“Every picture shows a spot with which the artist has fallen in love.” Alfred Sisley (Impressionist landscape painter 1839-1899)
From a quiet spot across Mount Vernon Street, this artist created her impression of the Church of the Advent in Beacon Hill.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photos: ©2014 Penny Cherubino
Who knew we would be avoiding hot walks with a young dog? Poppy may be just two, but she does not like the heat and would prefer sitting on a bench sipping water to walking, when it’s above 75 degrees.
On hot days, we try to get out earlier and choose the shady side of the street and the canopy of trees on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall for our exercise.
We carry water on our walks most of the year because Poppy loves to jump up on a bench for a rest and a nice cool drink. Like Maggie Mae before her, Penny swears Poppy has a look she gives us when she wants a drink. And, like most dogs, she is a drippy drinker.
There are lots of products designed for dogs to drink from when you’re out and about.
Here are a few of our favorites.
We love our H2O4K9, Dog Water Bottle and Travel Bowl
Penny keeps a Silicone Pop-Up Water Bowl
If you came out without a special water dish for your dog, you can use a plastic bag. Just slide your hand inside, cup your hand, and pour in some water. It won’t leak the way your hand does without the bag, and you won’t waste water as you would if you let your pup drink from a bottle.
In Boston, we all have to carry extra plastic bags because you must have one to show to an official if they ask about it. Here’s a link to the city rules and regulations for dogs.
You are not only required to pick up after your dog, but you are also required to have something with you to pick up after a dog if you are out with one. The site says,
“When walking your dog, the law necessitates you to be prepared for such occurrences and be equipped with a bag or some other means of feces removal. After it is removed, it is important to dispose of the feces properly, either in a toilet or in a trash container (after being secured in a plastic bag).”
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Words: Penny Cherubino, edited for BostonZest from her CIty Paws Newspaper Column.
Photography: 2008-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino
On our last trip to Provincetown, we really enjoyed looking up our favorite buildings on the fabulous Building Provincetown website. If you're fortunate enought to be visiting the town this summer, be sure to bookmark this site before you go and have fun learning more about the history of the buildings and vessels you'll see around the town.
Here's a screenshot from the entry for Angel Foods in the East End. It was one of many, many addresses we looked up and learned about. Naturally, we checked out all the places where we've rented, shopped, or dined. And, sprinkled throughout are historic photos that we have really enjoyed seeing. (See this entry for 265-267 Commercial Street.)
We could spend many words telling you about this site, but since someone has already done a great job of that in Provincetown Magazine, we'll just link to their piece.
From Alden Street to Young’s Court: A Living History of Provincetown’s Built Environment
A book will follow the website and we can't wait to add it to our collection.
Here are links to Building Provincetown's author David Dunlap's other books.
From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Screen shot from Building Provincetown
Juliet, one of the swans in the Boston Pubilc Garden Lagoon, spent a recent afternoon practicing her audition movements for Swan Lake.
She was as graceful as a …
Hope the Boston Ballet was watching too.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Ed Cherubino
One question always comes up when discussing cheese. “Do you eat the rind?”
If it is a natural rind that developed as part of the aging process (like the one on the Rogue River Caveman Blue above), you can eat it. If it is an artificial coating like wax, you shouldn’t eat it. If it's a wrapping like the the grape leaves that Rogue River uses to wrap its award winning rogue River Blue, you can unwrap it, but I would recommend enjoying the flavor the wrapper has added to the cheese it abutted.
Cheeses may also be rubbed with something delicious and that may tempt you to taste the rind. The Vella Dry Jack above is rubbed with a mixture of oil, pepper, and unsweetened cocoa during the aging process.
One of the best suggestions I’ve heard over the years was in the The Murray's Cheese Handbook
This is a great suggestion for the Twig Farm Mixed Drum above. In the photo you can see how the cheese texture and look changes from inside out. Ed would cut off all the rind. That's how he enjoys it. I will taste it before I decide. Sometimes it's too funky but other times it's like getting a second cheese flavor as a bonus for tasting the rind with some of your bites.
I may wash the rind on a stinky washed rind cheese (like the Brebirousse d'Argental Petit: Soft Ripe Sheep's Milk Cheese above) before I try to eat it.
