The fog is never-ending. Since I left Cleveland, I've been traveling through a haze (as opposed to my usual walking around in a daze, which is a life-long affliction). The last two or three days have been especially foggy, spoiling what I suspect were some striking views. I opted not to travel the 40 or so miles into Boston from Marlborough; instead I drove south into Rhode Island where I had lunch at a great old luncheonette, the Modern Diner, a registered National Historic Site where they make a fine BLT. Worth checking out.

Onward, then, to Portsmouth, R.I., a little burg just a few miles north of Newport. There's a house there that sits on a small country estate overlooking Narragansett Bay. Behind the house, once the summer home of one Thomas E. Brayton, for 41 years the Treasurer of the United Cotton Manufacturing Company in nearby Fall River, is a beautiful garden. Mr. Brayton bought the house and surrounding land in 1872 and a century later, his daughter, Alice, left it to the Preservation Society of Newport County. Mr. Brayton and his superintendent, Joseph Carreiro, designed these formal gardens, and the topiary contained within them, that continue to draw visitors today.

The estate is now commonly known as Green Animals (it was so dubbed years ago by Alice), as it contains over 80 creatively trimmed shrubs, many in the shapes of various creatures from the wild. There are 21 animal- and bird-shaped bushes in the gardens, including a camel, a donkey, an elephant, a horse (and rider!), two bears, a unicorn and many more. There are also several bushes trimmed to resemble overstuffed easy chairs. Can one sit in them? Of course not, but don't think I wasn't tempted. I'm going to give Green Animals a BRETTnews Highlight Attraction Award; I can't imagine anyone not enjoying its whimsical charms. And besides, I liked Edward Scissorhands.

Continue on the American Odyssey.
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