Random Thoughts. A compendium of favorites - people, places, and things - garnered via my various wanderings.
Walkers, Neponset Reservation. May 11, 2009.
May 10, 2009. Love this guy. I decided to re-visit the victory gardens today. After looking at my meager offerings from yesterday, I realized I had only scratched the surface, that I had only just begun to photograph these gardens; besides, I'm trying to get back into riding my bike every day, realizing I am waaay out of shape. Yesterday the light was great for photography - no shadows - but I was very low-energy. Today was gorgeous - 75 degrees with a brisk westerly wind - but not so great for photos: too bright. I somehow managed to catch this fellow, on the fly, shooting Manual under difficult lighting (and on the sly, too - I usually like interacting with my subjects). I am always amazed at how well my little G9 handles itself. The other shots also were a pleasant surprise, as they turned out much better than I thought they would. One thing I need to do is learn to trust the G9. Even though the view on the screen or in the viewfinder is not very impressive, certainly not like my DSLRs - no comparison, and I do miss the rush of that big clear image in the 40D viewfinder - but the G9's actual photo is usually right on the money. I love my DSLRs, but I love the size and convenience of the G9, of always having it with me. More pictures of the gardens here.
May 9, '09, Fenway Victory Gardens, established in 1942. Marie is transferring freshly divided clusters from the morning's community "divide" into the transplant nursery, to be shared among the Fenway Garden Society members. Marie's husband is president of FGS. Today we could hear the cheers from nearby Fenway Park - the Red Sox must have been doing something right (though I would hear later that they lost to Tampa Bay).
May 8, 2009. Swan Boats, Boston Public Garden, tethered and waiting.
May 8, 2009. This morning I wrote in my journal, " I will take a picture today." (I don't take enough pictures lately - I absolutely need to do this for the well-being of my soul.) Late afternoon I got on my bike (ugh, out of shape - long winter), did a couple of errands, headed downtown with Haymarket as a possible destination - could be interesting on a Friday afternoon. I ended up in the public gardens, which I found to be in full bloom with color and people and life, a timeless scene. Disregard the clothing and hair styles and remove the modern contraptions and gadgets - bicycles, cell-phones, and iPods - and this could have been any spring day in the past 150 years - Bostonians shedding the mantle of a long cold winter and recreating together. This is my favorite shot from today (in truth, I only took a handful - but at least I got the camera out of the bag). I found a group of young people, including this young man, sitting in the grass on the edge of the lagoon, playing music, laughing - have you ever noticed that young people are always laughing? - and taking in the glory of the day. These kids graciously allowed me into their world for a brief moment. Thank you.
May 5, 2009. The Appeal to the Great Spirit, Cyrus Dallin, 1909. This life-size bronze statue is the focal point of the entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
May 1, 2009: Liz Anker's garden in JP - pink/yellow Columbine. Sweet thing, like a dancing fairy.
April 29, 2009: I saw these fiddlehead ferns (as a fiddler and the daughter of a violin maker/violinist, I gotta love 'em) when taking out my trash this morning, not on the Vineyard, where one might expect such delights, but in Brookline, within sight and sound of sirens and streetcars, a gift of the morning let's call it, and a sure sign of spring.
Have a wonderful day, it's going to be a good one :-).
Vineyard Stone Wall
My friend James Lengyel, head of the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank, has named this tree - a favorite of his - Plaintive Oak. James says that when the land bank created this sea meadow, shortly after purchasing the property, the decision was made to preserve this tree.
Taken at the land bank's Abel's Hill property.
January 26, '09: Island Theater, Oak Bluffs. Winter street-scape.
SSDD=Same sunflower, different day. August 30, 2007.
Sunflower Sunrise. Aug 29, 2007.
This is a "volunteer" sunflower that sprouted spontaneously in my garden, smack in the middle of the carrots and tomatoes; the one sunflower seed in my neighborhood, probably, that escaped notice of the greedy, always-hungry squirrels.
August 26, 2007. Harvesting from my now-deer-proof garden (yay!); best garden in some years. As the story goes: A man was tending to his garden. A passerby stopped to admire the flowers and vegetables and commented, "My, doesn't our Creator do marvelous work!" The gardener replied, "Yes, but you should have seen the place when G-d was running it alone."
BC Reservoir, January 25, 2007. Winter is back, suddenly.
Edgartown Lighthouse, daybreak, Dec 25, 2006
Winter tree-scape, West Tisbury Rd. Late afternoon, Dec 24, 2006
Boston sunrise, October 6, 2006, from my Beacon Street window. The large dome, center, is Temple Ohabei Shalom, my Friday night abode.
Muddy River, October 2008
October 2, 2008. And while I was completely captivated by the trains and the Boston skyline, I almost missed this rainbow, over to my left, on the other side of Cambridge Street.
Allston train yard, October 2, 2008. I drive by this view a couple of times a week and dream about getting a great shot of this train yard with the Boston skyline and converging tracks. The problem is the chain link fence that spans the overpass, complete with a security canopy. I have fantasized renting a ladder and setting it up on the sidewalk, which would position me and my camera high above the fence (but maybe I'd get arrested), or maybe even standing on the roof of my car (yup, definitely would get arrested). I have snooped around in the yard and climbed up the watchtower, and have also scrambled around an embankment on the edge of Cambridge Street, but nothing offers the view that is enjoyed from the overpass; it is exactly the right height, angle, and position.
