Hosta Heaven

I wanted a very specific kind of hosta.  For years I had heard of O'Brien Nurserymen in Granby, 

but I had never been there.  What an amazing and beautiful place!

Faces in the Crowd

Mayor Luke Bronin spoke at the rededication of Burr Mall, the open space between the Hartford Municipal Building and the Wadsworth Atheneum, with a renovated fountain 

and the Alexander Calder Stegosaurus sculpture.

Also speaking at the ceremony was Tom Condon, a longtime columnist for the Hartford Courant, 

now semi-retired and writing for the Connecticut Mirror.

This is Billy Graham.  "No relation," he quickly said.

Tere Luna is a Mexican folkloric dancer and singer who performed at the Burr Mall ceremony.
Unfortunately, I missed her performance.



Ellie was on the periphery.  She didn't think she looked her best, but I can't see anything wrong.



David is a homeless vet.
I gave him a little money, he let me take a picture.
Let's call it a payment for services rendered.

Four Filipinas

I came upon a woman photographing three other women..  So, I offered to have the photographer  join them while I photographed all four.  They were lots of fun.  Then I took my own portraits.

Paulina wore a lot of bling.

 Joy was the quiet one.  She is going to move to Vegas.

We talked about iPhone's "portrait" mode, so I used it with Sheila.

And Tessa is the photographer but she makes a pretty good model, too.

West Hartford Memorial Day Parade

Fewer soldiers now, more kids.

West Hartford schools are known throughout New England for their high quality music programs.

Girls lacrosse is huge.

A musical group brought up the rear with patriotic songs.

Memorial Day

High school students placed American flags in a field near a veterans' memorial

in Hamilton Park in Waterbury.

Daytripping on Waterbury Green

A green is the center of Waterbury, Connecticut.

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is at the north center rim of the green.

Beside the basilica is a monument to Navy Lt. (Rev.) Thomas Conway, a Waterbury priest serving on the USS Indianapolis  The ship was sunk by the Japanese in 1945, and only 317 of the 

1200 men aboard survived.  Chaplain Conway went from sailor to sailor in the waters, 

helping the wounded, administering to the dying and calming the frightened.  

He is credited with saving at least 67 sailors, but he didn't survive. 

Caroline Welton, a wealthy Waterbury native who was an animal lover, left half of her fortune to the ASPCA.  A bequest also funded a fountain for horses on the east end of Waterbury Green.

At the west end of the green there is a big monument honoring Waterbury soldiers
who died in the country's wars.



I played with the photo of the monument's base, using the My Sketch app.

Daytripping in Thomaston

The Thomaston Opera House is a handsome Romanesque building dating to 1883.  Today it houses the town hall, a senior center and a performance space for live performances 

like plays and concerts, as well as movies.

Daytripping in Clock Country

West central Connecticut gave birth to America's clock industry.  Eli Terry of Plymouth invented interchangeable parts for clocks, a technique that more broadly gave rise to the Industrial Revolution and eventually to advanced factory manufacture such as Henry Ford later put to use in car-making.

The clock installed by Eli Terry in the First Congregational Church of Plymouth in the early 19th century is still working.  Clockmaking became a huge industry in the area, and Terry was the foremost clockmaker of the day.  The next town, Terryville, was named for him.

Seth Thomas learned clockmaking from Terry and briefly became his partner.  In 1813 he moved down the road to Plymouth Hollow (now Thomaston) and set up a factory making clocks with metal works.  One is on the First Congregational Church of Thomaston.

The Seth Thomas Clock Company was incorporated in 1853.  Through a series of corporate acquisitions and restructurings, it became General Time and later Timex.

Norris and Sean

While at "Heaven" on Monday, I spoke with Norris (above) and Sean (below).
Just two guys.  Just hanging out.

Nipsey Hussle

I never heard of Nipsey Hussle until his murder at the end of March was in the news.  Then, I learned that he was a hip hop artist, entrepreneur and community activist from Los Angeles who had 

positive influences on urban youth, especially young black men.  

Corey Pane, a West Hartford artist who admired Hussle, painted a mural honoring him, at "Heaven,"

a colorful Hartford skate park where graffiti is encouraged.  The mural got much positive attention.  

Unfortunately, a few days after the mural was completed, an insensitive woman painted some disfiguring graffiti over part of it, infuriating some fans.  So, a local teacher who is a rapper on the side was bothered enough to buy paints and spend a day restoring it.  Good for him. 

Diana and Isaiah

Yesterday I went to "Heaven," an in-town skateboard park where street art is encouraged.

I met Diana and her guy, Isaiah.

Diana has just received her doctorate from the University of Hartford, in physical therapy.

She hasn't decided yet, but she expects to move to Dallas where she worked last summer.

Isaiah's arms are full of artistic and symbolic tattoos.  He is from Cleveland and has a Browns tattoo.  He is a Leo and has a lion and the word "King."  And he has cheetah spots because he is fast.

A Spring Afternoon in Elizabeth Park

A bride is nine months pregnant.  Her groom didn't make much of an effort.  I give them low odds.

A mom was having a hard time getting her girls to smile for photos.  I told her

 (i) big toothy smiles aren't so important and (ii) I would give it a try.