All photographs by marvelous Central Park Photographer, Eleanor Tauber
As Eleanor said that The Model Boat Pond ducklings are growing up and every day they look more and more like their mallard Mom.
She continued, "I went to the NABA [New York chapter of the North American Butterfly Association] yearly picnic last Wednesday night at Turtle Pond. After the picnic, when it got dark, some of us went looking for cicadas, and really lucked out quickly. We were headed for Cedar Hill, but found one just when it was starting to transform, on a fence near the “Poland” statue."
"All the changes happened [except for the last photo] within 14 minutes."
(That's fast! The last one I watched took well over an hour to emerge and that doesn't include wing drying time. D.B.)
"We went away for 25 minutes — and came back to see the transformation completed [my final photo]."
Also at Central Park's Turtle Pond, Eleanor captured this Bumble Bee with his proboscis deep in a flower.
AND this Blue Dasher Dragonfly! I'd always wondered how their bodies were segmented. When I was a small child the children of the neighborhood called these dragonflies "Blue Arrows" and their flights were used as a part of our games of Cowboys and Indians.
Un-adult micro-managed free outdoor play in nature, builds creative pathways in the brain, creates a comfort zone of self-reliance, and nurtures young humans who understand, appreciate, and become responsible adults who care what happens to the Earth and it's creatures.
Donegal Browne
