Tag: melissa cooper

By Melissa Cooper After spending the better part of September on eastern Long Island, I’m home in NYC, where fall has thinned the trees in Riverside Park. Home in the city, where the peacocks roam. Our first day back, the dog and I visited the grounds of Saint John the ...

A fellow nature lover recently told me of seeing a black squirrel repeatedly in the northern end of Central Park. So I ventured out to find it.

The modern dog spends a significant portion of his or her life waiting. Much of a dog’s waiting time happens away from human eyes, alone in houses or apartments, waiting, patiently or not, for owners to return from wherever it is that owners go.

A belligerent raven, sculpted by Peter Woytuk, hangs out near the entrance to the subway station on Broadway and 72nd Street. The big bronze bird appears to have taken on the character of a neighborhood scold.

An urban wildlife habitat is a wonderful thing, don’t you think? Before you answer… rise and walk with me to lovely 112th Street and Riverside Drive.

By Melissa Cooper No animals are visible on today’s late afternoon dog walk in Riverside Park on the eve of Hurricane Irene’s arrival. Well, actually many animals are out, but only two species: humans and canines.  No wildlife. Not a single bird or squirrel.  Even the cicadas are silent, and ...