Queens

May
19
A tree with trumpet-shaped purple flowers dominates the foreground. Behind, a B train passes on exposed tracks.

Invasive Trees Enchant with Regal Blooms

Paulownias grew fast and ferociously, a quality that made them prized until their persistent proliferation was revealed.
2 min read
May
12
A particularly cute puffball of a shorebird with a tiny beak and big eyes patrols the Rockaway sands.

Piping Plovers On the Beach

Some of the city’s tiniest annual visitors have arrived to enjoy our shores, but they face formidable challenges.
3 min read
May
05
Fringe-like streamers of oak flowers blow in the wind. A park railing and water are in the background.

Trees Green and Eyes Redden

Your inflamed lids are weeping and your nose is running, for pollen is stirring.
2 min read
Mar
31
A small frog perched on some leaves faces away from the camera, peering off into darkness.

Lusty Heralds Call Into the Twilight

The spring peepers have defrosted to haunt the shores of ephemeral vernal pools.
2 min read
Feb
17
Two traffic cones stand guard before a gaping pothole that has already eaten their comrade cone, as well as some trash.

Potholes Manifest from Winter Freezes

It’s reported that the city has hundreds of thousands of potholes a year; a monumental annual rite of repair.
2 min read