Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Say hello to a regular visitor to one of my hummingbird feeders.

 

McKeon Farm

 

A picturesque storage shack looks out on farm land overseen by the Ridgefield Conservation Commission.

God's Acre

 Two traditional white church buildings coexist on a hill just outside the downtown of New Canaan, Connecticut.  The community calls this area God's Acre.

The oldest and most prominent church at the peak of the hill is The Congregational Church of New Canaan.  The congregation dates back to 1733.  Today the congregation gathers in the third building on the site, which was constructed in 1843.

 A nearby smaller church is St. Michael's Lutheran Church.  It was constructed in 1833 as Saint Mark's Episcopal church, but was purchased in 1962 by the Lutheran community.  

Vine Cottage

 Built around 1859, the Gothic Revival Vine Cottage is the home of the New Canaan Health Department. 

 

Though a charming building across Main Street from Town Hall, the municipality has unsuccessfully tried to sell it at least three times in recent years.  The second floor can't be used for public purposes because it is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.  The cost of installing an elevator is prohibitive.

Marketplace

On Danbury Turnpike in Ridgefield (U.S.Route 7), there is a small collection of buildings that hold an auction house, a thrift store, and a used clothing store with a coffee shop.

P. T. Barnum

 The Greatest Showman, P. T. Barnum, had deep ties to Connecticut.  He was born and grew up in Bethel and spent much of his adult life in Bridgeport, where he served as mayor.  The town of Bethel is proud of its native son, born in 1819.  He began as a Bethel newspaperman and store owner.  

When he was in his twenties, he started his career as a showman, with uneven prospects.  Then, in 1841 Barnum acquired a circus museum in Manhattan, which became a popular success.  Soon after, he started touring companies, theaters and event spaces.

When he was 60, P. T. Barnum established the traveling circus for which he is known today.

A statue of Barnum stands outside the library in his hometown of Bethel, Connecticut.

Bethel Fire Department

 

An interesting range of firefighting vehicles.

The Burr Gilbert House

 

Ridgefield has lots of colonial-era houses.  This one is circa 1776.  I was drawn to the flowers in front.

Banding and Releasing

 I watched newborn purple martins being banded at McKeon Farm.

The baby purple martins are SMALL.  There were newborns just a couple of days old, but the banding took place only with birds at least ten days old.

Newborns waiting to be banded rested in a bucket.

The most experienced volunteers did the banding.

The nest from which each newborn purple martin was taken was recorded and matched with the number on the band.

After banding, each little bird was returned to the nest from which it had been taken.

Purple Martins

 There is a field with purple martin nests at McKeon Farm in Ridgefield.

The nests are mounted in groups on high poles.  The purple martins fly in and out continually.

Dragonflies are a favorite meal.  The second bird on the left was showing off its capture. 

The purple martin eggs hatched in the last two weeks.  Volunteers were removing the newborns from the nest, banding them so they can be studied, and then placing them back in the nests.

Tomorrow I will show some close-up photographs as the banding took place and the youngsters were returned to the nests. 

Turkeys

Mom and some of the kids.

Hoarder?

 This one is confusing.

A gorgeous Victorian house in Bethel, Connecticut, has been carefully and beautifully painted.

But the porch is overflowing with debris.  Huh?

Milkweed Visitors

 I planted milkweed in my pollinator's garden a couple of years ago.  It now has happy visitors.

The milkweed is absolutely swarming with bees.

I planted the milkweed for the benefit of monarch butterflies.  It has been discovered.

I was surprised to see a great spangled fritillary butterfly enjoying the milkweed.  There is more than enough milkweed.  Welcome!  The more the merrier.

Back in Ridgefield

Timothy Keeler opened his tavern to visitors in 1772.  It became a hub for Revolutionary activities in the town of Ridgefield, of which Timothy was a chief and ardent supporter.  

 

Because of Keeler's patriotism, his home and business were targeted by the British during the Battle of Ridgefield in 1777.  The Keeler Tavern still sports a baseball-sized cannonball in a corner post.  

For fifty years in the first half of the 20th century, the noted architect Cass Gilbert and his family owned and lived here.  Gilbert designed the United States Supreme Court building and the state capitols of Minnesota and West Virginia, as well as many other well known buildings.   By 1966, some Ridgefield residents had raised enough to buy the tavern and convert it to a historical museum.

The Fountain Inn is next door to Keeler Tavern.  Today it is a bed and breakfast inn.  In Revolutionary times it was owned by David Hoyt, a cousin of Timothy Keeler.  Hoyt was a Tory, but he rode out to the British encampment and persuaded them to stop firing at his cousin's tavern, fearful that Hoyt's own house might be struck by an errant cannonball.

The Cass Gilbert fountain is at the intersection of Routes 33 (Main Street) and 35 (West Lane), across the street from Keeler Tavern and The Fountain Inn.  Gilbert designed it around 1915 as a gift for the town of Ridgefield. 

Square Dance

The last night at Squam Lake ends with a family square dance.

It is hard for a tall man to fit under an arch of shorter arms.

It isn't so easy when you are small, either.

The woman in the blue top and red-white-and-blue lei is 94 years old.  She usually uses a wheelchair, but she insisted on dancing.  Her son held her VERY tightly.

The dance closes with a line dance.  A staff member leads the dancers out a side door.

Across the roadway.

In and out of a  few buildings and then back to the dance hall.

 The dancers love it!

Games

 

Pie eating contest.

The egg toss.

Racing with an egg in a spoon.

Leap frog.

Wheelbarrows.

Potato sacks.

Three-legged race.

And dunking your buddy.