The season of Thanksgiving

New York has a lot of parades with A-List guests. Recently, Macy's had their annual parade starring Santa Claus and his many friends.

Mr. Claus brings up the rear. Before he arrives, floating Smurfs and others are there for your enjoyment.

It's a great day for the whole family, and the beginning of a wonderful time of year.

City Island

I biked to City Island. Don't worry, it's not that hard, there's a bridge.

That's right, just at the edge of the Bronx there is a beautiful, quiet island like this.

You can relax, enjoy fishing, eat seafood, and see tropical parrakeets living in the wild.

I have to remind myself that this is New York City.

When is an orchard not an orchard?

When it's a beach!

Fall is fun. Look where I biked?
To Orchard Beach, the Bronx!

It is so nice to go to a beautiful beach, right in New York City.

But be careful, you have to bring your own fruit.

It is next to City Island, which is more of an island than a city. I will show you that next.

Discovering Fall in New York

La Reina has really been getting around this month. The Fall is a great time for biking, and I'm seeing nature on two wheels!
The other day I went to Spuyten Duyvil, the Bronx. This hidden place overlooks the northern tip of Manhattan.
See? Muy romantico

To get there, you have to go uphill. But that's OK, it's fun going down again afterwards.

What kind of bike do I have? I'll have to show you later. I'm jealous of some of the pimped out two-wheeled vehicles I have seen up here. I think I'm gonna buy a fruit basket for my bike.

Dancing on the boardwalk

Well it’s summer so I love to get some sun. I like to walk around and it’s a good way for the fruit on my hat to ripen. Well, this weekend I was over at Coney Island, thinking of Puerto Rico. Who doesn’t think of Puerto Rico when they’re next to the beach?

And then I heard some wonderful salsa music. Right on the boardwalk is a tent where a band plays and people dance. You should see the people at this free party. Men and women, young and old were getting down to the rhythm of the drums and the waves. Some who did not fit into these categories were also there. That’s right, I took a picture of a guy with a beard and a dress and an African grey parrot.

I'll show you some pictures of me swimming later when I can drag Sherwin out of the office to go with me.

A very creative goddess

My name is Izanami. In the Shinto tradition of Japan, I created the ground that people walk on. And when you're on islands surrounded by water, that means a lot.

First, in the high plain of heaven, several gods were created: Izanagi, and me. Izanagi and I went down a bridge from heaven to the edge of the water and poked at it with a spear, making a little dry spot. We then made a large pillar. We walked around it several times. [Sometimes this story gets sexist because I speak first and this upsets the balance of nature. Just keep reading though, and you will see that women are very important in this tradition.] Then I noticed that his body, while perfectly formed, had an extra piece sticking out. Then he noticed that my body, while perfectly formed, had a little piece missing. As we decided what to do with our discovery, we made love. Because of this act of ours, the sea quaked and islands began to rise up out of the water. Today, that place is called Japan.

After quite some time, we had created an archipelago and also a few more gods. The moon god came out of me, then my thug son Susa-no-O (the storm god). But when I tried to give birth to the fire god, it really hurt. Ouch! I was so burned, I died.

Izanami was upset and went down into the underworld to talk to me. This story is similar to the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. He wasn't supposed to look back at me but he did. Demons chased up above ground and he put a big rock in the opening to the underworld.

Goddess of the arts

Do you like pictures and music and poetry?

I do! I'm the goddess of the arts.

In Hinduism I am called Saraswati. I was welcomed by Buddhists who call me Benzaiten.

No matter the religion, you want arts and I got arts!
I am usually shown with four arms, holding stuff. I date back to the era of Vedic literature.

Poetry — the Rigveda contains hymns, representing poetry

Prose — Yajurveda contains prose

Music — Samaveda represents music.

The four hands show this — prose is represented by the book in one hand, poetry by the garland of crystal, music by the veena (stringed instrument). The pot of sacred water represents purity in all of these three, or their power to purify human thought.

I am known to be the consort of Brahma, who is the creator of the universe. I am very creative, too, of course.
Sometimes a swan or peacock is shown next to me. The bird represents arrogance and pride over its beauty, and by having it as my mount, I teach not to be concerned with external appearance and to be wise regarding the eternal truth.