Today, while out on a bike ride, riding over the overpass, it dawned on me that perhaps the small size of the lens on my ever-present G9 would fit within the links. It worked, for the most part, but I was somewhat constricted by the angle of the fence. Nevertheless, this is not so far from the image I've imagined.
The exciting part was, as I stood on the overpass, a freight train - seen on the lower left of the photo - rumbled through; I could feel the raw power directly beneath my feet. Can you tell? I love trains.
Sometimes, when the wind is just right, I can hear the train whistles from this yard all the way over in Coolidge Corner.
September 2008. I found an endless field of sunflowers on my way home from Laura Coelen's funeral today - sunflowers as far as the eye could see, offering affirmation and hope and a glimpse of the Eternal. They remind me of the Quaker circle of faces I saw today, people who shared memories and stories of Laura, and of the vast numbers of people whose lives she has touched.
October 24, 2007. The view from my apartment window, hand-held so a little shaky. Very exciting, the general mood of the city. The glow at bottom left is from the lights at Fenway. Go, Sox!
Pilot Hill Beach, Patricia's birthday picnic, August 21, 2007. After two days of chilly winds and murky gray skies, and following an ever-so-brief rain shower, the northwest horizon opened up with a blazing, sun-and-cloud-filled spectacle, and as is inevitable with a bright setting sun shining through the rain-drop-filled atmosphere towards the backdrop of a dark eastern sky, the slightly-dampened, pizza and s'more-eating partyers were treated to this ages-old symbol of hope and affirmation; the cosmos surely saying, "Happy birthday, Patricia."
August 2007. Last evening, after photographing a family in Aquinnah, while sitting and catching my breath after having spent the previous hour chasing three adorable little boys - a six year-old and four-year-old twins - all over the beach with my camera, I noticed a couple of monarchs flitting about near a shrub oak. As I observed for a few minutes, I realized there were many monarchs, seemingly focused on one area of the tree. When I went to inspect the situation, I found what appeared to be a community resting place - this little north shore Island oak perhaps being an overnight stop on the monarchs' long-distance migratory flight?
PS - I found interesting monarch migration info, here: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/AboutFall.html
Mikveh. 1 Elul, 5767/ Aug 15, 2007
Sandy Fisher, age 91, still scratching away for a few quahaugs in Anthier's. July 2007, taken with my always-handy pocket Elph.
Getting ready to weave a plaid blanket - or two or three - from left-over wool that came from the Wortzels, the original owners of my loom, a gorgeous cherry-wood Norwood. I love working the wool, winding the warp, round and round, 240 ends, 6 ends per inch, 10 yards long - the wool tickles my fingers and the colors delight my eye and my soul. Next, the ends will be threaded through the reed, then through the heddles, tied on and wound, then the fun begins - the actual weaving. I love the rhythm, the order, the mechanics, and of course, the finished product. Stay tuned!
Getting ready to weave a plaid blanket from left over wool from the Wortzelsthe original owners of this loom. I love working the woolthe rhythm of winding the warpround and round 240 ends6 ends per inch10 yards long. The wool tickles my hands and the colors delight my eyes. Nextthe ends will be threaded through the reedthen through the heddlesall in order 1234 thentied on and wound then the fun beginsthe actual weaving.
Sunday, Jan 7, I test-drove my bike to Cambridge to check the route and see how long it would take to get to Lesley (wish I had bought the bike at the beginning of my school career!). I stopped to visit my beautiful friends Ed and Faith Chase who live on Mellen Street, right in Lesley's neighborhood, long enough to catch the final quarter of the game and watch the Patriots win, and headed right home so I wouldn't get caught in the dark. The trip is about half an hour - slightly longer than by car, with no parking hassles and plenty to see along the way. Great! I shot this from BU Bridge on my way home -right on the edge of twilight. I love this place.
Whaling dory, Old Sculpin Gallery, Edgartown.
South Beach. September 11, 2006
Gourds in Window. John Athearn's garden shed, Music Street, West Tisbury.
September 25, 2006.
The road to South Beach; Edgartown's out-wash plains.
September 25, 2006
September 25, 2006
September 25, 2006. Katama Airpark field. Back on the Island for a couple of days, first order of business was to drive out to South Beach and check the surf; this is what I crave: waves. I did find a good-sized swell, held up by a slight off-shore breeze--I also found the nearby airpark field filled with yellow flowers and monarch butterlies. A classic Vineyard September day.
L'Shana Tova Tikateivu!
September 22, 2006 Brookline.
Contrary to popular opinion, these are NOT breakfast buns (see how much bigger they are than the train tracks below),rather they are full sized challot--3 whole wheat, 3 plain, 3 with golden raisins--that I baked for Rosh Hashana.
Some thoughts don't have any actual words, or the words might come later.
Beacon St. September 21, 2006
Muddy River, Brookline; September 21, 2006. A clear day, crisp as a fall apple.
