Concord Academy

Driving through Concord this past weekend, I noticed that orientation was in full swing at Concord Academy. Concord Academy, established in 1922, is a college prep school, grades 9-12, with both boarders and day students. It is one of at least 4 private schools in Concord which I am aware of. Some famous alumni include Caroline Kennedy, Queen Noor of Jordan and author Sebastian Junger.

Farewell

Senator Edward Kennedy leaves his beloved Massachusetts for the last time.

The dismal weather and cold rain could not keep people from lining up along the roads in Lincoln by Hanscom Field to pay their final respects to the Senator. I spoke with a woman who said that she had stood side by side with Ted Kennedy as they picketed at this spot to keep Hanscom Airforce Base alive and curtail the growth of commercial flights over Walden Pond and the Old North Bridge. She felt it her duty to say goodbye. Together we watched as just seconds after take off, the plane disappeared into the clouds and he was gone.

In Memoriam

Massachusetts Senator
Edward M. Kennedy
1932-2009

A Glimpse through an Alley

As seen in Cambridge near Harvard Square. Another visit to the city.

U.S. Post Office - Lincoln

When was the last time you saw a post office with such a small town feel? I posted a photo of the outside back in February.

The U.S. Postal Service is really having its share of problems, the cost of postage stamps keeps going up and up and the competition with e-mail, UPS and FedEx is making it slow and outdated. When was the last time you got an actual letter in your mail box? A friend in St. Louis told me they were closing down a huge number of Post Offices in the metropolitan St. Louis area. I found this list of some 700 P.O.s in the country that are being considered for closure to help defray a $7 billion deficit. There were 38 on the list from St. Louis. The P.O. in Lincoln was not on the list. Take a look and see if your P.O. is.

Today I also heard the USPS was offering early retirement incentives to 30,000 people. However, there is an odd twist because it is not being offered to carriers. Why not? The amount of mail being delivered is actually going up! And we know it's all junk mail.

What I saw at Walden Pond

Only kayaks, canoes and electric powered boats are allowed on Walden Pond. I wonder what or whom she has her eyes on. Perhaps the fellow below who has just finished a pond crossing?


According to the Walden Pond website, swimming across the pond is prohibited. It appears as though they turn a blind eye to it, as almost any time of the day, especially very early in the morning, there is always someone making the crossing. Check out the stone steps coming down to the pond. You find these every few hundred yards or so all the way around the pond. The pond had been suffering from serious erosion due to all the visitors. Knowing human nature, they probably figured fences wouldn't keep people from the shore, so they developed these stone steps to provide access to the water while still preserving the shoreline. Again, according to their website,Walden Pond is considered the birthplace of the conservation movement.

Walden Pond limits the number of visitors to 1000 at a time. When they reach this number they close the park and don't allow more people in. By 1:30 this hot, steamy day, the park was closed to new visitors.

What Thoreau may have seen

I want you to get an idea of how large Walden Pond actually is. Pond to me is something that's murky and full of frogs and basically a a large puddle. Not so in New England. This view is looking south from near Thoreau's cabin. Perhaps the first sight of the pond he would have in the morning.


This is the view from the NW looking SE. No puddle indeed.


This shot shows you the unique shade of blue/green that the pond exhibits in different places. This is a little lagoon. The water here is so clear.

Thoreau's Cabin

The stone columns to the right mark the foundation of Thoreau's Cabin on Walden Pond. The cabin was situated at the far end of the pond from where the beach is, located near a quiet lagoon. In my posting of Thoreau's final resting place, I explained how leaving stones became a habit of visitors in later years. You can see how the pile exists to this day.

Sardines

The weather was sizzzzzling this past week. Hot, humid and sticky. This is, believe it or not, Walden Pond. The people were packed liked sardines. It was really a very sad sight to see. I'm really surprised that so many people are allowed. However, Walden is actually not a small pond, rather a small lake and the postage-sized beach is not much bigger than what you see. It was mostly older people and moms with infants and small children.

I walked around the pond and then swam across and back at probably it's narrowest spot which was about 1/4 of a mile each way. It was so much fun not having to do a flip turn after each 25 yards.

You Say Aubergine, I Say Eggplant

Either way you say it, I still don't know what to do with it. Whether white or purple, it is so beautiful and I am always tempted to buy it.

