Roofscape Garden Journal

February 1, 2012

2012-02-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

Image ... Painter.

January 31, 2012

2012-01-31T10:22:00.001-05:00

Image ... Fence. South End, Boston.

January 30, 2012

2012-01-30T18:07:00.001-05:00

I'd like to note the passing of Kevin White, the former mayor of Boston for 16 years, from 1968 to 1984, on last Friday at age 82.

Image ... Statuette.

January 29, 2012

2012-01-29T08:21:00.000-05:00

Image ... Bull's-eye glass transom, the North End.

January 28, 2012

2012-01-28T09:26:00.001-05:00

This is going to be our Valentine's Day card. Haven't a clue what the source image was.

Image ... Erato.

Champignons Fourme d'Ambert

2012-01-27T16:41:00.000-05:00

Fourme d'Ambert is among the oldest of French cheese, probably first made during Roman times in the late pre-Christian era.

January 27, 2012

2012-01-27T10:02:00.000-05:00

Image ... Willow Leaves. South End, Boston.

January 24, 2012

2012-01-24T09:27:00.002-05:00

Image ... Girl with a Lemonade Stand. The Minuteman Bikeway.

January 23, 2012

2012-01-23T08:22:00.000-05:00

Image ... Colored stones.

January 22, 2012

2012-01-22T09:53:00.004-05:00

Made and moved Roofscape #1 to-do list to Google Calendar's Tasks. Edited and reorganized the other two task lists.

Stopped by the garden to drop off clothes from PSI locker re-org. Sat in sometimes sun, in the sunroom, over several inches of snow, and finished Julie and Julia. It cooked all the way through. The haters are idiots. So glad I didn't have to suffer Meryl Streep, however. Talk about insufferable. Some day a movie will be made without her. Until then no one is completely safe.

Lunch at Haley House. Sunday afternoon meals are always special. Menu: sliced baked ham, garden salad with a light Italian dressing, rice pilaf, rolls, apple juice, brownies and cookies. A group of very polite and fresh-faced boys from Boston Latin did the serving, dish washing, sweeping, swabbing, and I assume (arriving late), helped with the prep.

Sad to say, the diners were the usual collection of lily-white, no-nothing, bigoted idiot, Obama, King and Patrick - hating, loud-mouthed, rabid Republican losers, inveighing against the welfare state while sucking down their free food. As is always their wont. I keep myself to myself and say nothing. What can you say to total self-absorbed assholes?

Image ... Snowhill Street. The North End, Boston.

Collards, Cod and Quinoa

2012-01-22T08:33:00.003-05:00

INGREDIENTS

2 large bunches collard greens, washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced and mashed
1 large stalk celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 8 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cherry bell pepper. seeded and diced or 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 smoked ham hock
1 teaspoon capers, minced and mashed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pound cod or haddock fillets
6 cups cooked quinoa
Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated

PREPARATION

Clean the collards carefully, they tend to be dirty. Some people go so far as to run them through a clothes washer. That seems rather extreme to me. I suggest just several changes of water in a large pot and a final rinse under running water.

Prepare the vegetables and place them in a large cooking pot with all but the last two items (the cod and quinoa). Collards are stemmed, or stripped of their leaves, simply by pulling the stalk (which tends to be tough) through pinched fingers.
Bring the pot to a boil over a medium flame, then lower to a slow simmer, cover and allow to cook for two hours or so. Collards are fully cooked when they melt in your mouth. This is not novelle cuisine.

Remove the bay leaf and ham hock from the pot. Skin the hock, chop the meat and return it to the pot.

Turn up the flame a bit and add the whole codfish fillets. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from the heat. Let the pot sit for 10 minutes or so to finish cooking the fish.

Serve over cooked quinoa with freshly grated Parmesan to top.

January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T10:14:00.003-05:00

Happy Chinese New Years, January 23. Year of the Dragon!

Image ... Chinatown playground.

January 17, 2012

2012-01-17T10:23:00.001-05:00

Image ... Installation.

Janaury 16, 2012

2012-01-16T13:31:00.002-05:00

Thought for now ...
Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Image ... One of a Kind.

January 15, 2012

2012-01-15T09:02:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday Dr. King. Age 83 this year - and ageless!

Image ... Curtains, Legal Seafoods.

January 14, 2012

2012-01-14T07:57:00.001-05:00

Image ... Daffodils.

January 12, 2012

2012-01-12T11:08:00.006-05:00

Trying to find if, OK, I can't say it, but if NBSP is kosher under XHTML. So tired. Need a rest.

Image ... Deux chevaux with feathers.

January 11, 2012

2012-01-11T09:50:00.001-05:00

Image ... Wrapping papers. By Joe Thompson.

