Blue

How often do you come across a house being painted blue and a man on the porch
wearing a shirt the same shade?  Park Street, Hartford.

A fine blue house on the Main Street of Ridgefield.

A Make-A-Wish truck at the Buttonwood Farm fundraiser.

Three beauties sitting in an oversized chair.

East Haddam.

Hartford Yard Goats

I watched the Hartford Yard Goats play the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

The Yard Goats are a minor league baseball team that plays in Dunkin Donuts Park. 

Out at second,

And out at first.

The ushers are called Goat Herders.

A goat character wanders through the stands and poses with fans.

Sunflowers for Wishes

For ten days in July each year, Buttonwood Farm Ice Cream hosts a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  They sell sunflowers from their huge flower-filled fields, give rides and sell ice cream.

I bought six bunches and asked this young man -- a Make-A-Wish recipient -- if he would mind holding them for a photograph.  That big smile is a good answer.

Three Big Spaces at Wadsworth Atheneum

 

Morgan Lobby. 

Gray Court .

Main Street Entrance.

Avery Court.

Watering the Fountain

After a solid week of rain, there was nothing needed less than a watering of 

the fountain at Main Street and West Lane in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

The fountain was donated to the town in 1916 by the architect Cass Gilbert.
It is a favorite target for bad drivers in southwest Connecticut.

Another Rainbow

It is my summer for rainbows.  There is even a faint second rainbow.
A beauty above Lake Naraneks.

Small Town America

I love the banners, bunting and flag displays on a small New England town's Main Street.

The Lounsbury House on Ridgefield's Main Street is on the National Register.  It was built by

 a Connecticut Governor, later used as the town's community center.

Today it is a venue for weddings and special events.

A private home.

The Keeler Tavern is now a museum.  During the American Revolutionary War, the British fired cannonballs into the tavern because they believed musket balls were being made
in the basement.  (They were.)  In the early 20th century the house was owned
by the prominent architect, Cass Gilbert.  Gilbert designed many museums,
libraries, state capitols, and the U.S. Supreme Court building.

Another private home.

And a private home with vertical flag banners.

Morning Mist

Lake Naraneka, Ridgefield, Connecticut

Children's Museum

The Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk.

A noisemaker!

An art project.

Walking the waves.

Just fun.

Babysitting

When the son-in-law's meeting in Istanbul is postponed a week and he suggests that 

Susie join him for a long weekend away from the kids, it is great being 

close enough to spend a week watching over the grandchildren.

Hazel likes the kitchen at the park.

She is my gardening buddy.

Willa made a bead bracelet and offered me a bead.

She loves her teddy.



And she made a new discovery:  cheddar cheese and animal crackers!

East Haddam

As I approached the Goodspeed Opera House and its neighbor, the Gelston House, I pulled onto a side road just before the Route 82 bridge for a view across the Connecticut River.

Flea Market. Or just Fleas

When I come across a place like this, I inevitably start to wonder about the lives of the proprietors and what led them to spend their days in the midst of such a place.

Two Wrasslin' Cats

The Two Wrasslin' Cats coffeehouse doesn't have a single blank inch of wall or shelf space.

Cat stuff everywhere, competing with signs and posters about human rights, LGBTQ issues, yoga classes, upcoming protests and demonstrations, etc.

Two Houses on a Dead End

Approaching the town of Chester, I caught a glimpse of a very steep street with a "dead end" sign.

I turned around and drove up.  Two lovely houses from the 19th century share the road.

Connecticon 2018

This year it was too organized for my taste.  Leaders called groups with the same group identities to pose together.  I liked it better when people milled around and I could pick out interesting characters.

I did get some solo or almost-solo shots.

And, the mandatory, but disliked, staged group shots.

I left.