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Archive for the 'Living Here' Category
Primary Day In Massachusetts – Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009
Special Election Sign in Cambridge
It’s Primary Day in Massachusetts. On Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 voters in Massachusetts will go to the polls in the special primary to choose candidates to vie for the late Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.
It’s disheartening that expectations for voter turnout are so low. Not only will our new Senator have large shoes to fill after Teddy Kennedy’s long and illustrious career but the seat has previously been held by
- John F. Kennedy
- Daniel Webster
- John Quincy Adams
So – take a moment from your day and head to the polls.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
And don’t forget – the special state election is scheduled for Tuesday, January 19. 2010. The deadline to register to vote in the Special Election is Dec. 30, 2009.
Turn Your Cambridge Yard Into a Wildlife Habitat
Certified Wildlife Habitat in Cambridge
When I spotted this sign in the Agassiz neighborhood during our weekly tour of new Cambridge real estate listings I couldn’t help but be intrigued. How did this city yard become a Certified Wildlife Habitat?
Turns out it’s a program from the National Wildlife Federation, which I know best as the publishers of Ranger Rick, my brother’s favorite magazine when he was a kid and nature buff.
To qualify your yard – no matter how small – as a Certified Wildlife Habitat you’ll need:
- Food sources
- Water sources
- Places for cover
- Places to raise young
- Sustainable gardening
Read more about the Certified Wildlife Habitat program.
It sounds like a fun and rewarding project for the whole family. I’m planning on adding a bird bath to my yard as I work my way through the steps.
TROMP – Cambridge Transportation Program
Maybe you noticed the TROMP banner outside Harvard Square and wondered what the heck is TROMP? I know I did when I spotted the button at right at Cambridge City Hall. Turns out it’s a new Cambridge transportation program.
TROMP stands for Travel Responsibility Outreach and Mentoring Project. It’s a collaboration of city departments, local organizations and citizens. The aim of the year-long project is to educate all who travel in and through Cambridge – by foot, by bike, and by car – about how to do so responsibly.
Getting around Cambridge can be a challenge. Jaywalking gets worse and worse, bicycles can be both a menace and a vulnerable target of careless or aggressive drivers, and when not stuck in traffic cars sometimes drive as though Cambridge’s streets are a raceway. Everybody’s got stories including my family – my dad was hit by a bike on the sidewalk, my mother knocked to the ground by a car in Porter Square.
Cambridge is always working on improving travel in the city. Traffic calming street modifications, marked bike lanes, newly modified crossing signals. TROMP hopes “to alter the culture of traffic in Cambridge Massachusetts” according to the group’s website (hint: click the letters on their homepage) through four phases – orientation, education, warning and enforcement. They’ll be meeting with community groups, talking to school kids, distributing flyers, and encouraging participation. Let’s hope they’re successful.
Here’s a video about TROMP:
New Cambridge Youth Center on Huron Ave
New Youth Center on Huron Avenue
New Cambridge Youth Center When my coworker and I drove by 680 Huron Ave – the VFW post across from Fresh Pond – we marveled at the dramatic renovation. Sure seemed like an expensive redo for the VFW.
Turns out it’s the new Mayor Sheila Doyle Russell Youth and Community Center. It was completed this June and programs began at the youth center in July. Features of the new facility include:
- Full size gym with an NCAA sized basketball court
- Fitness room
- Teaching kitchen
- 20 station computer learning and homework center
- Performance room with stage
- Arts and crafts room
- Community meeting room
- Open lounge areas
The center is named for Sheila Doyle Russell, former Cambridge mayor and advocate for youth.
Sure doesn’t resemble the youth center of my teens! That building, now condos actually, was old, dark and unrenovated. Its biggest claim to fame were the foosball tables. And the lack of lights.
There’s a Dedication Ceremony for the new West Cambridge youth center scheduled for Friday, September 25, 2009 from 6 to 8 pm. At the ceremony you’ll get a chance to view the permanent art installation by Michael Oatman, The Cantabridgians. Oatman created video portraits of 23 West Cambridge residents that can be viewed on three large monitors on the second floor. I remember seeing a flyer in Armando’s seeking subjects for the videos so it will be fun to see how it turned out.
The new West Cambridge Youth Center is located at 680 Huron Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138.
Hazardous Waste Disposal in Cambridge
What to do with all these household chemicals?
Several times a year the Cambridge DPW holds Hazardous Waste Days where Cambridge residents can bring household hazardous waste for disposal.
I’m always impressed with the job the Public Works Department does during these collections. Hazardous Waste Days are held at the National Guard Armory near Fresh Pond rotary on Concord Ave and are very well attended.
The last collection was held in June and there isn’t another one scheduled until October 3, 2009. What to do in the meantime? If you’re moving and need to get rid of those old paint cans, the discarded tires in the garage, or the propane tank from the barbecue what’s the answer?
Well, luckily there is another option if you can’t wait until October. The Minuteman Hazardous Products Regional Facility at 60 Hartwell Avenue in Lexington MA is open to residents from other towns for a fee. In fact, some local towns have arrangements for residents’ use of the Lexington facility without charge. Check the website for details.
Time to rethink our dependence on chemicals
Future collection days in Lexington:
- Sunday, September 20, 2009
- Saturday, October 17, 2009
- Saturday, November 7, 2009
Be sure to check out both websites for directions on what to bring, how to bring it, and what not to bring. Hazardous waste disposal is tricky – the more hoops you jump through the more you realize that the sign on the right sums it up – it’s a lot easier to not accumulate these hazardous chemicals to begin with.
Ice Cream Places Near Cambridge
Ice Cream Places Near Cambridge Hot weather’s on the way – and hot weather means ice cream. Hot and humid weather is the only excuse you need to satisfy your craving for a nice, big ice cream cone.
