As a habitual park goer, it's not an overstatement to say the daily evolution of the seasons is quite evident providing an entirely new set of vistas and experiences for each visit to Central Park...no matter how many times you might've already been there.

I'd wager Spring is by far the best season. In March, daffodils and other flowers begin appearing scattered about poking their heads through late snow when necessary. Moderate temperatures begin luring NY'ers out of dreary, cramped apartments; park attendance especially swelling after the first Sunday in April and DST.

The fountains get filled and drinking fountains turned on while new buds on trees/bushes cast a fresh light-green coating across the horizons. By mid-May, flowering trees are beautiful; the highest concentrations around Tavern on the Green, Cherry Hill, the eastern park look behind the art museum, the eastern bridle path along the reservoir, and in Conservatory Gardens - a definite must.

If you can't stand the heat, head for the park! Vegetations are at their lushest providing cool shade during summer months, but it's the massive amounts of people which become the main attraction. The park is abuzz with activities everywhere, though quiet moments are still available whether amidst the crowds or in solitude. Street performers, as well as the Summer Stage concert series and performances at Delacorte Theatre, provide daily entertainment beyond obvious people watching opportunities. Ferocious night time thunderstorms, conjured up by the most wicked humidity, can cause the ground to produce steam which yields a ghastly, eerie ambiance to the natural magical mystery.

Mild fall temperatures generously extend summer-like activities with trees offering little seasonal hints. They're not many Maples and others with vibrant fall foliage, but many shades of yellows/browns paint an entirely different landscape whether leaves are still clinging to trees or carpeting the ground. Judge for yourself, but there always seems to be a sense of desperation in the air the last Saturday of October as people fully indulge before losing the hour of park daylight come Sunday with the time change.

Enjoyable weather has usually stuck around until the week of Thanksgiving and Mother Nature drops the bottom out of temperatures. While not as great in numbers, you'll note the serious park patrons still walking dogs, jogging/biking and seeking refuge in this Edenistic escape...just more bundled up.

Central Park is not to be missed in winter! Bare tree limbs no longer conceal the towring rows of buildings surrounding the space; even more evident after 5:00 p.m. when all the lights come on. Take a walk with someone special; snuggled up for warmth...imaginary mistletoe hanging off any/everywhere! When there's snow/ice, proceed with caution walking across the frozen lakes. I see people doing it every year - yet someone always falls through!

And then, counting the days until Spring...

October 1st, 1857 was eviction day for 1,600 people who lived or squatted within the Park's newly formed boundaries. Ironically, it's believed near the same number of homeless people "live" within the Park today.

Rocky terrain remaining within the Park is what was scattered around most of the island purchased in 1626 from Wappinger Algonquins for the equivalent of $24. "Manhattan" is derived from their original Native American name "Manah-atin" meaning Island of Hills in reference to the rocks our skyscrapers are embedded on.

24 Sparrow Cops were hired in 1858 to police the Park and made 228 arrest for violations of driving carriages too fast, walking on the grass, picking flowers, public displays of affection, other minimal charges.

The general public was outraged that $63,000 was spent on the angel which caps the Bethesda Terrace Fountain - the first ever publicly commissioned and displayed work by a woman, Emma Stebbins, in NYC.

Early recreation within the Park was restricted and deemed only acceptable for children; adults expected to display modest, genteel behavior. Lawn tennis was the first organized sport allowed in 1884 by permit only. A ban on baseball within the Park was lifted in the 1920's.

The largest artwork display is the Maine Monument at the southwest/Columbus Circle entrance in memory of the 260 crewmen who died in the Battleship explosion in Havana. William Randolph Hearst funded it's placement in 1913.

The oldest artwork is an obelisk positioned behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art along the main loop bordering the Great Lawn. Donated by William Vanderbilt in 1881, this 71-foot-tall Egyptian structure predates 1460 B.C. and is likely the oldest thing in the entire city.

Squelched plans for sites inside the Park included for an airport, race track, Grant's Tomb, elevated el-trains, a burial ground for NY's prominent, and other privately funded "self-glorifying" monuments and statues.

7,674 benches can accomodate 23,022 adults. Demonstrations/rioting broke out in 1902 when a city commissioner thought he could ease city debt by "renting" bench space for 5-cents a sit!

The 106-acre reservoir accounts for one-eighth of park space and is under review for what to do with this body of water which no longer serves it's intended purpose. The current reservoir replaced the smaller, older Croton Reservoir which was filled in to become the Great Lawn.

The Central Park Conservancy was formed in 1980 to assume full responsibility for the Park's full upkeep often neglected by the financially-burdened city. $8.8 million, received by donations, was spent in 1985.

To showcase the best of Central Park, here's a brief itinerary to help you explore highlights without straying far from a main course: Enter from 59th St./6th Ave. and as the road begins to wind, follow the path leading uphill to the right which saves steps getting to the main loop. When you get to where the right is lined with benches, you'll be looking back to Wollman skating rink which the Plaza Hotel appears to tower over. The Chess/Checkers House is the small structure crowning the hill to the left should you want to observe or play. The small building in the valley between these two is The Dairy; another of the Park's originial structures that served fresh milk/snacks to early park goers. Today, it's an information center and houses special exhibits.

When finished, cross the street to the left and you'll see The Carousel; a revamped, electrified version of the original which used to be turned by a blind mule and horse in the basement. It cost 10-cents a ride when opening in 1870; expect to pay more today. If you're with children, the Hecksher Playground is also within view from here.

Poceed forward on the road crossing over the first sunken/hidden roadway. The road will begin winding to the right passed the edge of Sheep Meadow and volleyball courts on Dead End Alley. Keep going until coming to the southern entry to The Mall/Promenade which is detailed in my "Optical Illusions" entry. At the far end is the Naumberg Bandshell and plaza area. Keep heading north descending down one of the staircases.

Bethesda Terrace and Fountain were completed in 1873; don't miss the detailed stone carvings on the stairways. It's a central drawing point for the Park. Follow the path which leads left/NW along the Boat Pond and you'll come to Bow Bridge; the Park's most famous cast iron bridge. In looking left/west from the bridge, the green-copper gabled building is 'The Dakota' where John Lennon was killed. Turning back, follow the path along the southern lake until heading left/uphill which brings you to Cherry Hill; an original concourse built for carriages to water horses while guests frolicked.

When leaving, the road from here forks. To the left puts you on course for Dead End Alley famous for it's street skaters and volleyball games. The right takes you on a more scenic route which feeds back into the main loop. When coming to the intersection with the Daniel Webster statue, following the pathes up/off to the right will lead into Strawberry Fields; the 2.5 acre memorial to John Lennon. (There's also exit access back to 72nd St.)

If returning to the loop, you'll walk through natural settings before coming to the Lawn Bowling Green and Sheep Meadow on the left and Tavern on the Green to the right. As the road starts angling to the left/east, you'll find exits to 59th St. at 8th Ave./Columbus Circle, 7th Ave., or 6th Ave. where you entered.

There's a lot to see and, likely miss within Central Park...but Sheep Meadow won't be one of them. Located in the southern section, this 22-acre lawn dominates vistas and is perhaps the best-manicured, well-tended section in the Park.

When it comes to warm sunny weekends, there's a NY saying - "You can't see the grass for the people"! Sheep Meadow is definitely the showcase proof of this statement as all walks of the spice of life descend upon this expansive open area to present a free "side-show" better than any performances you'll pay to see on Broadway. Tourists, don't be suprised if numbers you find are greater than your home population.