Janaury 10, 2012

2012-01-10T09:27:00.003-05:00

Light work @ Y. Staples: reporters' notebooks. Stopped by garden. Appt. with Payne. Shopped (see below). Lunch @ HH: rice/veg stuffed squash, awful. BPL: read Adele, awful too.

Shopped Shawmut Avenue: Formaggio, The Syrian Grocery, Wholy Grain. Lingered long in Syrian Grocery, getting to know and trying to figure out their stock. Which is wide, world-wide, a strange mix, not simply Syrian.

Image ... Garden patio in snow.

January 9, 2012

2012-01-09T10:37:00.004-05:00

Clothes shopping in AM: running shoes, jeans, shirt, unders, gloves.
Studio: email, Journal, RS review.
Work with Betty.
Dinner @ Legal: haddock, mashed potatoes, broccoli, Vouvray.
Discovered The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Pterror Over Paris.
Full Wolf Moon.

Image ... New building at the Pru.

January 8, 2012

2012-01-08T08:19:00.001-05:00

Added and formatted first installment of Olmsted article.

Trimmed a bucket full of zebra grass from small garden and turned it into bed A3 (last year's carrots, just in front of the ferns). Really lofted the soil. Also added last of compost from rear composter. Mined a wheelbarrow full of compost from community pile and added to A1. 40's, quite pleasant, sun and clouds.

Swore it would be a day off, and it sort of was. Lounged in the sunroom soaking up rays, meditating, ie. spacing out, thinking no particular thoughts.

Lunch at Haley House: brisket of beef, roasted potatoes, salad, rolls, gingerbread (didn't have). Everything perfectly done. Cooked by Kathleen O'Connor (who's also the H.H. Board Treasurer), her husband and their volunteer group. A great meal. Offered to work with her group.

Image ... Kylee with Kiwis.

January 7, 2012

2012-01-07T07:53:00.004-05:00

Worked on Roofscape design and programming in the morning. Added and formatted Orion text, wrote and formatted Credits. New Journalentry, as daily.

To garden. Mid-50', sunny. Chopped up prunings from yesterday to pave sunroom patio. Pulled a huge clump of ground ivy. Sat in the sun. Exhausted. A big week.

Image ... Buddha in an Indian restaurant, Newbury Street.

Production notes - Roofscape #1

2012-01-06T11:56:00.010-05:00

a. Scripting: link colors
b. Design: department names after titles above articles.
c. Contents:
d. Welcome: write.
e. Advertising.
1. Martin: photo, more text?
2. Pasta: change fish sauce to anchovies (find qty and technique for using).
3. Beans: condense opening.
4. Quotatives: correct placement of quotation marks (also in Contents).
5. Birds: intro to article a/o bird list, format of bird list.
6. Thought: change title above quote if using depertment titles.
7. Orion: text and images.
8. Winter Garden: write wrapup.
9. On the Trail: text and map.
10. Walkie-Talkie: text.
11. Riding: title, text.
12. Olmsted: text.
13. Pickman's: check and possibly edit intro.
14. Charlie's: condense, edit.
f. Credits: may be stuff to add or revise.

January 6, 2012

2012-01-06T07:57:00.002-05:00

Worked on Roofscape's design, programming and adding of contents. Reviewed to date and planned the rest of the work. See entry above, which, with luck, will eventually get swatted down to nothing.

Partly sunny, mid-40's. To the garden for several hours. Pruned the elderberry tree back severely to fence height, grows like a big weed. Took grape arbor apart. It had been falling over forever, but now it was also falling apart.

Saw a peregrine falcon in the poplars, swooping down toward the opposite river bank.

Worked again in the afternoon. Added Pickman's with intro.

Image ... Cleomes and cobblestones.

January 5, 2012

2012-01-05T08:45:00.003-05:00

Tried incorporating tables and lists into Roofscape. Strange results. Total waste of time. Finally made up our bird life list by simpler means. CSS/XHTML can sometimes throw unexpected curve balls at you and it's hard to figure out what's wrong.

To the garden during mid-day. Sun and clouds, 40's. Picked the rest of the Scarlet Runner beans. Have most of a collander full.

Image ... The Graces.

January 4, 2012

2012-01-04T09:42:00.006-05:00

13° with strong sun and a west wind this morning. Walked across town, leaving in the dark, with warmup stops along the way at Haley and the Pru. I probably won't be going to the garden today.

So I wrote. But the pull was irresistable. I ended up going to the garden and spending two hours. The sun was strong and sky cloudless with the ambient air about 20° and 30° in sun. It was quite comfortable, even sitting in the sunroom.

Picked and shelled out more Scarlet Runner beans, sitting at the grill in the small garden. Left them on the vines too long and some, which I tossed out, had mold. Raked part of that garden and moved over to the main one to start building up another bed, A-1. Seven beds lofted to date, this will be the 8th. There's still some compost left. To get more I'll mine the community piles (which need sifting, 'cause people are pretty indiscriminate). Did some more pickup, cleanup and disposal. All that was cold were my feet as I walked toward downtown. Three layers gloves kept fingers fine.

