High Line, My Line

There's the High Line, down in Manhattan. . .

. . .nicely, cultivated, manicured

destination to millions of visitors each year. . .

. . .but up in the Bronx

                              there's also MY line!

In comparison, a bit scraggly perhaps. . .

. . .but at the end of a long day,

a most welcome destination for this daily commuter!

Elevated Waterway

Over the past few years, several of the stations on the elevated portion of the Bronx IRT 6 line have undergone renovations.

As these were completed, panels of artwork were also installed making the stations a little more cheery.


This artwork consists of either colorfully tiled murals or whimsical metal sculptures.  My favorite is the "Cross-Bronx Waterway" sculpture, located at the Middletown Road station.  The artists are Amanda Schachter and Alexander Levi of SLO Architecture, commissioned by MTA Arts & Design as part of the NYC Transit Rehabilitation program.


Their piece pays homage both to the train's course as it navigates its way across the borough, while also traversing parts of the Pelham Bay watershed, which includes the Hutchinson River,  Westchester Creek, and Bronx River waterways, before reaching the Harlem River as it crosses into Manhattan.

The sculpted panels are mounted in such a way that when standing on the platform it is as if you are underwater looking up at items floating on the surface.

I think this is a really fun, creative way to expose aspects of the Bronx's ecology
to the public that they typically don't see or even think about
as they commute back and forth to work or school.

I can tell you it has certainly made my otherwise long,
daily commute a little more delightful!

Mixed Use

Upon a Pedestal

Life, Unexpected

GuestPeek: Butterfly Garden

My friend Karen and her daughter, Kalena created a butterfly garden in their back yard!

Karen is a Librarian (woo hoo!) at Riverview Branch Library in Florida and she'd hosted a Master Gardener program on butterfly gardens at her branch a couple of months ago. She thought it sounded like an easy gardening project for non-gardeners as well as being good for the environment, so decided to gave it a try!
 

Why is this exciting?

Due to destruction of their native habitats or the plants they eat, butterfly populations are decreasing or even going extinct. The creation of a butterfly garden represents an intentional act to try and create or restore habitats favorable to their life cycle and survival. 

Since butterflies also happen to be flower and plant pollinators, they are an essential part of the food cycle. Environments that attract butterflies also tend to attract other types of insect pollinators. 

Basically, if WE want to keep eating,
we need the pollinators!

As you can see, Karen and Kalena already have a few visitors!

Hat tip to Karen and Kalena for taking on this project, and thanks so much for sharing, with us here at Permie Peeks! If you live down in that area, and want to learn more about the Master Garden Extension programs, click here.

Lush Life

Shared aVenues

PoetryPeek: Under the Sea

Passenger's soda
spills on the platform. Result?
Underwater scene

Muscota Marsh: A "Meeting" Place

At the northern tip of Manhattan lies the Muscota Marsh.

It is a place of many "meetings". . .

where land MEETS water. . .
     . . .the Munsee tribe of the Lenape Indians fished, farmed and hunted there. "Muscota" is a Lenape word meaning "meadow by the water" or "where the reeds grow" (see Thomas Rainer's wonderful blog post, Muscota Marsh Park: A Lucid View of Troubled Waters for an in depth discussion of the marsh's cultural impact and history).

where fresh and salt waters MIX. . .

     . . . or estuaries-- a place where rivers, streams, creeks, etc., empty out into the sea or the ocean. They are some of the most rich, diverse and productive of natural habitats.

For the Lenape, the marsh was a place abundant in oysters, clams, crabs and fish. They fashioned the reeds growing there, into "weirs" to trap the fish.

where the northern tip of Manhattan KISSES the western edge of the Bronx. . .
     . . .in the time of the Lenape, at tide's ebb, they could walk across the mudflats between the two land masses.  Centuries later it would be dredged to create the Harlem River Shipping Canal, thus effectively and finally separating them.

where culture and history CLASH. . .
     . . .here the Lenape would encounter the Dutch. And, like the insistent pull of the tide, so too would begin the  inexorable shift from one way of life to another. . .the Dutch gave the waterways bounding Manhattan their own names. . .Spuyten Duvil Creek. . .the Harlem River, which flow into each other there.

and, most recently, where Columbia University 

ENCROACHES upon the surrounding community. . .

     . . .the restoration of this green space is an amenity received through a community benefits agreement, in return for allowing Columbia to build a stadium and athletic center, down the street.

In this place of many meetings, an attempt has been made 

to reconnect the community to the waterfront. . .

the re-intersection of the urban and natural worlds.

Will it be successful? Only time will tell.

Soft or Hard Landing?

In permaculture, “edge”— that is, the place where two landscapes meet— is a very interesting place.

For the little berries here, what happens to them next. . .

. . .depends into which landscape they've landed.

Smashed upon the pavement. . .

. . .or absorbed back into the earth to complete their cycle?

Traces

Even amidst powerful ebb and flow. . .

. . .of water's tide,

 



our own traces intrude--









. . .overpowering its pristine beauty.

Tiny Forest

Gateway

Puttin' On the Ritz!

Urban Infill

Where the Wild Things Are...

First there was The Cube...

. . . however, there are also lush planters

. . .strategically placed along the pedestrian plazas.









They provide a living, green curtain, separating










plaza visitors from the bustling mid-town, Broadway traffic.

Aaaahhhh....small delights!