Congratulations, Kieran Smith

Four years ago, Ridgefield's Kieran Smith won a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle in Tokyo.  Yesterday Smith (on the right) and his teammates won silver medals in the 4x200m freestyle relay.  They swam to a second-place finish behind Great Britain on Tuesday night. Australia took the bronze.

 Kieran Smith learned to swim competitively at Ridgefield Aquatic Center (RAC) and went on to swim at the University of Florida  . . . and the Olympics!

Kieran Smith's 1:44.80 anchor leg was the fastest of any of the American swimmers in the final.

Kieran Smith is a hero in Ridgefield and at RAC.  My granddaughters both swim three days a week at RAC and look up to Smith.  He visits fairly regularly, swims laps, and talks to the young swimmers.  The town was already abuzz about having an Olympian from here.  The excitement is higher now.

(The store photo is mine.  The others are from the television or internet.)

Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly

Lovely butterflies.

SoNo

 

"Thank You For Visiting Historic South Norwalk."

Linked to Monday Murals.

Summer Fest

 

Summer Fest is one of Ridgefield’s favorite summer festivals bringing together family fun, art & music, entertainment, dining, shopping & sidewalk sales, on the town's historic Main Street.

Rising Starr is a popular horse rescue organization.

Amy has a store on the edge of town.  She was in a booth, showing some of her vintage goods.

Laurel Lorenzini has co-written several books for children.

Two pretty young women work at a skin care place.  One wore a shirt reading "Life is short, buy the lips."  

And, Michael Zanetti sat at a table outside Ridgefield's wonderful independent bookstore, Books on the Common, and sold copies of his book, The Sloth and His Friends.  Michael says it is for children eight years old up, as well as for adults.  He signed one for the granddaughters.

A House in Bethel

 

Takes all kinds.

Around the Yard

 

A hummingbird clearwing moth.

A widow skimmer dragonfly.

An ebony jewelwing damselfly.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds.

A house wren visiting the house where it was born.

A bee and coneflower. 

Three gray catbirds.

Wilton Street Fair

 The town immediately south of Ridgefield, Wilton has a small downtown where a street fair took place.

Danielle showed off Rocco, an African ball python, one of the animals at Woodcock Nature Center.

The Wilton YMCA had a booth.

Sorry.  I can't explain.

Shasha is from Trumbull.  She makes and markets handmade organic soaps and lotions.

Michael promoted a local running event.

Three teens support a state senate candidate.

There is a face painter at so many local events.

David has quite a face.  Sadly, I was leaving and didn't have time to visit and learn about him.

Veronica's Garden

 Veronica's Garden is a small booth along a busy road in Ridgefield.  It is open seasonally to sell locally grown vegetables.

Bella works there this summer.  She is in high school in Cross River, across the state line in New York.

"Let's have some teeth!"  (Always works, and an iPhone is less intimidating than a DSLR for teens.)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Another visitor to the pollinator garden.

The front pollinator garden has many weeds, but the bees and butterflies don't care, so neither do I.

Men in Black

Albert Bender lived and worked in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  He became a believer in Unidentified Flying Objects and created an organization to study and report on UFOs.  In July 1953 Bender was visited by three Men in Black, aliens from another world, who told him to stop all UFO work, which he did. 

Brad Noble is a Bridgeport artist who painted a Men in Black mural about Bender's visit from the three aliens as part of a Bridgeport mural project.  The mural is just a couple of blocks from where Bender's home stood before it was demolished for an interstate highway project.

Linked to Monday Murals.

St. Joseph Catholic Church

This church sits high on a hillside above the main street in Winsted, Connecticut.

Civil War Monument

 

Coe Memorial Park is a well groomed triangular park in the center of Torrington, Connecticut.

A statue honoring Civil War soldiers is at the point where the park joins the historic district.

Grandma

 The kind of place my grandmother would have lived.

If she could have afforded it.  Which she couldn't.

(For those who don't like photos to be put through art programs.)

Robin

I think of robins as springtime birds, but they are here all summer, too.

Ira Joe Fisher

 Ridgefield's poet laureate, Ira Joe Fisher, sits at a table in a downtown coffee shop and writes poetry.

Ira Joe is an Emmy-winning broadcaster, actor, poet, and teacher. He currently teaches poetry and creative writing at local colleges.  He calls poetry "the universal language that touches all hearts."

Maloney Funeral Home

 

This Winsted building is one of the most photographed in Connecticut.  I had some free time yesterday morning, so I drove past it.  It looks like the funeral home is no longer in business and like the building is not occupied.  The building is not in great shape, but it still photographs well.