Beige, Pink, and Green

Torrington, Connecticut

The "Pictures in Public" series continues at the WPII Blog, have a look.

Rust and Green

Torrington, Connecticut

There's a sheer drop down a retaining wall behind the fence, to one of the streams that run through town to feed into the Naugatuck river.

The "Pictures in Public" series continues at the WPII Blog, have a look.

Green and Gray

Torrington, Connecticut

I don't know what graffiti has been painted over, but the masking shapes are interesting.

The "Pictures in Public" series continues at the WPII Blog, have a look.

Psychic Readings

New Milford, Connecticut

(Thanks to Joe Mustich for the tip.)

The "Pictures in Public" series continues at the WPII Blog, have a look.

Red and White

Torrington, Connecticut

Back behind the McDonald's.

Meanwhile, please go have a look at my other blog, WPII. WPII has been around for a while as an occasional counterpoint to this daily web log. I've shifted its orientation a bit so that it will concentrate on one specific aspect of my recent work, "Pictures in Public." I've long been interested in making pictures of people engaged in public gatherings—parades, demonstrations, carnivals, gallery openings. That's been the subject of many WPII posts in the past, but will now be the consistent theme for frequent, though perhaps not daily, postings. Have a look.

Orange and Green

Torrington, Connecticut

Rabbits and Cavies

Torrington, Connecticut

And, this time of year, lilies as well, but those aren't for sale.

Flower Pot

Lenox, Massachusetts

In the courtyard of The Mount, estate of the writer Edith Wharton, now preserved and undergoing restoration.

Hay Field

Woodbury, Connecticut

A rainy morning in early summer.

What class reunions are all about

Winsted, Connecticut

Jerry's Artorama, II

West Hartford, Connecticut

People who work for minimum wage in a low-margin store selling materials to starving artists, just get bored sometimes, I suppose.

Jerry's Artorama, I

West Hartford, Connecticut

I like bulletin boards. I don't mean internet "boards"--I mean the real thing, stuff pinned to the wall at a place like the hardware store, the health food store, the art supply store.

Yes We Did

Winsted, Connecticut

Important day for the town of Winsted, the yearly Laurel Festival Parade is about to begin. But the story of this post is that I got caught making the picture. I shot it and walked on, but then a woman intercepted me and said, "so, you like my stickers?" This baffled me for a moment. When I'm working, the instant the shutter closes I'm DONE with that picture and looking for the next. I had to think hard to figure out what she was talking about--stickers? Oh, that...So I finally remembered what I had shot just 30 seconds earlier, and bailed myself out by saying, "yes, especially with a little kid walking past." She beamed at me and nodded.

Statuary in the Courtyard

Lenox, Massachusetts

The courtyard is that of the mansion at The Mount, the estate of the writer Edith Wharton. She played a major role in the design and decoration of the house and the extensive gardens. She lived there for ten years at the turn of the 20th century but had to sell when her high-society but unhappy marriage ended. She spent the rest of her life, some 25 years, in Europe. The house design is highly symmetrical, and these two stand in alcoves set into the north and south walls of the space where carriages, horseless or not, would arrive with guests.

Lenox, Massachusetts

Here's the house looking southwest from the gardens.

Lenox, Massachusetts

The Mount went through a checkered time from 1912 till recently but has undergone extensive renovation through the efforts of a non-profit foundation that now owns it.

Betsy's Boutique

Winsted, Connecticut

It seems safe to assume than no one emerges from Betsy's looking like the model in the poster. But I wonder if anyone who walks in even wants to look remotely like that.

Yellows

Waterbury, Connecticut

Two Galleries

Kent, Connecticut

Lakeville, Connecticut

Dueling Lawyers

Hartford, Connecticut

When did attorneys begin to buy advertising space on buses? It's been a few years now since I first noticed this, but it still strikes me as odd.

Hartford, Connecticut

Free

Thomaston, Connecticut

When I travel on self-financed projects I stay at very inexpensive motels (finding them on the fly is a minor art form) and the only place I'd ever before seen this particular kind of adjustable reclining chair was in $40 motel rooms. I'm quite sure I recognize the upholstery, not just the lumpy shape and weird side-arm mechanism. I've tried to read or type on my laptop while sitting in chairs like these, so I can easily understand why someone is giving them away for free in the driveway.

Coming and Going

Bristol, Connecticut

Bristol, Connecticut

TAKE OUT

Thomaston, Connecticut

Time to Plant

Roxbury, Connecticut

In fact, it's already time to pick. We got the first snap-peas from our garden last night.

Private Property

Bristol, Connecticut

The parking lot of a low-rise strip mall with adjacent fast food joint is a place that's open to the public, but privately owned. I don't know why the owners think it's important to post warning signs on their lamp posts. Clearly they don't want you to do anything here except buy things.

Two Bus Stops

Bristol, Connecticut

Bristol is such a small city that I'm surprised to find there's any public transit at all, much less protective shelters that could harbor a dozen or so people at a time in bad weather. But the buses run, and vandals tag the shelters.

Bristol, Connecticut

Beware of Dog

Bristol, Connecticut

Probably best not to pick the roses, either.

Power Lines

Bristol, Connecticut

If the town of Bristol ever decides to go to underground utilities, there's going to be a lot of digging and burying to do.

Bristol, Connecticut

Bristol, Connecticut

War Memorial

Bristol, Connecticut

The statue stands at the entrance to a city park. The bronze plaque reads:

“To perpetuate the memory of the citizens of Bristol who served in the war with Spain, Philippine Insurrection and China Relief Expedition, 1898-1902. Dedicated Sept. 14, 1929.”

Interesting how 80 years will change the general view of historical events.

More Memorial Day pictures at The WPII Blog.

Save Your Home

Waterville, Connecticut

Memorial Day photographs continue at The WPII Blog.

Power Wagon

Torrington, Connecticut

In an alley between an auto repair shop and a tattoo parlor. Not sure which one owns the Power Wagon.

Memorial Day continues at The WPII Blog.

1316

Waterbury, Connecticut

A small manufacturing company at the north end of town.

More Memorial Day pictures at The WPII Blog.