Tag Archives: New England

Horrors of the Yang Manse

October 24, 2016Autumn, Gothic, Halloween, Hallpween Decorations, pumpkinsAutumn, Gothic, Halloween, Halloween Decorations, New Englandhealy24yang

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So, last week, I showed you what the outside of the Yang House of Horrors looked like. Here, I will give you some images of the interior decorations. How about a look at the evil bride who faced you as you ascended the stairs in the gloom of the evening?

This creature looks especially scary, when you bathe her in a black light!

Of course, when you look down the corridor, you want to be greeted and guided by Halloween denizens.

Then, you defiintely need a comforting night light when you hit the bathroom on an eerie night like this.

We also have charming candles to guide you back down the stairs.

Watch out for otherworldly visitors peering in the window, maybe trying to lure you off to perdition. All I said to my friend Judy was, “Oh, Look. There’s someone in the window behind you.” And this lost soul prompted a shriek from my pal. Judy still comes to my house, but she’s a little leery about glancing out the windows now.

The fireplace also has its share of holiday decor, including our home grown pumpkins! These bad boys/girls started growing as early as April and developed into lovely, strong pumpkins. We haven’t grown anything this big since we lived in Connecticut!

Now, my problem is going to be trying to measure up to these decorations and those of years past. Ah well, who will I creep out this year? The trick is to place your creatures in shadows so that imagination does a large part of the work – especially when you hear sounds or glimpse preternatural beings in places where you wouldn’t expect them. Unfortunately, those kind of shadows don’t lend themselves to clear photographs, so they are hard to capture and present to you in pictures.

So, I’ll close with this goblin wishing you a fare thee well from atop his pumpkin throne! Enjoy your holiday, and be careful whom you invite to cross your threshold!

Halloween, Yang style

October 16, 2016Autumn, Cemeteries, Gothic, Halloween, Hallpween Decorations, New England, tomb stonesAutumn, Cemeteries, Halloween, New Englandhealy24yang

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I just got all the tombstones and a few haunting creatures up in my front yard. I still have to add several more supernatural visitors, but the eerie atmosphere is starting to coalesce. Just to give you an idea of what things will look like, I’ll share with you some images from last year’s outside decorations.

Here’s a vertical shot of the graveyard in the front lawn. Yang joined in the fun by getting the iron fencing and putting it up for me. Mr. Bones there seems to be chuckling over something the ghoul in black just told him. Did they see into the future for this year’s election?

I think this chap is recovering from one of the Halloween parties that I have every year. Either that or he’s someone I caught plagiarizing. See any red marks on him?

We also were visited by a few witches, ghouls, and demons, flying joyously on the fall winds. Some of them are looking right at you, and they seem awfully glad to see you – for what reason, I’m not sure. it’s probably not good for you!

Back to those pesky skeletons again! They’re worse than ants in the summer – and just as hungry. Heh, heh, heh!

And lest I forget, Here are some shots of our homemade dancing ghosts! These guys (or gals) usually go up closer to Halloween because if there’s too much rain and wind the ground gets too soft to support them and they become staggering, collapsing ghosts. As Quentin and Beth say, there’s nothing worse than when your ectoplasm starts to sag!

So, I’ll just close with this nice horizontal shot of the whole front yard, to let you drink in the entire spooky panorama. Try not to be too scared as you drive up the street. This year, I have even some new tomb stones! It may not be Mt. Auburn or Hope Cemetery, but it’s home sweet creepy home to me!

Falmouth Rail Trail – Look! Ospreys and Swans! Oh My!

September 17, 2016Cape Cod, Nature, New England, Osprey, Rail Trails, Swansbirds, Cape Cod, Falmouth MA, Nature, New England, Osprey, summer, Swanhealy24yang

Before the summer is over, I wanted to post some of my other favorite images from the summer adventures Yang and I had along the New England rail trails. In June, we did a rail trail in Falmouth, on the Cape. As always, we saw some of our favorite birds there. We sighted many rabbits and chipmunks, and at one point a fox dashed across the trail far ahead of us. Per usual, the Catbirds wouldn’t hold still long enough to be photographed.

So, here are some of the lovely birds we could photograph. In one little bay, we found this swan family: Mummy and Daddy and several young cygnets. Interestingly enough, one of the kids had already turned white!

We also managed to photograph this gorgeous Osprey. Look at those eyes! They’re enormous. No wonder no prey escapes this guy or gal. There are several spots along the trail that have osprey nests on poles and platforms erected by the good folks on the Cape. There is even one platform in the bay near the docks in Woods Hole. As your ship pulls in or out, you can see the family chilling in the nest.

We caught this swan swimming forward to greet us in a different marsh along the trail. I think he’s saying, “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille” in this shot

This display is always fun to see along the trail. I think it’s neat that the people who live next to the trail here have such a fun and creative bent with all these nostalgic items.

