Spring Nearby

It’s not quite spring here in central NH but it was in Boston on Tuesday.

Actually, it was temporarily summer, with a surprise high temperature of 87F. I was in the city with my spouse to visit the New England Aquarium, along with a million schoolchildren (I guess it must be school vacation week in Massachusetts!), hoping to see the giant Pacific octopuses (after reading Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of An Octopus), which unfortunately were not on display while they re-do their exhibit. We saw small red octopuses squeezed into glass containers, and lots of these octopus balloons for sale outside:
octopusballoonQuincyMarketBoston11April2017

After a couple of hours underwater, as it were, we ate lunch outside in Quincy Market, where we consumed 3 liters of water to counteract the combined effects of the scorching heat, sun, and our still-winter clothes; I had on a lightweight long-sleeved shirt, sleeves rolled up, and light nylon pants, but poor spouse started the day — when it was 36F at home — in a coat, sweater vest, and heavy shirt, plus jeans; by lunch, his sleeves were rolled up, and the sweater vest was in my pack, the coat tied around his waist. We saw women in strappy sundresses, flip-flops and sandals, and men in shorts sporting pale thin legs.

QuincyMarket87FwarmdaybBoston11April2017

QuincyMarket87FwarmdayBoston11April2017

Before and after the aquarium visit, we walked the Rose Kennedy Greenway from and to South Station (and a little beyond, to Chinatown), and along it we were dazzled by flowering bulbs, flowering trees, woodland plants, and bees! Since most of our yard that morning was still covered with frozen white stuff, it was truly a sight for snow-blind sore eyes.

If it’s not quite spring where you are, or if it’s fall (in the southern hemisphere), enjoy these reminders of the fresh beauty of life’s renewal.

Crocuses!

I think the white one is Crocus cartwrightianus ‘Albus’:
whitecrocusesRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

The yellow may be Crocus chrysanthus ‘Gipsy Girl’:
yellowflowercrocusRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

Bees in purple crocuses:
beeinsidepurplecrocusRKGreenwayBoston11April2017beeinsidepurplecrocusesRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

See the pollen-loaded bee hovering here?
pollenloadedbeehoveringpurplecrocusRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

Chionodoxa!, also called Glory of the Snow, though not by me:

bluechionodoxaplantingRKGreenwayBoston11April2017bluechionodoxaflowersRKGreenwayBoston11April2017bluechionodoxaflowerscloseRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

And one with a bee!
beebluechionodoxaflowerscloseRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

Narcissus/daffodil (no idea which variety):
daffodilsbuildingsbRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

Fritillaria — I think it’s F. raddeana based on the colour, location on the greenway, and the Greenway’s plant list:
yellowfritillariaRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

Dog tooth violet! I think it’s European Dog Tooth Violet (Erythronium denscanis)
ErythroniumDenscanispurpledogtoothvioletRKGreenwayBoston11April2017ErythroniumDenscanispurpledogtoothvioletbRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

Hellebore:
helleboreflowersRKGreenwayBoston11April2017pinkhelleboreflowercloseRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

Yoshino cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis, in the Chinatown section):
YoshinocherrytreesstartingtobloomRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

Cornelian cherry tree (Cornus mas):
corneliancherryfloweringbuildingsRKGreenwayBoston11April2017corneliancherryflowersflybuildingsRKGreenwayBoston11April2017

And a few bonus photos, from the aquarium. It’s a very colourful place!

lionfishblurNEAquariumBoston11April2017
lionfish
cuttlefisheyesNEAquariumBoston11April2017
cuttlefish (another cephalopod, like the octopus)
colourfulfishNEAquariumBoston11April2017
not sure who, but quite beautiful
crystaljellyfishNEAquariumBoston11April2017
crystal jellyfish
DoubleLinedFusilierUrchinNEAquariumBoston11April2017
double-lined fusilier and anemone
roseanemoneOctopustankNEAquariumBoston11April2017
anemone
pacificreeffishbNEAquariumBoston11April2017
fish in a pacific reef display
scubadiverfeedingpufferfishGiantOceanTankNEAquariumBoston11April2017
scuba diver feeding puffers

blueyellowstripedfishGiantOceanTankNEAquariumBoston11April2017

See you later!

3 comments

  1. Fab picture of the octopus!

    How far is Boston from where you live? Perhaps it was cold in Boston in the mornings and heated up quickly. We had that experience last weekend, with an almost 20 degree (Celsius) change between night and day.

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