A Day in the Life: Jamaica Pond

The other day I was in a restless mood, so I grabbed my camera and took a walk around the pond. It was barely warm enough to shoot without gloves on, and midway through the walk, it started to rain in a half-hearted kind of way. The whole afternoon felt very hushed and mysterious, but a little exciting, too. Kind of like Sherlock Holmes following a trail. Or Hansel and Gretel. It was inevitable, I suppose, that my mood translated into the pictures.

I was following one of my favorite paths for when I go running. These are things I see almost every day and that get wedged in the back of my imagination. 

This stone block is at the very beginning of the path I follow. I don't know what its original purpose was or how it came to be in the middle of this little scrap of woods, but it always makes me think of a sentinal. It's like some sort of watchguard who has to hassle me a little, but grudgingly allows me to pass.

You wouldn't know it from the picture, but just to the right of this picture is one of the busiest roads in Jamaica Plain. I don't know what the speed limit is, but people go very fast. And because the road is windy, the cars are constantly nudging into the other lanes. It's all very nerve-racking and honk-inducing.

But we won't worry about that. Let's look at the pretty stone wall some more.

And look! The first bit of green!

I have to admit that I had some fun with photoshop with that picture of green buds. I can't believe those crazy reds and blues in the background!

When I took this picture, I'd been walking for about an hour. The woodland sentinal and the green buds were at the beginning of my walk, but didn't see much worth photographing in between there and here. 

When I'm on my run, this is the point where I'm saying, "Ok. Homestretch, ol' buddy. You made it this far, might as well keep going." I also like the way the path curves. In the summer, lots of people sit on those benches with picnics and newspapers.

These swans live in a mini-pond just off the main pond (pictured above). This pond is a lot more secluded, so it doesn't get a lot of foot traffic. These guys showed up a few weeks ago and now I wave at them when I run by (for reals! I'm a dork!). The day I took these pictures, I made my way down to the side of the pond to say howdy and snap some pictures. 

Right after I took this one, a little swimming thing darted through the water and almost ran into the swans. The swans acted all startled to be disturbed from their reverie: "What what? How now? Well, I say!" I followed along beside the swimming thing and I think it was either a muskrat or a beaver. I would have taken a picture, but as soon as I got to a good spot, it did a little flip and disappeared under the water. Made me think of the beavers in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Which is maybe why as soon as I saw this...

...I of course thought of the lampost in Narnia. Except this one's a little more broken down.

I love that stuff like this exists in the middle of the city. I'll miss it.

School's Out! New Shoes, Itty Bitty Birdies, and Spanish Tortillas

A brief glimpse at my first few days of life without school...

Flip flops! Because now that I'm not either perpetually going to or coming from class, I can actually where something other than clogs. Hey, did you know it's summer?

Side note: I have to mention that this is actually my first ever pair of flip flops. I know! First! Ever! Crazy! As you may or may not know, I grew up in the Midwest where there was a distinct lack of what you might call "beaches." And lake shores are NOT to be confused with beaches. Lake shores tend to be very different beasts requiring such sturdy footwear as Teva Sport Sandals and Water Moccasins and what not.

So no, aside from the occasional shower flip flop, these are in fact my first. Fancy!

We're not sure what this guy's story is, but after a heavy rain a few days ago, the Engineer and I found him (her?) in our holly berry bush. He seemed a little...confused. This impression was mostly based on the fact that he (she?!) allowed me to bring my camera within inches of his personal space.

The Engineer was quite concerned that something was wrong and that we should do something. We found a wounded baby bird in front of his house a few weeks ago that ended up dying and I think it affected him more than he let on. Cuz he's a softy, but doesn't like to admit it.

There didn't seem to actually be anything wrong with this bird, though, so we decided to let it be. We checked a few hours later and he wasn't there anymore. Phew!

This was one of the first 'new' meals I've made at home since starting school. This past year, I've depended on a rotation of tried-and-true, make-it-in-my-sleep recipes to sustain me. It's fun to page through cookbooks again for the sheer enjoyment of it.

"This" is actually a Spanish tortilla (what, you can't tell?). Not exactly the most shining example of my new chef skillz, but whatever. I'm tired. It's potatoes, caramelized onions, and cheese in an eggy custard, kinda like a frittata. Exactly like a frittata, actually. Only with a Spanish tortilla, instead of putting it under the broiler to finish cooking, you do this flip thing so that it finishes cooking.

Anywho, it may not look like much, but it was mighty tasty!
So that's what I'm up to these days! Oh, and also sleeping. I've been sleeping a lot. It's like I've been running a marathon or something. Huh!