A little farther south, three friends had apparently stopped to discuss their progress — or maybe the weather, the Yankees, or the Meaning of Life.

These people were part of a larger group listening to some guitar-folk music being played by a shirtless troubador down around 76th Street, on the West Side of the park.

In the background is the Boat Pond, which had many active boats; and behind that is the skyline of Manhattan on Central Park South ...

Some people, like the woman with the red dress on, were listening attentively; others, like the young woman in the foreground, slept through it all ...

At the moment I took this picture, he was singing a rendition of "Cat in the Cradle" ...

... apparently hoping to impress the young woman walking by him ...

It's not clear whether the little boy was paying attention at all, or whether the grown-ups were paying attention to him ...

This is, of course, the Boat Pond — taken from the Park Drive on the West Side of the park, somewhere around 74th to 75th Streets. There were several boats out in the water, but not enough to make it seem overcrowded ...

This is the infamous Sheep Meadow, taken from approximately the location of Tavern on the Green. Lots of people out sunbathing, obviously, but not enough to fill up the meadow from stem to stern, as one might have thought.

This was taken on the East Side of the park, walking north from the south end of the park — somewhere just south of the Merry-Go-Round and Woolman Skating Rink. I don't know what this young woman was reading, but I took the picture from so far away that it's a wonder I got anything at all ...

I saw this couple sitting and gesturing at each other, but from my distance, I couldn't quite tell what they were doing. Now it appears that they each had sandwiches or gyros, which they were offering to each other on a "Hey, try this, it's great!" basis ...

As I headed north past the carousel, there were lots of horse-drawn carriages. I first noticed one in which the driver was busily eating his lunch while driving a few tourists around; but I didn't have a chance to get that picture. This one, though, was fairly representative ...

Two young women, strolling along, chattering away about whatever it is that young women chatter about. Nothing particularly unusual about them — they were typical of dozens, if not hundreds, of other young, reasonably athletic young women out for some sunshine and exercise in the park.

The same couple I had seen earlier, sharing their sandwiches back and forth, is now in the background of this picture. And in the foreground is a familiar sight throughout Central Park: a jogger on his private journey, oblivious to the sights around him, listening to whatever is playing on his iPod.

Just past the carousel, I overheard one of the hackney drivers telling his tourist-passengers that there was a path on the right (East) side that led up to a bookstore and a little place where chess tables had been set up for weekend warriors to use for their own amateur matches. I decided to check it out, and took a few pictures of some people who were deeply engrossed in their game ...

North of the carousel, on the East Side of the park, coming up toward 72nd Street. Up the hill ahead is the Sheep Meadow again, with one of the large apartment buildings on Central Park West in the background.

Just before the turn at 72nd Street, I came upon a long line of people lined up for ... for what? It wasn't clear, and I never did get an answer. I think the Central Park bandshell was just behind (i.e., on the western side) of this bunch of people, and perhaps there was a musical group getting ready to perform. In any case, it was a jovial group, seemingly content with the idea of standing out in the sun for what appeared to be a very long time ...

This was taken just north of 72nd Street on the East Side of the park, where I was struck by the patterns created by this pair of cyclists who had apparently decided to stop, rest, and chat. In the distance behind them is the small pond where people sail their little toy sailboats ...

These two bikini-clad women were sunning themselves in the tiny little "meadow" created by the intersection of Park Drive North, and the 72nd Street transverse heading west. A moment after I snapped this shot, a young man wandered past them with a clipboard, stopping to ask them something ... which I found out about a few minutes later, when the same young man wandered up to me, asked me if I was a registered voter, and then asked me to sign a petition to get Mike Bloomberg on the Liberal Party ticket for the upcoming mayoral elections. But somehow, I don't think that's what he was really interested in when he stopped to talk to the two women ...

Farther north, just past the 86th Street transverse, with the Metropolitan Museum right behind me. This couple was busy doing something with their cild, while the man next to them seemed startled and upset by whatever headline he had been reading on the front page of the NY Daily News

I had stopped to buy a bottle of water, and was sitting on a bench, quenching my thirst — and decided to take a picture of this earnest young woman as she jogged past ...

Past the 90th Street entrance to the park on the East Side; in fact, I think it may be the 100th Street entrance in the background of this picture. Anyway, this group was obviously involved in a "serious" picnic, and I was intrigued by how they had stretched themselves out in a long line, from left to right. Also, the group was almost entirely women — with only a couple guys in the background, throwing a baseball back and forth. I have no idea who they were, or what the occasion (if there WAS an occasion) really was ...