Under Your Spell, Untermyer

Introductory visit to Untermyer Park and Gardens.

Temple of the Sky.

As Friday unfolded warmer and less rainy than had been forecasted, the old folks called, itching for an excursion in the early afternoon. Sissy and I both had housekeeping planned, but it's hard to deny my sweet parents their field trips - these are the times we will remember one day; doing laundry or dishes, not so much.

Mama Hen and Papa Rooster had proposed just hitting Jones Beach, an old standby. But I like to try to introduce them (and myself) to new spots - change it up and stretch a little. We've reversed roles in some ways almost completely, with Sissy and I finding enrichment activities for them and fun places to take them visit to keep them stimulated. I suppose this is what has happened through the ages with aging parents. I now have a new perspective on "Benjamin Button." We want to keep them active while they are able. (We have been getting updates on my 99-year-old great-aunt in Nice, who no longer has that mobility.) And, after all, having the freedom to do precisely this - to be present and spend more quality time with the parental units - was why I left BigLaw last year.

So I checked my "Places to Explore" Insta folder (yay for social media! - sometimes), assessed the weather conditions, the accessibility for Mama Hen's jiggity knee, potential interest for them both, the time of day, distance, and the winner was [drumroll, please] ... Untermyer in Yonkers!

Of course, no one had eaten lunch, so while I drove (Papa Rooster has ceded more of the driving these days; all the better, probably, between his so-so night vision and occasional confusion), Sissy hunted for dining options en route. We stopped into the Applebee's closest to the park. It was a hit, and actually a pretty good bargain - better than any of us remembered, even had a vegetarian burger option me, and, as far as Papa Rooster was concerned, could have been the excursion in and of itself. In some regards, he is so easily satisfied; at 86, his wants have become simple.

By the time we were done dining, though, with these very short early Winter days, we lost light quickly. Happily, the park is having its Illumination evenings. The walled part of the garden was lovely at late dusk going into early evening. 

O' Christmas tree...

Persian Pool (view from the Temple of the Sky).

The grounds are the opposite of "simple." The life of the long late Mr. Untermyer, an attorney who became very wealthy, overlapped Papa Rooster's by three years; my guess is that is close to the extent to which their lives overlapped.

Sphinxes atop columns, looking toward the Amphitheater (from the visitor's perspective; the sphinxes face away from it).

View from the Amphitheater.

Toward the western horizon.

The Vista through the locked gate.

Peering past the gate at the Vista Overlook.

Good guard doggie at the loggia housing the gate that leads to the Vista Overlook.

Back toward the Temple of the Sky.

Persian Pool behind the Temple of the Sky.

Mosaic on the floor of the Temple of the Sky.

Tower in corner of the walled garden.

Close-up of wall tower.

The form of this tree was quite beautiful in person; the photograph does not capture the shape and grace of the trunk and main branches well.

The small area that we visited whetted our appetite to revisit during the day when we can see the full grounds (when it's warmer and the plants awake from their Winter dormancy) and gaze across the Hudson to New Jersey. We'll be back!