“Like it? Why I never thought of it that way. Liking Boston is like saluting the flag.”
I’d have you guess the weather, but you’d probably say cloudy and ugly, and you’d be right. It is 36°, the low for the day. Rain and snow are predicted, not much snow but enough for head shaking and wondering what is going on with the weather and where is spring hiding.
When I was a kid, we sometimes went to Boston. I loved going there, but it was always a trek. We had to walk uptown to catch a bus to Sullivan Square. Once at Sullivan, we’d walk up the stairs to the subway station and wait for the train. I remember seeing the train way off down the tracks and hearing the sound of it coming. I also remember the breeze from the cars. I used to kneel on the train seat so I could look out the window. We’d get off the train at the station with all the stores. You could go directly into Jordan Marsh and Filene’s right there at the station. I remember there was a small decorated window at the entrance to Jordan’s. We never went to Filene’s
If the weather was warm, we go to the Common and the Public Garden. I loved feeding the squirrels. I was young then. Three or four of them would surround me and take bread from my hand. I loved it. We’d sometimes ride the Swan Boats. They’d circle the lagoon under pedal power. I remember all the ducks.
I have favorite smells. I love the aroma of cookies baking in the oven. I grow rosemary in deck boxes and rub my hand up the stocks so it smells of the rosemary. It is the same with the mint. A spring morning smells of grass and flowers. Adding a bright sun makes it a perfect morning. One of my all time favorite smells is of burning wood. In Ghana, people cook over wood charcoal fires. The sweet aroma of the fire is one of my favorite memories. On every trip back, that aroma filled the morning air. It always made me feel at home.
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
April 6, 2024 at 2:58 pm
We could share some warmth. [Blowing westwards…] Three beautiful sunny summer days here (nearly 30°Celsius, too hot for April), back to colder spring on Tuesday. Several hours by train tomorrow, I’m heading home again. I already saw photos from our garden at home, the cherry tree is in full bloom and the apple trees look good too.
April 6, 2024 at 3:57 pm
Birgit, That temperature is almost too hot for summer around here. It is only 39 degrees and because of the wind feels even colder. It rained for a while, long enough to soak the package I didn’t know had been delivered. Such is life!
My hyacinths have bloomed, three different colors, and the forsythia buds are bigger. The flowers know more than I do about spring.
April 6, 2024 at 4:56 pm
Hi Kat,
Today is cloudy with a high temperature predicted at 79°. My grounds keeper came by to do a spring cleanup. His team removed all the dead stuff and trimmed everything back to where it looks presentable again. I did lose some grass in the front yard, but if he mows the weeds they will look okay for a while. His crew will begin coming to mow, edge and keep the weeds at bay every two weeks until summer begins and then weekly.
When I was a kid in NYC, the subway used to have entrances to the basements of both Macy’s and Gimbals department stores.
The last time I was in Boston was in the mid nineties. I did take in a ballgame at Fenway Park which was the highlight of my baseball watching career. The one thing I remember was how narrow and how crowded the streets were in the downtown area. Also, I remember how badly people drove. They drove as if they had blinders on. I liked Boston but would have liked to have had more time to explore the city. I was accompanied by an engineer
from Sri Lanka who drove like he learned to drive in Mumbai. I was holding on in the passenger seat for dear life. 🙂
April 6, 2024 at 11:32 pm
Hi Bob,
It rained most of the day and the air felt cold and raw. It did stop raining for a while, but it is raining now. It will rain again tomorrow. I don’t know why we haven’t floated away.
My yard was cleaned last week. I was glad to see all the branches which had fallen during the wind storm got removed. There are still a couple but way back in the backyard. We have wind right now. I just hope the yard will stay clear.
When we would go to Boston, I loved that stop with the entrances to the department stores. It was the most interesting subway station. It also seemed the most crowded.
I never get blasé about going to Fenway. It is the most amazing stadium. I always think about who played here and how most players from way back would still feel at home in Fenway.
Boston side streets were built on what were cow paths when the city was young. You have to be brave to drive in Boston. It is not easy to get out of one street to cross over to another. Also, parking is limited. Sometimes I leave my car in Braintree, south of the city, and take the T into Boston. It is cheaper and far less frustrating.