I mentioned some weeks back that a local urban garden, the Elizabeth Street Sculpture Garden, has been slated for demolition.

This had been public knowledge for a while, though I wasn’t aware of it till September. It felt heartbreaking to learn, as the garden has been a quiet, peaceful oasis for me and many thousands of others.

City residents have been coming together in support of the garden, and for the past month its fate has been uncertain. The demolition wouldn’t and couldn’t happen until the garden was handed an official eviction notice, and for a while, that notice didn’t come.

Locals showed support by flocking to the garden every day. I’ve never seen it so full, so alive, so like an outdoor community center.

Artists have been working there, students have been studying, friends have been meeting for coffee or tea. I’ve taken more than my usual number of strolls over there to sit and pause.

I learned this morning that the eviction notice has now been handed over, so demolition looks more imminent and likely.

There are new advocacy efforts being put into place, and I’m keeping an eye on those. But this is one of those moments that reminds me of the vulnerability one can feel as a resident in a big city.

The city itself is a living, breathing organism, and it’s always in a state of transformation. Very often it isn’t neighborhood residents who decide which changes will happen, but rather developers and elected officials.

Last February, somebody slashed the enclosure of Flaco, a Eurasian eagle owl who was held in the Central Park Zoo. Flaco made his way out into the urban jungle, where he captivated the hearts of residents. Over a few short weeks, he was spotted uptown and downtown, his orange eyes visible in the dark.

As exciting as Flaco’s adventures were, everyone, including me, was worried that he’d ultimately succumb to the dangers of the city. And he did; weakened by rat poison, he collided into a building and died after impact.

The Elizabeth Street Garden demolition is making me think about some of the same things that I grappled with in my weekend reading post about Flaco: feeling powerless, sensing the winds of change, struggling to preserve a sense of safety when we know that so much in life is beyond our control.

The garden’s supporters and volunteers are still hopeful, which means that I will be, too. And it’s been touching and inspiring to see how folks have shown up for this magical green space, with letters, donations, volunteered time, and artistic depictions.

I’m hoping that the garden will be saved, but if it isn’t, this outpouring of support is inherently beautiful.

In a way, this moment of not knowing whether the garden will survive or not has taught me something about uncertainty.

So much of life is truly outside our control, but we do our best to show up and stand beside what we love anyway. We create meaning that way.

I’ve been given a lesson in appreciation, too. Every moment I’ve spent sitting in the garden over the past month has taught me to cherish what I have, for as long as I have it.

Wishing you a full, clear, vivid appreciation of something that’s dear to you this week, whether that thing is destined to remain in your life or not.

Happy Sunday, friends. Here are some recipes and reads.

Recipes

1. There’s nothing like a warming, brothy noodle soup for this transitional season.

2. Speaking of soup, I’ve been on the hunt for a really authentic, yummy vegan garlic bread recipe. I think Britt has me covered.

3. I really love celeriac in soup, but I rarely eat it raw. This celeriac and apple salad has me intrigued.

4. I made a lot of roasted cherry tomatoes this summer. I like the idea to give them a protein boost by adding butter beans to the mix.

5. Will definitely try these scrumptious-looking and easy Mediterranean stuffed sweet potatoes, subbing cashew cream or lemon tahini dressing for the feta sauce.

Reads

1. A fascinating (and sometimes quite funny) window into the “strange romance” (aka mating rituals) of seahorses.

2. A promising look at a new class of painkillers that might offer relief without addiction risk.

3. An interesting perspective on what might be driving unprecedented levels of anxiety among teens. The author posits that potentiality, rather than technology, is at the heart of contemporary young peoples’ angst and overwhelm.

4. As a dietitian who works with eating disorders in teens, I can attest to the fact that many attentive parents are shocked when a diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia nervosa is given.

It’s so important for parents to be aware of early warning signs of these diseases. Subtle behavioral changes, including habits that might initially seem “healthy”—increased exercise, a sudden or intense interest in cooking or nutrition, fixation on high protein or low-sugar foods, and weight changes, even if small—can be indicators of a developing issue.

This article offers a good, succinct knowledge base for parents who want tools for distinguishing between customary adolescent body image preoccupations and a more insidious level of obsession.

5. As I reckoned with impermanence this morning, it was an especially beautiful time for me to read this remarkable story of love finding a way.

In culinary news this week, I made an attempt at slow cooker lasagna that wasn’t quite a resounding success, but it did give me leftovers that were good enough to eat. And motivation to keep trying.

In the meantime, I want to revisit my wholesome kale and lentil lasagna, because it’s been too long.

Finally, I shared a new snack obsession in the form of crispy smashed potatoes this past week. I said that I had a related recipe to share and would be doing so on Friday.

As is always the case when I promise to write about a specific thing by a specific day, I failed to get my second potato-themed post up on Friday.

The good news is that the recipe is on its way this week!

Till then,

xo