Two men with leafblowers, another two men following along vacuuming up leaves from long, snaky rows. Four gardeners digging up plants with wide, heavy pitchforks, one man shoving plant waste into a large green canvas bag.
Trees dropping chestnuts, copper-colored leaves. Smaller trees wrapped in one-inch-weave burlap. Ten-foot-tall trees standing in wooden planter boxes painted gray. A man pushing a broom in a large circle, clearing the area around a stationary carousel. A row of eight palm trees. A bronze sculpture of a fallen tree by Giuseppe Penone.
Sounds of backing trucks beeping, crows cawing, scooter’s stuttering engines, plastic sacks rustling, gravel crunching under many feet, the distant MEE-moh, MEE-moh of police cars, hammering, and a gypsy saying, “Excuse me, miss, do you speak English?”
A little girl chasing pigeons, people eating pink cotton candy, a man feeding pigeons bits of is ice cream cone, a man selling Eiffel Tower trinkets on a large metal ring. People jogging, pushing strollers, leading tours, reading books and newspapers, talking, smoking, sleeping taking pictures, walking bikes, eating salads and ice cream, drinking Coke and Fanta from bottles, a couple watching gulls.
Cement benches, metal and wooden-slatted benches. Metal chairs painted Robin-Hood green, people pulling chairs through the gravel to a sunny spot, a man carrying a chair over his head.
A bust of Charles Perpault in a curly-haired wig, surrounded by three little dancing girls and Puss-in-Boots, his fictional creation. The cat, the girls, and the bust surrounded by lovely tall grasses and big-leafed philodendron.
“The Welcoming Hands” sculpture:Â six blocks of granite each with a different bronze rendering of hands. One block with a single child’s hand on top.
People dressed in long pants, skirts, and scarves. The sun comes out occasionally. Signs on the grass: Pelouse non accessible (the lawn is not accessible) and Pelouse interdite (the lawn not permitted). People riding distinctive gray rental bikes.
Two duck ponds, one with the restaurant La Terrasse de Pomme with today’s special chalked onto a slate, “Quiche maison: jambon au epinard” (house quiche of ham with spinach) and across the gravel path by the other pond Le Chalet de Diane with no specials listed. A man sits at a table with a woman in his lap.
Flies, sea gulls, pigeons, crows or jays. A group of 40 gulls sits together on a grassy hillock. The garden work yard has a pile of metal chairs, wooden benches, rows of wheelbarrows, young plants in tubs and pots, tractors, gas pumps, piles of sand, and empty wooden planter boxes.
Six trampolines in a fenced-in area with padded edges. Two euros for five minutes. A couple of little girls walking with their mothers, overjoyed when they notice the trampoline ticket seller is open for business. A class of little kids walking in twos behind their teacher. An enclosed play area where kids are climbing a large metal half dome. Nannies of color playing with little white-skinned kids. A personal trainer working with a couple. Kids eating sandwiches in gender groups on benches.
A “Fat Tire Bike Tour” group of 30 people on mountain bikes stopping for their American guide who says, “Okay, coming up is the biggest hill of our ride, so you might want to get into first gear.” An Italian tour group with the leader describing things; the teenage girls hanging back to take pictures. A group of girls speaking Spanish taking pictures of themselves sitting in the golden fallen leaves. A carousel of sleighs and milky white horses standing still.
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