For me, it depends on the type of rind and the condition of the cheese. I’ll normally eat the rind on Brie, Camembert, and a soft bloomy goat cheese like the Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor in the photo above. But, I only buy these cheeses when they are perfectly ripe and I use them right away.
Most of the time, I don’t eat the hard, crusty rinds on long-aged cheeses like Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. Tasting the rind and eating the cheese all the way to the rind can be one more way to explore cheese.
And, here are other posts from our Cheese Collection!
What's on your Cheese shopping list? Here are some great books about cheese.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2008-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar photo courtesy of Cabot Cheese.
Those of us who love lobster rolls have more options these day. When we first moved to Boston, we quickly learned that if you saw the words "lobster roll" on a menu, it was most likely a "lobster salad roll" with mayonnaise and perhaps fillers.
Here's a photo of a lobster salad roll from Mark H. Anbinder's Flickr photostream. (Used under this creative commons license.)
This looks like a good version with crisp lettuce and little filler. For those who love mayo and don't mind the fillers, there are dozens of great versions of this around the area. But, it is a "lobster salad roll" not a "lobster roll" to those of us who grew up around the Southern Rhode Island or Connecticut seacoast.
Think for a moment. If a menu reads "chicken sandwich," would you expect it to be a "chicken salad sandwich?"
The question of where to get a Hot Buttered Lobster Roll came up on the Boston Trip Advisor Forum recently. That will give you some recommendations from other Boston sources.
Here's where we enjoy lobster rolls – hot or cold but all with no mayo or fillers. (We do welcome a nicely buttered and grilled roll and a bit of drawn butter on the side.)
Neptune Oyster's Hot Buttered Lobster Roll broke the mold for Bostonians. Suddenly, we had a place to go for a great lobster roll. Other places caught on and today we have many great options.
Jake's Seafood in Hull has always given us the same lobster roll we knew and loved from Rhode Island seafood shacks. Jake's menu reads, "Our classic! A full 1/4lb. of freshly picked lobster meat on a traditional hotdog bun (toasted with butter upon request), served with mayo on the side."
Belle Isle Seafood in Winthrop is another place where we can ask for our lobster roll our way. You can also order it with mixed lobster meat or lobster tail meat.
The Lobster Pool in Rockport provides a great lobster roll or lobster salad roll, your choice, with a fantastic view of the Atlantic Ocean crashing on the rocky shore.
James Hook & Company has lobster salad rolls ready to go in their case on busy days. But, they will be happy to make a lobster roll for you if you ask. They'll even toast the roll on request and provide a side of butter. We love to take their lobster rolls to a table on the harbor walk along the Fort Point channel.
Row 34, over in Fort Point, serves their lobster roll with slaw and homemade chips. (We opted out of the slaw.)
As more places add lobster rolls to their menus, we'll check them out. Let us know if you have a place you think we should try.
We can't recommend any lobster roll or lobster salad roll that uses frozen lobster in whole or in part. Some places who serve lobster salad rolls have said they could make a lobster roll and when it arrives, it is made with frozen lobster. Why would a seaside shop have frozen lobster on hand? It may be that they use all or a percentage of frozen lobster in their lobster salad.
Fillers like celery or a bed of lettuce in the roll are another way to cut the cost of the roll and perhaps offer it at a low price.
Summer is a great time to enjoy a trip to the shore and this New England specialty. Let us know your favorite lobster rolls and lobster salad rolls.
We have full posts on each of these places. Here are the links.
Jake's Seafood: Ocean Craving Satisfied with Lobster Roll Bonus!
Daytrip to the Lobster Pool in Rockport, MA
Neptune Oyster Lobster Roll – A best bite!
Belle Isle: Lobster Rolls at the Reservation
Row 34 Restaurant: Our First Look
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino and Lobster Salad Roll from Mark H. Anbinder's Flickr photostream. (Used under this creative commons license.)
I read every pet photography advice article I find. One thing included in almost every one is to get down to the pet’s level.
This is one of my favorite photos of a very much missed old friend, Mr. Teddy. I put the camera on the ground to get this shot.
