Another Night Walk

A few weeks ago I explained that my Apple Watch makes me take night walks in my neighborhood.

And that during those walks I practice taking photos of houses using my iPhone's low light feature.

Here are some more.  I kinda like them.

Extreme Social Distancing

'Nuff said.

Downtown

I needed a haircut, so I went into downtown Hartford on a Saturday morning.

I was struck by how clean everything looked when there were so few people and cars around.

This is Center Church on Main Street, contrasting with the Gold Building.

Stanley Black and Decker (the New Britain-based tool company) has an innovation center on the ground floor of Constitution Plaza.  I showed the mural last year.  

Some office buildings across the street from Constitution Plaza, with the Travelers Tower beyond.

I parked near the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford's foremost art museum.  Without traffic I was able to focus on the building.  Remarkable how many different periods and architectural styles are represented, as the museum was built over two centuries.

Thinking about those different periods and architectural styles, I went out to Main Street to photograph the main entrance (the castle-like structure on the left) and two other wings.

The Annual Garden is Now Fully Planted

It has taken a long time for the annual garden in Elizabeth Park to be planted after removal of the tulips.  I imagine that the coronavirus lockdown limited the number of volunteers helping at the park, so the work was done only by the park's paid staff, 

 But, it is now planted, perhaps two or three weeks later than usual.
I plan to show it again in late summer, when it is lush.

The Arches are Healing

A bad storm eight years ago broke many of the Elizabeth Park rose arches and

 damaged the climbing rose canes.  

The arches were rebuilt, damaged plants have been pruned, and many were replaced.
But, it has taken some time for the arches to get back to where they were before the storm.

In some places, the roses on the arches are still spotty, but in general I think
they look better now than they have in years.

A Cormorant

A cormorant hung around, occasionally flapping to regain its balance.

The Park and the Flag

Every year one plot is planted with the name "Elizabeth Park" and a second with an American flag.

Rhythms are soothing.  I like being able to count on the same things every year.

Fishing

A peaceful morning for quiet reflection.

Chef to Farm Meal

The Max Restaurant Group operates 11 excellent and varied restaurants in the Greater Hartford/Springfield MA region, plus a thriving catering business.

In the summer they host Chef to Farm dinners, emphasizing locally sourced food.

On Sunday I went to the first Max Chef to Farm meal of the season, at Rosedale Farms in Simsbury.

  Clam chowder, salad, lobster and strawberry shortcake.  Nice.

The menu lists their local vendors.  Wines from grapes grown at Rosedale Farms are included.

Rose Sunday

The roses in the Elizabeth Park rose garden are usually at peak around the third weekend of June, when the Park celebrates Rose Sunday.  Less celebration this year, but still beautiful.

There are new banners above the entrances to the gazebo, announcing the naming of the rose garden as the Helen S. Kaman Rose Garden.  The Elizabeth Park Conservancy has received a major gift from the Kaman Foundation.  Ms. Kaman was the first wife of Charles Kaman, founder of an aircraft company.  She was an aeronautical engineer, an artist and a philanthropist.

Some of the many beauties.

Duh

The State of Connecticut sold the abandoned West Hartford campus of the University of Connecticut to a Chinese bitcoin company.  How do you think that worked out?

You're right.

Birdhouse

A sparrow?  Sorry.  I don't know.

Jonathan's Dream

In the 1990s, a local woman gave birth to a son, Jonathan, with severe disabilities 

that took his life when just one year old.  

She coped with her grief by raising funds to create a "Boundaryless Playground" at which children of all abilities could play.  Jonathan's Dream is on the property of the Mandell Jewish Community Center in West Hartford.  Like so many other worthy things, it is shut down for now.