Lacrosse

It is time to pick out your high school's team shirt and get a lacrosse stick.  The boys' and girls' high school lacrosse seasons start tomorrow.

Lacrosse is a sport derived from the American Indians, using a hand-held webbed stick and a hard rubber ball.  For those unfamiliar with the sport, here is a Wikipedia link.  Most lacrosse is played on the East Coast -- New England, Long Island and Maryland are big areas -- and Canada.

Inns

When I last visited the Connecticut Historical Society, they had an exhibition of inn's signs. 

In the 1700s, every city and town was required to have an inn where travelers could stay for the night.  Because many travelers were illiterate, the inns identified themselves by the paintings on their signs.

A Good Night for Connecticut

UConn 53, Butler 41.

It was an ugly game, but the UConn men's basketball team won the NCAA national championship last night. 

Regrettably, Sunday night the UConn women's team lost to Notre Dame, so they will not play in Tuesday night's women's championship game.

These photos were taken by shooting at the TV screen, so credits go to CBS and the NCAA.

I confused people the past two days with photos of the Connecticut River's floodplain near Hartford.  What you saw is not a problem, it is absolutely normal and happens every year.  There are no permanent structures in the floodplain and it isn't even remarkable enough for the local newspapers to mention.  Hartford had bad flooding in the 1930s, and since then there have been extensive investments in flood control measures.  These low-lying riverfront parks have been rebuilt so they can flood in the spring without much damage.  In fact, having these broad floodplain parks is part of what allows the surplus water to spread out without damaging developed areas.  The water will eventually drain away, grass will grow and the parks will be ready for foot traffic again.

This is not to say that the Connecticut River and its tributaries don't occasionally flood.  They do.  It just hasn't happened here (yet) this year.  For those interested in weather minutiae, if you click here you will see that so far there are no significant flooding problems anywhere in southern New England. 

Great River Park

Same place as yesterday.

Great River Park is part of the riverfront park system along the Connecticut River in East Hartford.  In this image, I am looking upriver, to Hartford's downtown.

Walk?

Walk?  Maybe not yet.

The snow that fell in the winter and the rain that welcomes spring have to go somewhere.  The riverfront parks in greater Hartford are designed to accommodate the usual spring flooding. 

This shot is taken from a boat launch on the Connecticut River in East Hartford.  On the Hartford side of the river is U.S. Route 91 and behind it is the Colt building.  Colt was originally a munitions factory, but today it is largely empty except for some artist lofts and some living units.

Out-of-Town Edges

Here is the one I would have shown yesterday if I let myself post an out-of-town picture.  This was taken last September on a hiking trip in Cinque Terre, five rustic towns on the Italian coast.  We had just finished climbing up that steep hillside, starting near the train station way below.  The middle town, Corniglia, is just above me.

The question was asked:  How many steps?  I didn't count my own, but I have read 377, 382 and "almost 400" steps.  Most hikers are too busy trying to breathe to count their steps.

April Theme Day and Weekend Reflections: Edges

The symbol of Travelers Insurance Company is a red umbrella.

The entrance at Travelers' headquarters building in Hartford is a glass portico with red umbrellas hanging from the ceiling and red umbrellas painted on the walls.  It is entered through a glass revolving door.

If a photographer stands in the revolving door and clicks, there are edges and glass panels and red umbrellas and reflected images everywhere.  Life gets pretty confusing . . .

On the first day of each month, the City Daily Photo community celebrates a theme day.  This month the theme is "Edges," not the easiest of themes.   Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

And, because it is Friday, Newtown Area Photo is again hosting its regular Weekend Reflections feature for those who like reflections in their pictures.