Each time I pass a canoe portage site along the river, I mentally frame the spot and consider how I was stepping off the D train not long before. It borders on surreal.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

My kingdom for a canoe. I wonder if we’ll see boats on the Bronx River return in the fall.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

We can’t tell you how grateful we are to have this running through the NYBG. Sometimes, just lazing on the bridge over the Bronx River is a good way to take the edge off the afternoon heat.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The disapproving waterfowl of the NYBG, ever ready and willing to shame you into putting down that camera.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

In August, we took a paddle-with-a-purpose down the Bronx River, New York City’s only freshwater river.

Bronx River Clean-Up With the Bronx River Alliance

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And now that we have turned the corner on the shortest day of the year and are in the midst of the Festival of Lights, all seems a little brighter, too.

Bronx River and the Forest (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Though I’m no longer holding my breath for a white Christmas, I’m not bummed, because that just means more lunchtime walks in the Forest!

It has certainly been a strange fall, and in a lot of ways, honestly, it has been a gentle fall. This gentle fall–and its gentle transition to fall colors–can be most beautifully appreciated in observing the Bronx River’s gentle waterfall.

Bronx River Waterfall (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

It’s not often that we’re thankful for the rare sounds of industry in the Garden. We do love our peace, and if silence is golden, it’s an abundant commodity here in a place where car horns and creaking subway trains can be so readily forgotten. But since the storm left its mark over the Halloween weekend, the sound of work being completed is–at least for the moment–a comfort.

Arborists and the horticulture staff have leapt to the task of trimming away damaged tree branches, removing fallen boughs, and returning the Garden to its original splendor. And while we may have endured a bit of a jolt, we’re already back on our feet and moving forward with a weekend of events both exciting and memorable.
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Along the Bronx River.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The Bronx River (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)