Medford, Massachusetts, USA

Back in 1630, a London merchant and investor in the Massachusetts Bay Company staked out the land along the Mystic River that is today the town of Medford.  It's early history included shipbuilding, rum making, and brick making. In the early 1800's many shipyards were located here and a Medford built ship was famous for its quality.  By mid-century, a quarter of all Massachusetts shipbuilders were employed in Medford.  The building above was built in 1886 and is in the center of town. Medford today is a vibrant community 5 miles north of Boston.

 This underused band shell along the bank of the Mystic River is dedicated to Medford native Lydia Child who in 1844 published the classic American Thanksgiving poem, "Over the River and Through the Woods." She might not be as famous as former Medford resident aviator Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  And don't forget James Pierpont who in 1857 wrote "Jingle Bells" in Medford.

A flowering pear tree fronts the turn of the early 20th century former Medford Armory.

A street scene of Spring busting out everywhere.

 

More signs of Spring frame this hundred year old grand colonial home in a residential area of Medford.



Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Just about every large city of note in the world has an iconic area or street that captures a particular essence and mood. Boston has Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay. It begins at the western edge of the Public Garden and stretches westward. Some have compared it to the great boulevards of Paris. In addition to the multi-million dollar properties lining the central park area, Boston University and nearby Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team call the area home. On this unseasonably warm Easter Sunday, the magnolias are exploding in bloom - seems the 60 inches of snowfall last winter really is over until next season. 

And dogs that neither bark, bite, eat nor poop are always welcome.

Some varieties have already begun the petal blizzard.

Not to be outdone, the nearby Public Garden has its Spring show in full display also.  Days like today are enough to make a person forget forever the cold, dark, windy days of January and February just past.

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

It is early April in Boston. The days are longer, the temperatures are rising, and soon the flowers and trees will be budding and blossoming.  Today it seems that the whole city has come out to play on this Sunday morning with temperatures reaching the low 60's.

The golden dome of the Massachusetts State House tops the area of downtown Boston known as Beacon Hill. In the center distance is the Charles River, Beacon Street to the left, and the Prudential Building in the left distance.

The Boston Common, dating from 1634 and encompasing 50 acres of land, is the oldest city park in the United States.  The grass is greening but the trees are just showing the hint of Spring and Summer to come. (And the Hancock building in the distance isn't really blue).

One of the many brick townhouses on Beacon Hill, this extraordinary exterior trim is all copper and marks a time of exceptional craftsmanship seldom created today. 

On perhaps the most photographed street in Boston, Acorn Street, the Plymouth Digital Photographers Club enjoys the day doing what they do best - taking pictures!

Where else but Boston would one find a solid brass lobster door knocker?

All that walking and photographing required pizza at Figs Restaurant on Charles Street before continuing to the Public Garden to finish the day.

And if you think Boston is only full of stuffy, conservative, New Englanders - you'd be wrong - some folks are willing to serve as substitute bridge anchor posts.

For those of us "of a certain age,"  we remember in 1968 the Scottish singer Donovan sang a song called "the Hurdy Gurdy Man."  Well, this is in fact, a man playing a Hurdy Gurdy - go figure.

And not to be outdone by the Hurdy Gurdy man, nor intimidated by the bronze statue of Edward Everett Hale, an icon of American history, here's a one man band entertaining the passersby on a Spring day.