Category: Boston Green

Belle Isle: Lobster Rolls at the Reservation

We dedicated an afternoon and a few of our Zipcar credits to exploring Winthrop last week. Our dog Poppy enjoys an occasional ride in her car crate so we took her along and were happy to find so many public spaces where our whole family was welcome, as long as we obeyed the rules.

Today, we'll tell you about the Belle Isle Marsh, one of the MDC reservations.

Airplanes landing and taking off are a part of the scene here. Ed was having a great time photographing them. This is a great destination for a photowalk. We plan to gather a group of friends with cameras and come back in the fall. Marshland is often overlooked as a place to enjoy autumn's colorful show.

Boston's last remaining salt marsh, this conservation area is right in the city and you can include houses in some of the views. You can also see the reservation's observation tower in the center of this photo.

Map courtesy of Friends of Belle Isle. Please visit their site for a larger view.

We originally had not planned to include Belle Isle in our explorations but needed a place to have lunch. Our hopes that the new outdoor seating at Belle Isle Seafood might be dog friendly were dashed since you have to go through the restaurant to get to it.

So, we ordered our lobster rolls to go and drove to a lovely picnic table at the Belle Isle Reservation to enjoy all that lovely lobster and great onion rings.

There was so much lobster in our rolls that we had leftovers and took some home for supper!

After a big seafood lunch, you can walk off some of the calories on the winding trails. We saw lots of folks with their dogs enjoying the day.

Here's the info to plan your visit!

Belle Isle Marsh Reservation

Bennington Street, East Boston, MA (Map)

Open year-round, 9:00 a.m. to dusk.

Belle Isle Seafood

Has relocated across the bridge to 1 Main Street, Winthrop MA (Map)

Phone: (617) 567-1619

What do you know about Amazon Prime?

We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and tv shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month, free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

August 26, 2013
Belle Isle: Lobster Rolls at the Reservation

We dedicated an afternoon and a few of our Zipcar credits to exploring Winthrop last week. Our dog Poppy enjoys an occasional ride in her car crate so we took her along and were happy to find so many public spaces where our whole family was welcome, as long as we obeyed the rules.

Today, we'll tell you about the Belle Isle Marsh, one of the MDC reservations.

Airplanes landing and taking off are a part of the scene here. Ed was having a great time photographing them. This is a great destination for a photowalk. We plan to gather a group of friends with cameras and come back in the fall. Marshland is often overlooked as a place to enjoy autumn's colorful show.

Boston's last remaining salt marsh, this conservation area is right in the city and you can include houses in some of the views. You can also see the reservation's observation tower in the center of this photo.

Map courtesy of Friends of Belle Isle. Please visit their site for a larger view.

We originally had not planned to include Belle Isle in our explorations but needed a place to have lunch. Our hopes that the new outdoor seating at Belle Isle Seafood might be dog friendly were dashed since you have to go through the restaurant to get to it.

So, we ordered our lobster rolls to go and drove to a lovely picnic table at the Belle Isle Reservation to enjoy all that lovely lobster and great onion rings.

There was so much lobster in our rolls that we had leftovers and took some home for supper!

After a big seafood lunch, you can walk off some of the calories on the winding trails. We saw lots of folks with their dogs enjoying the day.

Here's the info to plan your visit!

Belle Isle Marsh Reservation

Bennington Street, East Boston, MA (Map)

Open year-round, 9:00 a.m. to dusk.

Belle Isle Seafood

Has relocated across the bridge to 1 Main Street, Winthrop MA (Map)

Phone: (617) 567-1619

What do you know about Amazon Prime?

We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and tv shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month, free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

August 26, 2013
Belle Isle: Lobster Rolls at the Reservation

We dedicated an afternoon and a few of our Zipcar credits to exploring Winthrop last week. Our dog Poppy enjoys an occasional ride in her car crate so we took her along and were happy to find so many public spaces where our whole family was welcome, as long as we obeyed the rules.

Today, we'll tell you about the Belle Isle Marsh, one of the MDC reservations.

Airplanes landing and taking off are a part of the scene here. Ed was having a great time photographing them. This is a great destination for a photowalk. We plan to gather a group of friends with cameras and come back in the fall. Marshland is often overlooked as a place to enjoy autumn's colorful show.

Boston's last remaining salt marsh, this conservation area is right in the city and you can include houses in some of the views. You can also see the reservation's observation tower in the center of this photo.

Map courtesy of Friends of Belle Isle. Please visit their site for a larger view.

We originally had not planned to include Belle Isle in our explorations but needed a place to have lunch. Our hopes that the new outdoor seating at Belle Isle Seafood might be dog friendly were dashed since you have to go through the restaurant to get to it.

