Category Archives: Boston

Framing Nature

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The Flower Arranger/Early Summer, Anthony Green, 1982

Today, we took the T downtown and went to the Boston art museum. The boys went to daycare and Dave went into the office. Tomorrow, Maren returns late from the left coast. Plus, Declan has a playdate tonight, a pizza party. So, Dave will pick up the boys after work and whisk them away, probably until about their bedtime. We will be on our own for dinner tonight. All-in-all, a pretty easy day. Which is a good thing. Anne seems kind of tired today. Too much walking Puck, playing with Wyatt and arguing with Declan. Declan is in full no mode and that has really begun to grate on her. The show at the museum, was all about spring and gardening. This being the first day of Spring that seems appropriate. The weather was nice today, with a high in the fifties. Tonight, we’ll go to a nearby restaurant and have a quiet dinner for two and pick up some baby formula, because being a grandparent is a never-ending adventure, even on a day off.

250 Years and 11 Months Ago

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Old North Bridge, Concord, MA

Minute Man National Historical Park was the starting place of the American Revolution. Here the resolve of citizens willing to risk their lives for the ideals of liberty and self-determination was instrumental in the formation of the American identity. This park preserves sites where colonial militia men and British soldiers clashed on April 19, 1775. A force of 700 British Regulars left Boston to seize military supplies stockpiled in Concord. Paul Revere and other alarm riders alerted the countryside. In area towns, militia companies assembled, ready to defend their communities and their liberties. A brief but bloody skirmish on Lexington Green (5:00 a.m.) left eight Colonists dead. At the North Bridge (9:30 a.m.), the first ordered firing by Colonists upon British troops killed two British soldiers, with a third mortally wounded, the “shot heard around the world.” As the British soldiers marched back towards Boston, Colonial militia companies poured in. Fighting erupted along “Battle Road” (12:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.) as nearly 1,000 Colonists unleashed “an incessant fire” upon the British Regulars. At the end of the day, the Colonists surrounded and laid siege to Boston. The Revolutionary War had begun. 

A Day Out with Declan

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Anne and I spent the day with Declan. Daycare was closed today, for a professional development day. I really think that the nice Chinese ladies who run the place, really just wanted to swill green beer. 😉 Dave had to work, even so, he took care of Wyatt, while we all went to the zoo. Stone zoo, the small private zoo that is located nearby. We got there right when it opened. Declan was the first one through the gate. Not too surprising, it being a very cold St. Pat’s Day.

Plus, there was last night. Oh, how the wind did howl! I have been sleeping on the couch in the living room, mainly because the foldout bed in the basement is not particularly comfortable to sleep in and while you cannot hear the wee one wakeup in the middle of the night down there, their couch is normally quite comfortable. But because of last night’s windstorm, I hardly slept a wink. There wasn’t much rain, but oh the wind. Even Dave commented on it in the morning.

Maren and David’s home is located atop a rocky promontory, three miles from Massachusetts Bay, with little between their house and the sea. Gale force winds were forecasted, causing all of the trees to sway wildly and some of them to brush the house. I kept expecting one to come crashing into the building. None did, but in the morning, we had to detour around a fallen tree around the corner.

The zoo was fun. A pair of flamingoes were noisily fighting, and we had to quickly move on, because they were frightening Declan. All of the big cats were out, none hiding. Even the gibbons were out, swing around. The St. Louis zoo’s gibbons would not be outside on a day like today. These New England folk are a hardy lot, none so as much as our grandson. It was hard to keep up with him, when we took him across the road from the zoo to a park with a playground.

Next up was lunch at the Melrose Diner, a real greasy spoon. Located next to a T-stop, our corner window table was perfect for entertaining Declan. Four purple commuter trains passed by while we dined. By the time the fourth one did, Declan had lined up all of the grape jelly packets at the table on the windowsill. For dinner tonight, Dave made Shepards pie to celebrate the Irish in him.

Jellies

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The Monterey Aquarium has probably the best collection of jellyfish around. Pictured are two examples, on the right you have the wispy strands of a purple-lipped jelly and on the left is a stopped-motion animation of a microscopic umbrella jelly. An aquarium technician captured it on his workstation’s display screen and helped me to get this shot. Other jellies include the classic sea nettles and a whole new wing of deep, deep-sea creatures, the kind that sport their own running lights. I was able to capture picture of many of these creatures and plan on rationing them out over time. That was in Monterey, but now I am in Boston.

I left living the lifestyle of the rich and fabulous for that of grandpa. Today is a daycare day. I still had to get up at six AM, but once the wee ones were shoveled off to school, I could fall back to sleep. I slept to almost noon this way. I guess after only two days, I needed the break. With the kids away, Maren can travel to San Francisco and Dave can actually work from home. Tomorrow is a daycare holiday. They call it a professional development day. It is also St. Patrick’s Day, which is a big deal in Boston. It looks like we will take Declan to the zoo, if the weather is nice enough, or the library if it is not. Stay tuned.