The cache will take you to the Elizabeth Street Garden in SoHo. When I first wandered upon the Garden some time ago, I was captivated by its beauty and charm. The Elizabeth Street Gallery leased the adjoining property from the city in 1991 and created the Garden from a vacant lot. It has since become a calm and green space beloved by locals and visitors. The Gallery adorns the space with architectural artifacts, garden antiques and sculptures preserved from buildings and gardens throughout the United States and Europe, with a particular thematic slant towards lions.
I have always found the similarities between big cats and little cats interesting – for example I recently came upon a photo of a snow leopard in the Himalayas demonstrating the same lazy camel back stretch that my Sammy does after a nap on my couch in NYC. I have a staircase mounted on the wall for Sammy and he likes to climb to the top and meow loudly for no particular reason, his version of a roar.
This lovely space seemed appropriate for Sammy’s next cache -- as the Garden celebrates the lion, and the Sammy series celebrates the little lion.
The Garden has been recently declared a "Certified Wildlife Habitat" in the National Wildlife Federation's network of mini-refuges: "Because of the owner's conscientious planning, landscaping and sustainable gardening, wildlife may find quality habitat -- food, water, cover and places to raise their young." And a recent visit to the garden revealed that there is in fact a little lion in residence. A sweet-faced cat can be found wandering around the back of the garden and a shelter has been set up for him.
Although the cache is available 24/7, obviously it is ideal (but not necessary) to visit when the Garden is open. The Garden is maintained by volunteers so it is only open when a volunteer is on the grounds. The Garden also hosts activities throughout the year – including concerts, film screenings, and its own version of geocaching, a treasure hunt -- a schedule of events can be found on their website.
If you'd like to visit the garden too, the winter hours are weekends from noon - 3pm, provided the weather "feels" above 40 degrees: Garden Info.
If you have one, please post a photo of your own Little Lion in the gallery.
Check out this fun video: http://videos-for-cats.com/video/tigers-reaction-towards-normal-cats/
And check out the other Sammy caches: Sammy's Cache and Sammy II, also downtown.