Boston + New England

The Longest Day

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summer solstice longest dayLast week was a tough one for our country. Especially for African-Americans. What happened in Charleston, South Carolina left me numb. I had to just sit to get my bearings.

I still haven’t processed it. Maybe I will never get my head around what happened. It was too violent. Too senseless. And we know that something similar will happen again. This country needs to address the past to get to the healing. We need to address so many things.

But none of us will make it through the day if we only think about the bad. So we go on and look for the good.

Today was the longest day of the year. The summer solstice. It was also Father’s Day. Those are two very good things in one day. I spent time with my family and had a nice meal.

When I was driving home, it was after 8pm and still light. I decided to chase the last of the light on this one day of the year when we have the most daylight. There’s something special about a day like this and I wanted to savor every last drop.

It started out raining in the morning, then cleared up and got warm and sunny. A perfect first day of summer. I took pictures of the sunset near an open field. The light remained.

It was also the first International Yoga Day. I didn’t get to do any yoga today, but I am almost done with my annual listing of free yoga classes in Boston. It should be up on the blog within the next day or so all new for 2015!

The last bit of light was looking at the Boston skyline from Wollaston Beach in Quincy. It was a beautiful sunset and smelled like the sea. Now I’ll do a bit of meditating and hope for a peaceful week for us all.

Namaste.

Clouds of Boston

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clouds in the skyWhenever I’m in an elevated location where I can see the city from a new perspective, if I can, I like to take pictures.  This is my most recent photo seeing Boston from above. If you look at the far right, just where the land meets the sky, you can see the gas tank near the expressway.

It was a warm sunny day. Blue sky and white puffy clouds. I love the clouds.

Back in November 2007, I was doing 30 Days of Thanks on my old blog. One of the things I’ve always been thankful for is the ability to go outside, look up and see beauty in the clouds. I wrote about a new group that I had learned about called the Cloud Appreciation Society.

The group still exists. Last night I read an article about the founder, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, in the latest issue of Kinfolk. I learned that he gave a TED Talk, Cloudy with a chance of joy. Watch it, when you get a chance.

Pretor-Pinney is trying to get people to stop associating negativity with clouds and to focus on the beauty instead. He shows some amazing cloud pictures. Talks about the act of watching clouds. Doing nothing but letting our minds wander, which can spur creativity. He also gives a nice final quote.

Always remember to live life with your head in the clouds. ~ Gavin Pretor-Pinney

Scent and the City: Urban Planning Using Smellscapes

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urban planningn using smellscapes

When I went on a smellwalk in Boston, I was interested to learn about how smell impacts our daily life. As someone with a keen sense of smell, this has always fascinated me.

Kate McLean, the leader of our smellwalk, recently wrote a paper with some other folks called Smelly Maps: The Digital Life of Urban Smellscapes.

Sadly, it doesn’t appear that the data from the Boston smellwalk was used in the paper. But it’s interesting to think about the possibilities of urban planning with a different approach to designing cities.

It’s not just physical landscapes that should be considered. Smellscapes should also be taken into account with urban planning. I love how they note “good fragrances” like in Japan. Below (with edits) are the recommendations to city planners.
One hundred sites in Japan have been declared as protected because of their ‘good fragrance’. However, the general situation in the rest of the world greatly differs. Urban planners to date have tended to think about smells in terms of management of bad odors, rarely considering preserving and celebrating the smells that people like. There are a number of ways that the urban smellscape can be altered; manipulating the air flow by changing the street layout, pedestrianization to alter traffic emissions, the creation of restorative environments through the planting of trees, greenspaces and waterways, and the strategic placement of car stopping points are just a few examples. City officials do not fully consider the opportunities presented by the sense of smell simply because they have been the victims of a discipline’s negative perspective. We hope that our work might help them rethink their approaches and use olfactory opportunities to create stimulating multisensory places.

I recall so many good smells while walking around Boston. If you’ve ever walked through the North End, you know what I mean! We do have large green spaces and a beautiful clean waterfront, but I wonder if even more could be done using smellscapes to make Boston an even better city.

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Image: Boston’s Smellwalk Map Route

Burke’s Seafood – Quincy, MA

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Burke's Seafood sign and seafood platterWhen I attended Seafood Expo North America (SENA) last year, I learned so much about how we Americans consume seafood. Did you know that up to 90% of the seafood consumed in this country is imported?

According to NOAA FishWatch, “a significant portion of this imported seafood is caught by American fishermen, exported overseas for processing, and then reimported to the United States.”

That is shocking to me. It made me a lot pickier about my seafood and I started focusing on higher quality. A local place called Burke’s Seafood is a great find. Not only can you find fresh seafood, they also prepare it.

Last week, I bought a full dinner for my father’s birthday that fed four people and was under $45.00. We all loved it. Plus, there were leftovers!

You can call ahead and order your food to go or stay and eat there. I highly recommend Burke’s. There are usually a few people waiting, but not for too long.

Burke’s Seafood is located in North Quincy just off Hancock Street on Billings Road. From their website, it looks like they are closed on Mondays. But they have long hours on all the other days, so it’s easy to get a chance to stop by.

Also, they have a monthly newsletter called Fish Tales that you can subscribe to and learn about other things they sell, like beer and wine. You can receive coupons and find out their specials that month. I’ve already sent a few people over there, so I figured I’d share with you too. Hopefully when you get a craving for seafood, you’ll check them out!

#InstaWeek: Sunrise Commute Sunset

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sunrise walkHere are some pictures from last week on Instagram. Looking for pretty sights makes the sunrise walk to the T a bit more interesting each morning.

I’ve noticed from week to week, that the flowers, trees and plants change as we move away from spring toward summer. More leaves. Different kinds of flowers. The light is different too.

trainWhen it’s nice out, there’s a certain point on my ride that is really beautiful. I always look forward to seeing the water.

sunset moonriseThe end of the day can be just as beautiful as the start. A sunrise can compete with a sunset. But there’s nothing like seeing the colors change in the sky and watching the moonrise. Happy Wednesday to you!