No time to photoblog even!

This is a picture I snapped of Harvard Yard this morning that I completely failed to post to the blog, for no sooner had I arrived for work than I was sucked into a vortex of student training that only just spit me out a little while ago. I guess it's only appropriate, though, that I find myself in a frenzy of activity as the Fall semester approaches and signs of student life return to the Yard. Classes won't start in earnest here at Harvard until the end of September, but already the atmosphere has changed to a distinctly autumn-like feel. Even the morning light has a crisper twinkle to it as it streams through the picturesque campus' venerable trees and the ubiquitous haze of midsummer morning grows less and less with every passing day. Maybe I'm more mindful of this seasonal change because the arrival of our new boss next week heralds myriad other changes in its wake, ones which I can only hint at right now with a nod, a wink, and an enigmatic smile...

Love the view - part two

The view of the Lenny Zakim Bridge opposite the Boston skyline.

Hate the T love the view

Thanks to the perennial incompetence of the MBTA and a Red Line subway ride that took forty-five minutes to traverse two and a half miles, I missed the early train back home. The only consolation was that as a result I had an extra minute or two to admire the unimpeded view of downtown Boston now afforded by what was once the Central Artery, that elevated eyesore that split the city and half and was our other Green Monster (the bad one). The Big Dig may have been a massive boondoggle, but in forcing the interstate underground it did give the city of Boston back to itself, and that's an unqualified good thing in my book.

The drummer's our landlord

Thursday night concerts on the Harbor Loop - tonight's band, Generation Gap, does in fact feature our landlord on the drums.

Okay, maybe just this one

I promised myself I wouldn't compulsively photoblog on the commute in this morning, but I couldn't help myself from snapping this one shot of the sun behind the clouds at the Lynn train station. I know this may sound odd to anyone who actually hasn't spent any time there and only knows the former mill town from lurid television newscasts or the old 'Lynn, Lynn, city of sin...' rhyme but it's actually quite a picturesque place. I've always loved how the early morning or late afternoon light catches the brick of Lynn's downtown edifices and how the gulls wheel around above the elevated commuter rail platform. The city may seem a little empty and ominous from that height, but also vaguely exciting as well - full of hidden promise and mystery.

My wife and I lived in Lynn for three years after skyrocketing rents forced us out of our Somerville digs and despite its mean reputation it was very good to us, and when we eventually moved to a deleaded apartment in Peabody when our daughter was born we did so with heavy (albeit lead-free) hearts. For some reason the view outside my window on the train looked quintessentially Lynn this morning and I thought I'd share it with you.

A good way to go

 

While my brother-in-law and I were fishing at Stage Fort Park we noticed a large crowd of people on the rocks next to us. At first we thought they were just tourists, but then we noticed that everyone was a bit too somberly attired for sightseeing, and then we noticed that one of them was carrying an urn full of ashes. So strange that just a week ago we saw a baptism in these very waters!

They also released a bunch of red roses into the water, several of which floated by as we fished.

With or without melted butter?

Leave it to me to catch a lobster when I go fishing...

Now that's the life

A sailing boat drops anchor near Stage Fort Park.

Eight years later

 

My wife and I were married on this day in 1999. How the time flies!

Insert person here

Another foggy morning on Cape Ann.

Gone fishing?

I wish!

Sunday in the park with Nana

The promenade in Beverly.

Not your typical bathers

Stumbled upon a baptism on our beach this morning.

Pea soup for breakfast

Almost zero visibility along the seawall - the foghorn was blaring all night long.

Is it Friday yet?

Ten Pound Island in the distance.

Sometimes things get better

Because the thought of cramming myself like a sardine onto the subway at North Station on such a muggy morning quite frankly filled me with dread, I opted to walk up to my Red Line connection instead and was richly rewarded fory labors with my first up-close peek at the newly-renovated Charles/MGH Station. Many moons ago I used to live on Beacon Hill, and oh what I wouldn't have given to have this marvelous glass and steel structure for my daily commute and not the rickety rusting monstrocity that the station was for years before the MBTA finally got around to upgrading it.

Oh, and apparently until yesterday morning I wasn't "allowed" to take a picture like this, as the MBTA has been severely (and of course illegally) restricting photography on all subways, buses, and trains for quite some time now. Fortunately however the MBTA reversed its policy earlier this week, although it still maintains that any would-be photographers need to produce a photo ID on demand if stopped by the Transit Police. Filming is still prohibited, except by permit, but what's to stop me from switching my camera phone to video other than my own inability to break the law without breaking into a rolling sweat? I can't even make illegal left-hand turns during rush hour with a clear conscience!

Tuesday morning

The fishermen's wives monument on the Boulevard.

Your wake-up photoblog

Early morning skies over Gloucester.

I should do this every Friday...

What, me work?

Fog happens

The Fishermen's Memorial looks out into a wall of mist.