In the morning, worked on the In the Winter Garden article at the Y computer lab. New Journal entry, which I'm doing daily now, with a fresh image at the top of every entry (as seen above).

Thought for now ...
We are most alive when we're in love.
... John Updike

Image ... Frosted pane, Dorchester.

In the Winter Garden

2012-01-03T09:54:00.017-05:00

I readily admit that I’m a reluctant gardener, maybe even not a real gardener at all. Many of my neighbors actually seem to enjoy gardening. I can't decide if I admire or pity them. To me it’s mostly a bunch of endless boring chores. I have one word to say to you - weeding. Case closed.

So why garden? Well, for the harvest of course. Bringing home brimming bags of collards, kale and chard for Green Gumbo; probably costing $50 at Whole Foods. It’s the economy stupid, I remind myself. Freshly picked vine ripened tomatoes and raspberries, which can't be bought at any price. But they can be grown in one’s garden with a little care. And yes, weeding.

Also, to enjoy the outdoors. To have a personal place to soak up the sun, see the sights, hear the birds, smell the scents. To chat or dine with friends and read a good book under a broad umbrella in a comfortable lounge chair, preferably with a tall cold drink at hand.

There are probably more than a few gardeners who share my take on our arduous avocation. These souls need some coping tactics. I have some suggestions, based on the fact that gardens are embedded, as we are, in an endless, year-around cycle and change in small increments. The overall strategy, therefore, is to do small, discrete garden tasks continually throughout every season of the year.

"This is the dead season, though, it's January!" True, but the garden's far from dead, it's just sleeping, awaiting to awaken in the spring. There's plenty we can do, little by little, while it's resting. And these ongoing off-season attentions to its welfare will greatly reduce the workload and stress during the busy planting, growing and harvesting seasons. Here are some suggestions.

Clear the planting beds, vertical growing frames, cages, stakes and fences of all annual plant materials. Set aside to add to the compost pile.

Turn the finished compost and brown soft plant materials from the composters into the planting beds. Leave the beds ungroomed, with just rough clods of soil. This will aerate the soil to aid decomposition of the brown materials and promote good drainage when the spring rains hit.

You may want to further build the soil with: additional purchased compost, peat moss (for nutrients and instant soil structure), vermiculite (for even water retention and structure) and perlite or sand (for good drainage).

Pave the paths and patios with wood chips. These provide superior water drainage, allowing you to work clean and dry in any weather, and eliminate weeds.

Prune trees, shrubs, vines and canes. Cut up the smaller of these woody plant materials and add to the wood chips.

Feed and watch the birds. Seed and suet feeders will bring hungry hordes and reward you with hours of happy bird watching. While you're at it, sit, relax and enjoy yourself in the winter quiet, so unlike the frenzy of spring.

You might want to raise the planting beds, if they are currently at ground level. Raised beds are good for many reasons. We'll cover the subject of in future articles. It's a bit of work but worth it. A reasonable approach might be to do one bed a year.

If you enjoy planning your garden for the upcoming growing season, by all means do and now's the time to do it. And here come the seed catalogs.

Now's also a good time to schlep and lay in garden supplies, building materials and tools.

Build garden structures and furnishings. These include: raised garden beds, vertical growing frames, composters, fences and gates, paths, patios, bird feeders and stations, tool sheds or boxes, cold frames, arbors and gazebos, an outdoor kitchen, garden furniture, ponds, and perhaps a sunroom for year-around comfort.

... In the works.

January 3, 2011

2012-01-03T08:02:00.006-05:00

Writing In the Winter Garden article. Programming the new Roofscape, refining the design and functionality. Learning CSS and XHTML to do this, using the Headfirst O'Reilly guide from O'Reilly. Quite exciting.

To the garden in the late morning. In the 20's but the sun was slanting low and so strong it was quite comfortable, even just sitting in the sunroom. Pruned the bigger of the two willows and finished the smaller. Hauled the branches to the compost.

Walked all the way back across town for an appointment. All in all, probably walked close to 10 miles today.

Found a cookbook I really like, French Classics Made Easy by Richard Grausman.

Thought for now ...
... it appears probable that the progenitors of man, either the males or females or both sexes, before acquiring the power of expressing their mutual love in articulate language, endeavoured to charm each other with musical notes and rhythm.
...Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man.

Image ... Door, Dorchester.

January 2, 2012

2012-01-02T07:46:00.012-05:00

Sunny, mid-40's, a sometimes stiff west wind. Worked in the garden between late morning to mid-afternoon.

Further pruning of grapes, finely chopping the vines into paving for the sunroom patio, which now has a dry raised floor.

