The Team

Norwich, CT

Despite a valiant effort from the Newington High School Baseball team, they fell to Worthington on this day, by a score of 4-2, in extra innings.  To paraphrase that epic baseball poem:

"There is no joy in Newington"

On a good note, however, Nick did not strike out.  

At First Base

Norwich, CT

Here's Nick at first base.  I wasn't keeping score, and didn't note if he got to first base as a result of a hit, fielder's choice or a walk.  He looks pretty intense, studying the pitcher.

The Pitcher

Norwich, CT

Baseball is a relatively slow game.  Most of the action occurs between the pitcher, batter and catcher. Those shots are easy to anticipate and capture.  It's very hard to catch the action when the ball is hit.  The kid has pretty good form.

The Pro

Norwich, CT

I'm envious.  Check out that lens.  I guess you need a lens like that to do good sports photography.  I'm sure it can't hurt.  I know it's a Canon, and I shoot Nikon, but still, it must be nice to have.  I might have to postpone retirement a few years to afford it. ;) 

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there.  I'm sure everyone thinks that their mom is the best mom in the world.  I'm sure they're right too.  I just wanted to share with you this picture of my mother, who truly is the best mother anyone could have.  I love you mom.

The Catcher

Norwich, CT

This is no ordinary catcher.  Meet Nick Sanford, the catcher for the Newington High School baseball team.  Nick is finishing his senior year in high school and will be attending American International College next fall with a baseball scholarship.  Nick is the step-son of my oldest daughter, so I guess I can claim him as sort of an "unofficial" grandson.  In any event, he's a great kid and we're all proud of him.  I recently enjoyed watching him play against nearby rivals Worthington High School.  Here are some shots of him behind the plate.

After trying my hand at taking photographs of this game, I can really appreciate how difficult it is to to do great sports photography.  I'll be posting some more pictures of Nick and this game later this week.  

Seaport Reflections

Mystic, CT

The tall masts reflected here belong to the Charles W Morgan, a frequent subject of this blog.  The last remaining wooden whale ship is undergoing final outfitting and preparation for its 38th Voyage and will leave Mystic Seaport on May 17.  I'm sharing this with Weekend Reflections.  Have a nice weekend and thanks for visiting.

Volkswagon Beatle

Branford, CT

You don't see these classic VW's too much anymore.  This one was parked outside my place of work one morning.  It's looks in pretty good shape.  I'm no expert on VW's, but I would guess this one dates from the late '60's.

Graffiti or Art?

East Hampton, CT

Old Bank Flowers

East Hampton, CT

Old bank building had a certain look of security about them and are easy to spot in any town.  It's nice to see this old bank building with a new use.

Sign of the Times

East Hampton, CT

Comstock Covered Bridge

East Hampton, CT

There have been bridges at this location since the 1700's.  In 1873, the towns of Colchester, and East Hampton agreed to share the cost of a new bridge to span the Salmon River.  It cost a whopping $3,958.59 to build back then, which was a substantial sum for the times.  Laborers back then would get  paid a dollar a day.  The bridge has been restored a couple of times since then, the last time being in 2011.  It is one of only three remaining historic covered bridges in Connecticut.  Now I'll have to find the other two. 

Rock Outcroppings Along the Air Line Trail

Colchester, CT

No hike on any of the trails in Connecticut would be complete without some pictures of the various rock outcroppings and other geological features one can see.  Although other state parks in Connecticut have descriptions of the geology, I can find no such descriptions of the geology along the Air Line Trail State Park.  This could be due to the fact that the trail covers about 50 miles, and probably traverses too many different geologies to be adequately described in a couple of short paragraphs.  Ultimately it was the geology encountered when the Air Line Railroad was built that led to it's failure.  The various hills, valleys, and streams that had to be crossed limited the track that could be laid and prevented the use of larger and faster trains making the longer shoreline route between New Haven and Boston faster and more economically feasible.  

Meet Lulu

As I started my walk along the Air Line Trail on my way towards the Lyman Viaduct, I noticed this cyclist, who started out along the trail about the same time I did.  She took her time riding, fairly slowly, but soon passed me and rode out of sight.  Not too much later, I noticed her coming back towards me, again riding slowly and stopping often.  As I approached her, she asked me to take her picture with her cellphone while on her bike.  I haven't mastered the skill of approaching strangers for a portrait just yet, but if they ask me to take their picture, then I'm very comfortable in asking them if I can take their picture with my camera.  So I used her cellphone for a couple of pictures, and then took a couple with my camera.  As is often the case when these situations arise, I didn't have the most flattering portrait lens on my camera, since I was using a wide angle zoom to photograph the landscapes along the Air Line Trail.  Oh well, one uses what one has and makes do, I guess. 

She introduced herself as Lulu and told me she came to ride along the Air Line Trail to learn how to ride her bike.  She never learned how to ride a bike in her youth, and thought the trail would be a perfect place to perfect her skills without worrying about riding in traffic or running into other pedestrians.   She wanted an additional type of exercise, to complement her running and thought cycling would be fun.  I emailed her my pictures.  I hope she likes them.  As she rode off,  I thought she was doing pretty well in learning to ride.  

Colchester, CT

Lyman Viaduct II

When seeing the Lyman Viaduct today as shown here, it is hard to imagine exactly what is buried beneath the sand and gravel.

Colchester, CT

One can look down the side of the viaduct and see Dickenson Creek 137 feet below, which still flows through the viaduct thanks to some culverts that were installed when the original trestle was buried.  

I was impressed with the size of the "gravel" rocks seen here.  Most of the gravel is at least as big as one's fist if not bigger.  I wonder how they were able to dump so much sand and gravel here and pile it up 137 feet for a distance of over 1100 feet.  I don't think there are any roads nearby or other ways to access this area.  I wonder if trains were used to dump the gravel?  However, if one looks carefully, you can find some hints of what lies buried beneath, like this rusty bolt sticking out of the ground....

Or the rail running in front of this bench.