The Boston Public Garden's White-barked Himalayan Birch shines in the sunlight. It is said to have the whitest and most beautiful bark of all the birches. This variety was discovered by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker during a mid-1800s trip to Tibet.
"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." Dorothea Lange
About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
The Boston Public Garden's White-barked Himalayan Birch shines in the sunlight. It is said to have the whitest and most beautiful bark of all the birches. This variety was discovered by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker during a mid-1800s trip to Tibet.
"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." Dorothea Lange
About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Light is an important part of our enjoyment of the Boston Public Garden. Every moment of every day, the places kissed by the sun give enjoyment to visitors and residents.
"Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” – George Eastman
About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Light is an important part of our enjoyment of the Boston Public Garden. Every moment of every day, the places kissed by the sun give enjoyment to visitors and residents.
"Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” – George Eastman
About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Person after person walked across the bridge over the lagoon in the Public Garden placing their feet carefully in the cleared track of melted snow.
At the top of the first of my three flights of stairs that are part of my morning walk, I saw this pattern on the deck of the bridge.
Then I stood for a few moments and watched people as they walked across.
Deep inside I suspected there was more to this pattern than path followers. On my next loop around, I took this photo under the bridge. My guess is the path formed because of the structural elements of the bridge and then people followed the path because they didn't want to walk in the snow.
About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Person after person walked across the bridge over the lagoon in the Public Garden placing their feet carefully in the cleared track of melted snow.
At the top of the first of my three flights of stairs that are part of my morning walk, I saw this pattern on the deck of the bridge.
Then I stood for a few moments and watched people as they walked across.
Deep inside I suspected there was more to this pattern than path followers. On my next loop around, I took this photo under the bridge. My guess is the path formed because of the structural elements of the bridge and then people followed the path because they didn't want to walk in the snow.
About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Back in 2008 I wrote in praise of this lovely lady who took care of a property along my morning walk.
This is how a good neighbor takes care of leaves and other debris on their property. If they are a really good neighbor, they take care of the sidewalk in front of their property as well.
You make sure the job is done without the noise and pollution of a leaf blower.
You actually gather the debris, pick it up, and takes it away to the trash.
You don't blow dust and pollution in the faces of passersby who might have respiratory conditions that are made worse by these triggers.
You don't disturb the neighborhood with the sound of an unneeded power tool.
You don't move the trash elsewhere for someone else to move again or for you to move again the next day after it blows back from where you sent it.
They call these machines The Devil's Hair Dryer in another post. And, as noted above, noise is not the only thing about blowing leaves away that makes it unneighborly.
What You Can Do
Start with your own building and ask your management company, board of trustees, or landlord to have leaves raked or swept and picked up rather than using a leaf blower.
If you've been successful with your own building, you can bring that up as the start of a movement on your block. Gently ask neighbors to do the same. In this age of incivility, this is hard to do. But looking at the surveys on the sites linked to here, you may find people receptive.
Add a decibel meter app to your phone and call 311 if you come across a leaf blower that is violating noise regulations. Give the address and the reading on your meter.
It may not result in someone coming out and stopping the noise, but it will deliver a message to the city that citizens have had enough of unnecessary leaf blower noise.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Back in 2008 I wrote in praise of this lovely lady who took care of a property along my morning walk.
This is how a good neighbor takes care of leaves and other debris on their property. If they are a really good neighbor, they take care of the sidewalk in front of their property as well.
You make sure the job is done without the noise and pollution of a leaf blower.
You actually gather the debris, pick it up, and takes it away to the trash.
You don't blow dust and pollution in the faces of passersby who might have respiratory conditions that are made worse by these triggers.
You don't disturb the neighborhood with the sound of an unneeded power tool.
You don't move the trash elsewhere for someone else to move again or for you to move again the next day after it blows back from where you sent it.
They call these machines The Devil's Hair Dryer in another post. And, as noted above, noise is not the only thing about blowing leaves away that makes it unneighborly.
What You Can Do
Start with your own building and ask your management company, board of trustees, or landlord to have leaves raked or swept and picked up rather than using a leaf blower.
If you've been successful with your own building, you can bring that up as the start of a movement on your block. Gently ask neighbors to do the same. In this age of incivility, this is hard to do. But looking at the surveys on the sites linked to here, you may find people receptive.
Add a decibel meter app to your phone and call 311 if you come across a leaf blower that is violating noise regulations. Give the address and the reading on your meter.
It may not result in someone coming out and stopping the noise, but it will deliver a message to the city that citizens have had enough of unnecessary leaf blower noise.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
This grey squirrel seemed puffed up with pride because of his or her perch at the very top of a small tree in the Boston Public Garden.
Maybe the squirrel is a Les Paul fan and is singing a special lyric.
"I'm sitting on top of the tree / Just rolling along, Just rolling along / I'm quitting the blues of the world / Just singing a song, just singing a song…"
About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
This grey squirrel seemed puffed up with pride because of his or her perch at the very top of a small tree in the Boston Public Garden.
Maybe the squirrel is a Les Paul fan and is singing a special lyric.
"I'm sitting on top of the tree / Just rolling along, Just rolling along / I'm quitting the blues of the world / Just singing a song, just singing a song…"
About Today in Boston: We keep hearing that people miss our cover photos that ran for years in the Back Bay Sun. That assignment was to provide a photo that showed what the week was like in the neighborhood. Often the photos illustrated favorite quotations. Today in Boston is an occasional offering to our BostonZest readers featuring photos along the same theme but taken wherever we happen to be.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!