Autumn Leaves

Ah, but these are different – they’re made of glass, yes GLASS. And trust me, if you think it’s hard to believe from a photograph, it doesn’t help to see them in person because you still can’t believe they’re not real. They’re part of the Glass Flower Collection at Harvard University’s Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, and one of the big reasons I wanted to visit Boston. There are over 4,000 botanically correct plants in the collection made by glassmakers Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, father and son, between the years of 1886 and 1936. The leaves here are Red Maple (Acer rubrum). Rudolph worked for a decade on perfecting the color of these leaves and when he couldn’t find any glass paints that were accurate he created his own enamels. This was an amazing exhibit. I think we were there for over two hours trying to get our brains to accept what we were seeing. It’s been a highlight of our trip to Boston for sure.

Speaking of brains, after we left the glass flowers we wandered around Harvard hoping something akin to knowledge would rub off on us. The beauty and history there is overwhelming, as you might imagine since it’s the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. I would love to come back and spend some serious time in Cambridge.

We had high tea at the Courtyard Restaurant in the Boston Public Library which was a real treat. I love teatime so this was really special for me because it was complete with all the proper components – tea, savories and sweets, served by waiters who made it an occasion, and to be in such an impressive building made it even better.

Speaking of impressive buildings, we also visited Trinity Church in Boston. The cornerstone for this church was laid in 1734. The church is filled with beautiful murals, stained glass, carved wood and was one of the most important buildings in the history of American architecture. Sadly, American architects seem to have lost interest in building churches that even hint at this kind of beauty. So many of the churches here are now looking more like utility buildings or just plain, big architectural non-statements.

Tomorrow it’s back to Indianapolis. This has been great fun, but we’ve pretty much worn ourselves out so it’s time to slow down a bit.