Ann Farmer in the Times has a lovely feature about Brenda Becker’s fabulous blog, A Year in the Park. The article is called “Using Prospect Park as a Yearlong Oasis for the City Soul.”

Ms. Becker started her blog, “Prospect: A Year in the Park” (www.ayearinthepark.typepad.com) at the start of 2008 when she vowed to visit the park in Brooklyn every day for an entire year and tell or show at least “one cool thing” from each outing.

Ms. Becker, who is a writer, artist, bookmaker and a mother, has lived in Flatbush, less than one block from the park, for 21 years. But until now, she rarely visited. Her motivation was partly to upend her sedentary ways. But she also wanted to see what emotional effect the park might have on her.

“After a year,” she began her first entry, dated Jan. 2, “we’ll see if I am any less avoidant, mopey, somnolent and irritable; we’ll assess whether I can walk up a flight of subway stairs without gasping for breath at the tender age of 50; we’ll find out whether a daily encounter with the masterpiece of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux is better than Effexor.” (Effexor is an antidepressant drug).

More than 150 witty, engaging and informative postings (with photographs) have followed. And even though Ms. Becker has not completely fulfilled her vow to visit the park every day, her many visits have provided ample opportunity for foraging from one corner to the next, discovering much of its natural bounty as well as many of its man-made secrets

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