So, we ordered our lobster rolls to go and drove to a lovely picnic table at the Belle Isle Reservation to enjoy all that lovely lobster and great onion rings.

There was so much lobster in our rolls that we had leftovers and took some home for supper!

After a big seafood lunch, you can walk off some of the calories on the winding trails. We saw lots of folks with their dogs enjoying the day.

Here's the info to plan your visit!

Belle Isle Marsh Reservation

Bennington Street, East Boston, MA (Map)

Open year-round, 9:00 a.m. to dusk.

Belle Isle Seafood

Has relocated across the bridge to 1 Main Street, Winthrop MA (Map)

Phone: (617) 567-1619

What do you know about Amazon Prime?

We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and tv shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month, free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

August 26, 2013
Fall 2013 Boston Hazardous Waste Collection, E Waste, and Shredding

The City of Boston has announced the 2013 Fall Household Hazardous Waste collection dates with September 7th and November 23rd next on the list.

And, on Saturday September 7th, you will also be able to drop off e-waste for Electronics recycing and shred paper at the Bayside Expo Center. So, dump those old files, checks, and such into a big box and take them along.

It's time to clean out under sinks, storage areas, and garages and remove all those unwanted hazards from your home.

Saturday, September 7th, 2013 from 9am to 2pm

University of Massachusetts-Boston Harbor Campus, Parking lot D, Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester (Map)

With Electronics Recycling and paper shredding at Bayside Expo

Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 from 9am to 2pm

West Roxbury Public Works Yard, 315 Gardner Street, West Roxbury (Map)

Here are highlights of the city's published guidelines from their Hazardous Waste page:

For a complete list of acceptable materials, download the flyer here.

For Boston residents only. No commercial waste will be accepted. Proof of residency required. The City reserves the right to reject materials. For more information call 617-635-4500.

TVs & Computer Monitors

The City says, "… call 617-635-4500 to schedule curbside pickup of TVs and computer monitors or place an online service request."

Latex Paint & Acrylic Paint

The city advises, "Latex/Acrylic Paint Is Not Hazardous. Latex and Acrylic Paint can be disposed of with regular trash." "… must make sure any paint left in the paint can is [be] completely dried before putting out with trash."

Get rid of the junk, and then don't bring more of it back into your home.

Clean out under your sink, your cleaning closet, gardening shed, garage, and storage areas. Once your home is free from toxic, flammable, and other dangerous materials, learn how to avoid bringing more of this stuff back into your life.

Here are three great books to help you change your hazardous ways.

And, remember, when you start any of your Amazon shopping from here, you support BostonZest and keep information like this flowing your way.

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Screenshot: From City of Boston website

August 16, 2013
Fall 2013 Boston Hazardous Waste Collection, E Waste, and Shredding

The City of Boston has announced the 2013 Fall Household Hazardous Waste collection dates with September 7th and November 23rd next on the list.

And, on Saturday September 7th, you will also be able to drop off e-waste for Electronics recycing and shred paper at the Bayside Expo Center. So, dump those old files, checks, and such into a big box and take them along.

It's time to clean out under sinks, storage areas, and garages and remove all those unwanted hazards from your home.

Saturday, September 7th, 2013 from 9am to 2pm

University of Massachusetts-Boston Harbor Campus, Parking lot D, Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester (Map)

With Electronics Recycling and paper shredding at Bayside Expo

Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 from 9am to 2pm

West Roxbury Public Works Yard, 315 Gardner Street, West Roxbury (Map)

Here are highlights of the city's published guidelines from their Hazardous Waste page:

For a complete list of acceptable materials, download the flyer here.

For Boston residents only. No commercial waste will be accepted. Proof of residency required. The City reserves the right to reject materials. For more information call 617-635-4500.

TVs & Computer Monitors

The City says, "… call 617-635-4500 to schedule curbside pickup of TVs and computer monitors or place an online service request."

Latex Paint & Acrylic Paint

The city advises, "Latex/Acrylic Paint Is Not Hazardous. Latex and Acrylic Paint can be disposed of with regular trash." "… must make sure any paint left in the paint can is [be] completely dried before putting out with trash."

Get rid of the junk, and then don't bring more of it back into your home.

Clean out under your sink, your cleaning closet, gardening shed, garage, and storage areas. Once your home is free from toxic, flammable, and other dangerous materials, learn how to avoid bringing more of this stuff back into your life.

Here are three great books to help you change your hazardous ways.

And, remember, when you start any of your Amazon shopping from here, you support BostonZest and keep information like this flowing your way.

