3rd House Journal

After the storm

[Bicycle on Fairfield St, near Commonwealth Ave, Boston]

When we finally got out today to explore -- around mid-afternoon (Patriot's game half-time) -- it was still snowing lightly, but it gradually stopped. Most of the sidewalks were shoveled, but the street corners were invariably bracketed in deep wet slush. We walked up Newbury St and through the Public Garden to Charles St and back around. We were lucky in Boston to get a foot or less snow, and the streets were clear and the parking ban lifted by late afternoon.

[Public Garden, Boston]

After returning down Newbury St, we stopped for a nice bite to eat at the bar at Bouchee brasserie (and caught the last quarter of the game on the bar TV). By the time we left, the lights on Newbury St had come on just as the skies were turning an amazing deep rose. The lights were also just coming on on the trees on the Comm Ave Mall - perfect timing.

[Newbury St at sunset, after the storm; 12/20/09]

[Commonwealth Avenue Mall, just after the lights went on]

Snow picnic

[Back Bay, Boston; 11:30am, 12/20/09]

You can read that as 'sno picnic (as in, "it's no picnic"). We haven't ventured forth yet from the relative warmth of D's somewhat drafty apartment. But the snow, which began falling around 11 last night, is winding down, reaching 10-12 inches of light fluffy stuff here in the city, according to reports. The wind, however, is blustery and wind chills are down in the single digits (F) (-14C). Since it's supposed to remain cold this week, the snow will stay put and it will look like a winter wonderland this week when the sun comes back out. But for now the whirls of light snow, which is blowing off of buildings as much as falling from the gray skies, are making the scene not very inviting. Snow exploration postponed.

Nor'easter on the way

They're predicting up to a foot of snow in Boston by the end of the nor'easter tomorrow afternoon (it's starting tonight). I'll be in the city, enjoying the winter wonderland. Will post pics...

Boston Fashion

[Brooks Brothers, Newbury St; 12/6/09]

Although I have two or three holiday parties to go to this year, there will be no need of fancy attire. They're house parties, for one thing, and my friends, though stylish in their own way, are not fashionistas. Boston is not exactly known for hip fashion, Newbury Street high-end shops aside. The New England style in general is, shall-we-say, understated. The city is certainly more fashionable, with multicultural transplants mixing in their styles and the students making their own creative statements. But overall, it's pretty low-key.

In particular, the long, cold winter calls for warmth above all, including footwear that keeps one  upright with all one's bones and tendons intact. No wonder the currently most commonly observed attire on Boston's trendiest streets seems to be jeans tucked into Uggs boots. So when we saw two women in stiletto-heeled boots wearing coats barely covering their derrieres on Newbury Street last Sunday, we knew something was up. Sure enough, they were handing out cards for one of the hip shops on the street. I assume they were sale coupons, but as we clearly did not fit the shop's target demographic (ie, young and hip), they didn't hand one to us.

[Not your typical Boston fashion; models on Newbury St]

Later on, we saw the two models playing live mannequins in the storefront as we passed by. Alas, I'd put my camera away and we were in a hurry to get home.

City Birds

[Pigeons in the park; Boston Public Garden, 12/6/09]

Since I started seeing D in the spring, I've become a bit more of a city bird, at least on most weekends when I stay with him in the city. I've always enjoyed the city with all its hustle and bustle, culture and multiculture, and profusion of edibles and wearables. Boston is also fortunate to have an abundance of parks—half of which are comprised of the Emerald Necklace of linked parks designed by Frederick Law Olmsted—as well as its river and waterfront, so it's not at all a city of endless concrete. After spending so many years living in the rural countryside, as lovely as it is, I've been enlivened by living closer to where the urban action is (I live about 6 miles from downtown Boston now). Besides, Boston is small and the countryside is not far if you want to get away for even a brief quiet sojourn.

I've been working an afternoon-evening shift on a project this week, so this morning I drove the couple of miles from my apartment over to the local Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary for a walk in the woods, which were lightly snowy from this weekend's first snowstorm. Though it's a small sanctuary, you can feel like you're far from urban life in its woodlands and meadows. As I walked the path through the sanctuary's meadow, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye and was amazed to see a deer sitting passively in the sun, watching me from about 25 feet away. Just because I moved close to the big city, doesn't mean I can't enjoy the country, too.

[Deer, Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary; 11am, 12/8/09; click for larger]

There's also a closer shot here.

Hors d'oeuvre d'hiver

[Public Garden near Arlington St; Sunday 12/6/09]

We had our first taste of winter on Saturday night, an appetizer for the main course no doubt sure to follow. After an exceptionally warm November, we'd almost forgotten what winter is like, but all the motions of brushing off the car and walking carefully on snowy sidewalks came naturally. It's second nature to New Englanders, like riding a bike - if you learned as a child, even years later it all comes back to you. Of course it's been about 9 months, not years, since we had our last snow to dig out of, back in March when we'd had more than enough of winter and ached for spring. But 9 months seems to be enough to forget at least some of the ennui of the long winter, because the first snows of December can't help but cheer us out of November's gloom.

The snow was timely for the season's first holiday parties. We drove a few miles away to one on Saturday night, and luckily the roads were still warm and the snow melted into slush quickly. The snow did stick to trees and shrubs, and with many holiday lights decorating the neighborhoods, it finally began to feel Christmasy. Then, after the party, we lit the decorative paper star D put up in his window and watched the snow swirl and dive under a spotlight outside.

Shedding light

[Boston Common near Park St; 2pm, 11/29/09]

Yesterday's late afternoon sun cast a warm glow around the few trees still holding onto their leaves at the far end of the Boston Common. After a gloomy Thanksgiving, rainy Friday, and blustery Saturday, Sunday's bright sunshine and calm weather was welcome and we happily went out for a stroll around the city.

The upper part of the Common now glows at night with new LED lighting that the city is trying out to save money on energy and maintenance costs and improve lighting in public spaces. The estimate is that the city could cut its carbon emissions by half if it replaces all its streetlights with LEDs. It should also cut down on light pollution [more info here]. The city is inviting residents and visitors to post their response to the LEDs at the city's website. They had two or three different types of LEDs they were trying out, but it was still daytime so we couldn't judge the light quality among them as yet. Maybe next weekend. They're lighting the Common's holiday tree this week, so we'll go check that out soon.

Meanwhile, the nearby Frog Pond ice skating rink has opened for the season and was spinning with skaters like schools of fish on Sunday afternoon. The rink is open most nights until 9 or 10pm. We didn't notice if the LEDs have been installed around the rink.

[Frog Pond skating rink on Boston Common]

Berries and birds

[Old South Church, Boston; 11/22/09]

D spotted this winter-fattened little bird sitting in the tree outside the Old South Church.

Boston's "grand allée" gets lit for the holidays

[Comm Ave Mall; 4pm, 11/22/09]

On Sunday afternoon, we were delighted to find crews out on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall lighting the trees for the holidays. When the snow arrives, it will be the perfect holiday scene. For now, there are still touches of fall color in the leaves clinging to the trees above or fallen on the ground, and we're still happy for the relative warmth in the air and the ease of walking on non-slick sidewalks without the snowbank and slush-puddle obstacles.

[Crews in cherry pickers stringing lights on the Comm Ave Mall]

According to the Friends of the Public Garden, which tends to the "Comm Ave" Mall and also takes care of the Public Garden and Boston Common:

Set out from 1858 to the 1870s as part of the Back Bay, Commonwealth Avenue Mall is a grand allée of shade trees forming a distinctive link in Boston's Emerald Necklace. Today the Mall remains a vital amenity for neighborhood residents as well as an attraction for those visiting the city.

D is lucky enough to live across from the park, which reportedly features sweetgum, green ash, maple, linden, zelkova, Japanese pagoda and elm trees along with its monuments and benches, along the Mall's 32 acres of promenade.

[Holiday lights and fall leaves across from brownstones on Comm Ave]

Jamaica Pond, November

[Jamaica Pond, Jamaica Plain, Boston; 1pm, 11/21/09]