Duck

 

I don't profess to be a birding expert, but I think this is a female blue winged teal.

Update:  Jennyfreckles suggested that these are mallards.  I always associate mallards with the bright green head for the male, and there are none of those in Elizabeth Park.  But, checking on the Cornell ornithology page, I see that the bright male coloration is for BREEDING males and the NON-BREEDING males look much like the females and have yellow beaks.  So, I stand corrected.  And educated. 

These, too.

Another Elizabeth Park Wedding

 Well, the great blue heron made me stand around for more than an hour without doing anything interesting, and the cormorants were kind of dull, so I wandered over to the rose garden.

On a beautiful weekend afternoon, I can count on one or more weddings.  

I Heart CT Libraries

Noah Webster stands, appropriately masked, in a small plaza next to the West Hartford Public Library.

I don't need to identify West Hartford's native son Noah, do I?  Per Wikipedia:  "Noah Webster Jr. was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and prolific author. He has been called the 'Father of American Scholarship and Education'. His 'Blue-backed Speller' books taught five generations of American children how to spell and read."

I'm sure I have shown a scene similar to this before.  In the foreground, Mr. Webster.  In brick behind, the library.  Beyond with the white steeple, First Church of Christ Congregational.

Bus Stops

Periodically West Hartford pays artists to paint some of the bus shelters. 

Here are some I saw while driving around the town.

The Sisters of Saint Joseph

 

The nuns have aged.  Most have gone on to meet their savior.  The huge convent on Park Road is just about empty.  So, a developer plans to convert it into housing.  It is close to the highway, close to Hartford, and close to a fast-blossoming neighborhood.  I hope it becomes lively and successful.

Dead Dead Dead

There was not a soul in sight at mid-morning in normally thriving West Hartford Center.

I worry for the local merchants and those employed by them. 

A Favorite Photograph

The monthly theme for September for City Daily Photo bloggers is "A Favorite Photo."

I have long liked this one, from November 2011.  Hartford's main library has a study room with big, colorful murals on the walls.  I photographed a man sitting at a reflective glass table.

Click here to see other CDP bloggers' favorite photographs.