Hidden Valley

Washington, Connecticut

Earlier this afternoon. Might be the end of the season.

Sun Chips

Waterbury, Connecticut

Serious Padlock

Waterbury, Connecticut

I wonder if someone broke in. This is behind a building that houses a still-going business concern, surrounded by empty or abandoned similar buildings. I'm sure there was a lock and chain of about the same vintage as the fence and gate before. Not so heavy duty, though.

Monument and Staircase

Naugatuck, Connecticut

Still in the Woods

 Washington, Connecticut

Well, the blog is still in the woods. Yesterday was too rainy to work there and I'll have to see what's left of the autumn leaves.

Back in the Woods

Washington, Connecticut

Two more from Sunday's almost-rainy session at Steep Rock Preserve's Hidden Valley.

Urban Autumn

Naugatuck, Connecticut

Deep in the Rainy Forest

Washington, Connecticut

Actually, the rain had stopped but the stormy light and soaked colors made everything seem quite magical in the deep forest. All the land in the Steep Rock Preserves is steeply furrowed, carved by the ice age glaciers. Here the camera is looking down a steep ravine and across to the opposite hill, while an even higher ridge behind the camera deepens the cloudy skylight and makes it more directional.

About an hour and a half later and miles back toward the Hidden Valley main entrance, the clouds were breaking and reforming, changing the light quality constantly. This is looking down the ridge on the east side of the Shepaug River, and across to the steep ridge to the west.

Shepaug River at Hidden Valley

Washington, Connecticut

This is more or less where the mist was rising from in yesterday's shot from The Lookout. Overnight and morning air temperature was much colder than the water temp. While there's a lot of autumn color still in the woods the season has been subdued rather than spectacular. That doesn't necessarily make for less interesting pictures.

From the Hidden Valley Lookout

Washington, Connecticut

Earlier today, after the rain stopped but everything was still wet and glowing. Here's a view with The Lookout included:

The Tunnel

Washington, Connecticut

The old railroad bed and the tunnel cut through the rock ledge, in the original section of Steep Rock Preserve. The train roughly followed the Shepaug River. The tunnel curves just enough that you can't see the light at the other end until you've walked partway in.

Hidden Valley

Washington, Connecticut

About one o'clock this afternoon, deep into the hiking trails at the Hidden Valley section of Steep Rock Preserve. There was a hard freeze overnight and a cloudy day with temperature in the 40s°F gave a magical, glowing light for the whole three hours I wandered around the trails.

MARCUS PAPER

Naugatuck, Connecticut

Another from the Woods

Washington, Connecticut

Another from Steep Rock Preserve, walking the Clamshell Loop this morning.

Clothesline

Naugatuck, Connecticut

In the Woods

Washington, Connecticut

On the way back down from the Waramaug Pinnacle this morning.

GDC1

Naugatuck, Connecticut

Sidewalk

Naugatuck, Connecticut

Autumn City Trees

 Naugatuck, Connecticut

Four from a chilly Saturday afternoon.

Winter is Coming

Washington, Connecticut

Snow flurries early this afternoon.

Find the good in every day

Naugatuck, Connecticut

TODO ESTILO ISLA

Waterbury, Connecticut

#420

Waterbury, Connecticut

Worth the Hike

Washington, Connecticut

Steep Rock Preserve, Lake Waramaug Pinnacle, earlier today. All the way along the approximately one hour hike up to the top, I kept looking up through the forest and hoping the sky wasn't going to go to clear. In the end, it put on a nice show.

Elections Coming Up

Waterbury, Connecticut

Autumn at the Swamp

Washington, Connecticut

Late yesterday afternoon at Meeker Swamp, a part of Steep Rock Preserve.

More Ferns and Trees

Washington, Connecticut

Autumn Gallery Opening: Christopher Magadini

New Milford, Connecticut

We went to New Milford yesterday evening to see a gallery opening.

This is the view in the parking lot when we got there.

The artist is extraordinarily versatile, showing work that is wildly divergent, but all done in the last eight months.

The view from the parking lot also kept being cool.

Then there is the show. Which is fascinating. Bettina has liked Chris's work since she first encountered it, but this show, all from the past eight months, is kind of radical. He decided to do whatever he wanted, at the moment. His background is commercial illustration, so he can do anything he wants (commercial artists are, ahem, in general, more skilled than MFA graduates) and I found myself delighted to find pictures that I loved, others that I admired, and others where I thought, well, OK, if you want to do that. Every one of them was engaging though.

From the opening:

At the Pinnacle

Washington, Connecticut

When you've reached the bald at the top of Steep Rock's Lake Waramaug Pinnacle, after a demanding 1.6 mile climb or a more demanding 1.2 mile route, what to do next? Perhaps sit and take in the view, or perhaps get out your phone and text all your friends about it.

More Autumn at Steep Rock

Washington, Connecticut

One of the things I find interesting about Steep Rock Preserve is that it is not at all "wilderness." It's a preserve, with a great deal of human intervention required to maintain it, but not with the goal of turning it into a groomed parkland. It's a balancing act that requires a board of directors and executive director, consultants in a wide variety of ecological specialties, and lots of work by crew and volunteers.

Big Old Trees

Washington, Connecticut

All of southern New England has been lumbered off twice since the Colonial era. Pictures from the late 19th century show the hills and valleys of Washington, CT, completely clearcut except for lines of trees left as windbreaks or scattered specimens left to provide shade near buildings. These two old trees in the lower section of Steep Rock Preserve are about as big as you find in the third-growth woods here.

Trees and Ferns

Washington, Connecticut

Another pair of autumn scenes from Steep Rock Preserve.