Photo Credit: Roving Rube. Viewpoint: Somewhere in the Ramble, Central Park; 3/17/02 3:45 PM.

Notes (Roving Rube): Usually in Central Park, the Rube sees something interesting -- flowers, a lake, a promenade, and walks towards that. Then when he gets there he sees something else interesting a little further on, and he walks there. Eventually, like the hobbit who strayed off the trail in search of the elf-laughter, he finds himself lost in a thick woods. This is the Ramble. It is somewhere between 72nd and 79th Street.

The Rube finds it eerie because the narrow, sometimes darkly-shaded paths wind round and round, between looming boulders, along woodland gullies (Detail), and underneath ancient stone arches (Alternate View). Sometimes he'll catch a glimpse of a familiar landmark (In Context) and know where he is, and then dip back down beneath the trees and get spun round again.

The Ramble is beloved by birdwatchers -- it is rated by them as among the top places in the country -- especially during early mornings in the spring, before the leaves come on the trees. On this particular visit, the Rube was sure that he saw two bright red birds that were not cardinals. But he took his eyes off them to fumble with his camera, and they vanished.

The Rube had previously distinguished himself in this field by spotting an extinct Giant Carrier Pigeon down in Battery Park City. But further investigation showed it to be just a regular pigeon that, through forced perspective of a particular angle, appeared gigantic.