Catching up . . .Boston and NYC

Excuses, excuses. . . I'm back with some more pictures
First a Boston doorway and then some glimpses of New
York City where I grabbed a few details.
The statue/park commemorates Isadora and Ida Straus, two sisters who perished when the Titantic went down. I love these little hidden parks. I found this one while walking down Broadway right at the point where it shifts to the left towards Columbus Circle.

Beacon and Hereford Streets . . . or is it Europe?

Ah those doors. And the sweet mini gardens in the tiniest plots of land. As an urban cowgirl that's about all the space I could ever handle for a garden. Right now I'm on a waiting list to inherit a tiny plot in the Fenway Victory Gardens just a few steps from my door. Until then,
it's going to be vicarious vegetables and flowers as I work my way through the neighborhood.

Thirteen is a lucky number

On my "bucket list" (stuff I want to do before I croak) is to row in a crew on the Charles, not just take a picture of it from Mass Ave. bridge.

Now for today's doorway: hmm....not exactly a door, I called it a windoor. Excellent detail.

And one last image: a roof line that makes me think I'm in Europe, not in Boston.

So how's your thirteenth day of this month? In Italy the number 13 is a lucky one. I hope it's a lucky one for you.
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Doorways in Boston

Doorways suggest a lot about what's behind them. Commonwealth Avenue is a great source of some of the most elegant in Boston. I think from now on I'll include a "doorway for the day" with each post. Let me know what you think.

City Gardens, Classic Crosswalks

Today's walk in Cambridge brought me by an exquisite jewel of a garden on Concord Avenue, just on the corner where Buckminster intersects with Concord. I've watched this tiny garden grow and change over the years. Since moving from Cambridge to Boston, though, I hadn't seen it for quite and while, so when it came into my view, I had to document it for you.
Crossing the newly painted cross walk bands brought back the memory of a trip to Pompeii where the crosswalks started as huge granite chunks of stone set into the roads that kept pedestrians elevated above the garbage as they crossed the roads. The spaces between the parallel stones allowed chariot wheels and wagons to cross as they approached from intersecting roads. Quite amazing that something we take so for granted has its roots so far back.

Adversity has its own beauty . . .

On today's walk I concentrated on images of often neglected stars. On a small stretch of the walk along the Charles there are several trees that have been damaged, maybe struck by lightning or some terrible calamity in the world of trees, and yet they continue—despite contortions and crippled trunks— to flower and renew themselves each year. Also, you'll see in the abandoned, windblown, sun-bleached scrap of paper I saw on the Mass Ave bridge the subtlest of colors and tones from which one could easily build an exquisite palette of colors for a home or office.

Spring Steps out of the closet

Spring flowers come in many forms. These shoes sparkled as much as the blossoms I saw along the Charles River or the brilliant koi, just days out of hybernation, that I saw recently in a man-made pond in Hyannis Country Gardens.

Wonders from the Walk

I headed out from Coolidge Corner just after the rain stopped and made my way to Boylston Street and Mass Ave. Here are some of the images (still don't know how to add captions)
1. Waterlogged tulips

2. Luscious Green moss. Now that color would spice up any room!

3. Silent neighbors. Walking helps you become polite again so that you can salute them as you pass by.

4. A blossom canopy only Mother Nature could have designed.

5. A petal snow storm without the chill.

Raining again . . .

Raining again. . .
Oh well, umbrellas are pretty, too.
Here's one a friend gave me the same day another friend gave me fresh flowers. They were obviously on the same wave length that day. When I carry that umbrella it definitely
brings a touch of sunshine into my mood.

Another aspect of the "free art" subject is appreciation of fine detail. The more I walk, the more I see. Just feast on the details of this architectural trim on a Boylston Street
building. It has it all. Egg and dart (some say that's the symbol for life and death) and just look at the dental detail....I saw the same details in Pompeii. I'm still struggling with how to put captions on these images so be patient.
The picture with less detail is from the ruins in Pompeii, the more elaborate one is from the Boylston St. building.

Free Art in the City

I know, I know. I said I'd be back every day with a post but I got so overwhelmed taking pictures of what I saw on my walks that it's hard to choose. I don't want to swamp you with images and yet . . . with everything blossoming and with the camera sighing to be used over and over again I've got more images in just a few days than I can handle.
In these sluggish economic times, there's still no shortage of food for the eyes and the spirit. I'll be posting just a few of those items. Slowing down, walking, looking for images to share has put me into a whole other place. It's like this faceless cyber-audience is a new friend with whom I want to share all my impressions and joy as I take that second look at the familiar—seeing things through the lens of my little digital friend as though for the first time. If you're feeling overwhelmed by life right now, put on your walking shoes and get out the door.