Sunday, September 30, 2012

Susan



Can you call it a bust if it is eight to ten feet tall?  I don't know a better description, so I will.  

Saturday, September 29, 2012

What Would You Call This Photograph?



Every title I came up with for this image was shot down by my censors. 

Seen on Wetherfield Avenue in Hartford.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Inside the Golden Lamb Buttery



Even though I didn't have time for a meal on my recent trip through eastern Connecticut, I did go inside the Golden Lamb Buttery.  In the summer and early fall on good days, luncheon is served on an open deck out back.  This is a view from the front, looking through the barn to the open deck at the rear.  There are three inside dining rooms not visible here, in the back, off this main hall.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Golden Lamb Buttery



The Golden Lamb Buttery in Brooklyn, Connecticut, is one of the finest restaurants in Connecticut.  It is in a beautiful farm setting, down a long road, off the beaten path.


It has been a long time since I have had a meal there.  This needs to be rectified . . .

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Tracy




A student photographer from the University of Hartford's Art School was using an old 4" x 5" large format camera to take pictures of Tracy at the gazebo in Elizabeth Park.  It seemed like a shame to waste the opportunity to photograph a beautiful model when the student photographer was doing something else.. 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Horace Wells


Horace Wells was a 19th century Hartford dentist who invented anesthesia.  I have posted about him here and here.

Wells is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery.  At one end of his tombstone, there is an art nouveau bronze of a woman sleeping, and at the other end, a woman awakening.  This is the latter.

For images from graveyards, check out Julie's blog, Taphophile Tragics.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Charter Oak Tree Mural



The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development has funded new public murals in seven cities, including Hartford.  This one is by artist Adam Niklewicz.  It shows the Charter Oak Tree, and is based on a painting in the Wadsworth Atheneum.

Niklewicz sprayed the brick wall around the tree image with transparent water-resistant paint, and left the tree image untreated.  The tree is (mostly) invisible when the wall is dry.  At 3 p.m. every day, the wall is sprayed with water from above and below.  The wall is unaffected by the water but the untreated tree image darkens, bringing out the tree image.

This post is linked to Monday Murals.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Coach



Coaching is a contemplative profession, suitable for sensitive men who enjoy gentlemanly debate.

(He was right.  A pass interference penalty should have been called.)

Trinity 37, Bates 16, for Trinity's 44th consecutive win at its home field.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Stay Off the Grass, Please!

The Mayor of Hartford recently issued a directive prohibiting office workers from playing organized Ultra Frisbee games on Bushnell Park at lunch times.

Why?  Some of the players wear cleats, and the Mayor is worried that they will chew up the green lawn of the park.  There are other parks where organized games can be played, but permits are required and the parks are not right next to the downtown office buildings, like Bushnell.

A better solution?  Tell players to wear sneakers, not cleats. ( I am pleased to waive my usual consulting fee for assisting in this matter . . . )

Friday, September 21, 2012

Better Days



Eastern Connecticut is a land of contrasts.  On one end are beautiful places like Roseland Cottage, shown on Wednesday.  On the other end are rapidly decaying homes of folks who are barely making ends meet, like this place in Canterbury.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Laura



Laura works at Hart's Greenhouse & Florist in Canterbury.  I asked her to show me one of the hundreds of crysanthemums offered for sale this fall, so she picked this one up.  This is the way you want to buy same-season mums . . . many tight buds that will burst open later, when the plant is in the ground, but enough open to be appealing right away.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Roseland Cottage



Roseland Cottage is across from the green in the small eastern Connecticut town of Woodstock.  It was the summer home of a wealthy New York wool merchant. 

Roseland Cottage is a great illustration of the Gothic Revival style of architecture.  Today it is a museum operated by Historic New England

Roseland Cottage sits on extensive green lawns.  The hedged gardens are special.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Cedar Hill Cemetery

Cedar Hill Cemetery is located in the south end of Hartford, almost in Wethersfield.  It is the permanent home of many illustrious Hartford citizens whose warranties have expired.  Today I will show the entrance.  On future Tuesdays, you will see some of the tombstones and monuments as part of Taphophile Tragics.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Middletown Mural



This is a mural -- "Color Nourishment for All"  -- on the side of a building on the main street of Middletown.  It was a project of the Green Street Arts Center of Wesleyan University.

