Magical Lights by Eileen O'Finlan

 

                          

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Have you ever felt as though you had just walked into the pages of a fantasy or science fiction book? I had that sensation recently. I'm a member of the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in the nearby town of Boylston, Massachusetts. Every year starting around Thanksgiving and ending on last day of December they have an amazing light display called Night Lights throughout the grounds. This year was the first time I've had an opportunity to see it. It was more than worth the price of admission.

After leaving the ticket center, visitors are greeted with this:

How could you not feel like you had just stepped into a magical realm?

As visitors progress along the pathways, the sights become even more spectacular and the feeling that you are no longer in your own world increases. Perhaps you've entered a fairy land? Narnia? Hogwarts? Or, maybe you've left the planet completely:

Taking your eyes off the lights long enough to look at other visitors, you can see your own expression reflected in theirs - eyes wide in wonder, mouth smiling or agape when the next tableau takes your breath away.

A stunning experience, it must be especially transportive to those of a creative nature. Fantasy and science fiction authors could surely find unending inspiration here. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

The Muse of Nature by Eileen O'Finlan

 

   

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I recently spent a day at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston, Massachusetts. I used to have a membership there, but let it lapse during the COVID shut down. I figured I wouldn't be able to go anyway, so there was no sense in paying for something I couldn't use. But a few weeks ago my sister and her friend came to visit from Florida and wanted to go. My niece joined us and the four of us spent a lovely day wandering the gardens and woodland paths.

As I guided them out to the Belvedere, I remembered days that I had spent sitting alone in that Grecian-style structure. Those were days when I'd spend hours writing in my notebook, every so often looking out at the woods, the land below gently falling away, Mount Wachusett rising in the distance above the ribbon of blue that is the Wachusett Reservoir. It seemed that whenever my writing steam began to fade all I had to do was drink in the view for a moment and something would come to mind. Nature has that influence on me. It feeds my soul and my imagination.

As I stood with the others looking out at the view, my hands suddenly itched for a notebook and solitude. 

I think it's time to renew my membership.

View from the Belvedere 

Wildlife Refuge Pond at Tower Hill - Another inspiring location