Continued working in compost and garden debris from the composters, turning over the beds and turning in the materials to blend with the soil. Left the beds very rough, ungroomed, just as the sodden soil came off the shovel, in big clods. This will let plenty of air down in the soil to keep it drier and help decomposition of the organics.

Reorganized the sunroom and tool chests. Started picking the abundant Scarlet Runner beans. There will be pounds, lots on Mike's side of the fence. Pruned the willows by the front gate.

Got robbed the other day, my camera bag stolen with the Olympus (D-620L) digital camera, Eneloop charger and AA's, flash drive with image and HTML files, cell phone and charger, notebook with lots of new writing and almost full, passport and $200 cash. A hard loss, a real setback, great sadness.

Thought for now ...
Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.
... Mark Twain.

Image ... Tagging.

January 1, 2012

2012-01-01T08:13:00.007-05:00

The sun was out and the temperature in the mid-fifties. The day pulled me and the garden called with all the chores I'd been sloughing off since the continual floods of the fall dampened my motivation - and moreover ability, being under water - to do anything.

Started with a general cleanup, securing all the supplies and picking up and wheelbarrowing trash. Finished cutting up all the grape vine prunings and paved the sunroom patio with them, raising it up nicely out of the damp. Dug out more compost and unbroken-down plant debris, turning it into the planting beds. The four raised beds and the ground level bed by the sunroom (all very damp and collapsed from waterlogging) are now built up and lofted nicely.

The weather's supposed to be fairly nice tomorrow then turn really cold. So I think Monday, once it warms up by late morning, will be another garden appreciation day. After that, I'll hunker down in Snell Library, reopening tomorrow, and work on Roofscape.

Thought for now ...
It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.
... Epicurus.

Image ... Shadows on sculpture. Northeastern University.

December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T12:49:00.014-05:00

I was at Panera, downstairs, overhearing a passionate discussion up above. Physics and cosmology. Went upstairs and sat near the three communicants. Listening in, pretending to read my Wall Street Journal. Singularities, black holes, quantum physics, event horizons and other disputed cosmic exotica. Seldom heard such an intense and interesting engagement and debate in ages. Consulting Webster's for definitive definitions to boot. Don't know who they were. But this is over by Northeastern.

Reading now ...
Secrets of the Operating Room.
Wall Street Journal. Review/C3: 12/31/11 - 1/1/12.

Thought for now ...
Maybe beauty comes from meaning.
... Overheard.

Image ... Holiday display, 2010. Fields Corner, Dorchester.

December 30, 2011

2011-12-30T11:03:00.007-05:00

Image ... Tits and Tats. Mass Ave. @ Boylston St. The Berklee corner, where you'll find every imaginable fashion statement.

December 30, 2011

2011-12-29T12:52:00.004-05:00

Image ... Roofscape garden.

Flooded and Muddy

2011-12-29T11:19:00.001-05:00

Roofscape's garden in Boston's Fenway has been flooded since Hurricane Irene struck coastal New England a glancing blow in late August.

... Work in progress.

December 29, 2011

2011-12-29T10:08:00.002-05:00

Image ... One of a Kind, Dorchester.

The Fenway - by Jonathan Richman

2011-12-29T09:45:00.003-05:00

The Fenway - by Jonathan Richman

Now I was born by the Fenway,
in Beth Israel Hospital.
Could that help to explain why I love the Fenway so well.
Nowhere do I feel more at home, it seems,
Then on the Fenway, where I dreamed my dreams.

Well I was small, they took us to old Mechanics Hall.
We got to see the Mighty Ted Williams,
Put one over the right field wall.
All that nostalgia comes out every day, you see,
On the Fenway where I've dreamed dreams.

Sometimes it rains, and then it is just damp and cold.
Sometimes I've roamed, its little paths when I've felt old.
Now smell the air, and you'll smell exhaust fumes everywhere.
Cause the place is just too narrow not to be bothered by them there.

But there's silence to the place when you stand there in the sun.
And there's an echo from an era that's already past and gone.
And there is silence in the Gardener Museum.
Where's that?
It's on the Fenway where I've dreamed my dreams.

Well after all.
Clap your hands.

And there's a silence to that place as you stand there in the sun,
and there's also this haunting silent sorrow,
Cause the glory days have gone.
And there is silence in the Gardener Museum.
Where's that?
Well, it's on the Fenway, as you know, where I've dreamed my dreams.
Boston's Fenway, where I've dreamed my dreams.

NOTE ... I love this song and it's very meaningful to me. But I'm pretty sure these aren't the real lyrics, as online lyrics often aren't, due to - well, I don't know what. I'll find the tune and transcribe the actual words.

Image ... Looking up the Muddy River running through the Fenway.

December 27, 2011

2011-12-27T10:35:00.004-05:00

Thought for now ...
It is in the giving that we receive.
... Saint Francis of Assisi, 'the joyful beggar'.

Image ... Frost on third floor window, Dorchester.