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Screenshot: From City of Boston website

August 16, 2013
Fall 2013 Boston Hazardous Waste Collection, E Waste, and Shredding

The City of Boston has announced the 2013 Fall Household Hazardous Waste collection dates with September 7th and November 23rd next on the list.

And, on Saturday September 7th, you will also be able to drop off e-waste for Electronics recycing and shred paper at the Bayside Expo Center. So, dump those old files, checks, and such into a big box and take them along.

It's time to clean out under sinks, storage areas, and garages and remove all those unwanted hazards from your home.

Saturday, September 7th, 2013 from 9am to 2pm

University of Massachusetts-Boston Harbor Campus, Parking lot D, Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester (Map)

With Electronics Recycling and paper shredding at Bayside Expo

Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 from 9am to 2pm

West Roxbury Public Works Yard, 315 Gardner Street, West Roxbury (Map)

Here are highlights of the city's published guidelines from their Hazardous Waste page:

For a complete list of acceptable materials, download the flyer here.

For Boston residents only. No commercial waste will be accepted. Proof of residency required. The City reserves the right to reject materials. For more information call 617-635-4500.

TVs & Computer Monitors

The City says, "… call 617-635-4500 to schedule curbside pickup of TVs and computer monitors or place an online service request."

Latex Paint & Acrylic Paint

The city advises, "Latex/Acrylic Paint Is Not Hazardous. Latex and Acrylic Paint can be disposed of with regular trash." "… must make sure any paint left in the paint can is [be] completely dried before putting out with trash."

Get rid of the junk, and then don't bring more of it back into your home.

Clean out under your sink, your cleaning closet, gardening shed, garage, and storage areas. Once your home is free from toxic, flammable, and other dangerous materials, learn how to avoid bringing more of this stuff back into your life.

Here are three great books to help you change your hazardous ways.

And, remember, when you start any of your Amazon shopping from here, you support BostonZest and keep information like this flowing your way.

Details:

Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Screenshot: From City of Boston website

August 16, 2013
Boston Tree Care: Who’s Paying the Bills? This Time, the Garden Club of the Back Bay

… with a little help from the city.

Trees make Boston a better place to live. During this month's heat wave, did you find yourself moving from one shady spot to another as you walked around the city? But, who pays for the care of the trees that make our lives cooler in summer and refresh our air supply. If you think all the care of Boston's tree canopy is paid for with tax dollars, you're wrong!

Right now, a major tree care project is underway on Beacon Street in the Back Bay. It is funded by the Garden Club of the Back Bay (GCBB) along with a grant from Beautify Boston.

That's Bobby Loree, Arborist for Boston Tree Company, in the photo above. Bobby has been working for the GCBB, Friends of the Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee for 20 years caring for trees in the parks and along the streets of the Back Bay.

Over the next couple of weeks, Boston Tree Company crews will prune 67 large, historic Linden trees on Beacon Street. These trees were planted in 1907 after a design by landcape architect Arthur Shurcliff.

Bobby says, “We prune them in summer because there are fewer students, people are on vacation and fewer cars.”

Residents will find some parking restrictions to allow the arborists to do their work safely.

And, drivers will need to be alert as large branches are guided to the ground.

The GCBB explained, "The cost of the pruning project, expected to take 10+ days, will be $1400 per day. It will be paid with a $5000 grant from Beautify Boston to The Garden Club of the Back Bay, with the difference to be made up by a Garden Club contribution."

You can help the Garden Club pay for this project by becoming a member or making a contribution.

Linden trees are most useful and important beyond their ability to create shade and oxygen. To learn why we call them musical trees and much more about these neighborhood giants (they can grow to 80 feet) check out our post: Musical Tree Plays Many Tunes.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Top photo courtesy of the Garden Club of the Back Bay remainder © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

July 24, 2013
Boston Tree Care: Who’s Paying the Bills? This Time, the Garden Club of the Back Bay

… with a little help from the city.

Trees make Boston a better place to live. During this month's heat wave, did you find yourself moving from one shady spot to another as you walked around the city? But, who pays for the care of the trees that make our lives cooler in summer and refresh our air supply. If you think all the care of Boston's tree canopy is paid for with tax dollars, you're wrong!

Right now, a major tree care project is underway on Beacon Street in the Back Bay. It is funded by the Garden Club of the Back Bay (GCBB) along with a grant from Beautify Boston.

That's Bobby Loree, Arborist for Boston Tree Company, in the photo above. Bobby has been working for the GCBB, Friends of the Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee for 20 years caring for trees in the parks and along the streets of the Back Bay.

Over the next couple of weeks, Boston Tree Company crews will prune 67 large, historic Linden trees on Beacon Street. These trees were planted in 1907 after a design by landcape architect Arthur Shurcliff.

Bobby says, “We prune them in summer because there are fewer students, people are on vacation and fewer cars.”

Residents will find some parking restrictions to allow the arborists to do their work safely.

And, drivers will need to be alert as large branches are guided to the ground.

The GCBB explained, "The cost of the pruning project, expected to take 10+ days, will be $1400 per day. It will be paid with a $5000 grant from Beautify Boston to The Garden Club of the Back Bay, with the difference to be made up by a Garden Club contribution."

You can help the Garden Club pay for this project by becoming a member or making a contribution.

Linden trees are most useful and important beyond their ability to create shade and oxygen. To learn why we call them musical trees and much more about these neighborhood giants (they can grow to 80 feet) check out our post: Musical Tree Plays Many Tunes.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Top photo courtesy of the Garden Club of the Back Bay remainder © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

July 24, 2013
Boston Tree Care: Who’s Paying the Bills? This Time, the Garden Club of the Back Bay

… with a little help from the city.

Trees make Boston a better place to live. During this month's heat wave, did you find yourself moving from one shady spot to another as you walked around the city? But, who pays for the care of the trees that make our lives cooler in summer and refresh our air supply. If you think all the care of Boston's tree canopy is paid for with tax dollars, you're wrong!

Right now, a major tree care project is underway on Beacon Street in the Back Bay. It is funded by the Garden Club of the Back Bay (GCBB) along with a grant from Beautify Boston.

That's Bobby Loree, Arborist for Boston Tree Company, in the photo above. Bobby has been working for the GCBB, Friends of the Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall Committee for 20 years caring for trees in the parks and along the streets of the Back Bay.

Over the next couple of weeks, Boston Tree Company crews will prune 67 large, historic Linden trees on Beacon Street. These trees were planted in 1907 after a design by landcape architect Arthur Shurcliff.

Bobby says, “We prune them in summer because there are fewer students, people are on vacation and fewer cars.”

Residents will find some parking restrictions to allow the arborists to do their work safely.

And, drivers will need to be alert as large branches are guided to the ground.

The GCBB explained, "The cost of the pruning project, expected to take 10+ days, will be $1400 per day. It will be paid with a $5000 grant from Beautify Boston to The Garden Club of the Back Bay, with the difference to be made up by a Garden Club contribution."

You can help the Garden Club pay for this project by becoming a member or making a contribution.

Linden trees are most useful and important beyond their ability to create shade and oxygen. To learn why we call them musical trees and much more about these neighborhood giants (they can grow to 80 feet) check out our post: Musical Tree Plays Many Tunes.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Top photo courtesy of the Garden Club of the Back Bay remainder © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

July 24, 2013
At the Market: Flowers, Too!

You see many customers at area farmers' markets carrying bouquets of flowers in addition to their food purchases. This mixed bouquet above is from Atlas Farm at the Copley Square Farmers' Market.

My friend Liz raves about the lilies and other flowers she buys from Stow Greenhouses.

And, it's worth a trip to the Newton market for the wonderful arrangements from Old Friends Farm.

The Word from the Farms & Market Managers

Lily Carone from Atlas Farm says, "… we have River Valley Farm Blueberries – a rain loving crop which are so plump and sweet this summer, it almost makes us pause in cursing the weather…"

Louisa Denison, Manager of the Harvard University Farmers' Markets, sent out a recipe for Blueberry Lemonade.

From Jan at Warren Farm & Sugarhouse

Blueberry Lemonade
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 small lemons)
2 cups water
*2 cups fresh blueberries
*1/2 cup maple syrup
Garnish: lemon slices
Process first 4 ingredients in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Pour through a wire-mesh strainer into a pitcher, discarding solids. Serve over ice, and garnish, if desired. Yield: 5 cups

In Season, Right Now!

Blueberries, gooseberries, raspberries, cherries, new potatoes.

Lily from Atlas said, "This week, we added white sweet spanish onions and eggplant to our harvest list….and peppers are not far behind. Our own raspberry crop on our new land in South Deerfield is full of flavorful bright berries too…leaving little to be desired."

Looking Forward!

The crew from Old Friends Farm sent a message to their ginger fans. "Our ginger crop (bless it's little rhyzomial heart) is the weediest we have seen in years – it's actually quite embarrassing. You would think we would have it down by now… We just finished weeding it, and its already time to start at the beginning again." This ginger should show up in September.

Follow all our Local Food/Farmers' Markets and At The Market reports:

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List? Shop Amazon for all your Kitchen & Dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

July 18, 2013