We all have many images of dogs and cats looking up at us from the ground. The magic happens when you drop to your knees or to the ground and shoot a picture at their level or from below.
Whatever level you shoot from, focus on the eyes. That’s where you’ll find the sparkle and personality. Most dogs will follow the camera or your hands with their eyes. Remy (above) has the most beautiful eyes.
Close-ups can be wonderful. You don’t have to show your entire pet to tell a story. You can zoom in and fill your picture with a beautiful face or crop a larger photo to show a dog’s unique expression. When you crop, try to include important characteristics like this Basset’s gorgeous ears.
For great candid shots, stand back from the scene and let someone else interact with the dog. Stay far enough away so the dog will sit back and relax and then take a restful photo. Then, crop that photo to give a sense of place. Here I included a statue with Nika to show she was on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
Shooting rapidly and getting down to the dog’s level means you can catch great moments like this little guy’s jump for joy at seeing another pup.
If your phone or camera has continuous shooting ability, use it. The photos you see in our Sunday Dog posts are often one of a series of 6-8 shots taken in a burst. Many of the series are blurs of a moving dog, but one or more will have the wonderful frozen moment that I was trying to capture.
Check the background color. Fur is hard for most cameras to figure out. It can be a blend of tones and it can blend into a background. You need some contrast to show off that wonderful texture and color. Zoe (above) shows up on the grass but would blend into the asphalt path. Pick your spot.
Finally, make it fun for everyone. Take a few photos but don’t make your friends or companion animals uncomfortable. Yes, you want some photo memories, but you also want to remember the non-photo elements of a wonderful walk with your dog.
Sometimes, a totally unposed shot (like the one above of Sollie watching a squirrel) can be the best memory of a day with your dog.
Do you have a favorite photo of your dog? What do you love about it?
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Words: Penny Cherubino, edited for BostonZest from her CIty Paws Newspaper Column.
Photography: 2008-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino
One of our favorite, shady, summer walks is down Bay State Road which runs along the Charles River Esplanade and Commonwealth Avenue to the west of Back Bay. We are making this historic district our Friday Link today.
Street trees provide some shade and the lovely buildings preserved by the Bay State Road/Back Bay West Architectural Conservation District give you lots of details to enjoy.
Many of the former private residences have been taken over by Boston University, so this is a land of red signs showing the use of many of the buildings. This time of year, there are a few students around and a little bit of car traffic. It's just enough to keep you from feeling that you are in an isolated area.
Our Westie Poppy loves benches and BU has sprinkled a few pocket parks along the street. We picked a shady one to stop for a drink of water and a break.
A collection of contemporary sculpture gives you another reason to visit this area. Some pieces have interpretive plaques nearby.
Here's the one for the sculpture above.
The architecture along Bay State Road gets much less attention than some other historic districts, but there are important buildings by renowned architects. This is the Weld Mansion designed in 1900 by William York Peters of the Peters and Rice architectural firm.
You are just one block over from Commonwealth Avenue and all the food shops and services that grew up along this area to serve the student population. And there are bridges to the Esplanade if you'd like to cross over and have a picnic on the river bank.
You'll also find picnic tables in back of Marsh Chapel. We've used these for an impromptu Sunday brunch with friends.
Remember that by late August, the students will be back. This will still be a beautiful street, but it won't have the quiet calm it has in mid-summer.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino
Walking along Bay State Road, we spotted this curving citation on the sidewalk in front of the Florence & Chafetz Hillel House at Boston University.
The full message reads, "This line represents one of the earliest historic shorelines of the Charles River dating back to 1847. From 1630 until the filling of the Back Bay in the mid 1800's, the land from this point North to the Charles River was underwater."
This panoramic view gives you a better feel for how the shoreline is mimicked by the words.
The historic, serpentine marker is at 213 Bay State Road if you'd like to visit.
Wouldn't it be great if we could read about history on sidewalks in Boston?
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino
We love the details we find in places such as Provincetown, like this old anchor used as a hanger for a wreath of bare vines.
With a cloud passing overhead, the light changed and the look of this doorway darkened.
These and other photos from our site and published work are available in our Photo Galleries over on SmugMug. You can purchase prints or put your favorite photo on a gift.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino
