Autumn officially begins on Monday, Sept. 22, and even
though New York had a relatively mild summer this year, there are still plenty
of reasons to feel good about the new season.
Fall is just better than summer, even a pleasant summer.
Autumn is one of the best times of the year. It gives one a sense of renewal,
of things starting over again. It is time to celebrate, dedicate oneself anew
and see crisply the possibilities of the coming seasons. And this sense of
renewal is one of the reasons autumn and New York go so well together. Starting
things over again and exploring new frontiers, harvests and chapters of life is
what New York City is all about as well.
Here are some ways you can celebrate the coming Fall season
in New York that don’t involve fashion shows or raking leaves:
Corn Maze at the
Queens County Farm Museum: You probably don’t expect to find too many
working farms in the five boroughs of New York City, but there are. Chief among
them is the Queens County Farm Museum, located in the Glen Oaks section of
Queens. Its annual corn maze (“Maize Maze”) opens this coming Saturday, Sept.
20. A few years ago I entered the corn maze there and managed to find my way
out. A few times it was tempting to just break through the walls of corn and
thrash my way out of there as if pursued by the Children of the Corn. But we
managed to get out without losing our minds, though we didn’t stop at every
check point along the way (next time, maybe). Corn mazes are quite common in
more rural parts of the country, even those not famous for corn. I’ve come
across several while driving through New England.
Any chance to take part in the country life while within the
boundaries of New York City is an adventure you should take.
Foliage watching in Inwood
Hill Park: People from all over the country come to the Northeast in order
to drive through upstate New York or parts of New England to see the trees
change color. Save yourself the car rental and take the A train (or the 1
train) to the “upstate Manhattan” neighborhood of Inwood and Inwood Hill Park. I was fortunate enough to live across the
street from Inwood Hill Park for more than 10 years. The brilliant array of
colors that the trees of Inwood present are as grand as any you’ll find
upstate. Inwood Hill Park contains the last natural forest in Manhattan. Even
on a day when lots of people are in the park, it’s not hard to find yourself in
a quiet and remote part of the woods. Also, because New York City is warmer
than upstate and New England, the trees will take longer to change colors, so
you have more time to make it uptown. While you’re in Inwood you may spot some
eagles or hawks in the park. Nearby Fort Tryon Park is worth a visit too, but
lacks the dense woods.
Learn some new skills: Want to be more of a capable person
and less of a lazy spendthrift? Well the Fall is a good time to learn some new
skills and there are chances to learn how to be a more useful person. For
example, New York State is offering free disaster preparedness training courses both in person and online. And this weekend in
Queens you can learn how to can your own vegetables thanks to
the Flushing CSA (full disclosure: my wife is a member of Flushing
CSA and is helping organize this event). So you have no excuse not to emerge
from autumn a better and more prepared person.
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