The beauty and joy of May
At the Arnold Arboretum, May is the busiest month, averaging nearly 60,000 visitors. On Lilac Sunday, 16,000 fans took in the intoxicating scent. The blossoming flowers and trees are spectacular.
Emory Watson,6, climbs a tree in the arboretum and proudly takes in the view with her dad. She's told she gets one wish.
'I would climb as many trees as I can because I'm not scared,' she says one recent day.
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Nearby,
others are timid around the flowers, where the bees are busy. Experts say just let them be.
Emory Watson,6, climbs a tree in the Arnold Arboretum.
'For a lot of people these can evoke fear when you see insects flying about. It's like 'Oh no, am I going to get stung?'' Nicolle Bell a UMass Extension pollinator specialist says by telephone.
'Most of these bees are disinterested in people. They're just trying to survive. And it's a beautiful thing to see bees persisting and making a go of it in these really fragmented urbanized habitats.'
Honeybees, which are not native to the United States, have suffered major losses this year, says Bell. 'Massachusetts is a bee haven, with 400 different native species, although some are declining due to habitat loss and other factors…. others have increased.'
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A a male Xylocopa virginica, or eastern carpenter bee, enjoys a southern treat, a pinkshell azalea, Rhododendron vaseyi, a native and endangered shrub of the Southeast, at the Arnold Arboretum.
At Crane Beach in Ipswich, thankfully, the nasty greenhead fly season has not started. A fisherman says the stripers are back, but the only one catching anything is one super clean herring gull. It snags a fish but then loses it to a more aggressive juvenile gull who isn't afraid to get down and dirty in the low tide mud. Mr. Clean screams like a baby but does nothing to take it away.
Up on Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, the deer outnumber people on the beach. A few scurry away but one doe stands still, watching the evening sun head toward the horizon. (Note to Bambi: Stop by the guard shack and look for info on the controlled bow hunt in October.)
A herring gull adult is very vocal about a juvenile gull's theft of a fish, as identified by John Herbert, Mass Audubon director of bird conservation.
In Boston this time of year fog,
rolls in and out, creating a pillow of serenity until the sun finally wins out.
A fleet of 420s, with Boston College sails, cruises in formation in Dorchester Bay past the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The young president loved to sail.
'We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came,' said the president in Newport, R.I., in 1962.
Sailboats glide by the JFK Library in Dorchester.
In 1967, the Rolling Stones sang about the praises of 'Dandelions' a trippy nursery room tune written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards with backup vocals by Lennon and McCartney.
'Dandelion don't tell no lies
Dandelion will make you wise
Tell me if she laughs or cries, Blow away dandelion, blow away dandelion.'
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Increasingly the dandelion has been public enemy number one for lawn owners who have been brainwashed into pummeling it with pesticides.
It didn't use to be that way. Dandelions were used by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Romans, and Greeks. The Puritans intentionally brought it to the New World aboard the Mayflower for their 'medicinal and sustenance value,' according to the National Park Service.
They continue to be a good source for pollinators. Just ask the bees.
Dandelion puffballs glisten in the setting sun as motorists drive down Victory Road. Lawn owners hate the spreading of their seeds, but kids love to blow them and make a wish.
But dandelions nowadays are more damned than weeds.
The exception is the legendary retired Red Sox senior director of grounds David Mellor.
'Dandelion is definitely my favorite flower,' says Mellor. 'Anytime I see one, I think of our girls picking bouquets for my wife. When the dandelions would turn into puffy seed heads the girls would be giggling and chasing each other around the yard blowing the seeds and having fun. If they were happy, I was happy. In fact, they make me smile, so I don't worry about them or the clover on my home lawn anymore. Instead, we started looking for four leaf clovers.'
