Adjacent Tables

Two women ate lunch alone.  Very different but each very interesting.

Lisa is a hairdresser at a salon across the street.  Her mother loves Hawaii so 

Lisa got colorful tattoos on her arm depicting pretty Hawaiian flowers.

Win always dresses carefully in dark colors.  Sometimes black.  Sometimes navy.
She just feels comfortable in dark colors.

First Baptist Church

There is something about a classical New England church . . .

Flowers

Wade Farm, Bloomfield, Connecticut

Heublein Tower

A ridge runs between West Hartford and Bloomfield on the east side and Avon and Simsbury on the west side.  Talcott Mountain State Park is at the top.

The liquor entrepreneur Gilbert Heublein built a tower at the peak.  It opened in 1914.

There is a nice, fairly short hike to get to Heublein Tower.  From the tower, there are 180 degree views over the Farmington River valley to the west.

Arcy at Chango Rosso

The artist Arcy painted big graffiti-style murals throughout the new restaurant, Chango Rosso.

They give it a vibrant and edgy feeling that complements the Latin menu.

I particularly like the octopus at the far end of one room.

Arcy paints around the world.  Here is an interview along with an extensive sample of his work.

Like murals?  Visit Monday Mural.

Town Hall

A painted cow from a past Cow Parade sits in a grassy plot in 

the parking lot at West Hartford Town Hall.

Out of the Jurisdiction: Granite Links Golf Club

High in the Blue Hills south of Boston, Granite Links Golf Club was created by depositing the fill from Boston's "Big Dig" in old quarries.  The Boston skyline is visible on the distant horizon.

Everything's Coming Up Roses

The roses are at peak in the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden.

A Fondness for Blue

Homeowners recently installed a Little Free Library.  Many readers, lots of books to give away.
They put a pale blue chair beside it so neighbors could sample a book before taking it.
And, they placed two pale blue Adirondack chairs on their front lawn.  Nice.

Street Ghosts

Google Street View sometimes catches real people.  Artist Paolo Cirio finds some, then prints life-size images and mounts them where they were seen.  I found some in downtown Hartford.

Thanks, Annetta, for walking past a couple of times for me.  It made the photo more interesting.

(I also liked watching you walk.)

The installations were sponsored by Real Art Ways.

Fred

Fred likes chocolate ice cream.  His mother?  Not so much.

Chango Rosso

Chango Rosso opened two weeks ago at the street end of Union Station, replacing longtime Hartford favorite Hot Tomatoes.  The owners hired Wallingford muralist Arcy to 

paint this mural on an exterior wall under the train tracks.  

Noted Hartford residents Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Katherine Hepburn and Samuel Colt are illustrated.  Arcy did graffiti-style paintings throughout the restaurant.  I will show some next week.

Like murals?  Visit Monday Mural.

Father's Day

Happy Fathers Day.  My father John, a veterinarian.  The first boy has been named John for generations, alternating John, Jack, John, Jack, John.

Juiced Up

I spotted Jason in the window of a Hartford juice bar, Juiced Up.  Sorry.  I just couldn't pass it up.  Jason turned so I could feature his bulging and tattooed biceps.

Pearl Street

For more images with reflections, click here.

Animals!

When an adorable two year old begins chanting "Animals!  Animals! ANIMALS!" it is time to pack the car and head for the barns at Westmoor Park.  Goats, sheep, alpaca, llama, donkey, horse, pigs . . . .

Rose Season

It is rose season in Connecticut.  Every year I look forward to their blooms.  They are beautiful.
Yes, they have thorns and can be prickly.  Sometimes they draw blood.  Still, they make life interesting while they are with us, even if rose season is far too short.

Since last month I have written about my son John's serious illness.  He didn’t make it. He was just too weak and in too much pain. Late Wednesday John's heart gave out.  He couldn’t be brought back. The poor guy never caught a break during the painful six week ordeal triggered by a diabetic coma and compounded by a severe allergic reaction to the anti-seizure medicine. 

John was only 30. At least his pain is over.

I am going to see whether wandering around and making photographs is a good distraction.

Elephants

On this day two years ago, I was in a South African refuge, confronted by a herd of perhaps 20 elephants that felt threatened by our safari vehicle.  Our driver backed away.  Fast.

For more photographs from nature, visit the City Daily Photo portal.