Green Pastures

Last night I watched the movie Seabiscuit, the story of a champion thoroughbred racehorse who became a a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression. The first 5 minutes or so of the movie began with the story of Henry Ford's Model T, the creation of the assembly line and how they changed the world.

Yesterday morning, I took a picture of this magnificent creature and I find it an odd coincidence that the movie Seabiscuit touched upon things that I have photographed and shared with you in the past few days. I feel as though I have been transported back in time.

Habitat for Humanity

Sudbury, as a community, has been very excited to participate with 2 new homeowners in a Habitat for Humanity project.

For those of you not familiar with Habitat for Humanity, the following is their mission statement: "Habitat for Humanity - Metro West/Greater Worcester's mission is to create decent homes in good communities by working in continuing partnership with those in need who are committed and able to become homeowners. We believe that the greatest means to assist families is in providing a home ownership opportunity. Simple, affordable housing can have a profound impact on stabilizing a family and providing long-term security. The Habitat program is one of self-empowerment: we offer families A Hand Up, Not a Handout."

This duplex sits very near to Babe Ruth's old home.

More of Ford's Model "A"s

After 18 years and 15 Million cars, Ford stopped production of the Model "T" and from 1927 through 1932, produced the Model "A". It came in several different styles including coupes, sedans, pickups and stationwagons, and 4 different colors. I can tell you the dog is a whippet because I overheard the owner tell someone. However, I can't tell you which style these cars are. I would love for someone to identify them.


The bathing suit is an original from the 1930s. The dapper gentleman, the car and the bathing suit all look as though they've been well taken care of.


Also in the background, notice the pickup directly to the left and an early version station wagon way in the back.

Minuteman Model "A" Ford Club

On Sunday, the Minuteman Model "A" Ford Club of Eastern Massachusetts held a show on the grounds of the Wayside Inn. There were also some Model "T"s in attendance. How many of you remember that Henry Ford owned the Wayside Inn and saved it from ruin? Somewhere, Henry must have been smiling to see all those old Fords parked on his lawn.

I like the image of the couple sitting out front, the antique car with the whitewalls driving by and the headstone . Why the headstone? To let you know of course that George Washington passed by this spot in 1775 on his way to Boston. History tells us that George took the Boston Post Road which runs in front of the Inn, but it does not mention that he stopped, so we can't say that George Washington slept here.


The owners of these antique cars are real characters. They seem to have a special persona, be it the beard, the way they dress or the way they carry themselves. The man in the middle owns the car from the first photo. This particular group was in the midst of a heated discussion. Tall tales were abounding. What was the fuss?


One gentleman was trying to let them know the tires were hard rubber. The owner quite confidently told him, that no, they had tubes inside and he should know since he had struggled to change them more than once.

I originally identified this as a Model "A" but I think it may be a Model "T". Any experts out there?

More cars tomorrow.

The Surrey Driver

Karen and her strawberry roan Belgian draft horse, Pam, were yet again patiently waiting by the roadside as the wedding party was setting up for their photos by the Grist Mill. Karen and Pam, or Pat (her other horse), have been transporting newlyweds from the Martha Mary Chapel to the Grist Mill and on to the reception at the Wayside Inn for the past four years.

It's not often that I meet a surrey driver and as a result, I didn't even take a picture of the bride and groom by the Grist Mill, which was my primary goal. I have to say however, that I did see the groom swatting away at the bugs flying around his head and his hair had become a mess. I can just imagine what was going through the bride's head ...

Karen is #4 in my 100 Strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com.

Surrey with a Fringe on Top

A surrey patiently awaits for the bride and groom after a wedding yesterday at the Martha and Mary Chapel by the Wayside Inn. The surrey will take the newlyweds to the Grist Mill for photos.

Morning Dew

The sun illuminates a final drop of morning dew on a a hosta about to unfold.
For my son, who just left home today to return to university. May you experience new wonders as your life unfolds.

St. Elizabeth's

St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Sudbury offered a change in architecture from the typical New England Church when it was renovated in 2005. I rather like its chalet like appearance.
Sudbury has a total of 11 churches and synagogues.

