Prospect: A Year in the Park

This Old Park

So much gorgeousness at 3 p.m. on a crisp November Monday--plus a Media Bonus.

On this Asian Bride Monday, we had at least 8 couples getting photographed (with much shivering of bare shoulders). For a moment, in the Cleft Ridge Span, there was nearly an incident of "bridelock" or, at the very least, hot and cold (mostly cold) running brides and grooms.

One of my favorite multi-trunked trees, near the Audubon House, was arrayed just as magnificently; I'm glad the car was there, it gives you some idea of the scale of this tree.

Across the Lullwater Bridge, the woods are very open and symmetrical, like a church with columns but no pews.

A few yards up the hill, the Binnenwater (below) splashes down on its way to the lake. I wonder if the crayfish I met here last summer has buried himself deep in the cold mud?

But wait, there's more!

These familiar-looking fellows were striding along, with a video crew in tow, talking about the park, "Brooklyn's back yard." We had stumbled onto a shoot for the newest installment of This Old House!

Landscaping guy Roger Cook (left) was probably praising Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to Handyguy Kevin O'Connor (right).

The crew was happy to pose on the bridge, and dragged Daughter into the shot; they must have intuited her lifelong experience being raised in That Old House. The producer assured me that they would be breaking the news tomorrow about their upcoming Brooklyn project, in Prospect Heights. Well, sort of breaking; it's been known in the Brooklyn blogosphere, right down to the rumored address, since last month (and we will mercifully spare the project-house family any further spotlight).

It beats a cubicle

 Prospect Park is not what most of us picture when we say "workplace," but plenty of people here are on the job. This cheerful young crew labored on the slope of Lookout Hill; nearby signs announce, "Woodland Restoration: Forest rehabilitation in progress." They are thinning out the understory, replacing invasive species with native ones.








Meanwhile, a short walk across Center Drive, a crew from the new TV show "Fringe" set up a tracking shot on the park's edge. Earlier, they had rigged a long pipe atop the black car, to shoot actors inside the car in motion. "Fringe" actually scouted the CrazyStable recently (we've been on "Law & Order twice," so we're "film-friendly" as the location scouts say), but so far they haven't booked us. Of course, this being the city, people just strolled past the lights, camera, and action, deep in cell-phone oblivion.

COOL PARK STUFF IN OCTOBER

October 18 (next Saturday, not tomorrow): Volunteer Fall Clean-Up. Meet at base of Lookout Hill on Center Drive; get the place ready for the kiddies on Hallowe'en, get some exercise and fresh air, and maybe meet the guy or gal of your dreams. Okay, I made that last part up, but I always wonder why lonely singles hang out in bars meeting jerks, when the really nice folks are all at volunteer events. I digress. To volunteer, call (718) 965-8960, or e-mail volunteers@prospectpark.org.

and, that night: Prospect Park Ball, 6:30 p.m. to midnight at the Carousel. This benefit for the Prospect Park Alliance sounds delightful (dinner and dancing under a tent, carousel rides in cocktail dresses!), and is absolutely what I'd do if I had $350 to toss around. Daughter and I just rode the Carousel this afternoon, and it rocked even without cocktails.

October 25: Haunted Walk and Carnival! Free from noon to 3 p.m., an extravaganza on the Nethermead. This particularly intrigued me: "Volunteers are needed to dress up and be scary, prepare meals for performers, assist with carnival games, load the sets, and much more."  (Call number above.) Costume suggestions, anyone? Sarah Palin will be very overdone; how about Marty Markowitz?