Wordless Wednesday - Harvest Complete

The harvest is complete at the Bomba Farm in Seymour Connecticut. Winter awaits! See NC Sue at WW

Ruby Tuesday Too - Red Door

Anything historic often has a tradition. Why some traditions exist I cannot say, but some offer intrigue, beautiful architecture and perhaps a hint of ruby red. So for this week's edition of Ruby Tuesday Too, I am looking at Christ Episcopal Church in Ansonia, a lovely house of worship with the Episcopal red doors. It seems that there is a tradition of red doors, and a lot has been written about it...so I refer to this source with an interesting description. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful building opened in 1905 and the red doors are a nice feature...

SOOC - Sky on Fire

Patti has been looking at the sky lately, and in this change of season, she captured a beauty last week in our domicile of Ansonia. She calls it Sky on Fire - and it is! So I am happy to submit this for Straight out of the Camera - SOOC I am not a fan of the cold seasons we are entering, but the Autumnal beauty we see now looks so nice...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Shadowy Waters

The brilliance of autumn is often in its colors - the foliage is of sharp earth tone hues, the sky and clouds equally dramatic. So for Shadow Shot Sunday 2, I offer a view that Patti captured last week that showcases the season nicely. It is the nearby reservoir at Witek Park in Derby CT, a mere five minute drive from our home. Red, good and blue sit under the blue autumnal sky. I am not certain that all the foliage is still on the trees this week - so it is nice that Patti was there that day!

Wordless Wednesday - Seagull at Rest

Seagulls in the suburban shopping enclaves we frequently see them, seem to be obnoxious. However, closer to their watery their natural environment by the sea, they seem more elegant and more refined. This one sits on a pier on the Clinton CT harbor and looks really disarming...see WW

Whimsical Windows - Ansonia Congregational

For this installment of Whimsical Windows/Delirious Doors, I am heading less that two miles downhill to the First Congregational Church of Ansonia. This stately house of worship was built in its original configuration in 1865, and expanded in 1915. Unlike the austere Puritan churches we see on small town greens all over Ne w England, this church seems to harken back to the large buildings of Europe, made of stone and full of substance.

The history go this congregation is interesting. Industrialist Anson Phelps gave the land and money to start the meetinghouse in 1848. And, the small city of Ansonia was named in honor of its founder, Anson Phelps. This is a beautiful building and has the strength of not just its stone it is clad in, but also its the fervent and true believers...

SOOC - Sunflower Farms

Autumn is a great season of color. So for SOOC - Straight out of the Camera, I am using photos taken today by the always lovely Patti. These were taken at Sunflower Farms, a mere 10 minutes away in often bucolic Orange CT. The temps are falling, the sky is an equally cold gray, so the bold and even fiery colors of Fall are much appreciated as the warm weather wanes until Spring...

Shadow Shot Sunday - Railings and Towers

Shadows fall before us in many unexpected places - and we hope to have a camera alongside. Which Patti and I did recently. Thus for Shadow Shot Sunday 2, the impressive 1896 Christ Episcopal Church in Ansonia is the subject today. This is the church profiled for SSS in 2011, and is always an impressive building that captures the more-southerly Autimn sky. Railings and towers always look especially nice as the leaves change colors and the temps fall...

Watery Songlines - Marina

For this installment of Watery Songlines, I return to July and a view of the Clinton Connecticut harbor and the Old Harbor Marina. I mention the month of the pic as the Arctic air approaches, marina cranes will lift the boats from their slips to be stored for the winter. Which is a shame for all boaters and the rest of us too - the harbor and Long Island Sound just do not look as nice as this in the freezing winter...

Wordless Wednesday - Harvest House Shelton

A great cause every other September occurs at Harvest House, constructed and filled with food in Shelton CT. More than100,000 donated items were donated after its deconstruction to the many food banks in the Lower Naugatuck River Valley...see WW

Ruby Tuesday Too - Ansonia Public Library

Ansonia Public Library, 2015-10-10. Camera settings give wide angle look. Photo by Patti.

It is time for Ruby Tuesday Too, where we showcase that often arresting color red. I am offering an updated view of our public library in our small (19,000) city of Ansonia Connecticut.

The Ansonia Public Library was built in 1891-92. The exterior walls were constructed of red Longmeadow freestone from western Massachusetts. The foundation walls were constructed of granite from local quarries around Ansonia.

The architect was George Keller, renowned for his Civil War and military monuments, best exemplified by the impressive Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch in Hartford CT. 

Here, details abound in this view from across the street, including its dramatic arched entrance and leaded glass windows. The interior is beautiful too, with plenty of oak, a stone fireplace and vaulted ceilings.

The library - was dedicated in 1892 but until the city finally approved an annual appropriation of $1,500 in 1896. Elected representation no doubt acceded to the wishes of the voters back then it seems, the public being more than ready for this impressive center of learning...

Whimsical Windows - Barb's Corner Consignment

It has been a hectic month, but as the pace has slackened, I am back to post in the meme Whimsical Windows/Delirious Doors. Today it is an eclectic look at unique windows at Barb's Corner Consignment down the hall from us in in downtown Ansonia.

As we are apt to see in a consignment shop, it is the inventory of items from bric-a-brac up that is unique when compared to any other retailer. And proprietor Phyllis offers the viewers ver unique window designs. Such as Halloween and Christmas items, and a unique event that will occur on October 31.

The event is Mission: Give Back. In cooperation with Operation Gratitude, this local effort will be collecting a variety of items for service members, sending care packages to service personnel stationed overseas. A worthy effort that adds an additional sense of purpose to a fun place of commerce.

SOOC - Memorial on the Green

Straight out of the Camera - SOOC takes us back a month to these pics taken for an article by Patti at a memorial service in Derby Connecticut for those firefighter and other emergency personnel killed in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. The memorial has an actual piece of steel from the epicenter of the fallen tower, flanked by 'towers' that remind us of the two 110-story buildings felled that fateful day. The steel is a poignant reminder from a bad day...never forget.

Shadow Shot Sunday - Pasta Rustico

In the last post on this blog, I opined about the seeming debacle of the same day cancellation of the 2015 Ansonia Harvest Festival. As chair of the Ansonia Cultural Commission, this was my first event planned exclusively by myself...and with the rain, wing and flying vendor tents, the Mayor Cassetti made the call that it was to be cancelled - now! He is a real leader for sure, and we are refunding all vendors for the lack of a true cancellation or postponement policy.

What does all of the preceding have to do with Shadow Shot Sunday 2? Well, Patti, Allegra and myself decided that a meal of comfort food at the Original Antonios in downtown Ansonia would be a help. And a it was, the Pasta Rustico (cavatelli, sausage, roasted garlic, broccoli rabe, white beans and olive oil) along with a side order of shadows on the floor behind. The day was son forgotten...for 24 hours at least :)

My FB ruminations are here...

Harvest Festival Redux

It has been awhile since I posted anything on this blog - too much time spent on the cancelled-the-day-of ansonia Harvest festival. For the non-paid position of Chair of the Ansonia Cultural Commission, trying to put on the event with the pressures of satisfying all and pleasing none, I am happy that the event had to be cancelled the morning of...a lot of interference from the previous chair and others (EDC?). I am not unpleased that the event was cancelled so that the many changes from the previous can be addressed and fixed.

As chair of the Cultural Commission, I need to know; have the autonomy and authority to work these events as I see fit - or not. Maybe this unpaid chairman might move on...

My opinion on our new Valley Voice website

More reading at Facebook: 
The day of the event, Upon further review

Wordless Wednesday - Seymour Pink 5K

It's good to be back to the blog, last week my time was consumed for my running of the Ansonia Harvest Festival only to have to cancel it the day of the event on Saturday and spend today on refunds, etc. On the same day, the always lovely Patti participated with her cancer support group 'Circle of Friends' in the Pounding the Pavement for Seymour Pink 5K...her pictures were better than mine so here they are...see WW

Shadow Shot Sunday - Shadowy Route

It's Shadow Shot Sunday 2 time again. Last Sunday, we participated at the  CDR Wheel-a-Thon. This was a walk/roll benefit event for a cross-disability center for independent living. Held along Long Island Sound in West Haven CT, the day started cloudy, but in less than an hour, the southerly autumnal sun shone bright and warm (77°F / 25°C). Perfect day and route for shadows of course...taken by the always lovely Patti, one being Allegra walking past a spilled water bottle and goldenrod lining part of the route. Nice event, day and shadows. A nice trifecta :)