December 26, 2011

2011-12-26T12:50:00.001-05:00

Image ... Kylee with Kiwis.

December 24, 2011

2011-12-24T11:05:00.004-05:00

A Yellow Warbler landed on my hat while I was sitting in the sunroom the day before last. It then flew off to the nearby fence where we both had a good chance to look each other over and get an ID. I feel blessed when birds perch on me, chickadees and titmice among the others. They don't do it lightly, although perhaps by chance.

A night of rain that evening and the garden is now flooded again, but only partly this time. The paths and patios are passable, if sort of soggy and squishy.

Working on Roofscape #1. Learning code. Marking up. Swatting bugs. Introducing and editing content. Writing new work. Back in the saddle. Fun. Of sorts. I love the challenge of coding.

Working at the Y. They're going to kick us out any minute now. Head home for the holidays. Good for them. Fellow sufferers. I've got to stop by the garden. Back anon. After these holy days. Everything closed now as if in mourning. The Puritans had it right. On the subjects of sin - and Christmas - they nailed it. Avoid both. They lead down the same path. As Niebuhr famously said, "The only provable assertion in all of religion is the existence of sin." Amen.

Image ... Shop window at the Pru.

December 23, 2011

2011-12-23T11:32:00.001-05:00

Image ... Japanese Village Below Fuji in Snow. Wood block print, artist unknown.

December 22, 2011

2011-12-22T11:39:00.009-05:00

Happy Solstice!

Thoughts ...
... it appears probable that the progenitors of man, either the males or females or both sexes, before acquiring the power of expressing their mutual love in articulate language, endeavoured to charm each other with musical notes and rhythm.
The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin.

Image ... Lower Mills, Dorchester.

December 21, 2011

2011-12-21T10:48:00.002-05:00

Image ... Snowflake, Nixon Street.

December 19, 2011

2011-12-19T11:12:00.001-05:00

Thought for now ...
It may be that the deep necessity of art is the examination of self-deception.
Robert Motherwell

Image ... Kayaks along the Charles River.

December 18, 2011

2011-12-18T14:38:00.014-05:00

The Higgs Boson, an elusive subatomic particle who's existence has been theorized since the 1960's as helping to give mass to matter, may have finally been spotted at Cern, the super particle accelerator array straddling the Swiss-French border deep underground. Here's a video describing the possible discovery.

Meanwhile, I'm flying along learning XHTML and CSS. Very exciting. I've always loved programming. This will bring Roofscape up to current standards and lift the design and functionality of the magazine by several notches.

Very chilly today. Must be in the 20's with some breezes, even real winds at times. Worked at the Prudential Center's 'Winter Garden', Panera and YMCA. Snell Library at Northeastern closed today.

Began moving titles and content into Roofscape #1, while working with CSS coding learned this morning - 'span', 'div' and 'float'.

I do, however, suffer from being at computers for hours on end, a physical unease and mental fatigue. Maybe we all do at times, but some more than others.

December 17, 2011

2011-12-17T13:42:00.006-05:00

I've chosen this image of Chy-chy for my holiday card.

Image ... La Chynae Loving, my goddaughter, doing her Nutcracker thing.

December 16, 2011

2011-12-16T12:33:00.001-05:00

Thought for now ...
Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.
... Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Image ... Shadows. Nassau, Bahamas.

December 15, 2011

2011-12-15T09:53:00.006-05:00

Thought for now ...
Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persitence. Talent will not; there is nothing more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
... Calvin Coolidge.

Image ... Tobin Bridge over the Mystic River from Admiral's Hill.

Roofscape #1

2011-12-14T15:36:00.007-05:00

Possible outline of Roofscape #1 ...

Logo.
Image: Alleyway.
Welcome: plans, subscription, archives, journal, Twitter.
Contents: title/summary.
Ad: Fat Cow.
MLK & MX.
Cookout: Puttanesca.
Beans: PR's horse.
Ad: PNRA.
Birds: list, hawks.
Homeless in Boston.
Orion: Night of the Hunter.
Thought for now: ?
Portfolio: AAPL (1 new pick per).
FWD, unsub., etc.

December 14, 2011

2011-12-14T13:48:00.001-05:00

Thought for the day ...
Your true traveller finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of this liberty - his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.
... Aldous Huxley.

Image ... Geese over the Muddy River.

December 13, 2011

2011-12-12T18:23:00.004-05:00

Thought for the day ...
The surface is all you've got. You can only get beyond the surface by working with the surface.
... Richard Avedon.

Image ... Shadows on steel.

December 12, 2011

2011-12-11T09:24:00.001-05:00

Here's the image I'm considering for this December's holiday card. The view is of rooftops on Beacon Hill taken through a snowfall.

The alternative is the image in the December 12 entry below. But I'm not even sure it's mine, although I'm certain I edited it, perhaps extensively. It's a little cheerier.

