The other day I followed my puppy Gigi in Central Park and went down whatever paths she chose. It ended up being a great adventure, traveling parts of the park I had never seen before. There are some parts of Central Park where you feel like you are in a wild forest in New England. This section in particular was through the entrance on West 81st Street, take a left up the hill. You forget that there are skyscrapers outside the canopies of trees — and other than the squirrels, turtles, birds and geese around you, is a city of more than 8 million people. 
The famous architect Frederic Law Olmstead designed Central Park with Calvert Vaux, after winning a contest in 1857 to create a park in New York City that would rival those in London and Paris. There is a great website that not only gives great historical insight to Central Park, but also other attractions in New York City: http://www.aviewoncities.com/nyc/centralpark.htm
Olmstead envisioned a place where people could relax and find peace, amidst the chaos and fast city living of Manhattan. In these 843 acres of respite is a few hundred thousand trees, reservoir, pond, so many habitats of birds, insects, fish, geese, squirrels and so much more. Of course there are the modern additions like the Zoo, Alice In Wonderland Sculptures, tennis courts, water fountains and the children's carousel. For a good link on things to do in Central Park and sites to see visit the official website: http://www.centralparknyc.org/visit/things-to-see/
After that day in Central Park I heard the song What A Wonderful World sung by Louis Armstrong on the radio. I know we all love that song, but I really listened to it this time, and realized it has the most beautiful lyrics making the song so uplifting and eternal. Sure the melody perfectly matches the lyrics, but when you really listen to what Louis is singing, you think, This is what life is about, the simple joys. 
These simple joys can be experienced by all people in parks, gardens, forests —NATURE. Conserve Nature and conserve our parks. Our earth is too precious to not preserve our land. Please help by holding our government accountable, and by visiting the National Parks Conservation Association to donate: https://secure.npca.org/site/Donation2f_id=1390&1390.donation=form1&s_subsrc=top_nav&JServSessionIdr004=8l4k823l4c.app331b
First read the lyrics, then play the song on the video below, and hopefully you will have a new found appreciation for the song... just like I did.
What a Wonderful World
Songwriters: George David Weiss, George Douglas and Bob Thiele
I see trees of green.... red roses too
I see em bloom.... for me and for you
And I think to myself.... What a wonderful world.
I see Skies of blue.... clouds of white
Bright blessed days... dark sacred nights
And I think to myself... What a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow.... so pretty... in the sky
Are also on the faces... of people.. going by
I see friends shaking hands... say'n.. how do you do
They're really say'n... I love you.
I hear babies cry.... I watch them grow
They'll learn much more... than I'll never know
And I think to myself... What a wonderful world
