Summer walk ‘08
July 4, 2008
A wet spring and early summer has resulted in a lush canopy of green over the sidewalks along my walking route. The foliage seems lusher and the shade deeper this summer. Here is a potpourri of images taken on recent walks.
The bell tower at the Church of St. Peter is displayed here against a backdrop of cumulus clouds. I have always had difficulty in photographing clouds, and these particular clouds weren’t very cooperative, but I like the looks of the tower with its cross.
Summer evening concerts by the concert band are always well-attended as families walk into Madison Park carrying their coolers and lawn chairs for an hour or so of easy listening. A special mobile stage with an acoustical shell gets hauled to the park du jour the evening before, and, as you can see here, if you play it they will come. The concert always begins with The Star Spangled Banner and usually ends with a patriotic march. When I was in High School I played for a summer or two in a community concert band, and I can still hum right along with most of the tunes. My guess is that in this day of opportunities to hear professionally produced music, the number of community concert bands may be dwindling as belonging to an earlier, slower-paced age. I wonder?
One of these days I will bone up on the history of Madison Park. According to the sign it dates back to the post bellum era when, I believe, the town of Quincy was beginning its push away from the river and to the East. I doubt that many of the large old trees in the park go back that far. Many of the trees have little numbered plaques on them, and several generations of school kids have been turned loose in the park to gather leaf samples and correctly identify the trees.
Some of the huge old trees lining York Street show their character in their gnarled trunks. I wonder what stories this old tree could tell. I would like to hear the one about the lightning bolt. Although you can’t tell it from the looks of his (her?) trunk, it’s otherwise a healthy tree and can always be counted on for a display of color in the fall.
There are several mature Pin Oaks along my route. Here is one of the tallest, dwarfing the house alongside. There were a pair of them, but a storm a few years ago toppled one of them and badly damaged a couple of nearby roofs.
Much of my walk is under a canopy of greenery, with trees on both sides of the street touching in the middle.
Here are a couple of large houses that seem well matched with the mature trees. I can’t help but wonder what this neighborhood will look like in 20 years as the old trees, one by one, die and are removed. It’s good to see an effort made to replace them with young trees, but the neighborhood will never be the same.
The inventive old couple who live in this house have for years kept this combination of flower pots and bird houses, and each spring it sports a new combination of color. On cooler summer days they sit on their porch and I never fail to give them a wave.
Some of the streets along my route have street markers imbedded in the concrete sidewalk at the crossings. Here is one that has survived at least one re-paving of the sidewalk.
And back to the home neighborhood again.
Dave, walking fool.
Comments
One Response to “Summer walk ‘08”
Got something to say?
I love your walk pictures! I too have a gorgeous, shady walk. It takes me through a similar neighborhood as you have pictured with stately houses and mature trees, then through a wooded park (Bever), then through Brucemore grounds with a more manicured English garden. Quite lovely. My daily 2 mile route keeps me sane and full of praise for Him who created it all! And a little black dog loves it too. Come up this summer and walk my route with me dad! Oh… you won’t believe this, but I still have my leaf collection from 1973 biology class at Quincy High… most specimes from Madison Park!