Took the family into Manhattan through Grand Central Station. What a gorgeous place!
Outside, the marvelous Art Deco Chrysler Building peeked over a modern building to catch a glance of the Tiffany clock and the Hercules, Minerva and Mercury statues at the top of Grand Central's facade.
Lounsbury House, Ridgefield's community center, was originally built as a home for a former Connecticut governor. It always looks terrific for the holidays.
Back to Florida. I'll be in Connecticut again for Christmas.
One of Ridgefield's symbols, the fountain at the intersection of Routes 33 and 35 ,is protected from cold weather and dressed for the holidays. The Fountain Inn peeks at it from across the street.
The fountain has been damaged numerous times in automobile accidents. There is a plan to give it extensive repairs and restoration, perhaps this summer.
A pipe burst at the south end of the business district and crews spent the day digging up the street and splicing in a replacement.
Wonderful as a baby.
Wonderful winning the pie-eating contest at the beach.
Wonderful in her student days.
Wonderful getting an MBA.
Wonderful as a bride.
Wonderful as a mother.
And wonderful in every way these days. Love you, Susie. Happy birthday.
It seems that many stores and homeowners skip right from Halloween decorations to Christmas, skipping over Thanksgiving. I found these flowers at a grocery store. Close enough.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Charles Bailey was one of five brothers from Punta Gorda who fought in World War II. He is thought to be the first black Floridian who became a "Tuskegee Airman." He flew 133 missions over enemy territory in North Africa, France, Germany and Italy.
Charles Bailey received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Presidential Unit Citation and the WWII Victory Medal. This is a 2023 mural by Keith Goodson on the wall of Baker Central School in Punta Gorda. Linked to Monday Mural.
On Saturday there was a small outdoor art show in Cambier Park.
Rolf shows up at many of these events with his parrots. He is looking at Romeo, who is 36 years old.
This waterway leads from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to Naples Bay.
Many of the homes along the way have boat slips.
Clyde Butcher is an 81 year old landscape photographer who has specialized in large scale black-and-white images from the Everglades since the 1990s.
I live in a Naples community with lots of wildlife. Each morning I post photographs of wildlife (usually birds) on a Facebook private group page for members of our community. Sometimes I get a bit pedantic, but I have learned that many residents don't know what they are seeing. Here is today's post.
"Another heron lesson. In front, an adult little blue heron with its overall blue-gray body, yellow eyes and dull grayish bill and legs. Behind is an adult tricolored heron with the same blue-gray body coloration except for a white belly and a white stripe up its neck, orange eyes and yellow legs and bill."
The iconic Naples Pier is still unusable 13 months after Hurricane Ian. The City Council has reviewed several plans -- all of them very expensive -- and is close to selecting one. One wrinkle is that Federal Emergency Management Agency will not permit offshore concessions like food stands.
To compare, this is Naples Pier in March 2017.
Now, pelicans and other birds are thrilled to be using the end of the pier to launch fishing expeditions.
In March 2017, the occupants were humans.
Leaving Baker Museum, I noticed this 2005 sculpture by Dutch sculptor Hanneke Beaumont stationed against the wall. I saw a Beaumont exhibition with the same or at least a similar sculpture at Baker back in 2013. Still like it.
Tamara Kostianovsky was born in Israel and grew up in Buenos Aires. She began using her discarded clothes as artistic material shortly after immigrating to the United States. Now using discarded textiles from clothing, furniture, and linens, she creates imagined and remembered worlds.