This whole rail trail is wonderful to travel, and we usually take the ferry from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard to walk around there and enjoy the beautiful houses, especially the Victorian camp cottages. Sorry, no pictures. I feel intrusive taking those shots. What a great – and exhausting way to spend the day!

Birds and Beasts at Mt. Auburn Cemetery

August 1, 2016birds, Cemeteries, English Robin, herons, Nature, New England, robins, tomb stones, turkeys, turtlesbirds, catbird, Cemeteries, Great Blue heron, Nature, New England, robin, summer, turkeyshealy24yang

We went to Mt. Auburn looking for birds and beasts. In the past, we’ve seen rabbits, ground hogs, foxes, hawks, and robins, but we had a few surprises this time. This is a lovely catbird. I’m afraid you can’t quite distinguish his/her black cap. We have at least one who lives near our house and is rather friendly, visiting the bird feeders, sipping from the bird baths and fish pond, and plucking up multi-legged critters from the ground. We also saw tons of robins. I wanted to include this picture for my British viewers. Your robins are adorable, petite, and feathered lovely blue and rust. Ours, as you can see, are longer and larger, with a grey/black body and striking rusty-red tummy. Their faces and build are similar to your blackbirds, though yours are really black. I heard that your robins were struggling. How are they doing now?

Here was a nice surprise! Down by one of the ponds, we found quite a few painted turtles sunning themselves. Look at this guy stretch his hind legs. Seems comfy, doesn’t he/she. Meanwhile, in the pond, a baby was swimming around like crazy, having a ball. maybe this guy on the shore was a watchful parent?

We really had a surprise when we saw and were able to follow a Great Blue Heron around the cemetery. We expected to see him wading in one of the ponds. That’s how we usually see them, but not this guy. He just took himself on the most casual of strolls, looking around, chilling out. maybe he was looking for a friend?

Okay, here he is paying his respects.

Heading back to our car we got the biggest of surprises! A flock of about 8 or 9 wild turkeys! Notice the “beards” hanging from some of the birds. I’d never noticed that before.

I talked to a woman who was planting some flowers at a relative’s grade, and she told me the turkeys were making her nervous. Apparently, a turkey had gotten too aggressive with one of the workers in the cemetery last week, with things had not going well for the turkey. I have heard that these wild bird can be exceptionally bold. These guys didn’t bother us, but then, again, we didn’t bother them, either. I prevented Yang from mentioning either dreaded trigger word: Thanksgiving or drumstick.

Once More, DON’T BLINK!

August 1, 2016Cemeteries, Don't Blink, Nature, New England, tomb stonesCemeteries, Gothic, Nature, New Englandhealy24yang

Recently, Yang and I decided to take a stroll in one of our favorite cemeteries, Mt. Auburn in Cambridge, MA. So, to avoid the July heat and try to catch sight of some interesting birds, we left early in the morning and managed to get in around 8:00. Parking in a slightly different location, we almost immediately came across this monument to Edwin Booth, a famous Shakespearean actor of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, his mental health in later years led him to take the method acting thing a bit too far, his Richard III indomitably driving Richmond off the stage and his Othello trying to strangle Desdemona for real – maybe an inspiration for Ronald Colman’s A Double Life? Still, he posed far less of danger than one of his actor sons, John Wilkes.

Here you can see some wonderful reliefs carved on series of family tomb stones.

This beautiful woman, perhaps an embodiment of the soul, presides over a family vault.

Walking up the hill towards the tower that gives a beautiful panorama of the cemetery as well as of Boston and its environs, the slope that rolls down into the rest of the cemetery provides a peaceful, shaded landscape. This day we didn’t see any exciting creatures at the top of the tower, which you ascend via a spiral stone staircase in the center. Once, when we were up there, we saw several hawks circling. Here’s a nice shot the stone path leading up to the tower. I also had to take a photograph of the enormous roots of this ancient tree snaking across and underground. There’s a Lovecraft moment in here somewhere.

From lectures on cemetery tours and material I’ve read on monument art, I feel fairly safe conjecturing that the kneeling female figure represents the soul of the recently departed and the angel’s lifting a cloak from her represents this sacred figure lifting the veil of life cloaking us from God’s radiance, preparing the soul to ascend to heaven. Interesting that the soul usually is portrayed as female. A connection to the goddess Psyche?

Another intriguing relief. Any comments on the symbolism?

Here’s a figure to give all the Dr. Who fans the willies. How would you feel if this child cherub came to life? A comforting figure or not?