Image ... Rooftops in Snowfall.

December 11, 2011

2011-12-11T08:50:00.003-05:00

Thought for the day ...
Finally, I do think the way to a full and healthy life is to adopt the sensible system of "small helpings, no seconds, no snacking, and a little bit of everything." Above all - have a good time.
... Julia Child.

Image ... Wrapping paper.

Carrots in Champagne

2011-12-11T08:23:00.001-05:00

I found this recipe in an old New Orleans charity church cookbook on sale at The King of Records on Queensberry Street. The King, a great junk shop, is now sadly gone but not forgotten. Over the years it furnished my garden in the Fenway with chairs, tables, umbrellas and loads of books, the garden being my favorite reading spot, including Julia Child's The French Chef Cookbook. Jerry, the former owner, is a fellow gardener in the Fenway, holding informal jam sessions with his many musician buddies under his huge katsura tree, brought back from Japan at the end of WWII.

This is a flexible and forgiving recipe. It isn't even necessary to quantify it. Just use whatever amounts strike your fancy, within the realm of good taste. I've kept it simple to serve as a side with substantial fare such as bird. If wanted, it could be extended with, say, some shavings of prosciutto or Parmessan or maybe with herbs.

This recipe invariably invokes a few puzzled looks when it's set on the table. Then this delicious dish gets totally demolished leaving no doubters in its wake.

INGREDIENTS
carrots
green table grapes
butter
maple syrup
champagne

PREPARATION
1. Trim the tops and tap roots off the carrots. Peel. Slice thinnly.
2. Steam, or boil in water to cover, until the carrots are al dente, or tender-crisp. Drain and let dry.
3. Slice a bunch of green table grapes along their length.
4. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the champagne and maple syrup.
5. Add the carrots and grapes. Saute until the carrots are tender. Serve as a side.

December 9, 2011

2011-12-09T09:22:00.003-05:00

As the Occupy Boston encampment in Dewey Square is broken up, the O.B. website offers a quotation from Dr. King, whose concern was always with economic as much as racial justice, which he considered to be inextricably linked.

Thought for the day ...
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Image ... Clock and lights, Nixon Street.

December 8, 2011

2011-12-08T16:07:00.000-05:00

Image ... Lief.

December 7, 2011

2011-12-07T15:01:00.001-05:00

Image ... Patio umbrella.

December 4, 2011

2011-12-04T10:05:00.003-05:00

First frost in the garden. The dark mud rimed with a white dusting. The sodden paths now firmer underfoot. And this is December! The latest frost I can recall. Oh, there was a snowstorm around All Hallows' Eve, but that doesn't count. Frost is frost and snow is snow. No one ever skied on frost.

Our first fall frost usually descends between mid to late September. And this one was only in the gardens, sloping down toward the Muddy River. Nowhere else that I noticed in the city, a chill walk across town.

Image ... Nudes on a glass vase.

December 3, 2011

2011-12-03T21:00:00.001-05:00

Image ... Installation at a church on Berkeley Street, Boston.

December 2, 2011

2011-12-02T09:17:00.003-05:00

This is one of those images that I have no idea what the source photograph was, much less how it got to look this way. Often I apply multiple filters, sometimes several times, until things get interesting. There's always the Undo button if I go too far. In fact, this may not even be one of my photos, it may be a found image. Whatever it was, it looked nothing like this.

Thought for the day ...
Facts are better than dreams.
Winston Churchill.

Image ... Wake.

November 23, 2011

2011-11-23T11:34:00.001-05:00

Image ... Curio shop, Lower Falls, 2010.

November 20, 2011

2011-11-20T08:56:00.015-05:00

I'm pleased to announce - once again - the return of Roofscape - the online magazine of outdoor urban living. The 'Great Recession' took its toll on us, as it has on all too many, but we survived - and we're back, a little battered, but hopefully better than ever.

The relaunch will be on January 1, 2012, that day being the original launch of the magazine in 2000 at Boston's 'First Night' festivities. The name has changed slightly from Roofscape Magazine, to simply Roofscape. The new Roofscape will start off as twice-monthly email magazine, released on the first and fifteenth. The next step will be to develop for the Barnes and Noble Nook, the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle (in that order). Following that, we'll develop a full subscription website version of the magazine.

To start off, we'll be re-releasing articles, images and features, often revised and updated, published over the past decade. These will mingle with increasing amounts of fresh content.

Join us! We're looking for investors and advertisers interested in helping us build a successful media brand. We're also searching for the best writers, photographers, artists and tech talent out there with a passion for the urban outdoors. Get in touch ... roofscape@gmail.com.

Thought for the day ...
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.
Robert Kennedy

Image ... Mural on a utility box by the Stoney Brook 'T' station.

