Out on Staten Island recently, we spotted a pair of juvenile bald eagles, not quite bold yet and their heads still dark, later joined by a parent. Mt Loretto, as often said here, is special. It is probably the only park in the five boroughs that is not packed on a summer weekend. Almost alone, we had our picnic on a favorite bench facing the ocean and watched large ships cruising by a stone's throw away. Happy birds were everywhere, a groundhog scuttled as if we had bee...

After two Staten Island weekend outings in a row, we worried that our necks might turn red—mine actually was pinkish for the lack of sunblock—and instead steered confidently north to the Bronx. Landing in Pelham Bay on a sunny Easter Sunday was nothing short of paschal. The immense parking lot was bustling and the usual driving chaos prevailed. Hundreds of people were setting camp up on the grass for communal BBQ's and hundreds more lay on the sand like sardines, beggin...