Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘spring’

Jumbled Seasons in Pictures

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 14, 2025| 4 Comments »

Photo: John.
Our older granddaughter skiing in Maine. I’m told it was cold.

Today’s photo roundup covers some winter and some spring. The weird thing is that just as we were beginning to enjoy spring in Massachusetts, we got a snowfall on April 12th, followed by a warm and sunny day today. That makes us wonder what April 19th will be like — a big deal here. It’s the 250th anniversary of what we think of as the beginning of the American Revolution, the confrontation at the North Bridge. (Amazing to think of how long democracy has lasted among erring mortals!)

Getting back to the photos, there was fresh snow on the boardwalk in February, making it eminently skiable. But after a few days of people walking there, it was all ice.

Next photo shows Erik’s Squirrel Buster birdfeeder with a visiting cardinal.

Keeping warm indoors at our retirement place, we enjoyed Joe Reid’s latest trio, with guest vocalist Mikayla Shirley from Berklee College of Music.

My anthurium in the sun is next.

The rest of the photos are from several local art displays.

They include an outsize but otherwise lifelike banana peel by Mary Kenny, a marble bird by Stephen Wetzel, and “Pollen,” a piece of fabric art by Rebecca V. Mann expressing her preoccupation with the fragility of nature. These are followed by Felix Beaudry’s woven head. Resting.

The last photos are part of an extensive sidewalk exhibit in which works by artists of all ages were somehow laminated and glued down so people could walk on them. You can see my shoes. The first, of trees, is by Jack Confrey, a young guy you’ll meet meet if you go to the website, here.

Then there’s a child’s art and a QR code for anyone interested.

Read Full Post »

Some Friday Photos

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on May 17, 2024| 5 Comments »

Photos: John and Suzanne’s Mom.
Delicious-smelling lilac.

Lots to notice in nature at this time of year. I do love spring.

On trails near where I live, there have been wonderful wildflowers lately. I’ve seen pink lady slippers, Canada mayflowers, starflowers, and a trillium.

I always love the redbud trees, like the one in the next photo. The color once made me think it was a plum tree, but my sister straightened me out. I see redbuds everywhere these days.

Next is a weathered old Japanese cherry with an inviting hole for some future inhabitant. The tulips in front of the carpet of azaleas also spoke to me.

A longtime birder found this perfect wood thrush, dead with no visible injuries. He said it was just lying on the ground under the birdbath. A mystery.

Finally, I thought I would show you another kind of Liège waffle at the Burgundian in Attleboro — a savory one with chicken. Our grandson devoured it in no time.

Read Full Post »

Moving Into Spring

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 30, 2024| 5 Comments »

Partly, of course, spring is about the angle of sunlight, how early the sun comes up, how late it stays. I never thought I had seasonal affective disorder, wasn’t sure I believed there was such a thing. But I do find I’m cheered up by sunlight, discouraged by gray skies.

The photos today are mostly self-explanatory, but I want to point out how vibrant the moss looks in early spring. Also, the last photo is of a New England wildflower called Mayapple.

Read Full Post »

Telling Yourself It’s Spring

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on February 29, 2024| 12 Comments »

Photo: John and Suzanne’s Mom.
The ice breaks up.

When I was paying for my groceries on Tuesday, the teenage bagger commented on what a beautiful day it was, and I said, “Yes, I can’t wait to get home and take my walk.” He replied, “Where do you walk?”

At the moment of telling him my usual route, I knew I couldn’t possibly follow routine on that unusually warm, sunny, and springlike day in February.

So after I got all the perishables into my fridge, I walked in the opposite direction from the routine and ended up on a conservation trail in the woods.

There was something about this that was a throwback to childhood, when I walked with a friend in the woods or with my cousin Patsy or, most often, alone. I used to feel spring coming. The woods held magic. There was a stream with a brownish rock in the middle that I liked to inaugurate in spring by stepping on it, but sometimes I would slip into the icy water and walk home wearing mittens on my feet.

It used to feel great to have an adventure alone, maybe a little bit risky. Like the time I wandered from the woods to look for the place where one could sometimes see a horse behind a stockade fence. On the way there, I would go through a marsh, stepping slowly from wobbly tuft to wobbly tuft. Until one day, I saw an unknown man standing not far off and I hightailed it out of there.

Exploring on Tuesday also felt a bit risky, even with a smart phone. How many bars do I need if I fall and want to summon help? What about the icy, sloshy places? I’m a bit old for walking home with mittens on my feet and drenched shoes hung over my shoulder, the laces tied together.

