss-esque head feathers) should give her away.

What few realize is that these birds really can fly, though they’re often kept in open-air aviaries–it’s just easier to stay put than leave a reliable food source. Another fact, somewhat more hilarious: peacocks are used as “guard dogs” by some, as they have a tendency to let out deafening squawks at the approach of strangers. Just don’t expect them to tackle an intruder with any efficacy.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen