October 21

Surprisingly, it wasn't the foliage that caught my eye when I decided to take this photo; it was all the birds on the surface of Jamaica Pond. Alas, little birds on the big pond from a car hundreds of feet from said waterfowl doesn't lend itself to brilliant shooting, so this is the best of the bunch.

On the plus side, it was a great day to go for a ride with the windows down, even if I was rushing madly to get everywhere I needed to get and do everything I needed to do. I managed to travel distances in the city that I wouldn't have believed possible in an hour, and still made it to work on time despite having to make a detour to West Roxbury -- the precise opposite direction from work.

Yesterday was busy but felt unproductive. Today was busy but very productive -- I got a lot done -- and it feels really good!

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October 15

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals runs the Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain.

I drive by this sign almost every day. The iconography is great on it, and was what originally caught my eye. I found it surprising that an animal hospital rates the "hospital" sign (H in square), but when I thought about it, realized it made sense. It's easily the largest animal hospital in Massachusetts, as well as the best emergency medical option for a sick pet.

At work, I've referred residents with sick pets here often. When Pogo, our dog, became very ill at the end of his life, we brought him here, where the vet on call was thoughtful and treated us with great sensitivity, helping us to make the difficult choice to have him put to sleep.

Dealing with a sick pet is very difficult. They can't tell you what hurts or what's wrong, yet you want to help them and make them better. The folks at Angell are wonderful at guiding pet owners through very difficult procedures and options, and helping you to make the right decision. That is invaluable.

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October 13

Lt. Charles M. Toole once lived at 68 Weld Hill Street in Jamaica Plain. He died October 1, 1918, 42 days before the Armistice. I can't find a lot more information about him, but knowing that explains why he has this nice memorial marker near Forest Hills Station.

This marker is right on the main drag. I can't find information on when the marker was placed, though the geographic proximity to his home makes sense. I suspect -- but can't confirm -- that the marker was placed by the local American Legion Post 76, which is about 50 yards away.

Lt. Toole must have been quite a remarkable person to have somebody go to the expense of raising this monument. I hope that the remarkable young men fighting today are remembered equally respectfully when they give their lives.

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October 07

The winds were very brisk in Boston today. While the foliage is looking particularly pretty this year, the wind is threatening to strip the branches bare before the best colors come to the fore.

I caught sight of this pretty little tree near Jamaica Pond today on the way to work. The top leaves have succumbed to the wind, but the bottom leaves are still a pretty (and striking) orange color.

I have the feeling that foliage photos may be to my autumn what flower photos were to my spring and summer. And you know what? I'm OK with that.

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October 02

Sometimes I choose photos for this blog that are interesting. Other times I go for humor, and occasionally, I go for the sheer beauty of an image. Today, I chose an image remarkable for the content.

Imagine, if you will, I'm driving to work and am waiting at a light by Jamaica Pond. I looked over to find this jogger stretching before taking her afternoon exercise around the local landmark -- showing off flexibility that is frankly remarkable. I mean, look at her. I know yoga teachers who work years to get that kind of flexibility!

With advancing age and infirmity I know I couldn't do that, even if I did somehow take leave of my senses and decide to go sweat just for the sake of sweating. Still, I'm not so jaded as to be unimpressed by this virtuoso display of dexterity.

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September 28

With the imminent arrival of October, it's time to take the sailboats off the water at Jamaica Pond. It's fortunate that they had nice weather to do this in; being on the water, even a pond, in cold weather is unforgiving.

It was a nice day today, though the weather is trending cooler, the leaves are beginning to change, and the official arrival of winter -- and with it snow -- is less than three months distant. I'm doing my damnedest to savor the nice weather, since I plan to bitch, piss, and moan about snow from the first flake falling to the muddy puddled melting of the last shaded snowbank in the spring.

This is one of those photos I'll look at and smile when I see, because it will remind me that no matter how bad the weather gets, the spring and summer will return.

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September 09

I wonder whether they're talking about reincarnation or exhumation? This church sign in Jamaica Plain is bound to raise some eye brows -- among other things.

For the record, I'm not posting this photo to bust on the Unitarians. I'm a lapsed Catholic myself, but I know a few charming people who attend Universal Unitarian services. I can't criticize them because I honestly don't know enough about their practices to do so knowledgeably.

Still, this sermon title is pretty good, in that it will attract interest and provoke conversation, and perhaps even bring people in to attend the sermon. It was good enough to convince me to stop, turn around, and find a spot to park while I got this shot.

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August 14

It was a bright, sunny day. The temperature was warm but not too hot. These lucky folks were getting sailing lessons on Jamaica Pond. How perfect.

Too bad I was going to work.

The upcoming weekend looks to be nice, and I'll be putting more laundry out on the clothesline to take advantage of the sunshine and warmth. I don't know yet what I'm going to do for a photo of the day, since I haven't had the energy to plan any photo walks with people and seem to be out of the habit of going on my own anymore. Actually, having typed that, I think that's exactly what I'm going to do -- out on a solo photo walk. What nicer way to spend an afternoon?

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April 22

It's street cleaning day on Castleton Street in Jamaica Plain, and the meter maids were out in force today. There were seven cars on one side of the street, which runs about the length of a football field, and six of them had parking tickets. Thus is the joy of on-street parking in Boston.

These cars are lucky. In heavily-populated areas like Boston's Back Bay and South End, the cars wouldn't have just been ticketed, but towed. Those poor car owners get to pay for the ticket, plus the cost of towing and impound, before they can get their car back.

Fortunately, I live on a street without any posted street-cleaning days, so I don't have to do the on-street parking shuffle, because it can be a giant pain in the butt.

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