November 19, 2011

2011-11-19T12:27:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Carrots

2011-11-16T11:28:00.008-05:00

I found this recipe in an old New Orleans church charity cookbook on sale at The King of Records on Queensberry Street. The King, a great junk shop, is now sadly gone but not forgotten. Over the years it furnished my garden in the Fenway with chairs, tables, umbrellas and loads of books, the garden being my favorite reading spot, including Julia Child. Jerry, the former owner, is a fellow gardener in the Fenway, holding informal jam sessions with his many musician buddies under his huge katsura tree, brought back from Japan at the end of WWII.

This is a flexible and forgiving recipe. It isn't even necessary to quantify it. Just use whatever amounts strike your fancy, within the realm of good taste. I've kept it simple to serve as a side with substantial fare such as bird. If wanted, it could be extended with, say, some shavings of prosciutto or Parmessan or maybe with herbs.

This recipe invariably invokes a few puzzled looks when it's set on the table. Then this delicious dish gets totally demolished leaving no doubters in its wake.

INGREDIENTS
carrots
green table grapes
butter
maple syrup
champagne

PREPARATION
1. Trim the tops and tap roots off the carrots. Peel. Slice thinnly.
2. Steam, or boil in water to cover, until the carrots are al dente, or tender-crisp. Drain and let dry.
3. Slice a bunch of green table grapes along their length.
4. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the champagne and maple syrup.
5. Add the carrots and grapes. Saute until the carrots are tender. Serve as a side.

November 14, 2011

2011-11-14T08:51:00.003-05:00

Image ... Sign at the Lucy Parsons Center.

November 13, 2011

2011-11-13T08:06:00.001-05:00

Image ... View from a roof deck. Bay Village, Boston.

November 11, 2011

2011-11-11T12:58:00.003-05:00

Image ... Lotus Designs. Columbus Avenue, South End, Boston.

American Chop Suey

2011-11-11T11:46:00.013-05:00

Work in progress ...

Did you go to a public school in New England? If so, there was definitely one dish that you ate often, and probably with pleasure, in the school cafeteria.

Besides being a staple of K-12 lunchrooms, it also appeared at church socials, potlucks, soup kitchens, picnics, roadside diners, tailgate parties and home dinner tables across the northeast. And still does.

Beyond these six states, however, mention of this dish will usually evoke utterly blank stares and a question. "American Chop Suey? WTF's that?"

Well it's deliciousness defined. Comfort food refined. And here's how it goes.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 medium red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1-1/2 cups celery, diced
1-/2 pounds ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced and crushed
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
Italian herbs
paprika
cumin
soy sauce
Salt and paper, to taste
1 pound box elbow macaroni
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to top

PREPARATION

November 10, 2011

2011-11-10T12:43:00.001-05:00

Image ... Street scene, Boston.

November 9, 2011

2011-11-09T10:07:00.001-05:00

Image ... Otis in the Roofscape office.

November 8, 2011

2011-11-08T09:06:00.001-05:00

Image ... Footbridge in the Fall. Esplanade, Boston.

November 6, 2011

2011-11-06T11:21:00.001-05:00

Image ... Willow Leaves. South End, Boston.

November 5, 2011

2011-11-05T09:45:00.006-04:00

He who seeks rest finds boredom. He who seeks work finds rest.
Dylan Thomas

Image ... Sunbather in a Saltmarsh. Gloucester, Massachusetts.

November 4, 2011

2011-11-04T10:19:00.001-04:00

Image ... Radiator. Dot, MA.

November 3, 2011

2011-11-03T10:33:00.002-04:00

Image ... Bongo in Squaresville.

November 1, 2011

2011-11-01T10:39:00.003-04:00

Image ... Swan Boats. Boston Public Garden.

October 30, 2011

2011-10-30T09:57:00.007-04:00

Happy Halloween to all!

An absolutely horrifying sight ushered in All Hallow's Eve tomorrow - a snowstorm, a wet nor'easter with a piercing wind in its wake.

Image ... Pumpkin. Union Park, the South End, Boston.

August 20, 2011

2011-08-20T07:33:00.007-04:00

Image ... Shop window at the Prudential Center.

March 28, 2011

2011-03-28T18:16:00.000-04:00

Image ... Store window. Newbury Street, Boston.

March 24, 2011

2011-03-24T10:26:00.007-04:00

Alexia Berry, a Boston-based photographer, emailed us this image yesterday from beautiful Tioman Island in Malaysia.

Quote of the Day
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.
Epictetus

Image ... On the beach. Tioman Island, Malaysia. By Alexia Berry.

March 22, 2011

2011-03-22T11:44:00.004-04:00

Image ... Chy-chy Loving. Roxbury, Mass.

March 16, 2011

2011-03-16T12:09:00.003-04:00

Quote of the Day
Wisdom begins in wonder.
Socrates

Image ... Kitchen window, the Pru.

March 13, 2011

2011-03-13T15:51:00.002-04:00

Image ... Classical stoner head.

