Swan boats

these are the famous swan boats in the lagoon in the public garden. they are sort of a boston landmark. you can take the 15 minute boat ride around the lagoon, sitting on the benches in front of these swans. the seats you see here are for the operator of the boats, who move them forward by pedaling, similarly to riding a bike. we never did this, but it is very popular, and apparently something you do when in boston... :) 

they are in operation since 1877!! something i didnt know until i read the wikipedia page about them just now... the oldest boat currently in operation was built in 1918! here you can read more about the history of the swan boats.

Pretty tulips

jaaaajjj!!! some pretty flowers in the public garden in boston!! 

tim came back yesterday, and this evening we had a walk in the public garden. this morning it was really nice and warm, but this evening the sun had disappeared and it was a little chilly.... the tulips wre nevertheless very pretty! finally!

Cool duckling

i did visit the ducklings on my walk yesterday. they were wearing cute straw hats and some had a runners number on them. this one is from last year april, when they all got a cape and looked much cooler, actually!

yesyes, they get dressed up for various occassions. i think thats really nice... here you can see a slideshow of some of their other outfits.

Photoshoots everywhere!

this past saturday we walked through the public garden in boston... it was very sunny and warm, and so there were many photoshoots going on. at least 2 or 3 weddings, an engagement.... etc etc. (and ofcourse the general tourists taking pictures of all the nice things/sculptures and whatnot thats to be seen in the public garden). i didnt know, but i learned that people even do photoshoots when they get engaged! then its in more casual clothes, but the poses are often far from casual (in my opinion).

anyways, this saturday the number of couples being photographed by at least 2 photographers (or more) was almost a bit annoying.....

So sleepy!

days go by so fast... then its suddenly past 11 again and time for bed. i never want to goto sleep in the evening and never want to get up in the morning, like a little kid. but when i do get to bed early, i usually cant sleep.

ah well. this guy just dropped down in the park. homeless? drunk? both? it was a little weird. this was a week or 2 ago, i already forgot! but it was not too cold out.

this weekend was rather chilly, especially yesterday. this morning it seemed we would get a great spring-like day. until the sun disappeared again.... and is it really april again?!

Just cute

i have posted more often pics of this sculpture in the public garden (like here, here and here). i guess every time i go by there i take a picture. i think every single kid loves it and it is so cute to see!

sometimes people (who? just anyone? i dont know!) dress the ducks up a bit. sometimes for some sports game, for christmas, etc. or just to dress them up. but i dont think they need any of that. they are wonderful just as they are!

we went for some shopping today. a store was moving to another location and had huge discounts. i was very content with everything i bought, it was amazingly cheap (one of the blouses i got was just 75 cents! and a pair of hiking boots for 8 dollars (they were 150 or so? tim wanted them, but they didnt fit him, so he was very happy, but jealous at the same time, when they did fit me). but... somehow i walked out of that shop with a huge bag of stuff for a total of 60 dollars! yep, huge discounts, but had everything been priced normally i wouldnt have spent anything.... smart, those sales people....

First blossoms

i saw the first tree coming to blossom this saturday in the public garden! that day wasnt so sunny yet, but sunday was. and so was monday, and tuesday, and today.... it is well above 22 degrees celsius! today it even was 25 C and we had dinner outside. it feels like summer, can you believe it, in march? it is so warm that i wake up during the nights... the blankets are still for winter temperatures. tomorrow its supposed to be even 28 degrees! 

this night it seems there is something else to distract me besides the warm weather; a car alarm is going off since at least one hour... buuuuhhh. i hope that stops, but the weather can stay as it is! (i read somewhere that in the state of california cars will be towed if the alarm goes off for more than a minute, to spare people the noise. here there isnt such a law.. but it is illegal, and you can be ticketed after the alarm goes off for more than 5 minutes. the fine is then 50 dollars.. perhaps i can file a complaint to the city?)

