urbpan | Entries tagged with the charles

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 )

Current Music: Tribe - Outside

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... )

Current Music: Syrup USA - Harlequin

My dad came to visit this weekend, so I took him to North Point Park and Paul Revere Park--the same parks I went to on last weekend's Urban Nature Walk. It was about 20 degrees warmer, so it was quite pleasant andthere were a lot more people there. I didn't take very many pictures, since I took so many last week, but I couldn't resist trying to get a shot of this male common merganser.

photo IMG_5251_zps2c613a99.jpg

Wait, come back for your close-up!

These ducks dive for fish and other small aquatic animals, usually in fresh water. They migrate to the coast when the lakes and rivers freeze up. This one is getting the best of both worlds swimming where the Charles meets the harbor.

Current Music: Baroness - Eula

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... )

Current Music: Alice in Chains - Dam That River

Hey everyone, I'm going to begin our 2014 series of Urban Nature Walks a week from today, Sunday January 26th. I haven't decided where to walk yet (well, I had, but someone is suggesting an alternate location) so if you want to get involved in helping to decide, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/68443835849/10152215190105850/?notif_t=group_comment and jump in.

EDITED TO ADD: Well I've gone and decided to conduct the walk at two parks: Long Point Park and Paul Revere Park, both on the Cambridge side of the Charles and each on a different side of the Zakim bridge. We will begin at Long Point Park, at 10:00 a.m. I have never been to either of these parks, so these will be "expeditionary" instead of part of any kind of planned curriculum. I have it in my head to start at the harbor and work my way inland along the Charles over the course of the year, ending up 12 walks inland somewhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Point_Park_(Cambridge,_Massachusetts)

Current Music: Beastie Boys - Get it Together

My dad came to visit this Saturday. My intention was to bring him to the Arthur Fiedler statue down on the Esplanade (via car) but found that parking anywhere nearby was not gonna happen. I pulled over at the first legal spot on Beacon Street and it was at Mass Ave. I figured, why not? Dad likes great views, so we crossed the Charles and took some pics.

photo IMG_4210_zps5891b925.jpg

Current Music: Elis Regina - Aguas de Marco

On my way back from the airport, after dropping my brother and father off for their trip together. I am at a stoplight. I will not die for my snapshot project. Sorry purists.

( Read more... )

Current Music: Bayside - We'll be Okay

Alexis on a business call. For some reason we can't get good cell phone reception in our house, so to make or receive important calls we go out in the yard--sometimes I'll hop in the car and drive to CVS and make an errand of it.

( also my dad and I went to Purgatory Cove! )

My dad came to visit last Sunday!

( see where we went )

I led an Urban Nature Walk for Boston University's Ecolympics. I parked at my old place in Brookline and walked to BU. I planned to be a little early, but the walk there was shorter than I anticipated, and I got to BU a full hour early. I walked from the meeting point, over the footbridge to the Charles, and balanced some rocks to pass the time.

Mallards on the Charles.

Gulls in front of the Back Bay.

A tiny spider runs along the edge of an interpretive sign at the trails at Newbridge on the Charles, a monstrous and modern-looking old folks home complex. We wandered there by mistake, after going into the Whitcomb Woods section of Wilson Mountain Reservation.

( Read more... )

A less well-traveled part of the Charles River Reservation, Brighton.

This interesting looking building houses Modulus Studios, a video/audio post production facility. I think it used to be a TV or radio station. There are several TV and radio stations along this road, including WBZ and WGBH.