Adding some Personality to the Plot

Can't you just imagine what a happy-go-lucky person the gardener of this plot must be? Who needs vegetables? Let's just plant flowers and do it with style.

By the way, the tall plants in the upper right hand corner are weeds marking the end of the community garden and the beginning of where the wild things are.

Don't fence me in!

Well honey, if they didn't fence you in, you would have been deer food a long, long time ago.

I have shown you the Codman Community Garden in Lincoln and now I'm introducing you to the Sudbury Community Garden. Lincoln's is situated basically in the civilized center of town. Sudbury's is out in the wild on Conservation Land. I had a plot here maybe 15 years ago. My children were young and I thought it would be a valuable and fun experience for them. I was sadly mistaken. They couldn't tolerate the heat or the bugs or getting scratched by the plants. I think it soured them on the out of doors.

At that time, fences were not allowed and as a result, intruders of the 4 legged kind often made off with the fruit of my labor. Now it appears that they are allowed and most of the flourishing plots have fences six feet high around them.

Fly Fishing

Fly fishing on the Sudbury River by Sherman's Bridge. As far as I'm aware, this area isn't a fly fishing mecca and I don't think you would want to eat the fish if you caught one. The fish didn't appear to be biting this day, but the mosquitoes certainly were.

I showed you a view from this bridge last spring when the trees were bare and the water was a steely blue.

New Construction

This home recently popped up across the street from the high school. Other than the fact that it has clapboard siding (pronounced claberd in these parts) it doesn't look like your typical N.E. colonial. I do like a lot of its architectural features such as the barn-like 3 car garage which you can't see from the street, and the 2 pane over 2 pane windows. A lot of colonials, including mine, have 12 teeny panes over 12 teeny panes of glass, making a total of 24 panes for one window which makes for a real pain in the neck when you go to wash your windows and a real expense when you have to recaulk and repaint them. It also has a little bit of a front porch which colonials do not have.

This 5,000 sq. foot, 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath home on almost an acre of land can be yours today for only $1.5 million.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Yesterday was the 5th Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in Hudson, Sudbury's neighbor to the west. It's a shame that most people in Sudbury have no idea this amazingly colorful event is taking place next door.


Prepping the balloons for take-off.

Thanks for the suggestion Nancy.

Paul Revere House

In Boston's North End, you can find the original home of Paul Revere which was built in 1680. I wonder, if Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had not come to Sudbury and visited the Wayside Inn, perhaps he wouldn't have written about the "Midnight ride of Paul Revere." And if that were the case, perhaps Paul Revere would not have been quite so famous and his home might have been leveled and replaced by another row house like those that tower over it. I find it fascinating how all these things are interconnected.

Inside the Wayside Inn

Perhaps it was this room that inspired Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to write Tales of a Wayside Inn after he visited it in 1862. It was here, at perhaps America's oldest hostelry, that Longfellow set his characters in his retelling of the famous ride of Paul Revere.

Midsummer at the Wayside Inn

Midsummer is in full bloom at the Wayside Inn.  Do you remember how it looked in spring and early winter?

Easy Rider

This "Townie" flashed us this great smile as he cruised past us on the Freedom Trail in Charlestown as we were making our way to the Bunker Hill Monument and Old Ironsides.

Meanwhile, Back in the Big City

We took some out of town friends to Boston this past weekend and visited a lot of Boston's historic sites. Sometimes though, the most interesting sights you see are just ordinary people doing ordinary things like grocery shopping.

Purple Loosestrife

The purple loosestrife has infested practically the entire U.S. One plant can produce over 2 million seeds per year. Its spread into wetlands cause the the original plant and wildlife to be suppressed by eliminating their natural foods. The flow of water can also be severely impeded.

Too bad it's so darn pretty.

Concord Nightlife

The sidewalks of Concord had not all been rolled up by 8 p.m. as I had suspected. A little nightlife was found at the Colonial Inn located in Monument Square. There was an Open-mike Night this evening as well as dining al fresco. I hope you can take some time to read of the inn's history.

Theme Day: Night

Night

Into the darkness and the hush of night
Slowly the landscape sinks, and fades away,
And with it fade the phantoms of the day,
The ghosts of men and things, that haunt the light,
The crowd, the clamor, the pursuit, the flight...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in today's Theme Day.