Crazy weather

the crazy weather continues! tomorrow is the last day of november, and you can go out with just a cardigan, no real jacket required... its so warm. im not complaining!! i like it! i just remember from last year.. i was wondering when the real cold, and ofcourse snow, would come... the weather remained so mild for so long. especially when compared to the netherlands, where it was much colder. but then the snow came, and it stayed cold for sooo long; i think only by the end of may it was warm again. 

but... this year its more extreme than last; as a result, the skating rink at the boston common had to close early today, and some trees in the public garden started to blossom again, as you can see here.

above was at the cemetery behind our apartment. there is this little pond with a green lawn around, perfect for sunbathing....

Feel free...

...to leave a response. on sunday we saw this message leaning against a tree in the public garden, close to the ducklings. i wonder whom and why this was put there, what they did with it, whether there were many responses... googling around i found that it may be a quote from einstein, and actually he meant to warn you for oversimplification, leading to a false conclusion. certainly hadnt thought about it from that perspective.

the past weeks i had been wondering whether this blog is useless. it sometimes gave me the same feeling as when being with a group of people. one is telling an interesting story, and you can relate to that, wanting to share your view or experience or whatever. you start talking, but so does someone else, and mid-sentence you realize that nobody is listening to you. what do you do? do you continue, a little louder? or are you embarassed, and stop abruptly? do you notice just one person in the group does listen to you and then you continue talking to only this person? or do you wait till the other person that did get the attention is finished, and then tell your story? and... do you listen to that person's story, or are you merely waiting for ir to be over? and, what does that mean? if you cannot even listen to what someone else has to say, and just want to blurt out your story, is anyone, ever, really listening to you either? 

but... then just recently people told me that they do check this blog. sometimes every day! and more people than i thought! and they also noticed when i was posting more irregularly. but unlike biebkriebels, they do not leave a response (while i like comments!!). but well, did i write a response on that piece of paper in the park? no....

so... i will continue, because i like taking pictures, and i like to write a little, or a lot. (and each time it makes me realize how hard it is to write down your thoughts... )

Duck extension

this evening tim and me met at the ducks in the public garden. i could sit there everyday watch the children. its so cute, and i could prove my theory that almost each kid does the same when seeing this statue; sitting on each duck (there are 8 small ones and the mother duck; above), at least one time. and the parents do the same too; grab their cameras and take as many pictures as possible. this girl put her skirt over each duck head (the park is one of the few places without hand sanitizer). tim was worried the skirt would get stuck onto the head when she was about to jump off, but it didnt.

after that we went to the hatch shell to listen to some free classical music, but it got a little chilly so we left during the break. then we went to the cinema; we saw the help. it was sad, but also very funny at times, and i really liked it.

Tree rat

tree rat (in dutch; "boomrat") is a whole lot easier for me to pronounce than squirrel. 

they are not shy at all, and do whatever necessary to get some food... even holding out a helping hand... or is that to get some food... ? :)

Purple lollipops

purple is my favorite color, since a while now, and these gigantic flowers were just amazing. they made for great photo opportunities for many people, young and old... :)

in the public garden, boston, on sunday afternoon.

after that we went to see the movie "beginners"; the father of the main character wears a purple sweater (actually, he wears a robe) when he tells his son he is gay, and now, after his wife passed away, wants to explore this side of himself... well.. it could have been a hilarious movie. or a very sad one. or both. but it was not really either of those.....

Yes, coffee

first and foremost, americans need to hold a large plastic cup in one hand, containing hot or iced coffee (for the latter you need a lot of milk, sugar, some drops of pure coffee and mostly ice-cubes). no matter what they do (sure, there are exceptions; not ALL americans walk around with a coffee, but you get the point..), how hot or cold it is, whether you are in an overcrowded subway-train, or carrying a suitcase or your three children... one of the hands is reserved for the coffee... no clue how they manage it. im always afraid they will spill it over me when someone is holding a large cup above my head when i was fortunate to get a seat but they didnt....

ah, and yes, also during a snowstorm in the boston common public garden (!!) there will be iced-coffee... as above... im just wondering what the other hand is doing with the camera... :)

Dug out

the ducks at the public garden were also dug out from the snow! but no children playing with them when we were there... :) quite a different sight, the ducklings in the snow or in late summer (picture here). arent they cute? we just went to the public garden to see them! :)
ah, and more snow is expected... it might even be snowing right now... 

