Views of the Boston Harbor

Since it was my last day in Boston I decided to go take one last look at the Boston Harbor and walk along the water front.   It was a bit cloudy but really nice out.  The waterfront area is very walkable in fact there is actually an interconnected pathways and boardwalks long the waterline that is part of the Boston Harborwalk. There are blue signs along the walk to mark the area and you can get a map on their website. I just walked it without a map following the edge. On the harbor there are lots of places to go and explore that are family friendly and just fun for any age.  There are harbor cruises, whale watches, islands with old forts, islands with great picnic areas and hiking areas and much more.  (Ideas can be found on the Boston Harborwalk site.)  I have been to some of the islands in the past but didn't have time to go back.  But I know that it will always be there for a visit.

These pictures I took with my camera phone since I didn't have my camera with me.  I took them on the northern part of the harbor, it was a short walk from Faneuil Hall Marketplace were I started my harbor walk.  The marketplace not only has great shopping and restaurants but also has street performers and activities for the whole family.  I saw a juggling act, musicians and dancers as I was passing through.  It was a fun time overall.  I hope that I will be able to find similar kinds of places to go and see now that I am in Baltimore.  Come along and join in on the adventure, Meet Me Outdoors.

Looking from a different perspective

The other day I mentioned that I was going to an Observation Night at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA.  What amazed me most beside getting to see some celestial objects like the moon and some planets was seeing the Boston skyline at dusk, just after sunset. Of course my camera is not the best for taking night pictures I still wanted to take a couple to remind me of how cool it was.

Where the red is in the sky is where the sun went down, so the first picture was taken earlier than the second picture because there is more light along the horizon. These were taken from the roof of the Museum of Science's garage.  The tallest building on the left is the John Hancock Tower and the second tallest on the right is The Prudential Center, aka The Pru.  I actually went to the top of The Pru, for someone like me who is afraid of heights it was not so bad as long as I didn't look down. But to see it from this angle at night it was a different experience. The horizon is where the ground meets the sky it is also called a skyline.  What do you see along the horizon where you live? Do you have tall buildings, trees, houses, mountains? Do you live near a lake or ocean where you see the water and sky meet?  

That night I also tried to take a picture of Venus which is the really bright object in the sky in the 3rd picture.  It is much more exciting to see in person than in this picture.  So I do encourage you to go and look for it on your next clear night.  Venus is visible just as the Sun is setting in the western part of the sky.  Some times it is seen right before the Sun rises. This is why Venus is nicknamed "The Morning and The Evening Star," even though it is really a planet not a star.  It is bright enough to be seen in the city, you just have to find a spot to look for it where there are no buildings blocking your view.  There is a simple trick you can use to tell if an object in the sky is a star, a planet or airplane. Light traveling from a star has to travel many light years to get here and comes to our eyes in points of light, as these points of light travel through our atmosphere it bounces around giving it a twinkly appearance.  While light reflected off a planet comes to our eyes as disks of light since they are closer to us than the stars so they do not twinkle. An airplane will be moving faster across the sky and has blinking lights of different colors like green and red.

Go and discover what you see on your horizon.  Compare looking at night versus looking during the day. What changes?  Come along and Meet Me Outdoors.

More photos from Fells Reservation trip

Me on the boulder -  GM 2010

I have been going though the mass of photos taken from my trip to Fells Reservation.  As mentioned in my other post about the trip, the pond was dried up leaving it as a boggy marshland.  The friend I was hiking with insisted we walk along the logs that lead to mini-island in the center of the pond.  There was a boulder that was at the end of the logs and about 20 feet of very wet mud separating us from the island.  I sat on the boulder as my friend attempted to go ahead of me though the mud laying some dead branches down to act as a bridge.  The picture of me on the rock was taken by my friend from the island.  I was about to put my camera away when I was told to look up for the picture.  What I like about this picture is that you can see a waterline on the boulder that shows the level of how deep the pond is usually.

The other picture that I found from that trip was the one of raccoon prints I saw in the mud.  They look like little hand prints.  If you click on the picture you can see it bigger.  There are other interesting animal tracks through the mud you can find in this picture.   What do you see?  What do you think happened here?

Have any of you gone on a hike lately?  I want to hear about your adventures and if you have made any interesting discoveries.  Send me your pictures and tell me your stories, you might just find it here for others to read about.  So what are you waiting for? Come along and Meet Me Outdoors!!

Observation Nights

Many planetariums, observatories and science centers have what is called an Observation Night.  They pull out their telescopes, a few binoculars and invite the public to join them each week (weather permitting of course) to view some of the unique objects in our nights sky.  I went to one last week at the Museum of Science in Boston (at the observatory on the 5th floor of the garage) and had a blast.  They focused the telescopes on Venus, the Moon, and on Jupiter.  The event was free and open to the public, families of all ages encouraged to come.

If you can't make it out to an observation night, you can have one of your own. Check your local science center or observatory's website to find a map of the night sky and print a copy. (or see Resources page for StarDome sky map maker) Make sure it is the right month, because the constellations and planet positions change depending on what part of the year it is. Once outside with a sky map in hand, your task is to find North so you can orient your map (point it in the right way). To find north, if you don't have a compass, use the stars. Locate the Big Dipper in the sky, seven stars that look like a giant spoon - 3 stars make up the handle 4 make up a the bowl of the spoon - with the two stars on the outer edge of the bowl of the spoon imagine that you are pouring liquid out of the spoon and following it as it spills until it lands on a star. That star is Polaris the North Star, a star that doesn’t move as time goes on because it is located directly above Earth’s axis, the invisible line that Earth rotates around. Now that you found North, hold the sky map so that North is on the bottom. All of the stars on the bottom of the map are in front of you, stars in the middle are above you and the stars at the top are behind you.  Now you are ready to start identifying some stars and constellations.

