Stairs

I decided at some point this year to use the stairs instead of the escalator whenever I have a choice. Porter Square is the most challenging.

Same picture different day

I took two basically identical pictures, and the light conditions were such that a certain object shows up in one picture but not the other.

( Read more... )

Jamaica Plain

My dad visited today, so we roamed around Boston and found the house in Jamaica Plain that my mom grew up in.

365 Urban Species. #308: Tansy

Photo by urbpan. Location: Centre Street, Jamaica Plain.

Urban species #308: Tansy Tanacetum vulgarum

Nobody told this wildflower that it's November. My field guide says that it blooms from July until September, but I guess it didn't read the guide. Like other weeds, tansy is a hardy survivor. This European plant is a naturally insect-resistant perennial that grows in the northern two thirds of North America. It was deliberately introduced for ornamental and medicinal reasons. Its bright blossoms are composite clusters of tiny yellow flowers, like daisies without rays, and they have been valued medicinally for centuries. The plant has many active ingredients, the most powerful of which is thujone, a volatile and toxic chemical also found in the medicinal herbs yarrow and mugwort (and, famously, in absinthe, but in amounts too small to be harmful). Tansy was taken to purge intestinal worms and to induce abortions. It was also reportedly bundled up with corpses so that its strong acrid odor would repel insects. In small amounts it was even used as a flavoring, though I insist that you do not try this--a miscalculation on this use might call for the previous use.