A Walk in the Sterling Woods

July 17, 2016flowers, herons, Mass. Central Rail Trail, Nature, New England, Rail Trailsbirds, Great Blue heron, Mass. Central Rail Trail, Nature, New England, summerhealy24yang

Recently, Yang and I decided to take a Sunday morning walk, while it was still relatively cool, in the wooded rail trail in Sterling , MA – right behind the center of town. As you can see from the sign, the name of the trail is the Mass Central Rail Trail. It runs about a mile and three quarters one way, so round trip is about three and a half miles – too short for a bicycle ride, but nice for a walk.

Parts of the trail are flanked by swamp and marshes like this, where we saw tons of Catbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Song Sparrows. Using our new binoculars, we could watch a Song Sparrow raise his head and liberate a beautiful song. I just wish we had a camera that could photograph what we see through the binoculars. We also saw a ground hog pick his way through the underbrush and onto the trail, but he was too quick for us to get a photo of him.

The trail itself is straight and flat with packed gravel, perfect for easy walking and so beautifully shady and cool during a summer day – especially in the morning. We were lucky to see scads of chipmunks and even a few rabbits. We weren’t so lucky in finding ourselves sometimes accompanied by mosquitoes – but they weren’t so bad here as in other woods we’ve strolled through.

Toward its far end, the trail passes across a lake. This area had once been a vacation resort, but now, as a public trail, anyone can go there to fish, boat quietly, or just enjoy the view. There are some benches in the woods overlooking the lake that afford a lovely relaxing outlook. Once, Yang and I took our tea and scones there to sit and have breakfast and enjoy the beautiful vista. We saw scores of dragon flies and baby fish. We’ve also seen a Great Blue Heron here in the past. I think I might even have done some reading. Where a bridge carries you over the lake, you come out into the sunshine, and it’s such a pleasurable view!

Yang really enjoyed using our new binoculars!

In the parking lot, I saw these lovely daisies and chicory, so I had to photograph them. One year, I found loads of Baltimore Orioles, male and female, building their nests in the trees along the lot. No such luck this visit. I might have come too late in the season. Still, a wonderful walk.

River Hawks Bookstore Lowell – Reading on My Old Home Turf

June 14, 20161940s mystery, Bait and Switch, black cat, book signings and readings, cats, Dusty, mischevious cats, mystery, New England, suspense, UMass Lowell, writingBait and Switch, Bait and Switch novel, black cat, cats, film noir, Jessica Minton, Lowell, MA, New England, River Hawks Book Store, UMass Lowellhealy24yang

So, on May 28th I gave my final reading of the month at my alma mater’s bookstore, River Hawks. It wasn’t exactly a trek back to Tara, but it was a wonderful experience for seeing so many old friends at UMass Lowell.

First of all, the day was a scorcher: in the 90s! Of course, I had to have a hot cappuccino before my performance! Thank God this place is air conditioned – but the nice, comfortable kind of air conditioning, not the Arctic temps that make polar bears shiver, which you find too often once May rolls around. Here, I’m sitting, looking over my notes and finishing my coffee in the lobby. The building is really nice, with lots of windows and airy space.

Ham bone that I am, I had to get a picture of myself with the display for my book! The young woman clerking at the counter was nice enough to do the honors. Like the dress? Yang made it for me by copying a vintage dress I’d bought on Ebay. This way we get the beauty of authentic vintage design combined with the convenience of material you can hand or machine wash! There’s not much he can’t do: from using physics to move boulders to building an oxygen chamber for a kitten recovering from double pneumonia. Note the luxurious quarters: litter box, bed, blanket, toys, and inspiring pictures (Rosie the Riveter, Rosalind in AYLI, and Rosalind Russell).

Before the session, I had a nice chat with Abbey and Christina, who had taken charge of setting up the space for me. As you can see from the pictures, it’s a great area for doing a reading. What I could really kick myself over is that I had such a wonderful time seeing old friends that I forgot to have my entourage (Yang) take any pictures of folks. Damn! Not even a group shot! So, who’s on the red – or here royal blue- carpet?

Sue Thorne-Gagnon and her husband Bobby were first to arrive. Sue and I were at ULowell together at the same time, but darned if we never met until years later when we were working at BASF systems before we both went back into teaching. She’s a wonderful teacher and flutist. Next came Lisa McCarthy and her daughter Hedda. I’ve known Lisa since the late seventies, and we’ve been through everything together from rambles around Boston, hikes through the woods, and Star Trek conventions. My nephew Phil and his wife Steph also appeared on the scene. Steph is responsible for addicting me to Psych; Monk; Murder, She Wrote; and Miss Fisher’s Mysteries. Can I get her hooked on Murdoch? Steph is a teacher and Phil is a filmmaker – check out his co-production of My Name Is Jonah. When he and his older brother were kids, I used to hold them under the arms and swing them in a circle, which they loved. Now they can do it to me, but not at the reading. Here’s a picture of my giving Geoffrey a whirl.

