This is the third post in what I expect will be irregular updates on the progress of cultivated and wild things on my family’s property in the South Common Historic District.–PM The past two weeks have been hectic at home because my wife, Rosemary, broke her right wrist, and our…
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Urban planner Jeff Speck is a friend of Lowell’s. He likes the city. He has praised the renaissance of the city. His advice is worth considering. His knowledge, based on working around the country and the world, is valuable. It’s a mistake for anyone to paint him as some kind…
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This is the second in a series of posts about what’s happening with cultivated and wild things on my property in the South Common Historic District.— PM The birds. The birds. As a kid, one of my favorite movies was Alfred Hitchcock’s ominous 1963 movie “The Birds” with Tippi Hedren…
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We had the Earth Day Festival & Urban Growers Gathering today in downtown Lowell. Hundreds of people marched in a funky Green parade, learned gardening techniques in workshops, swapped seeds and local planting tips, and enjoyed live dance and music. The sky cleared just as the parade stepped off from…
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Michael Leong in the online cultural publication hyperallergic.com contributes what could be a game-changing review of recent books by poet Joseph Donahue (Lowell-connected and holder of an endowed professor’s chair at Duke University). Here’s the opening paragraph: Among contemporary American poets, Joseph Donahue is an underrecognized master. For years, he…
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I will post updates on the wild and cultivated things around my house this spring and summer in the spirit of the “Flowering City” concept of our community. These are my notes from yesterday when the morning air was cooler than today.—PM The air still has a chill in it…
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About ten years ago, there was an annual program called “Be a Tourist in Your Own Town” organized by the Lowell Historic Board, Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitor Bureau, National Park Service, and others. It was a franchise-type operation like the various “First Night” celebrations around the country. I…
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Today, Saturday April 9, 2016 at 1 pm, the Lowell Historical Society will host a “story-sharing” and book signing of the recently published “Lowell Irish” with author David McKean. The event will take place at St. Patrick’s Church, 284 Suffolk Street, Lowell MA. Attendees will also enjoy a guided tour of…
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Due to a forecast of a 100 percent chance of rain tomorrow, Thursday, April 7, the Lowell Heritage Partnership cancelled the planned special lighting display at the Lower Locks canal complex in connection with the opening of the Downtown Lowell First Thursdays art and business series. Related activities by Middlesex…
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