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New York Times
3 days ago
- New York Times
Pronman: Analyzing major decisions for 7 teams picking at top of 2025 NHL Draft
Today, we dive into the major decisions facing teams at the top of the 2025 NHL Draft. This isn't a mock draft, but rather an analysis of the specific issues facing teams in their particular situation and how it will relate to the top of this draft class. The lottery delivered the Islanders a franchise-altering opportunity. With the No. 1 pick, the conversation likely starts with Matthew Schaefer versus Michael Misa. Misa had a very strong year and is viewed by many NHL scouts as the second-best prospect in the draft. He's a well-rounded, highly productive forward with top-line potential down the middle. But while his season impressed, he doesn't rise to the truly special level of player who can break a game open. Advertisement Schaefer does. Even in a limited number of games, he consistently flashed the highest-end tools in the class. He's an elite skater, can drive offense from the back end, is highly competitive and has all the traits to become a true No. 1 defenseman. That kind of profile is both rare and incredibly valuable. He's the only player in this draft whom I saw consistently dominate games at both the club and international level. The more complicated debate is with Long Island native and a player formerly projected as the No. 1 pick in this draft, James Hagens. He was very good but didn't have the dominant season some expected at Boston College, but he still brings an elite skating/skill combination and the ability to drive play at the highest level. He was the No. 1 center for USA's gold-medal World Junior team and has a long track record of high-end offensive production. If you told me he went second or third, I wouldn't have an issue with it. But taking him over Schaefer would be a reach. Hagens has some minor flags — how much he plays on the perimeter, some inconsistency as a finisher, and whether he sticks at center in the NHL. He's also nearly a full year older than Schaefer. The hometown angle is real, and after John Tavares spurned the Islanders, I can understand the temptation to take the local player if it was close. But it's not close. Unless something changes in the next month, Schaefer should be the pick. If Schaefer somehow falls to No. 2, San Jose shouldn't overthink it. He's the best player in the draft and fills a major organizational need of a premier young defenseman along with Sam Dickinson. Assuming Schaefer is off the board, the decision becomes more nuanced. Management has made it clear they want to get bigger and heavier. That could lead them to look at a big winger such as Porter Martone or a two-way center with size, such as Caleb Desnoyers or Anton Frondell. Martone, in particular, played well alongside Macklin Celebrini for Canada this spring at the senior level and could bring size and scoring touch to their forward group. Advertisement But the best forward in the class is Misa. He's an excellent skater with high-end skill, great offensive instincts and a long track record of being a top player at the junior level. He's competitive enough that you can realistically project him as a center in the NHL, which is important context for San Jose's roster construction. The Sharks' rebuild has been focused on the two pivots they've taken lately: Celebrini, who was the first pick last summer, and Will Smith, who went No. 4 the prior year. Celebrini looks like a foundational first-line center. Smith's long-term fit down the middle is murkier — he played a lot of wing this season and, while gifted offensively, doesn't have all the traits you want in a center on a contending team when he doesn't have the puck. Misa has more traditional center elements than Smith, as he's a better skater and a little more competitive. He could reasonably project as a second-line center behind Celebrini, and if he hits, that gives San Jose a chance to build around two high-end pivots and a potential high-end power play. You could make reasonable arguments for Desnoyers or Frondell, depending on how you view Misa or Smith's chances to play center on a contender, as some scouts are murkier on how Misa's game will fare in that regard. If you are a big believer in Smith, then maybe Martone could fit. I think those arguments are too speculative, though, to not just dumb it down and take the best forward in the draft, especially when San Jose is so far away from contending and just needs talent in any form. The big question for Chicago at No. 3 isn't just who the best player available is — it's how the Blackhawks want to build around Connor Bedard. The entire conversation hinges on whether the organization views Bedard as a long-term center, particularly someone who can be a 1C on a contending team. If they do, the path likely shifts toward wingers or complementary skill. If they don't, the focus becomes finding the right center to play with or support him. Advertisement That leads to three primary options: Jake O'Brien, Frondell and Desnoyers. O'Brien is the most skilled of the group — he's a dynamic playmaker who could be the type to feed Bedard the puck in dangerous areas. But Frondell and Desnoyers aren't far behind him in pure talent and bring more complete, two-way games. Both have legitimate offensive upside, can skate and have the kind of center traits you want if Bedard ends up needing to move to the wing. The Blackhawks have also prioritized speed in how they draft and build their forward group. That's why it's hard to see someone like Martone fitting here with his so-so footspeed, unless they're just blown away by him due to his size, skill and compete and think Bedard can be a 1C on a contender. If Misa gets to No. 3, he'd likely be the pick. He's the top forward in the class, has the high-end skating and skill, versatility to play center or wing, and gives them flexibility in how they use Bedard long term. Hagens seems unlikely. Despite being a high-end skater and extremely skilled, Chicago already has drafted a lot of smaller forwards high and using another top pick on a sub-6-footer alongside Bedard probably doesn't fit. My lean would be toward Desnoyers here. Frondell would also be a strong option. Either could fill the Jonathan Toews role to Bedard's Kane. Utah's unexpected jump from 14 to 4 in the draft order changed the scope of the players they were looking at. In an ideal world, they would be adding a defenseman to their desirable group of young forwards they are building. Even the biggest supporters of defensemen like Radim Mrtka, Kashawn Aitcheson or Jackson Smith would say fourth overall is aggressive, though. So we turn to the forwards. Utah's philosophy is to be a highly competitive and hard team to play against. I would rule Hagens out of this group, though, due to his size, and I will presume Misa is off the board by this stage. The decision thus will probably come down to a combination of Desnoyers, Frondell, Martone, O'Brien, Brady Martin and Roger McQueen. McQueen would be an ideal fit due to his size, skating, skill and the physicality he showed when healthy this season, but his back injury would pose a major risk. This would be a call for the Mammoth's doctors. Any of those other forwards would make a lot of sense for how Utah wants to build and on talent at the 4 slot. I like their center depth. Logan Cooley is a potential 1C on a good team, Barrett Hayton a 2/3C and Cole Beaudoin a 3/4C. There's no such thing as too many good centers, but I don't think they need to force the issue if they decide, for example, that Martone is the best player or they envision Martin or Frondell as a winger. Stylistically, in terms of being a heavy team to play against, Desnoyers, Frondell, Martone or Martin would make the most sense. Advertisement Nashville's pick feels less convoluted than the others in terms of the variables they have to consider. The Predators were at the bottom of the league in terms of offense last season, and while they have some good young forwards coming, they lack truly elite talent in their system. If you zoomed in and looked at their depth chart, you would conclude they could use a true premier center talent more than a winger, but everyone in this range basically does. They shouldn't turn away from Hagens or Martone due to positional factors, they need talent, period. Once we start getting to this point of the draft, a lot of decisions will have been made for the Flyers. There is a consensus top group in the NHL of about 7-8 players, depending on whether some have the green light to pick McQueen. In an ideal world, the Flyers would be adding a scoring center to their pipeline, so I'd be a bit surprised to see Martone as the pick here. The only consensus top 'center' prospect who most in the league view as a for sure top-two-line NHL center is Desnoyers; all the other ones have plausible outcomes where they end up on the wing. The Flyers will need to weigh whether they think the prospects in the mix project down the middle for them or not. Hagens getting to 6 would provide a unique dilemma for them. He's a dynamic playmaker, but the last two forwards they've taken with high picks in Jett Luchanko and Matvei Michkov have been 5-11 or smaller, and they turned 6-3 forward Cutter Gauthier into 5-11 defenseman Jamie Drysdale. They will have to debate whether adding Hagens makes them too small a team, even if the value could be tantalizing. Like with Philadelphia, Boston will find a lot of decisions were made for them, and they will have what is left of the top group. They have a pressing need to add a legit top young center to the organization, and it's highly expected that there will be a run on the top center prospects leading up to this pick. Boston will primarily be faced with the McQueen question if he's available at 7: Do you swing on a top-five talent who missed most of the season due to back issues? Otherwise, they would take whichever of Hagens, O'Brien, Desnoyers, Frondell or Martin is left. This is around the point of the draft, though, where the difference between a healthy McQueen and the next best prospect starts becoming noticeably large. (Photos of Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa: Michael Miller / ISI Photos / Getty Images)
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Miami Herald
Red Sox manager Cora shrugs off criticism for missing game on daughter's big day
Alex Cora doesn't care what you think of him missing a game to be with his daughter. The 49-year-old former Major League Baseball player, who is in the midst of his seventh season as the manager of the Boston Red Sox, is a dad of three. He shares a recently-graduated daughter, Camila, with his ex-wife Nilda Cora and twin sons, Xander and Isander, with his fiancée, Angelica Feliciano, per the MLB. On May 19, the player-turned-manager had what seemed to be an easy decision to make: coach his team vs. the New York Mets or watch his daughter graduate from nearby Boston College. Cora chose the latter, much to the chagrin of Red Sox fans. One local radio personality, Mike Felger of 98.5 The Sports Hub, described Cora's day off as 'preposterous,' per the Boston Herald, claiming that the graduation was over by noon. 'It's just the tone you set, the example you set,' Felger argued. 'It's just the leadership and optics of the whole thing. It's a very easy chance for him to say, 'Nothing's more important than tonight's game.'' On May 20, Cora was asked why he didn't just 'rush out' of the ceremony to be with his team. 'She wanted me to be with her. It was her day, so this is secondary,' he replied in the news conference, shared by NBC Sports Boston. 'We're in this world for a purpose, and for me, it's to raise her.' Cora further explained that he 'wasn't going to miss' the graduation and wanted to spend the whole day with his daughter. He then laughed off the criticism his decision received online. 'People have their own opinions. I bet those people have families too, and at one point, they'll have to make decisions too. And I bet they make decisions for the best of the family,' he told reporters May 20. 'I made the best decision for my daughter,' he continued. 'For those who don't understand, I'm not going to try to convince them.' Most of the criticism Cora received was due to the graduation taking place in the morning and the game starting at around 6:45 p.m. local time. According to Google Maps, Boston College is roughly four miles west of Fenway Park, where the Red Sox play their home games. On The Sports Hub, Felger argued that Cora could've 'cabbed down the street' to manage the game. But many fans online were a little more understanding of his decision. 'There are 162 games in the baseball season for some reason. His daughter graduates once,' one fan commented under NBC Sports Boston's video of the news conference. 'She wanted me to be there. I wanted to be there. End of discussion,' another fan wrote, while a third fan commented, 'Anybody who has a problem with this can kick rocks. This man has his priorities straight!' Plus, as Cora described it at his news conference, May 19 turned out to be the 'perfect' day. Not only did he get to watch his daughter graduate college, but the Red Sox beat the Mets 3-1 with bench coach Ramon Vazquez serving as the acting manager. The Red Sox went on to beat the Mets 2-0 when Cora returned on May 20.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
MBTA Green Line service suspended through city center starting Wednesday night. Here's what to know.
On Jan. 30, the agency said the work performed during the closures had eliminated Advertisement The MBTA encourages riders to Here's what to know and how to navigate the upcoming Green Line closures: The B Line : Trains will be suspended between North Station and Babcock Street, and will be replaced with free shuttle buses between Babcock Street and Back Bay stations, the T said. Advertisement At Back Bay, riders can use the Orange Line to travel downtown to North Station and beyond, the MBTA said. Because of the closures, trains at Kenmore and all open surface-level stops heading west toward Boston College, Cleveland Circle, and Riverside will be free, as will the The Worcester Commuter Rail Line will also be free between South Station, Back Bay, and Lansdowne stations, according to the MBTA. Accessible vans will be available for all Green Line stops between Copley and North Station. The C and D Lines: Trains from Kenmore to North Station will be suspended for both the C and D lines. Free shuttle buses will run between Kenmore and Back Bay stations. The E Line: Trains will be suspended from Heath Street to North Station. The Upcoming service changes to Red, Orange and Blue lines: Service changes The Red Line will suspend train service on the weekend of June 14 between Braintree and JFK/UMass. Free shuttle buses will replace trains, the T said. The Orange Line will be suspended on the weekends of June 21 and June 28 between North Station and Forest Hills, as well as on weekdays from June 23 to 27 between Back Bay and Forest Hills. Free shuttle buses will replace Orange Line trains. Blue Line trains will be replaced by shuttle buses between Bowdoin and Orient Heights for nine days, from June 7 until June 15. And the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line service will be suspended between Framingham and South Station starting the night of June 20 through June 22. A diversion schedule will be Advertisement Ava Berger can be reached at