So are you ready for Observation Night?  I am!  Let's go look at the stars!  Come and meet me outdoors!

My Hike at Fells Reservation

A friend and I went out to to Fells Reservation, located north of Boston.  Fells Reservation is family and dog friendly nature reserve that has nicely laid out marked trails, some even stroller friendly.  At the main entrances to the reserve's hiking trails there are bulletin boards with maps of the trails, and postings of regular activities and events that happen such as hikes for all ages and interests. Many nature reserves have websites that hold all of this information that you can check ahead of time.

My friend and I both like to explore as we hike so while we kept mostly to the marked trails, there were a couple times when we decided to go explore a bit off trail.  Going fully off trail is not recommended for families with small children, but there are some more challenging trails that may be good for families with older children and can be used as a fun orienteering experience. On our off trail hike we followed along a stream that was dried up.  We had to navigate a few obstacles like plants with thorns and fallen trees or branches that hand to be navigated around as well as poison ivy patches.  These types of obstacles are more avoidable if you stick to the trails because they are supposed to be maintained well.

Along the pond trail there were small pathways to the pond's edge.  Since it is late in the summer most of the pond was dried up leaving a boggy marshland (very wet mud) with some areas that still had water a couple feet deep. Basically, where the pond stood was now wet muddy land with lily pads, logs, and some rocks.  I decided I wanted to look closely at what is living in this bog. I found some animal tracks that we identified as raccoon tracks, heard the persistent chirp of a black bird, saw some water-striders going across the small puddles and a few turtles in the distance.

Can you find the hidden frog?

My favorite animal find in the bog/pond area was when I rolled over a log (replacing it to its original place afterwards, of course).  I found under the log, what my friend identified as, a spring peeper, it's totally cute. I took a couple picture of the frog before it decided to hop away.  It is hidden well because of its camouflage coloring he just blends into the surroundings. 

Can you find the frog in the pictures? HINT: He is between the two sticks.

 Can you find him in this picture?

Next time I'll have to remember to bring my binoculars.  There were some animals in the distance, like a turtle swimming in the center of the pond and a few birds that we heard up in the trees, binoculars would help us get a closer look.

Going on a hike

I was invited by a friend to go hiking in one of the local reservations called Fells Reservation.  A reservation is a large area of land that has been set aside in as a nature reserve where you can hike the trails and explore.  The one that we were going to has a few simple trails laid out and some more complex hiking areas, also if you get to the top of the hill see great views of the city of Boston. While I may not be an avid hiker I thought I could give it a try. 

Public parks like the Fells are great places to bring the family or explore with a friend.  Remember to think safety. These parks have trails laid out so follow the trails provided, take a map if there are any, and have a plan for where to go. But most importantly have fun!  If you and your family are a regular hikers and want to try something new, print and take a Nature Bingo board and see how many items you can find.  This is a great activity for children 5 and up.  Nature Bingo can be played with younger kids as a way to get them look closer at their surroundings. 

I will let you all know what I find when I get back from my adventures.  Let me know what you have found, too!  Come along and Meet Me Outdoors!

Community Gardens

Practically everyday I take the same shortcut that follows a bike path to the train.   I pass the same trees, the same little garden patches and the same sign that says "Community Garden."  But until the other day when I walked by I didn't stop to look at what this patch of greenery really was.

There are flower patches, small vegetable patches, a tin-man of sorts made from recycled parts and some very odd looking trees.  For some reason what was coming from the trees is what made me stop and look.  Picture a tree that seems to have  long green beans growing from it and that is what this tree looked.  I took photos of this tree and when I got home I used the dichotomous key same as I had used earlier for my Ten Step Challenge tree to find it, however it was not listed.  This meant I had to use a more advanced one, but I am skeptical of what the key told me is really the same tree because the pods in the picture of the key look different then the one of the tree I found. The key said the tree is a Redbud tree because it has a heart-shaped leaf and a legume for fruit. I decided to check my Golden Guide Tree book, just to be sure.

This is the tree that has green bean shaped fruit

As it turns out, this tree may not be a Redbud but a could actually be Catalpa tree.  The beanlike seed pods of this tree are closer to what the picture shows in the guide book that I have than what is shown for the Redbud tree.  I'll have to take a closer look again next time I go by to be able to identify it properly.

Leaves of the tree I found

After taking the pictures I continued walking and admiring the garden and wondering if there are other community gardens out there that I did not know about. As it turns out Somerville, town outside Boston, MA where I was walking, has 12 community gardens and there are many more through out the Greater Boston area.  If you go the website of the American Community Garden Association you can use the search box in the bottom right and corner to find community gardens in your area.

Is there a community garden in your area?  Go and explore some of the different gardens and tell me what you find.

Come along and Meet Me Outdoors!

Explore your town

Today I decided to take a different route to the train and in doing so I got a chance to explore a really cool area that I may not have normally gone.

Living in Boston, MA means that at almost every corner has some history to it.  I stumbled on a lovely park now named Powder House Square named for an old mill from 1704 turned gunpowder storage building during the 1747, and then later used in the Revolutionary War.  Now it is left as a landmark and public park.  The Powder House structure is on a hill you can see it from the picture on the left, and a closer view from the base of the structure below, I took both with my phone.

There is a stone wall on the far side of the hill from the building that looked like it would be awesome to explore. I would have stayed to check it out more but it started to rain and I wasn't prepared for it.

I stepped outside my normal path and discovered something new today.  Will you do the same? Come on and Meet Me Outdoors.