urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMGP3672_zpseefpua9a.jpg
Where were we? Oh yes, the 98 meter pyramid on the bank of the Mississippi in the city of Memphis Tennessee. It's a sporting goods store.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMGP3152_zpsoxy7zna9.jpg
Needham is a small mostly residential town next to the one I live in, in eastern Massachusetts. I don't go there much, except to Cutler Park, a big boardwalked swamp that's fun to visit. To be fair, I haven't been to a big boardwalked swamp that WASN'T insanely fun in my opinion, and I've been to a few. I noticed that in addition to Cutler, there was another parcel of public land in the town, designated Needham Town Forest. When my dad drove up for the day, we went there. It was a very unusual Town Forest in many ways.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMGP3112_zpsbqxrvwtn.jpg
This mysterious and perhaps a little creepy stone cabin welcomes you to the south entrance of Cutler Park. The northern end is far more developed and well traveled, and I have never been there.

come along for a lot of pictures )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMGP2896_zpsaluzi2ch.jpg
In order to make Venice California more like Venice Italy, narrow walkways were put in the neighborhood. These are lushly planted and adorable.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMGP2848_zpsbufqzai5.jpg
Alexis and I took our rental dog around the neighborhood.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_2014_zps1iam9lir.jpg
Our first morning in St Louis we went poking around for breakfast and found a listing for a place called "The Mud House." That sounded pretty good, so we ended up in a quaint neighborhood calling itself "Cherokee Antique Row." I quickly found a non-human animal to cozy up to. His truncated ear tip indicates that he's part of a managed feral colony, neutered and vaccinated, but otherwise allowed to roam. I'm not a fan of the practice, but it's better than doing nothing.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo P1020965_zpsz0hj01kh.jpg
Down by the Boston Waterfront District, the newest city park is the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Several lanes of automobile traffic were submerged into a tunnel and this lovely walkable open space in the middle of the city was created. Here my dad is looking at an organic garden beside the wall of skyscrapers.
Read more... )

Esplanade

Apr. 26th, 2015 06:06 pm
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo P1020341_zpskuvaxuug.jpg
On Saturday my dad visited, so I took us over to the Esplanade, the park that runs along the Charles River. There were lots of college students picking up trash for Earth Day.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo P1010256_zps23722e76.jpg
When I first applied to the zoo, after my interview I asked to go see the Tropical Forest. The zookeeper on the radio gave directions: “Follow the main road until you see the hideous gorilla statue.”
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_7525_zps4875292b.jpg
Busch Gardens selfie with Dad and Andy.

the last few BG photos )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_7418_zps7a2b606b.jpg
Well, not the brown anoles--these are pretty much everywhere. Nothing weird about little brown lizards darting around everywhere you go.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_5597_zpsfcfc47de.jpg
My dad and I went to Albany, the capital city of New York, yesterday. I suspect they thought that New York City was too damn crowded to put the capital there. Albany is a parcel of land once ruled by deer and snow monsters, but now has a little bizarre city squatting in the middle of nowhere. Despite its small size I managed to get us lost (on foot) so we got to see some pretty buildings and doorways.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_5359_zpsc2032f12.jpg
I was in a line in the Post Office when my eyes drifted up the wall to this mural. First I noticed the pilgrims dancing in a circle--seemed frivolous for puritans. Then I noticed the hairstyles of the men without head coverings, are those anachronistic? I guess I don't know anything about hairstyles of the colonists, but I assumed everyone just let it grow long and stuffed it in a hat.

More interesting perhaps is the story of the mural itself. Painted in 1936 by W. Lester Stevens, it hearkens back to the New Deal, when the US government took such an interest in putting citizens to work that it literally hired artists to paint murals. It seems so alien to today's world. If you suggested such a thing these days you'd be condemned as a communist.
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_5154_zpsa10ceb28.jpg

Somehow in the midst of all the dog-related chaos, with Alexis out of town, I was able to complete a scheduled Urban Nature Walk! My idea for this year is to start at the mouth of the Charles, then follow it upriver on the North side. It's not much, but it's a theme. Here I am, as the weather app indicates, in the fair city of Cambridge. The mercury hit the Fahrenheit scale at 14, a bit colder than yesterday, but the motivation of an Urban Nature Walk is enough to get me out there to see North Point Park.
Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_4842_zps4686e0d7.jpg
Then we went and found Six Mile Cypress Slough, not far away. It's all boardwalks through cypress swamp. This great egret was right by the gate, sort of a wildlife emissary for the place.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_4676_zps88e2e7be.jpg
A quick snapshot before lunch, then off to Sanibel and Captiva!
Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_3512_zpsa2a9e6e6.jpg

Working on a flyer for our latest zookeeper association fundraiser!

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
 photo IMG_2315_zpsb0b01f32.jpg
Most of these Brooklyn Nature post pics are going to from Prospect Park, a nearly 600 acre Olmsted landscape, of which I explored a few hundred square feet. Alexis and I first looked at very early on Sunday morning, before the wreckage of Saturday night festivities had been cleared away. Here's the base of a planter, delightfully overgrown with moss and weeds.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
IMG_0855
Last Sunday I led an Urban Nature Walk in the Riverway. As it turned out, 2 Livejournal friends (who I'd never met before) came along! We went to the Studios Without Walls outdoor art exhibit. I was frankly disappointed with the quality of the art this time around, but this piece was pretty good.

Read more... )
urbpan: (dandelion)
20130331_095252
Today there was an Urban Nature Walk at Quincy Quarries! Nice view, huh?
20 more pictures )

Profile

urbpan: (Default)
urbpan

May 2017

S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
1415 1617181920
21222324252627
28293031   

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 11th, 2025 07:34 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios