Weeds! Plus a Hydrant and Power Lines

Torrington, Connecticut

Storm Clouds

Washington, Connecticut

Got to run around Litchfield County this afternoon chasing stormy skies in a highly variable weather pattern.

Painted Rocks

Ansonia, Connecticut

These painted rocks are near the sidewalk on Pershing Drive, on the west bank of the Naugatuck River. It's a desolate spot—the other side of the street has empty fields surrounded by cyclone fencing. No one ever seems to walk through here. My first thought was that this might be a school project, something serving as an outdoor activity, maybe in compensation for cancelled or virtual graduation ceremonies. It's that time of year, and the rocks weren't painted the last time I walked through here, not more than a month ago. The last rock seems to have a military theme though, so my first thought might be wrong.

I searched on "Ansonia painted rocks," and got two hits for Facebook pages which returned error messages, likely indicating pages for closed or invitation-only groups. So it's still a mystery.

As always if you click on the pictures you'll get a bigger and better view.

LGBTQ + BLM in Watertown, Connecticut, 6/27/20

Watertown, Connecticut

When I saw on a list published online by the Connecticut Democratic Party that this event was scheduled for Saturday at noon I knew I wanted to be there.

As with other BLM gatherings here in rural western Connecticut the participants were mostly not black, because hardly any blacks live here. However, this one had a big extra element. It was that LGBTQ+ partisans, allied with BLM, had organized it, gotten it listed on social media, gotten the Watertown Congregational Church involved. A lot of LGBTQ+ people live here. Like everywhere.

It was well organized by the young people who put it together. It began with a musician playing and singing some songs to get everyone in the mood. The Watertown Green is tiny, but has a gazebo in the center. They'd set up some minimal sound equipment.

Several of the young people who had organized the event spoke, with an interpreter signing with them. Once again I was struck by the fact that this was organized by young folks, though the turnout to participate crossed all age groups.

Connecticut's U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal showed up, unannounced. The organizers of the event and others around were a little stunned by this. They asked if he would speak to the gathered crowd after the scheduled speakers. Of course, he said he would.

One of the organizers asked for everyone to either lie down or take a knee for 8 minutes and forty six seconds. It's a powerful mechanism. I'm used to dealing with time intervals like this because of my alternate process photographic darkroom work, but as I moved around and tried to respectfully find positions I could make pictures from, I began to feel that this was the longest eight minutes I'd ever experienced. I think that's the point. It works.

Senator Blumenthal took a knee for the whole long moment.

The rainbow imagery combined with the BLM was really strong. For the Senator and the other speakers.

As always, just click on any one of the pictures to get a much larger and clearer view of them if you are using a large screen.

Weeds, Brick Wall, Composite Board

Batesburg, South Carolina, 2012

Uncontested Divorce...395.00

Atlanta, Georgia

A hundred dollars extra for complications.

Chase Park, Wednesday Morning, 6/24/20

Waterbury, Connecticut

The park is part of the Town Plot section which asserts, with a plaque at the park entrance, that it's the city's oldest neighborhood. It lies high above the Naugatuck river, the top of the west bank. What you can see through the very hazy air in the distance is the ridge line on the east side of the river.

The monument, built in 1930, memorializes "The Pilgrim Fathers" although the frieze is actually quite a bit more complex than that.

South Main and Harper

Star, North Carolina, 2012

I was heading north to home with a big hurricane forecast to arrive in a few days. Morning skies were already dark and stormy.

Weed

Bessemer City, North Carolina, 2012

More digging around in the archives of the 2012 road trip for interesting shots that didn't get onto the blog at the time.

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Green River, Utah, 2012

Shadow self portrait. At a Motel 6 which didn't refund the $2.99 extra I paid for WiFi that didn't work. I've been reviewing material from my 2012 American Drive-in Theater Road Trip for off-topic pictures I didn't post at the time, but might be interesting to look at now.

Juneteenth, Waterbury, Part 4

Waterbury, Connecticut

When the crowd moved from the library to the Town Green, the mood changed to a combination of protest rally and block party. Seemed appropriate for the holiday

Juneteenth, Waterbury, Part 3

Waterbury, Connecticut

The crowd moved from the library to the Town Green, with a very light police escort.