After the reading started, I was so excited to see, first, Barbara DeMeuth then Mary Lou Beausoleil slip in! These guys have been my friends since grammar school! Clearly, they have much forbearance. It was fantastic that they came to support me! Barb is actually my oldest friend – not in age but in duration. We met when we were going into the fifth grade. Mary Lou is only a few months behind. But we can’t get together as much as we’d like, so it was fantastic to catch up! Mary Lou was one of the earliest readers of one of the earliest versions of Bait and Switch – and she still came, anyway! Barb and I have managed to stay in touch on the phone or over an occasional lunch lo! these many years. Both have wonderfully wicked senses of humor!

It was an absolute delight to see people I care so much about, and who showed me they cared by being here to share in the success of Bait and Switch. And thanks to Maria Shusta, Christina, and Abbey at River Hawks for doing a wonderful job of setting everything up for me and making the day run so smoothly.

So, if you’re a friend from the Merrimack Valley, old or new, who missed the reading but still would like to get Bait and Switch, they have copies awaiting you at the River Hawks Bookstore, 220 Pawtucket Street, Lowell. Dusty from Bait and Switch will be watching for you.

October Images Part Two

December 6, 2015Autumn, Fall, Nature, New England, Rail Trails, UncategorizedAutumn, Fall, Foliage, Neponset, New England, Rail Trailshealy24yang

It’s December today, but we have no glittering snow icing, cool blue in the shade or soft pink in the sunset. Just dead, crusty leaves and bare, scraggly branches. So, how about one last lingering look at October’s brilliance? These shots are from two trips, one afoot and one a-wheel!

Yang and I found a new bicycle ride outside of Boston, The Neponset River Trail, which runs along the river out to the Blue Hills. Here is a portion that cuts along and across a canal (via a bridge of course!). The trees look striking, reflected in the water, and must provide a lovely view to people living in the mill converted to apartments.

We started the ride from Pope John Paul Park, where the river is almost an estuary. If you ride away from Milton, the river broadens and becomes tumultuous as it races toward the ocean.

That’s not in any of these shots, though.

Yang had a good time! We both had to pause for a rest on the way back!

Our other recorded trip was to the wilds of the forested hills of Leicester. It was a lovely Friday afternoon, shortly after Yang got out of classes. The colors here were a blend of yellow and toasted orange.

The red golds of autumn were not yet lying in the gutter dead (tip o’ the hat to Graeme Edge).

The hat in this shot would be my marine blue beret, which I bought in France last spring. As long as we’re on international wardrobe, my in-laws from China gave me the coat when I visited them last autumn.

Delving into the woods, we came across the backwash from a pond. The autumn sky’s pellucid blue is such a striking complement to green pines and the fall colors.

Hiking back to our car along the road, the evening began to close in, so that the last flare of the sun created a vibrant flame of color in the trees.

All that tramping and beauty makes a body hungry. So Yang and I repaired to Le Mirage for sustenance. As you can see, Mr. Piranha made short work of his meal.

Sadly, this was the last night of this wonderful restaurant. Le Mirage is now closed, and so lovely meals, good times, and good friends are now relegated to memories. Much thanks to Diane, her family, and her staff.

October Images

November 23, 2015Autumn, birds, Nature, New England, UncategorizedFoliage, Great Blue heron, Nature, New England, Piliated Woodpeckerhealy24yang

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This past week has given us a great deal of ugliness – and beauty, too, in the responses of support for those who have been attacked but not necessarily bowed. Here is a little bit of beauty from New England sent out to all the world in hopes of giving some comfort, distraction, happiness. Please enjoy.

First, I have images from our bicycle ride in Cheshire, Connecticut. I saw plenty of remarkable birds. Here is a neat shot of a Great Blue Heron. He blends in with the leaves, doesn’t he? We were so fortunate to get this close a shot.

We also saw this neat flock of mallards enjoying a swim together in the canal next to the trail.

This was one of the several pairs. Clearly honeys. The foregrounded leaves of salmon to yellow emerging from green captures fall elegance.

The same couple swim toward some delicate red berries. The lady duck seems to have an itchy tootsie.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a shot of the most exciting bird of the day. A Piliated Woodpecker! Those guys are gigantic! Like pteranodons! I don’t have a picture of my own, so I am borrowing a photo (with proper accreditation). This guy was bigger than the large crows with whom he/she was tussling. I would that I could have gotten close enough with my camera. So, thank you Andrew Brown at Wikipedia.

Our October holiday weekend took us on plenty of day trips. On our drive home from a rail trail ride, Yang brought us through Stafford, Ct. where we stopped at sunset for these gorgeous colors.

The reflections of the fiery maples and oaks on the pond at sunset were magnificent!

Here are Yang and I in some pictures, so you know we were really here to take the photos.

What a lovely bouquet of all the lushest fall colors.

I have some more pix, but I don’t want anyone to pass out from foliage overdose – so I’ll save them for a Part 2.