Sunday Sampler - Swan Boats and Lilacs

Each year, members of the South Shore Camera Club head into Boston to shoot at dawn in the Public Garden. Traditionally, they go on Mother's Day, but this year due to the weather they had postponed until yesterday. It always sounds like a wonderful idea as the soft, morning light must be truly glorious, but I wouldn't know as I have never rolled out of bed early enough to join them. :-) They are there by 5:00! My friend Marilyn and I did go to the Public Garden yesterday, but we arrived at the far more civilized time of 9:30.  The sun kept going in and out, but I did take a few photos.

 

 

 

When I was little, on Sunday mornings after church, my dad and the man next door would often fill his station wagon with the neighborhood kids and take us to special places such as the Public Garden and Franklin Park Zoo. They were two very good dads.

 

Dating back to the 1870s, four generations of the Paget family have operated these iconic Swan Boats. Click here to view a pictorial history of the Swan Boats. 

Next we headed to the Arnold Arboretum to view the lilac display. It was windy so I didn't take many photos, but I loved the colors of these two bushes.

After stopping for lunch, I was home by 2:00 after what seemed an already quite full day. My plans to veg on the sunporch were put on hold when Emma pointed out that she hadn't had her walk yet . . . so  . . . I was off again.

 

Family Day at the Swan Boats

     This morning I went with my cousin and her three year old daughter to the swan boats. Three buses of eager preschoolers and their families went, and I was lucky enough to go, also. It was a wonderful way to spend a morning.

     

   
     The swan boats are one of Boston's greatest treasures. On the gentle, short ride around the lagoon you are followed by ducks seeking food and two swans who summer there. We also enjoyed the Make Way for Ducklings Sculpture with Mrs. Mallard and her little ones: Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack.

   
     It seems remarkable that the swan boats which first graced the lush landscape of the Public Garden in 1877 have been operated by just one family ever since, the Paget family. If you wish, you can read more about the history of the swan boats by visiting Swanboats of Boston.
     Today's visit to the Public Garden brought back happy memories from my childhood. After church on Sunday mornings, my dad and the neighbor next door would fill his station wagon with kids, and we would go to the swan boats, the Franklin Park Zoo, or some other fun place. That's the wonderful thing about the swan boats; they have been delighting generations of children and will continue to do so, hopefully, forever.