Turtle atop grate covering the Muddy River supply pipe in Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Sat, 06/10/2023 - 11:35am

The other day a turtle lazed atop the grate that covers the start of the Muddy River: The siphon pipe at the northern end of Jamaica Pond that sends water under Perkins Street to Wards Pond.

Great Blue Heron with just one wing extended
By adamg - Sat, 06/03/2023 - 10:10pm

This great blue heron in Jamaica Pond was just hanging out, looking for fish to spear, when it suddenly unfurled one of its wings (and then promptly furled it again).

Turtles at Jamaica Pond, most with smooth shells
By adamg - Tue, 05/09/2023 - 10:21am

As you can see, most of the turtles at Jamaica Pond have relatively smooth shells. But look at Chunker in the lower right.

A close up: Read more.

Pink flowers at Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Sat, 04/29/2023 - 11:51am

There are some flowering trees at Jamaica Pond right now (OK, this is a closeup shot, these flowers are much smaller in real life).

Dying, but also sprouting, tree
By adamg - Sun, 04/23/2023 - 5:47pm

The fatal trunk split on a prominent, unusually shaped tree on the parkway side of Jamaica Pond continues to spread, but the tree is trying so hard to hold on - its branches, seemingly rising from the pond itself, are now sprouting in green.

Meanwhile, written battles have broken out in the pages of the small notebooks somebody keeping tying to the tree - along with a pen - to let its fans say their goodbyes. Read more.

Turtle in Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Sun, 04/09/2023 - 9:32am

A turtle basked in the afternoon sun at Jamaica Pond yesterday.

Koi in Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Sat, 03/25/2023 - 4:24pm

Yesterday afternoon, a bright orange koi lazily did circles in the water off the northern shore of Jamaica Pond, tailed by a couple of drabber koi that more closely matched the color of the water. Read more.

Firefighter in Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Fri, 02/17/2023 - 3:42pm

Every winter, the Boston Fire Department cuts a hole or two in the frozen surface of Jamaica Pond so its divers can practice some cold-weather rescuing. The pond never really froze up this winter, except thinly during that brief weekend freeze, but divers were out in the cold water today anyway.

Despite the lack of ice it is important to maintain efficiency .

A couple of ring-necked ducks at Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Thu, 02/09/2023 - 12:24pm

There are always mallards at Jamaica Pond, sometimes supplemented in the spring and summer by a family or two of wood ducks (and one black Muscovy duck in love with a mallard), but the pond now is home, even if temporarily, to all sorts of other ducks. Read more.

Notebook entry remembering the time a heron was there and caught a fish
By adamg - Thu, 01/19/2023 - 5:49pm

Last November, somebody noticed a problem with the "elbow tree," a distinctive birch tree near the Jamaica Pond boathouse with a prominent limb pointing downward at the water, rather than up - its trunk had begun to split open. That's a sign of impending death and the person attached a couple of small notebooks and a pencil to the tree both so that people could measure the crack as it spread and to say goodbye to the longtime pondside attraction. Read more.

Sunrise over Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Thu, 01/19/2023 - 9:20am

Mary Ellen went for a walk around Jamaica Pond this morning.

By adamg - Tue, 01/17/2023 - 11:16am

The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council's Public Service Committee says the neighborhood needs more trash receptacle along Centre Street and the north side of Jamaica Pond because of slobs who can't hold onto their trash until they find one or get home,

Dragonfly at Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Wed, 08/03/2022 - 9:38pm

About to walk down from Perkins Street to the path around this pond this afternoon when I spotted this guy alighting on some of the scrub between the road and the path.

Duck and ducklings at Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Thu, 06/16/2022 - 11:32am

The other day, a mother duck and her ducklings were at the northernmost end of Jamaica Pond, slowly paddling through the muck there, stopping from time to time for a bite to eat. Read more.

Muskrat in yucky Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Mon, 06/13/2022 - 2:34pm

Visitors to Jamaica Pond in recent days have noticed that the water along the edges of the pond has cleared remarkably when compared to just a couple weeks ago, but the water's not yet clear enough of toxic blue-green algae to allow boating and other recreational activities, such as letting dogs go for a swim, the Boston Public Health Commission said today. Read more.

Family of wood ducks
By adamg - Wed, 06/08/2022 - 3:08pm

A family of wood ducks glided along the surface of Jamaica Pond yesterday.

Bluegill nests in Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Tue, 06/07/2022 - 11:44pm

Male bluegills have been busy of late building communal nests at several locations along the Jamaica Pond shoreline, such as this collection on the southern edge of the pond, to the left of the boathouse. Read more.

Turtle at Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Sat, 05/28/2022 - 10:33am

One of the larger turtles in Jamaica Pond took in some sun yesterday at the pond's main turtle haven.

Green water at Jamaica Pond
By adamg - Tue, 05/24/2022 - 9:23am

The Boston Public Health Commission announced yesterday that a bloom of toxic blue-green algae means Jamaica Pond's water is no longer safe to go in or fish in. Read more.

Mural in moss at Jamaica Pond boathouse
By adamg - Wed, 04/27/2022 - 1:56pm

The Mayor's Mural Crew's usual medium is paint on cement, but to honor Frederick Law Olmsted's 200th birthday, it turned to a material he probably knew well: Moss.

The crew outfitted the gazebo at Jamaica Pond with something he wrote: Read more.