Boston's Holiday Tree Lighting has switched on, transforming Boston Common, the Public Gardens, and much of Downtown.

Here you can see the approach to the Frog Pond. It's turned into an outdoor skating area for the holidays. The frost is scraped off the ice and turned into snow, which revelers play in and turn into snowmen - even when it's not snowing.

I haven't been posting much. My go-to subject matter - candid photos taken on the walk back to the train - has been curtailed by the early darkness of the season.

I may not have enough light for quick discrete shots anymore. But this cell-phone camera does handle low light pretty well in full automatic mode if you hold it still.

I don't really get excited about Christmas.

After a lifetime of retail, the first sign of "Christmas Spirit" brings on crippling anxiety and depression. Pair that with the fact that seeing my side of the family means putting on some pretty heavy emotional armor, and the holidays are the perfect recipe for despair.

However -

This year is different. I actually love my job, and I don't think even the demands of the holidays can destroy that for me. My mother and her boyfriend have fucked off to Florida, and The Wife is over in Canterbury, where she can embrace her love of the season with all the happy intensity she deserves. So I've got a pretty low-impact month ahead of me, thankfully.

When I leave work now, I get to say goodbye to this old fellow.

I love that our decorations are all 40 years old or more. There's no corporate office sending us the latest claptrap to drive sales of the latest fad. We're still selling pipes, tobacco, and cigars.

I realized that my commute, with its walk through this marvelous city, has started to feel a bit routine. The holiday lighting actually did a good job reminding me what a privilege it is to be part of this bustling, energetic scene every day.

Starting with a walk down this path -

And some views of the city lights behind the holiday lights -

There really is something special about the ambience here. And the fact that people feel so comfortable walking through the park after dark.

Here's another example of the holiday lighting juxtapozed with the nighttime city skyline.

Even your ordinary workaday lamp-posts have a part to play in the festivities.

Getting to that frog-pond skating area, you can see that people are out in droves on a Saturday evening. And yet it doesn't feel too crowded. Boston still has a small town feel, especially compared to bigger cities like New York or London.

The State-House seems more lit up than usual. Though, with all that gold, it doesn't take much to really make it glow. It might house some of the most corrupt people in the city but it does preside over the commons with a regal air, no?

Leaving the park, I head (as usual) through Downtown Crossing.

The guy in the lower-left, below, looks especially New England. Like, 300 years ago I can see him with a musket taking pot-shots at serried ranks of Red-Coats. We live in gentler times now.

The other night, Macy's was sponsoring some major event here with a pop star belting out a song I didn't recognize. The crowds were so thick I almost missed my train. Lord knows why I walked this route back to the station. I guess I just wanted to see what the fuss was about.

The trees in front of CVS are made up in a twinkling display. Young women can shop with impunity.

The building at One Financial Center is perhaps one of the most dismally un-ornamented buildings in the city - countering the Federal Reserve Building's brutalism across the square with a bland, uniform facade. But this time of year it gets into the spirit of things with a display of its own. Powerful lights from the lower rooftop of the building illuminate the tower with colorful stripes. I wonder what this looks like from inside the offices?

By the time I got closer, the reds and greens had transformed into blues and whites. The lighting must pass through some kind of gradual cycle.

(Two thoughts: it turns out I can still get some decent people-pictures in the dark, and, holy hell, women are still wearing tights in this weather?)

I thought of hanging around and seeing the colors cycle, but I had a train waiting. Besides, I've got a month of walking this route to absorb all of the color.

So what have you all been up to? I've been reading a few favorites when I can, mostly from the train in between naps. I see Steem is way down, Ned is laying off the lion's share of employees, and people are still writing and sharing their hearts out because this is a great community. If you have thought of me at all, I hope you have not taken my absence for indifference. I hope you all find some peace or happiness or closeness or just good electric twinkle in your season - whatever you're looking for and maybe something to surprise you, too.

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