BOSTON - DAY 2 - PART THREE.......................

Today I am going to share my favorite trolley stop of day 2.  The Boston Public Gardens and the famous Swan Boats.

The Gardens were established in 1937, next to Boston Commons.  It was the first public park in the country, so they say.


The little "suspension bridge"


The landscaping was beautiful, everywhere you looked there was something else to see, and admire.  Of course being there in the spring made it all the more beautiful.

This picture is of the, I guess you would call it a lagoon, with their little suspension bridge, supposedly the shortest one in the country.  Of course everything there is the best, the first, the biggest, the most historical, etc etc etc.  But you have to admit, it is a thing of beauty.

The flowering trees were in their glory, there were folks wandering along, some sitting on the benches reading, some eating their lunch, kids running, but not crowded.  It was a Thursday after all, school wasn't out yet, tourist season hadn't gotten underway, I had it made.

Most of the wildlife I saw were the birds, pigeons, ducks, white swans, and the lone little critter, a squirrel.


I'm not sure what this pigeon had, it was some kind of blossom that had fallen from the tree overhead, and this pigeon had grabbed it and was shaking it as hard as it could, you can see the blur that is the blossom.  I don't know what was in it, on it, or what, but this poor bird sure was working on it.  He doesn't look like he has missed too many meals.

Here is one of the many squirrels I saw, they were all the red fox squirrels.  Someone had discarded a sandwich, must not have liked it, but Mr. Squirrel seemed to think it was simply delicious.  He sure was working on it, and didn't seem to mind me standing there taking his picture at all. Again this little fellow doesn't look as if he has missed too many meals.

This is one of the pair of white swans that live in the lagoon.  I guess since they have the swan boats, they need the swans to go with them.  They just paddled around, staying out of the way of the boats, enjoying the sunshine, just like everyone else.

The Swan Boats are very much a part of Boston's history, quite unique.

In 1877 the park still wasn't considered a public garden.  It was just a lagoon with trees and grass around it where folks gathered to picnic, relax, and enjoy a day off.  That was the year that Mr. Robert Paget had the idea, and introduced small boats where visitors to the park could be paddled around the lagoon.  As the boats became more popular, the idea evolved, and he introduced the Swan boats into the lagoon.

They were paddle boats, adorned with white swans, and folks could board them and be paddled around the lagoon by the "driver" of the boat.  And it was his idea, to carry out the theme, to introduce the live swans to the lagoon.

 When Robert passed away, his wife Julia took over the business.  In 1914 Julia's youngest son John carried on the tradition for the Paget family.

As the popularity of the boats increased, larger boats were designed, with two, sometimes three, swans on each.




When John passed away in 1969 his son Paul took over.  The Swan tradition began over 120 years ago, and is carried on to this day by the Paget Family.  I don't believe there are any other boats like Boston's Swan boats anywhere in the country

I could have spent much more time in the park, there were many statues througout the park commemorating something or other.  But there was one statue that got everyone's attention.  MAKE WAY FOR THE DUCKLINGS.

There was a family of ducks living in the park, and one day Mom and the babies wandered out of the park into town.  Folks were in awe as how Mom herded her babies, across the street, through traffic (I believe it was the early 1940's) safely getting them back into the park.

A book was written titled MAKE WAY FOR THE DUCKLINGS, and after a time this statue was created, commemorating Mom and her babies.  Of all the statues in the park, I was told this was the most famous, and the favorite of old and young alike.  Kids love having their picture taken with the duck statue.

Enough for today.  I am going to share one last picture of the Swan boats with you.  If ever in Boston, be sure and make this a stop, sit down, relax, and take a ride on the Swan Boats.

The sun is shining!!!  Starting out to be a beautiful day.  Maybe, just maybe, I can get some mowing done.

Have a good Saturday and God Bless.