This post is linked to Monday Mural.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Luce



Luce is a colorful restaurant on the main street of Middletown, 20 minutes south of Hartford.  It was warm last week -- a real "Indian summer."  It will be cooler this week.  Fall is in the air.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Yellow Victorian House in New Hartford



There have been some beautiful Victorian houses on this blog in the last month or so.  This one is in New Hartford, the small town I showed in July.


I was going to describe the house as "Italianate," but I wanted to check the word in Google images, just to be sure that I was right about the architecture.  What house do you think was on the first page of images to illustrate "Italianate"

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Vanilla or Chocolate?



Mrs. Stowe and Mr. Lincoln discuss the merits of vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Richard Keane

A few weeks ago I wanted to take a photo of an old Colonial-era house across the street from a cemetery in Wethersfield.  The flags framed the house nicely.

After I took the shot, I looked down and discovered that I had been standing at the grave of Richard Keane, a Wethersfield insurance executive who was in the World Trade Center when two airplanes crashed into them on September 11, 2001. 

All reports indicate that Richard Keane was a very good man brought too soon to an end that he didn't deserve. Here is a link to a story about him.  (There is also a larger memorial, but I thought the modest stone in the ground better suited what I have read about Mr. Keane.)



This post is linked to Taphophile Tragics.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Bonnie



Bonnie is a former accountant.  Only an accountant would have the patience to make the careful patterns in pottery that she likes.  Bonnie was exhibiting on Saturday at the Glastonbury Art Guild's "On-the-Green Fine Art & Craft Show."

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Mike



Mike is a security guard at One State House Square.  He was half an hour away from finishing a 16-hour shift.  Still, he was in a good mood and his shirt was as clean and well-pressed as if it had just come off the hanger. 

Mike had a birthday one week ago and was given a promotion that day.  He is proud of his work as a security guard.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Integrity 'n Music



Ed Krech has been selling jazz music at a hole-in-the-wall store in a Wethersfield strip mall for the last forty years.  Integrity 'n Music opened on May 5, 1972.  Today he sells CDs, too, but his real loves are the old vinyl records.  His store is bricks and mortar.  No online catalog.  You can call the store, give him a credit card, and order a CD or record from him.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Ann Uccello Street



This reflection is in the window of a building on Ann Uccello Street in downtown Hartford. 

Ann Uccello was elected mayor of Hartford in 1967, the first woman to be elected mayor in Hartford and the first in Connecticut.  Heck, she was the first woman elected mayor of any major American city. Ms. Uccello turned 90 years old earlier this year.

Like reflections?  Click here.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Other Views




Here is a front view of the house I showed yesterday.  I think the flag is hung over the door most of the time . . . the photo was taken in late August when there was no holiday or other reason to hang the flag.  And, how do you like that string of balls to lead the rain down?

This is the side that the painter was working on last summer.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The Completed Project



Last year I played for a couple of days with how to crop a photograph of a painter working on an intricate paint job for a Glastonbury Victorian house.

A couple of weeks ago I was driving on Main Street in Glastonbury and saw the finished paint job. Doesn't the house look great now?

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Another Victorian House



It seems that I have been binging on Victorian houses lately.  There is no explanation other than that the places I have gone have had some wonderfully interesting Victorian houses.  Here is a Victorian farmhouse in South Glastonbury.

Another explanation is that I have been tied up with my daughter's wedding and house guests, so these are recent photographs I could auto-post. Sorry for the absence of visits to your blogs.  I'm sure you have had periods like this.  Life returns to normal by next weekend.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Rattlesnake Mountain and Squam Lake





Susie and Wes on the morning of their wedding, after the climb to the top of Rattlesnake Mountain, looking back to Squam Lake.

Beautiful bride.  Handsome groom.  Perfect weather and wonderful site.  Meaningful ceremony.  Great party afterward.  All the best, Susie and Wes.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Here Comes The Bride



Elizabeth Park is the setting for many outdoor weddings in the summer.  This mother happily escorted her daughter down the aisle.

Today my wonderful daughter gets married. It is going to be an outdoor wedding in a romantic setting next to a beautiful lake in New Hampshire.  (Check out the movie "On Golden Pond.")  I sure hope the weather cooperates!  Today is going to be special!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

People Watching




Let me try to to tie the City Daily Photo bloggers' September theme of "people watching" to my personal theme this weekend of "my daughter is getting married tomorrow."

Everyone at a wedding waits expectantly for the bride to arrive, and all eyes will be on her when she walks down the aisle.  Until then, they gather and look around.  As they did at this recent wedding at Elizabeth Park.

This post is linked to the City Daily Photo "theme day" page.