Here are some of my favorite spots for a cone. And since hot weather is also a good excuse for an air conditioned road trip (especially since I don’t have air conditioning at home!) these ice cream stands are outside of Cambridge, just a short drive away:
Bedford Farms in Bedford Center is one of my family’s favorites. Delicious ice cream, a place to sit on the lawn, and a quick drive from Cambridge.
Bedford Farms Ice Cream is located at 18 North Street, Bedford MA. Open year round. Check the website for more info. Summer hours are Mon – Sat 11am – 10pm and Sunday noon to 10pm.
Kimball Farm has three locations. Carlisle is closest to Cambridge and a nice scenic drive. There are farm animals to watch while you eat. If you want to make a day of it and plan an outing for the entire family, the Westford location has a driving range, bumper boats, miniature golf, a midway with arcade games and more. The location I know best is in Jaffrey NH where Kimball’s took over longtime favorite, Silver Ranch.
Be warned – the kiddie cone at Kimball’s is most shops’ large. You’ll be overwhelmed by the small size cone. And large servings make for large crowds – the parking lot is often packed and the line long.
Check the Kimball Farm website for hours and more information.
Johnson’s Drive-in in Groton Mass was a pleasant surprise when we ended up there one night after a long day. The fried clams were great and so was the ice cream. It’s the kind of roadside joint I like – not too fancy (not at all in fact!), not expensive, and mighty tasty food.
Johnson’s is on Route 119 at 164 Boston Road, Groton MA. Call 978-448-6840 for hours.
I’m sure there are lots of fabulous ice cream places out there. What are your favorites?
Franklin Street Park – Cambridge Parks – An Urban Oasis
Entrance to the Franklin Street Park in Cambridge Mass
Franklin Street Park on Franklin Street in the Riverside neighborhood of Cambridge Massachusetts is a lovely and unusual pocket park. Measuring just 4400 sq.ft. the park is similar in size to the city house lots that line the street.
Before Franklin Street Park was rehabbed in 2003 it was a dark, gloomy space covered in large part with paving. The city held a number of meetings to solicit feedback from Cambridge residents about what they hoped the park would become. Goals in the reconstruction of the park included increasing safety, adding more natural elements in the park, adding play areas for kids, and making the park wheelchair accessible.
In 2004 the American Society of Landscape Architects’ magazine Landscape Architecture awarded the park an “Editors’ Choice” designation.
Today the park is a treat to discover. From the granite entrance gate designed by Boston sculptor Murray Dewart to the unusual metal dome that seems to rise from the ground at the back of the lot – this park is full of surprises.
The park is green, lush and serene. There are places to sit, a water feature, and kid-friendly spaces. That mysterious metal dome? It’s meant to be a space for kids to play and is surrounded by plastic grass.
The City of Cambridge’s Community Development Concept Plan in Spring 2002 gave this vision for the park project:
“The concept is to create an exciting and unique enclosed public open space that residents will discover and enjoy. A space for quiet reflection, reading a book, playing a game or watching a child play… A space with beautiful plantings, shade and visual interest… an urban oasis…”
A visit to Franklin Street Park confirms that the city has achieved its goals – the park is indeed an oasis – and a beautiful space to while away the afternoon.
Here are some more photos of Franklin Street Park:
This is the second in a series on Cambridge parks. Here’s more:
The Smallest Park in Cambridge
Black Swallow-wort in Massachusetts – Join the Fight
Black Swallow-Wort on a Cambridge Chain Link Fence
It’s prime time in the war against Black Swallow-wort in Massachusetts – Swallowwort is flourishing in Massachusetts and there are large stands around Cambridge, Watertown, Medford and Somerville.
Black Swallow-wort is a very invasive plant that can take over a landscape and spread far if seeds are dispersed. Not only will it crowd out other plants but it has been shown to have a negative impact on songbird populations and on monarch butterflies.
I have a feeling that Black Swallow-wort thrives with a lot of rain because there’s a bumper crop out there. The pods seem to have come out early – I found vines with maturing pods in June.
Around the city it often seems that homeowners think that Swallowwort is an attractive vine. In Cambridge and Somerville you often find the vines climbing over chain link fences – providing a wall of greenery that hides the chain link. When we were on our weekly tour I spotted a new real estate listing in Watertown where a support had been carefully placed in the garden for a Swallow-wort vine.
You do NOT want to encourage Black Swallow-wort in your garden – and instead should mount a full scale campaign to eradicate it.
While it is an ongoing struggle to kill Black Swallow-wort – best done with liberal applications of Round-up – and lots of digging – now is the time to collect pods.
The first year I discovered swallow-wort in my yard I made the mistake of breaking off the vines and leaving the pods. Unfortunately even when the vine is dead the pods will eventually open and disperse their fluff-borne seeds.
Pounds of Swallow-Wort Pods
Pods must be removed and burned or carefully bagged and disposed of in a landfill.
I have taken to carrying bags with me in order to collect pods. This morning in Watertown Square I happened to pass a hedge with Swallow-wort vines growing in it. By the time I was done I had collected over 2.5 POUNDS of pods!!
What Does Swallow-Wort Look Like?
- Swallow-wort’s shiny green leaves come in pairs
- The vine grows fast and will twine around fences and tree and bush branches
- The pods are slim, smooth and green
- When it flowers the vine has small, purple, star-shaped blossoms
Please join the fight!! If you see swallow-wort pods – pluck them! Swallow-wort will soon blanket Massachusetts if we don’t stem its spread.
Here are some more photographs of Black Swallow-wort found in Cambridge and Watertown:
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