March 12, 2011

2011-03-12T15:28:00.000-05:00

Image ... Curtain. Legal Seafoods, Boston.

March 11. 2011

2011-03-11T09:41:00.003-05:00

Quote of the Day
Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.
George Edward Woodberry

Image ... Storefront church mural, Dorchester.

March 10, 2011

2011-03-10T11:30:00.004-05:00

Happy birthday Alexia!

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau

In Boston and its environs King was walking in the backyard of one of his most important intellectual influences, Henry David Thoreau. He and "this courageous New Englander" had first crossed paths while he was in his teens at Morehouse College in Atlanta as the World War II was ending.

When I went to Morehouse as a freshman in 1944, my concern for racial and economic justice was already substantial.

... To be continued.

Image ... Witch hazel. Fenway Victory Gardens, Boston.

January 18, 2011

2011-01-18T04:12:00.019-05:00

Image ...

January 17, 2011

2011-01-17T09:01:00.002-05:00

Happy 82nd birthday, Dr. King! We invite our readers to celebrate the King holiday with Dr. King in Boston, the story of Martin's very important years in Boston while studying at B.U. in the early 50's.

Love is creative and redemptive. Love builds up and unites; hate tears down and destroys. The aftermath of the 'fight with fire' method which you suggest is bitterness and chaos, the aftermath of the love method is reconciliation and creation of the beloved community. Physical force can repress, restrain, coerce, destroy, but it cannot create and organize anything permanent; only love can do that. Yes, love - which means understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill, even for one's enemies - is the solution to the race problem.

Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957.

Image ... Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 16, 2011

2011-01-16T07:18:00.001-05:00

Quote of the Day
Go as far as you can see; when you get there you'll be able to see farther.
Thomas Carlyle

Image ... Neponset River. Lower Mills, Dorchester.

January 15, 2011

2011-01-15T06:49:00.004-05:00

Working at Pavement, as always, my morning hang. Toasted onion bagel with jalapeno cream cheese - perfection. Going through the photo archives (extensive) selecting images for The New Yorker pitch.

Quote of the Day
Be thine own palace, or the world's thy jail.
John Donne

Image ... Make Way for Ducklings. Boston Public Garden.

January 14, 2011

2011-01-14T06:38:00.004-05:00

Working at Pavement preparing the pitch to The New Yorker. Reviewing and selecting from the big body of work, discovering and editing overlooked images, drafting the written pitch.

Quote of the Day
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
William Shakespeare

Image ... Window at the AT&T building. Belvidere Street, Back Bay.

January 13, 2011

2011-01-13T10:15:00.002-05:00

Nor'easter blizzard blanketed Boston yesterday with about a foot of snow driven in on high winds. Pavement, my regular morning hang, a coffee house, was closed. Retreated to the Prudential Center and took refuge in the (closed, opens at 4:00 pm) bar off the Sheraton lobby. BPL and TSP boarded up too.

Quote of the Day
Every exit is an entry somewhere else.
Tom Stoppard

Image ... Trees in the snow. Prudential Center, Boston.

January 12, 2011

2011-01-12T15:28:00.004-05:00

Quote of the Day
Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.
Dale Carnegie

Image ... Soapy window. Bay Village, Boston.

January 9, 2011

2011-01-09T16:27:00.003-05:00

Quote of the Day
Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.
William James

Image ... Prudential Center, Boston.

December 28, 2010

2010-12-28T07:44:00.001-05:00

A powerful nor'easter. It started on Sunday while I was walking the Neponset Riverway. At least a foot of snow and very high winds.

Image ... Snowflake.

December 27, 2010

2010-12-27T06:47:00.000-05:00

Image ... Radiator.

December 22, 2010

2010-12-22T09:26:00.002-05:00

Last night Monadnock Street held its annual solstice party, which we simply call Solstice. Everyone performed something. I read Dulce Domum from the Wind in the Willows. What a fantastic experience. I had so much fun.

Image ... Rat returning from Mole's cellar with beer bottles. An illustration from The Wind in the Willows - Chapter 5, Dulce Domum.

December 14, 2010

2010-12-14T09:24:00.000-05:00

Image ... North of Boston.

December 6, 2010

2010-12-06T15:51:00.003-05:00

Amanda Palmer ... Just got dressed for the Boston Music Awards....heading over, cloud club house posse style. 12/5/10.

Quote of the Day
When all you own is a hammer, every problem starts looking like a nail.
Abraham Maslow

Image ... Amanda Palmer, courtesy of Twitpic.

November 29, 2010

2010-11-28T21:46:00.003-05:00

Quote of the Day
All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.
Orison Swett Marden

Image ... The rotunda, Quincy Market.

November 28, 2010

2010-11-28T13:02:00.001-05:00

Quote of the Day
It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.
Jim Rohn

Image ... Carousel. Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston.