March 8 2011

I was very surprised by the warmth of the sun today so I was inspired to take a walk through almost the entire park system today.  Although the evenings still have the feel of winter, during the day signs of spring are beginning to show.  Robins are all over poking through the warm soil hungry for worms and the forsythia's are beginning to show a little bit of color.  Nice.

The theme I have going here today are the "Steps to Somewhere".  There are so many brownstone, concrete, stone stairs and walls throughout the park that I think go unnoticed and under appreciated.

Interesting ramp leading up to a staircase.

Looking under Center Street.

At first I began climbing these irregular steps only to realize that these rain gutters left and right of the steps were much easier to walk on.  I guess they served their purpose at one time.

I sat on these very steps in the mid 70's to have my very first cigarette.

Although not stairs, I had to snap this especially with all the rain we had lately.

An old timer in town once told me a photoshoot for Salem cigarettes happen in this very spot.  Back then this area had very mature willow trees that hung over the water bank.

I really like the look of filedstone.  The shade is actually from 2 very large holly trees.

Three bridges in this area.  The recent rain left this area a muddy mess.

Even with all the rain we had, the water remains muddy.  I imagine this must have been a fountain many years ago.  How cool would it be to see this thing action again?

The workmanship here is amazing.  Perhaps one of my favorites.

Different angle of the same picture above.  This was made to last!

Part of the above 2 pictures.  I guess you parked your butt here to contemplate the climb up.  This is a really cool seat!