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...

Ruby Tuesday Too - Summer Harvest

Ah, it has been an unusually cold Winter in the Northeast US, and we are tired of it. Not that I want time to fly by, so for Ruby Tuesday Too, let's fast forward to the August harvest of our potted tomatoes similar to these. Despite the frosty season we had, a yearlong dream is that basis Summer Salad of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with a light balsamic dressing and worth the wait :) So we await the warm weather harvest to commence!

WW - Children and Sprinklers

It is the end of summer now, and the kids have grown a lot since 1995. Yet, when small, a sprinkler on a hot day is all the fun they needed...

See WW and WW!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Sumer ebbs in the Uplands...

Allegra and I leave long-ish shadows on the front yard...

Always love the oval shapes and shadows of the Neon...

Looking to the south from the north - seasonal shadows

I guess that it's no accident that the shadow hunter shows up in the sheetmetal :)

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 returns and since autumn is nigh since the unofficial end of Summer is Labor /Labour Day (actually it is 22 September), it seems as the sun has actually began its move to its rightful position to the South. So, the shadows now more pronounced from South-to-North in the front yard are where I looked for shadowy subjects. Including those that include daughter the shadowy Mulberry tree and Allegra's cherry red 1996 Plymouth Neon. I am noticing the sun making its long angular turn - a sign of the season and longer shadows as the sun retreats. It is still warm now...but for how long??

Shadowy Shot Sunday 2 - Shadowy Summer Solstice Subsides

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 is back, and alas the season of Summer ends its run for this year at 1:04 A.M. (EDT), as I slept so Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere is here. Luckily in the Land of Oz, it is Spring...I went out yesterday into the drive and have really noticed the southerly angle of the sun these days...

The gray house next door is actually facing due south - as evidenced as the sun shining across and cascading over my van...early autumn is often delightful, dry and a sunny day today at 80 °F (27 °C). Of course, late Autumn is quite different, leafless and much chillier. Which I will deal with at that time...

Ruby Tuesday 2 - Ripe and ready

Ruby Tuesday 2 arrives a day after a visit to the Ansonia Farmer's Market, where the local tomatoes are vine ripened rubies. Fresh, I sliced them as thins as our cheap sharpened knives could allow - our homegrown ones are not quite ready. So the idea was to stack the fruit along with other items to make supper with...

All photos by Allegra

The final choice was to make each stack from bottom to top as follows: mozzarella, tomato, capicola ham, basil leaves, tomato, mozzarella, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. With Allegra's help, we placed two stacks into each hard roll and made panini sandwiches in a pan with unopened tomato cans to weigh them down. A satisfying dinner with plenty of ruby as a side dish...See more world-wide rubies at RT2!

Tina's Pic Story - Under the tree

A quiet summer morning under the mulberry tree in the Ansonia Uplands

An unseasonal snow on 29 October 2011 weighs the leafy branches down

Tina's Pic Story is back - we add the pictures that match the theme which this week for is under the tree. My example this week is the mulberry tree in our front yard, in two distinct seasons. For the summer, the tree adds an elegant shadow underneath its canopy of leaves. For the other, the leaves are touching the ground, the leafy branches full of wet and heavy from a freak October snowstorm. The contrast is total, from peaceful to nearly destructive. Same tree, different scenarios under the same tree...

Tina's Pic Story - Finally

Tina's Pic Story is back. We post the pictures, she provides the weekly theme, which today is 'finally'.

At a summer gathering, the day is hot and the boys would like some relief from the heat. The sprinkler is finally turned on and finally, a cooling treat for the boys...