Older version

ooh, and then we went forward in time and saw the couple in the public garden. a bit older, though... :)

na, actually i saw them first...

i think the crowd in the back is gathered around the duck sculpture, but im suddenly not entirely sure.

Ducks again!

the day started out pleasant, although grey. so we had a long walk and i insisted on seeing the ducklings once again. sitting on a bench nearby for a while, i observed that every child did the same; starting from the last duckling, they touch and sit on each and every one of them (there are 8 small ones), until arriving at the mother duck (above). this all is accompanied by many pictures taken by the parents (and/or strangers). and you can see that every child feels they own the duck, at least as long as their interest lasts... :) all the duck's heads became shiny from all the touching... :) (the sculpture is there since 1987)

this time the little boy was enjoying the ducks and posing for his mom (left), but then this lady needed the big duck for photoshoot with dog. she put a christmasribbon around the duck's neck, and then the dog was put next to it and husband with big camera took pics of dog & duck. all the while directing Lily (dog) to remain next to duck and look at the camera..... buuughhh... why? are those pics their christmas cards? or.. ? is there a dog/duck connection im not aware of (with ribbon?)? i found it ridiculous.....

anyways, this sculpture is from nancy schon and i just found out she made quite some public sculptures. interestingly, the "make way for ducklings" has a duplicate in moscow; it was a gift from one president's wife (barbara bush) to another (raisa gorbachev). (so thats what bored first ladies do!) cool detail: also in moscow the ducklings are placed on old boston cobblestones.

My duck!!

seeing this picture on a boston-blog, i was so glad to finally find this sculpture in the public garden yesterday. the boy was hopping from one duck to the other while at the same time posing for his father with big camera, until arriving at the mother-duck. then the little girl upset the boy by posing with her mother... obstructing the boy's posing session... his face after that...!! oohh, he looked sooo unhappy, while the girl was totally unaware what happened and tried to engage the boy in playing with the ducks, but he could only look very dissatisfied. quite a crowd gathered to watch this unhappy boy, and several pictures were taken...

On shoes

i am fascinated by the shoes american women wear. either they are like above, super high heels that i cannot imagine ever to be able to walk on normally, or big white ugly sport shoes. i do not see much in between, or maybe only these 2 extremes catch my eye. the big white shoes i never understand. sometimes a woman is so well dressed, but then i see her shoes... everything for comfort?! at the same time, for a party, or wedding, they suddenly are able to walk on impossibly high heels.. :)

the people in the picture above belong to the latest wedding i pictured. they were waiting while the bride & groom got their pictures taken... maybe now the guy has a picture of them at his desk, as to never forget he has a wife... ;)

a few months back i actually had the idea to take pictures of legs/shoes. but then i found out someone i once met at a party already did that, and even got a book published about that. curious? here is the link. is anything ever original? i guess everything has been said and done already before. some are just more succesful than others... :)

Wicked funny

another wedding yesterday, or wedding pictures for that matter, at the public garden (shortly before we saw another one as well, but this one was clearly more posh). i found the entire scene hilarious, really everything is wrong, and i am sure these people would not appreciate this photo at all.. :)
what was real wicked fun (a new expression for me but towards becoming a real american i should add it to my vocabulaire, i believe), and this really lived up to the definition of "wicked fun" was the movie we went to see last night; red (retired and extremely dangerous). with bruce willis, morgan freeman and john malkovich. my oh my! that was really funny.. and i recommend you all go and see it...
we went to the AMC Loews at/near boston common, and the movie theater itself was cool as well. it was enormous (bigger than "our" theater in revere), and soo american! should take some pictures there someday...

People photographing

one of the things i like to take pictures of, is other people taking pictures... i like to photograph the entire scene, or only the photographer.
this is in a park but i am not sure of the name, it is next to the boston common (the park with the frog pond in it), and you often see these police officers on a horse. i think they are there only for show, and whisper to all kids and parents that they are available for pictures (im not sure about the whispering but i assume they do, how otherwise would anyone want to be pictured with a machoguy on a horse? (what was the joke again, Per? Ein Bull auf einem Pferd? oder so etwas?). this poor boy obviously does not want, although both his mum and dad are taking pictures.. :)