Bring a blanket or sit on the grass. Keep your clothes on or strip down to your "bare essentials", but at least take your shoes off to feel the grass, not asphalt, under your feet! Yes, you can stake personal space amidst the sea of people and still have privacy or interaction. Nap. Read a book. Meet others. Gawk to your heart's content including celebrity sightings inconspicuously blended into the crowd. Boom boxes are banned, but music from the street skate or somewhere is usually loud enough to lay the soundtrack for the non-stop video which transpires within the mind. Roving vendors sell sodas/water/beer and even airplane shot-sized bottles to mix your own, but keep in mind "circumstance" enforcement of Open Container laws not mentioning nearest restrooms are a distant walk north to Mineral Pavilion concessions.

It's rather ironic how the almost 150-year old existence has came full circle when it comes to the questionable crowds which assemble here. The area was one of the official requirements to be included within the Park. A large military parade and drilling site was deemed necessary, though no one knew exactly how timely it would be. Our Civil War broke out sending eager militia groups into a flurry of action that quickly trompled the newly laid lawn. Omstead and Vaux, the Park's creators, were outraged but ignored on requests to Keep Off The Grass despite it serving the intended purpose.

In 1864, Olmstead check-mated his adversaries in borrowing a page from London's Hyde Park which had largely inspired his recreated American version. He turned a flock of sheep loose to graze the lawn; something to present a peaceful and tranquil setting while preserving the natural setting he'd created vs. the rowdy soldiers he opposed from the beginning. To insure there'd never be a repeat, Military parading was officially banned by law within the park by 1865 and Sheep Meadow emerged onto the page of history; the sheepfold built in 1870.

During the turn of the century and Great Depression/Wars that followed, neglect of Central Park had it's "first" massive decline into disarray until Robert Moses took over as Park Commissioner. One of his first monumental changes came in 1934 having the long-since suffering flock removed from the meadow and the sheepfold converted into a restaurant - Tavern on the Green.

Call them architects, landscapers or just plain eccentrics, but the duo who designed and created Central Park are artists to say the least; all but magicians to come up with a plan that would not only please the people, but enhance the many limitations they'd been given to work with.

My favorite of their optical illusions can unknowingly be found on "The Mall", located in the central southern portion, which is also often referred to as The Promenade or Great Literary Walk for statues of famous writers. Much like today, people from the 1800's liked to see and be seen and this portion was designed for park patrons to be dropped off in their carriages for stolls. One of the creator's greatest concerns was the narrow width of the park boundaries. I'm not sure how they did it, but here's the key hint for discovering this mysterious masterpiece which deceptively manipulates the experience.

Approach The Mall from the south, as early park goers would, and stop at the beginning to gauge the distance to the other end. It'll look really far! Then, stop half way and look back/ahead to see how actually short it really is. Then, look back again from the other end to have your eyes deceived again. This tree canopied walkway draws the visitor forward into the plaza area in front of the bandshell and to the steps descending into Bethesda Terrace/Fountain therefore keeping you focused on the Park's length rather than the narrow width.

In the early days, the dense trees of The Ramble were also much shorter allowing promenade strollers to be drawn forward with glimpses of the distant turret of Belvedere Castle; the second optical illusion. Today, the castle houses one of the City's main weather monitoring centers which is open for tours. Access to the castle is from side trails; best views from The Great Lawn. Take a good distant look at the sizeable structure before you get up close and see just how small it really is. The illusion comes from being built at such a steep, ascending scale...that was later copied in building Disney's Cinderella castles that if you've ever seen, you know what size illusions I'm referring to.

The other wonder, you'll likely hear before you ever see or figure out what's actually going on. Since the Park extends 51 blocks, part of original requirements was for 4 passageways to connect east to west. Olmstead & Vaux, being the nature freaks and perfectionist designers they were, struggled with having the Park's natural effect interrupted with traffic and progress. The passageways are still here today just as originially concocted...sunken below the Park. You'll cross over them on bridges but in seasons when vegetation is thickest, you'd never know or see the rush of traffic if it weren't for the sounds.