Mall Walking....

"Once upon a time in America, great leafy high-arching cathedrals of American elms lined the streets of villages and cities from the Atlantic to the Rockies, casting a deep cool shade upon life's turmoil...  By 1970, 77 million of these trees had fallen prey to Dutch Elm Disease. "

Washington Post, 2001

That's me, walking down the Central Park Mall a few years back. These beautiful elm trees were once the most common tree in North America, but Dutch Elm Disease devastated something like 90% of the elm population over the last century or so.  This remains the largest "stand" of elm trees on the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.  There is a dedicated crew, on salary with the The Central Park Conservancy, whose only job is to care for and keep these trees alive (each tree is constantly inspected for the beetles that cause all the destruction.  As soon as one is detected, the entire branch of that tree is removed and destroyed). 

I used to make a habit of dashing to the Mall (a name that continues to confuse both locals and tourists alike...not a Cinnabon or Auntie Anne's Pretzels in sight!) as soon as it started snowing hard, as it becomes so picturesque (well, it's picturesque any time of year, actually).  I handed my camera to a woman walking her dog and asked her to take this shot.  I wonder if she knows what a great photographer she is! (and with an old disposable camera, to boot!). 

Not to put a damper on all this loveliness, but just last February, on almost this very spot where I'm standing, a man was killed by a falling branch in just such a snowstorm (from a tree just to the right of the lamp post on the right of the photo), as he dashed home from work. Man killed by falling branch in Central Park - NYPOST.com .

Sorry....didn't mean for this posting to be such a downer!  But it goes to show you:  You just never know....