Taste of Reston

 

I think the idea was that you framed somebody in this 'booth' but no willing volunteers and so I just photographed the fountain!

 

Due to the paid parking fiasco we have not spent much time in Reston Town Centre lately.  Today, however, Taste of Reston was on and we decided to go and have a look.  First stop was this stall - can you guess what they are cooking up... (box is a bit of a clue..)

 

Yep, that's it, deep frying.. (a Snickers bar...)

 

The numbers after each item are not, as you might think, your increased risk of heart disease, but the number of tickets that you must exchange for each one.

 

Market Street was full of restaurants with tasters of their offerings including Watermelon Gazpacho and Peruvian potato dishes - and vegetarian paella..

 

Not so vegetarian pork roast..

 

As the temperature climbed towards 30C we decided to leave, but it was due to keep going until late this evening with music, wine and beer.

 

(This year we did at least remember our ID ...)

 

Boston Public Garden

 

Yesterday morning I went for a walk around the Public Garden and over Boston Common.

 

At the entrance to the park, two quite contrasting figures..

 

In the rose garden there were some beautiful flowers - but somewhat difficult to reach over the hedge..

 

 

More allium - with the Boston skyline in the background.

 

 

A very beautiful rhododendron that the bees seemed to be very taken with..

 

 

Fountains and pools..

 

 

 

By the lake, swans nesting and swan boats gliding by..

 

 

 

By Frog Pond a forlorn looking frog and no water..

 

At the edge of the Common, coffee and a piano player in the sunshine.

 

In Harvard Yard

 

It is difficult to walk across Harvard Yard, as I did yesterday to get from the underground station to the Harvard Art Museum, without taking a few photos of such famous buildings - especially when there is a blue sky in the background.

 

The Yard always seems to be busy - with students during term-time but also with many groups of visitors from all over the world.  There are colourful chairs scattered on the lawns and under the trees and anyone is welcome to sit and read or just enjoy the surroundings.

 

The statue of John Harvard, founder of the University is a focus of many tourist photos - as well as being the place where students go to touch the feet of the bronze sculpture (now quite shiny) - said to bring luck!

 

I was surprised to see that the Dogwood trees were still in bloom as they are long over in Virginia..

 

Walking on I could see some large pink and white flowers in front of Emerson Hall.  

From a distance I thought that they might be rhododendrons.

 

Looking closer they were unusual flowers with very unusual buds..

 

Have you ever seen anything looking more like piped icing on a cake or an 'Iced Gem' biscuit?

 

The white flowers were a little further out but equally intriguing.

 

Really a very beautiful flower - now identified by a friend (with the help of Google image matching) as Pink (or White) Mountain Laurel.  That might explain the glossy dark green leaves.

 

Having met a friend for late lunch at the Harvard Art Museum, I walked back across the Yard to the impressive gate which leads back to the bustling traffic of Harvard Square..

 

Walking in Boston

 

Our flight to Boston last night was delayed by several hours due to storms on the East Coast.  A long wait but at least it means that this morning everything looks and feels fresh and clean after the rain - and it is much cooler!

 

I walked down to the waterfront to Christopher Columbus Park.  There is a tunnel of wisteria here but we have never visited at the right time of year to see it in bloom, only lit up with fairy lights in the winter.

 

Here is Columbus himself, looking out over part of the harbour, filled with pleasure boats and water taxis bound for Logan Airport or other areas of Boston.

 

There are different types of vessel in the inner Harbour ..

 

The one in the background carries excited would be whale watchers out to see the humpback and fin whales which are around the shores over the summer and autumn, as well as pods of dolphin and porpoise.   It is a very popular excursion run a number of times a day by the New England aquarium.  

The boat in the foreground is a rather more zippy 'may get wet' type of speed ride around the coast.

 

This weekend Boston is hosting the Tall Ships - they are sailing in on Saturday so the Harbour and indeed the city will be buzzing with activity with more than two million people expected to visit for the start of the Sail Boston festival.

Leading away from the waterfront there are several beds of large allium which have passed their best but are still looking impressive.

 

This fountain always looks rather appealing..

 

The small rose garden planted for Rose Kennedy was locked today, I could only admire the roses through the gate..

 

Those around the outside were more accessible and looking good after the rain..

 

 

To Catch a Hummingbird..

 

This modest pot on the decking is one of two that we planted with pansies and lavender in the Spring for a little colour.  (The sunflower is a surprise addition, presumably donated by a passing bird or squirrel)

The pots are surviving the 35C temperatures quite well and to our surprise are attracting Hummingbirds on a regular basis.

My attempts to get a decent photo have so far only yielded this butterfly shot!

Last night the hummingbird visited almost at dusk.

 

He sat for a while on the perch above the nectar feeder and then stuck his tongue out...

 

I had never really thought about how long a hummingbird tongue might be, but it makes sense!

 

The light is so bad in these photos they look almost artistic!

This is the only photo so far of the hummingbird feeding from the lavender flowers....cute feet!!

 

We will keep trying!