I also needed to pay attention to where I was in relation to the road. I was kind of lost, although the trail markers were reassuring.

Eventually, I came out onto a big field where a woman was walking her dog, and I had a pretty good idea where the road lay in relation to that field.

I went home and took a nap.

Read Full Post »

Photos to Welcome Spring

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on May 13, 2023| 16 Comments »

Lady Slippers in the wild will soon turn pink.

A real New England spring is tender, touching. The seasonal changes are not always dramatic or photogenic. I would have liked to share with you, for example, the carpets of tiny, blue forget-me-nots I saw all along the edge of a field yesterday, but my phone camera is not sensitive enough. In a photo, they would look like an undifferentiated smear of white.

Still, there is plenty to show, and I hope it’s all welcome, especially to those in the South who are already wilting in the heat of summer.

I found the Lady Slippers along a woodland trail. They will soon turn pink.

I liked the way the euonymus below spoke of new and old growing along together.

Wish I could share how wonderful those lilacs smell — or the fragrance everywhere of little lilies-of the-valley.

The quirky fairy bridge on the campus of Butler Hospital in Providence reminded me of similar ones in New York’s Central Park that filled me with delight during that sad year I was visiting my ailing sister.

In the next photo, I wanted to capture how tired that old wheel looked in the energetic sunshine.

I liked how the stone wall nurtures its floral decorations.

Erik finished the tree house — a triumph of his and a small child’s imagination and will.

After the crabapple blossoms come a couple of the signs I can never resist, including one honoring a local Korean War hero, featured in the recent film Devotion.

The talented costume designers for the decennial production of Little Women honored a local author with dolls featuring the main characters in her book. A lucky theatergoer with the right ticket number got the dolls after the show.

A little crafter is oblivious to all on a sunny spring day.

Read Full Post »

Photos from Winter

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on March 24, 2023| 8 Comments »

Photo: Suzanne and John’s Mom.
Snowdrops arrive in Massachusetts.

I haven’t posted photos for a while, and now I’m realizing that today’s selection goes way back to early January, when Erik’s mother was still visiting from Sweden. She showed me a garden-like cemetery in Providence where she loves to run — and where we were greeted by the largest gang of wild turkeys I have ever encountered!

I particularly liked the unique headstone below: someone must have felt OK about having a final home in this park.

The next photo shows my frosty windshield in February. But indoors at John’s house, warm floral colors were defying the frost.

Note that Suzanne’s stone wall has a light pattern on it. It comes from the sunrise over the river in Providence and through her fence. I have to be quick with the camera as the pattern disappears fast.

The tree of many eyes was also in Providence. Kind of weird and interesting.

The tiny bicycle is ready for a windy ride. The chewed-up bench at the commuter rail station suggests to me that the train is often late.

The book store with the literary squirrel in Boston is part of the indie book store resurgence I wrote about recently, here.

There was a mechanical face in the sidewalk near the park. Conducting surveillance, I suppose.

Finally, a spring treat: Meredith Fife Day’s lovely contribution to a recent exhibit at Concord Art.

Read Full Post »

Not Just Iris

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on June 1, 2022| 6 Comments »

What a great time of year for New England nature photos — really, any photo that benefits from strong sunlight.

The first two iris photos are from the the grounds of the Buttrick Mansion at Minuteman National Park. The next one shows wild irises in a swamp near Walgreen’s.

Finding rare Lady Slippers is always a thrill, especially finding a large stand. The photo after the Lady Slippers shows fragrant lilacs and wisteria. That one is followed by a field of pink Dame’s Rocket near woods. The little bridge with the crab apple canopy is just off a busy parking lot. Even small pockets of nature are important.

The next photo is by Kristina, whose yard has a stream running through it. The painted turtle was not found there, however. It was on a high stone wall by the park. Someone must have rescued it from the middle of the road. It didn’t seem to know what to do about being so high up. Perhaps it was injured. I moved it to a field across the street. Not sure I did right.

A lot of people in town have been holding off on mowing in order to protect our pollinators. See the signs. I love that they are doing that — and not just because of the reprieve from noisy, polluting lawn mowers.

A different kind of sign is in Walden Woods. Author Toni Morrison once noted that there were few markers preserving the history of the enslaved. This one honors former slave Brister Freeman, well known in town during Thoreau’s time.

Next we have spring wreaths, a high school senior dressed as a clown for Pranks Day, glamorous table legs in a bakery, and the dogwood at my house.

Read Full Post »

Re Ten Years of Blogging Every Day

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 20, 2021| 14 Comments »

What’s weird about WordPress is that it keeps changing how things are done and forgets its own history. So, for example, it recently decided to congratulate people for consecutive days of posting. I guess it started counting when the new editing system went in. But when it throws exclamation points at me for “1,449!” consecutive days, it’s really a bit insulting.

Every day for ten years is 3,650 plus three leap years. So ex-cu-use me!

Well, enough of that. Today I also thought I would post some spring photos, the one above being ten years out of date. Suzanne, of course, looks exactly the same, but I really got old!

First, I want to share three pictures I took of redbud trees, which I always thought were plum trees until the dear sister who died in 2019 showed me an especially beautiful one on Fifth Avenue in New York. I realized from studying these photos that it’s the delicate shape of the branches from a distance that charms me most. And I always think of my sister now when I see redbuds.

Next are apple trees growing wild along the Sudbury River and cherry blossoms coexisting on a branch with moss and lichen.

Also looking pretty: woodland trails, dogwood, barberry flowers, rhododendron open and opening, plus a rare pink Lady Slipper.

And it wouldn’t be a Suzanne’s Mom’s Blog photo round-up without some shadows.

Read Full Post »

Maypoles and Ribbons

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 1, 2021| 4 Comments »

Photo: Library of Congress.
Maypole dancers at the Bavarian Celebration of Spring festival in Leavenworth, Washington.

Since 1889, May 1 has been recognized as International Workers’ Day around the world. But a much more ancient May 1 tradition involves dancing around “maypoles” to celebrate spring.

According to Wikipedia, maypole “festivals may occur on May 1st or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer (June 20-26). In some cases the maypole is a permanent feature that is only utilized during the festival, although in other cases it is erected specifically for the purpose before being taken down again.

“Primarily found within the nations of Germanic Europe and the neighboring areas which they have influenced, its origins remain unknown. It has often been speculated that the maypole originally had some importance in the Germanic paganism of Iron Age and early Medieval cultures, and that the tradition survived Christianisation, albeit losing any original meaning that it had. It has been a recorded practice in many parts of Europe throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods, although it became less popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, the tradition is still observed in some parts of Europe and among European communities in the Americas.”

Olivia Waring and Jack Slater offer more details at Metro. “As today is the first of May, communities across the world might be getting on their sunny day best and heading to dance around a maypole – a tradition which is around 600 years old. But what does dancing around a maypole on May 1 involve, and what does it represent? Here’s all you need to know.

“Dancing around a maypole involves a group of people taking a colored ribbon attached to it and weaving around each other, often to music. Traditionally the dancers position themselves in pairs of boys and girls before beginning their routine.

“The dance creates a multi-colored pattern which creeps steadily down the pole. The dancers then reverse their steps to undo the ribbons. This is said to represent the lengthening of the days as summer approaches, but the significance of the pole itself is not really known. Some communities have a permanent maypole up all year round on village greens and in squares. …

“In Austria and Germany, the maypole is known as a ‘maibaum’, is painted with Bavarian white and blue stripes and is erected (sometimes by villagers) in the middle of a village. This may be accompanied by a procession. …

“Though not always held on May 1, maypole celebrations also happen in the States, Malta, Scandinavia, Canada, and Italy – with Italians using the pole to celebrate International Worker’s Day, too. In other countries, including Sweden, a maypole is referred to as a Midsummer pole and is a part of their annual Midsummer celebrations in late June.”

Watch the video below to see how the weaving works. Trust me: it takes many rehearsals to get those ribbons to lie flat and smooth. More at Wikipedia, here, and at Metro, here.

Read Full Post »

Photos of the Season

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 30, 2021| 10 Comments »

Here come more spring photos. Most are from my walks, but the pictures of the gorgeous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston were take by Suzanne. She put lots more photos of the Gardner on Instagram, @lunaandstella.

The top picture illustrates for me how spring is a time of becoming. The tree is budding lustily over the lichen-covered branch.

But we weren’t quite done with snow. As you can see from the next image, the April 16 snowfall decorated trees already flowering out.

Patriot’s Day, traditionally April 19 in my neck of the woods, has had to be subdued during the pandemic. No parades. But as you can see, a few Minutemen mustered anyway. I guess that after starting the Revolution a year before Independence Day, they imagine germs, however deadly, can’t slow them down. I wonder if they ended up wearing masks.

I went looking for Jack-in-the-pulpit plants in the town forest as I haven’t seen one in years, but what I found was skunk cabbage and lots of it.

It was only last year while walking and asking questions of my phone that I realized the green tassels you see below are on oak trees. Takes a lifetime to learn basic things.

Umbrella Arts is doing a lot outdoors this year. I recently happened upon this jelly-fish-like hanging on a conservation trail, part of the Umbrella’s Change Is in the Air art walk. So pretty. The artists are Nicole Harris and karen [sic] Krolak.

At the Umbrella building itself there was a kind of awning made of paper cranes floating in a net.

Next three pictures: something called an Interrupted fern, a fuzzy thing beginning to unfurl; a Japanese quince; daffodils; and grandchildren at the New England Aquarium for a birthday celebration of Suzanne’s son.

Finally, the Gardner.

Read Full Post »

One Foot in Spring

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 11, 2021| 19 Comments »

It’s really spring in Massachusetts. Sometimes 70 F, sometimes 50 F. But we know where we’re headed.

I took advantage of being old to get my Covid-19 vaccinations wrapped up in March and began to visit grandchildren indoors. Below you see that piano recitals are still on Zoom. While I was visiting, I got my hair “painted” rainbow colors by the youngest grandchild. She worked on my hair while her brother read “spooky stories” to me. The stories got exciting, so she went to look at the pictures.

Easter involved an egg hunt, although some kids may be getting too old. Next year, maybe a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt would be a good variation.

Where I live, there’s a guy who rides around on his bicycle playing the guitar. I managed to capture him this week in his headless horseman costume. His day job is baker.

Also in my town, there are people who never forget that April is Natural Poetry Month. One homeowner makes poems available for free.

Most of the other pictures are about Suzanne’s Mom and her friends flipping over spring flowers. Daffodil, Andromeda, Rhododenron. Fig Buttercup, Blue Scilla, Bloodroot, Trout Lily, Magnolia.

The second to last photo was taken in Central Park by Ying-Ying, who was thrilled to get out of Arizona for a New York spring. And the last was taken by Melita in Madrid, where she’s been living during the pandemic.

Read Full Post »

Photos Between Seasons

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on March 19, 2021| 23 Comments »

I found it harder than usual this year to wait for spring flowers, so I ordered bulbs online. The way the tulips opened was really intriguing. Do all tulips emerge from under a leaf as if from under a wing or from a womb? I had never noticed that before.

Signs of spring appeared outdoors in due time, but first I took plenty of snow, lichen, and shadow photos.

The bird feeder kept me entertained all winter, especially when rare visitors like bluebirds showed up. Another hit in lockdown was Kim’s lecture series about New Shoreham, RI, nature, where I learned that the fuzzy growth on the Massachusetts tree below is Bushy Beard Lichen.

One funny thing: I was excited about seeing pussywillows, but when my Arlington family saw the photo, they thought there must be a hidden image. My granddaughter suggested there was a snake in the foreground, and my grandson saw a turtle. Now I’m inspired to seek photos of snakes and turtles!

I hope you remember my Afghan mentee, Shagufa. She has the world’s best host family, helping her in countless ways. This month they gave her the first birthday party of her life. You never heard anybody so amazed and delighted by a cake with her name and age — and candles!

Meanwhile in Stockholm, the seniors continue outdoor dance exercise no matter how cold it gets. Stuga40, their volunteer leader, says that in addition to the health benefits, the point is to have fun. When a preschool group came walking through the park, the children were invited to join in.

Read Full Post »

“Kindness Rocks” and Flowers

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 21, 2020| 11 Comments »

I take pictures with my phone, and some are better than others. Don’t expect too much.

These shots are from recent rambles in my neighborhood: I don’t like to go so far these days that I might have to use a public bathroom! Actually, there is one photo that is not mine. It was taken by my friend Kristina’s Arizona cousin. So adorable! I don’t think we have quail around here.

Let me start with a few oddities: a lily that had a tough time waking up, the first possum to visit my yard in 38 years, and a whimsical tombstone (the more traditional family of the deceased had their way with the other side).

From there we move to the baby quail, hatched in a flower pot, lovely shadows early and late, and kindness rocks. I think initially the young artists started making the rocks just to cheer people up, but now they have set up a way to sell them for the benefit of the Boston Food Bank. Outside the front door of their house, they have a poster of a giant thermometer to mark how they’re doing with their donation goals — the way one might do for Community Chest. I’m impressed.

Moving along to the community garden, I love one person’s tidy plot with a woven gate. In fact, I love all the spring scenes I’ve collected, including skunk cabbage and ferns unfurling. The spring photos could illustrate the children’s book I’ve been rereading, The Secret Garden — so full of joy about nature! Don’t laugh when I tell you why I originally thought about asking the library for the e-book: all those people dying of cholera in the beginning, followed by a happy life for the survivors.

The last picture is from the elementary school’s playground. At most times of day, there is no one on the school grounds, and unless I can keep a steady six-foot distance walking with a friend, going where there is no one at all is pretty much my favorite thing these days.

051520-a-lily-blooms

051920-possum

051220-Sheila-Shea-tombstone

050320-baby-quail-photographer-Susan

050820-white-rhododendrons-and-shadows

050520-shadows-in-the-neighborhood

052020-kindness-rock-in-tree

052020-rocks-sold-for-food-bank

051420-prepping-a-community-garden

051220-skunk-cabbage

051920-tree-budding

051120-ferns-and-fungus

050720-flowering-tree-ConcordMA

050320-double-daffodil

050420-apple-blossoms-by-Sudbury-River

051420-Alcott-School-US-map

Read Full Post »

A Few Photos from a Rainy Spring

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on May 12, 2019| 9 Comments »

Whenever the sun peaked out this spring, I tried to take a picture. Not that you can’t take photos without sun, but I’m obsessed with shadows. Blogger and photographer Milford Street had a good idea for taking advantage of all the rain. He chose this time to shoot some waterfalls. Check out this shot from Ashby, Mass. (Where is Ashby, Mass.? Will I ever learn all the names of towns in this state?)

Moving right along, I loved the way the writing on the glass door below repeated itself on the interior wall. The very high wall that comes next is in Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a magical place that no wall, alas, could protect from human error and theft.

Sunshine also brings out the vintage cars. I couldn’t resist shooting this red one, even though I am not especially into cars.

The curiosity you see after the car is a piece of bark hanging off a tree that is on conservation land. I have been finding walks in the woods very calming lately, especially since my sister’s cancer returned. If I don’t find ways to calm down, things start breaking or spilling or overheating in my vicinity. Not on purpose. They just happen.

Next is a decorative gate standing all alone without a fence, like the random street lamp in the middle of a Narnia woods. You don’t know what its purpose is, but you’re kind of glad to see it.

The gate is followed by my neighbor’s weeping cherry, which by this date has lost its flowers. The beauty of a weeping cherry is so short-lived. The apple tree by the swamp seems to have planted itself. It beautifies an ordinarily messy area I often pass on my walk.

I will close here with photos from the amazing deCordova Museum in Lincoln, Mass.  The founder’s brick castle is quite dramatic in itself, as you can see, but the sculpture park is the museum’s crowning glory. Even when the indoor exhibits don’t speak to you, the outdoor ones will.

050819-shadow-through-door

042519-Isabella-Stewart-Gardner-wall

050319-vintage-car-ConcordMA

041419-bark-hanging-off tree

041919-curlicue-gate

041919-weeping-cherry

050319-blossoms-and-swamp

042419-deCordova.Museum-Lincoln-MAJPG

042419-outdoor-sculpture-deCordova

042419-reclining-head-deCordova

Read Full Post »

Massachusetts Tiptoes into Spring

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 2, 2019| 8 Comments »

032019-snowdrops-on-first-day-of-spring

My first glimpses of snowdrops and crocus blooms in 2019 may not look like much as photographs, but if you’ve ever lived where winter temperatures go below zero, you know what the first flowers mean to everyone in the Northeast. Hooray! Celebration time!

The other joy is the quality of the sunlight, which I have tried to capture a little here. All these Massachusetts rambles feature the welcome, warming sun.

The Paddington Bear birdhouse is from the bookshop collection that I wrote about here. The chimney against the brilliant blue sky is atop the Colonial Inn. The little stone by the Main Streets Café flower box says, “Start each day with a grateful heart.”

The meditative circle of stones on a bench was outside Emerson Hospital’s wellness center, which includes meditation in many of its classes.

Shadows from objects in a window caught my eye on my way down the stairs. The garage door is a favorite photography subject for me, probably because of the light. The cardinal and the bird feeder make me think of the wonderful children’s biography of artist Horace Pippin called A Splash of Red — a reference to one of the self-taught artist’s signature touches. My older granddaughter likes looking for the splashes of red in the book.

The last photo is of a quiet street in early morning light.

032019-early-sign-of-spring

031619-Paddington-birdhouse

032819-Colonial-Inn-Chimney-and-lichen

032119-start-each-day-with-a-grateful-heart

032019-rock-circle-at-wellness-center

032019-clay-bird-shadows-in-window

031719-garage-window-in-sunlight

032819-Cardinal-and-red-bird-feeder

 

032419-sunlight-Sunday

 

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »