Gardens and Spirit and Stone

Wednesday evening found me giving a slide talk in a church basement. Normally such a venue conjures a vision of low ceilings and linoleum floors. But this wasn’t your ordinary church basement. The undercroft of Trinity Church at Copley Square in Boston was excavated a few years ago to make new social, administrative and educational spaces. Exposed in the process were four granite pyramids; massive corner-pier foundations of the church’s central tower. There could not have been a more fitting place for a talk about stone. More than one hundred stone enthusiasts were in the audience. My grateful appreciation goes out to Pamela Thompson from Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum and Kathryn Acerbo-Bachmann of Trinity Church for organizing a wonderful event. And to Alan Waugh for his technical expertise. Next week, fellow Vermonter Bill McKibben will be the featured speaker in the Gardens and Spirit Lecture Series.