Church

Trinity Episcopal Church in Collinsville, a village within the town of Canton, Connecticut.

Back

Toby

Toby was an English Springer Spaniel who lived with us for seventeen years.

Note to the male readers of this blog:  A garden statue of the family dog is not considered an acceptable Mother's Day gift for your wife, no matter how much she likes the dog.   I still don't understand . . .

Old White House

An eighteenth century farmhouse on North Main Street.

Kids at the Senate

A group of kids from Booth Free School in Roxbury, Connecticut, visited the State Capitol on Thursday while I was there.  These shots are taken in the Senate chambers.  Roxbury is a very small town in western Connecticut.  I was impressed at how well behaved and attentive the kids were. 

The Governor

It was raining on Thursday, so I went to the State Capitol to take some indoor photos for days when I can't take pictures outside.

Soon after I arrived, the Governor walked past with a security guard and another man.  They stopped so the Governor could talk with a group of schoolchildren and their parents.  When he finished, I asked him to pause for a photo.  Here it is.  Just one chance.  Not bad.

Governor Dannel Malloy was elected Connecticut's 88th Governor in November 2010 after sixteen years as the Mayor of Stamford.  Malloy is a Democrat and eked out a very close win over his Republican opponent.  It looks like the state employee unions are going to reject a package of modest wage and benefit concessions intended to close the $700 million state budget gap, so next week he will have to lay off 7500 state workers.  I don't know why he is smiling.

Weekend Reflections: Rainy Day Downtown

Looking north on Main Street.  City Hall and the Wadsworth Atheneum are out of the picture on my right.  Travelers Insurance is ahead on the right. The Gold Building is straight ahead, looming above Center Church.

Click here to see more reflections.

Charter Oak Place

Charter Oak Place is a short street tucked behind Main Street.  It has two dozen lovely old houses that had become rundown by the 1960s but were discovered and renovated in the 1980s.

Annual Garden at the Start of Summer

The annual garden I will be showing you this year has now been replanted and most of the beds have also been mulched.  They are ready for summer.  I will show the garden later, when the blooms are more mature.

These beds are planted and tended by one man.  For decades he worked for the City of Hartford and was the foreman of a crew that tended the garden.  With budget cuts, the paid workers are gone.  This man retired ten years ago and ever since has been watching over the garden as a volunteer.

BONUS PICTURE:  The arches in the rose garden are now in full bloom.

Beautiful Wife

 

They are from a culture in which there are many arranged marriages.

I hope the proud husband thanked his parents profusely.

Trash Day

Monday is trash day.  Blue is for recycling, green is for trash.

Father's Day

This is from the late 1950s.  My father and his 100-pound bloodhound, Nita.

We got Nita from a breeder in Stamford, Connecticut.  I remember a long drive from eastern Massachusetts to southwestern Connecticut to pick her up.  It was a hot summer day before interstate highways and air-conditioning.  I was in the back seat listening to a scratchy broadcast of a baseball game. The pitcher had a no-hitter going into the ninth inning when we arrived.  I was ordered to turn off the radio and get out of the car, to see our new puppy.  I threw a tantrum, but it didn't work.

My father loved that dog!  Nita and I got off to a rocky start, but ultimately I admitted that she was a pretty good dog, if you don't mind a liberal coating of drool over everything.

Below is a photo of a young father and his five-month old twins.  It was my choice for a Father's Day picture until I ran across the picture of my father and Nita.

Rose Weekend

Rose Weekend is Friday through Sunday in Elizabeth Park.  Unfortunately, it rained on Friday, so I didn't get new pictures with the crowds who visit on nice days.  I went back this morning before the crowds arrived.  The rain knocked off a lot of petals, but new blooms will replace them by tomorrow.

The blooms on the arches are opening now, so tomorrow the arches should be completely covered in masses of pink roses.

There will be a rose show in the Pond House, musical performances, tours and other festivities.  Elizabeth Park's rose garden is one of the oldest municipal rose gardens in the country.

NOTE:  I have blown up the original image of the first photograph, and I think the animal on the crossbar is a chipmunk.  I was too focused on other things to notice!

Weekend Reflections: Iwo Jima

On Tuesday -- Flag Day -- I showed the statue atop the Iwo Jima monument.  Today's photograph shows part of the polished black granite base of the monument.  The tall object reflected on the left side is the eternal flame.

To see more relection photographs, click here.

Artists in the Rose Garden

This weekend is Rose Weekend in Elizabeth Park.  Many of the roses are approaching their peak.  In advance of the crowds that will be there this weekend, artists and photographers visited the park this week.

Wednesday Doorway

Flag Day

June 14 is Flag Day in the USA, commemorating the date in 1777 when the flag was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.  (I know this only because Wikipedia tells me so . . . )

There is an Iwo Jima monument in New Britain.  It honors a long, difficult campaign in World Warr II on an island off Japan.  The loss of life on both sides was tremendous.  This statue is based on a famous photograph of the American flag being raised after the Americans captured Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.

Pretty Houses

I think these houses looks great at this time of year.

 

Blockwatch Protected

It is important for people to watch out for crime so that their neighbors are safe and their property is protected.

Broken Windows

Face it.  Every city and town we show on City Daily Photo has problems.  Hartford definitely does.

Do you shoot away from ugliness?  Or crop it out?  Or doctor it in Photoshop?  Or steer away from bad neighborhoods?

When I showed the Colt building before, I showed the dome, which is the building's signature and is in good shape.  Here are some of the buildings.  Nice, huh?

Weekend Reflections: Riverfront Skyline

 

From the left, you see the Connecticut Convention Center, the Marriott hotel, the Connecticut Science Center, the Travelers tower and the "boat building".  On the riverfront, the white tent hosts summer concerts.

To see more  reflections, click here.