Our local supermarket

For July 1, many of the Daily Photo bloggers are posting pictures of their town's supermarket or grocery store today. Click on a number to jump to the next one.
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I'm posting mine a few hours early as I don't think I'll have the chance tomorrow!

I chose this one because it symbolizes so much of what I like about our one grocery store, Trotta's. When I moved here 8 years ago, I didn't know anyone. After my daughter was born I felt very lonely and isolated, and I took her to the grocery store nearly every day, just to have someone to talk to. Still, nobody knew my name, but they knew this adorable baby, and I was known as her mother. We'd always go see the "lobbers" -- it's one of the first words she could say. When I walked around the store taking pictures, the lobster man offered to take this fellow out of the tank for me to get a better shot (but asked me not to include him.) Then, seeing I had my (other) daughter with me, he showed us where the secret stash of cookies was and gave her one. Finally, when he saw me choose a package of salmon for dinner, he immediately went into the back room and brought me a fresher one. That friendliness completely sums up my town.

Weeding?

I couldn't tell what this boy was doing. This shot is from Millerton, the town next door to Sharon on the New York State side of the border (Sharon is on the farthest western edge of Connecticut.) I was in my car (reflected in the building's window) and had just enough time before the light changed to snap this photo. 

Sharon Audubon

The National Audubon Society has a wonderful nature education center in Sharon. They rehabilitate injured birds, conduct environmental education programs and a summer camp for kids, and manage several large sanctuaries. A few more pictures of Sharon Audubon here, and here is their own website.

Teen Spirit

There isn't all that much to do in Sharon if you're a teenager - on your average summer evening, skating down the church steps is about your only option. Some towns in the area have put in skateboard parks, but Sharon doesn't have one.

In the cemetary on a rainy evening

When I first saw these stones, I decided that the two that are crosing were lovers in life and couldn't bear to be parted in death. After I took the photo I went closer to read them, and saw that the true story is much sadder: The dark stones are children who died young (the one on the left was for 2 little boys who died at age 5 and 3 months, the one on the right was a girl who died at 3 days old). The larger one is their father.

Walk down Upper Main

Continuing the walk down Main Street I started a few days ago...here are two more of the businesses in town (it won't take me long to show every single one!) On the right is Byzance, which imports clothing from India, and on the left is the Studio 81 hair salon. 

Fields of gold

Will you stay with me,
will you be my love
Among the fields of barley?
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky
As we lie in fields of gold
See the west wind move like a lover so
Upon the fields of barley
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth
Among the fields of gold
- Sting

Laundromat

The laundromat is next to "Clothes 'n' Collectibles,' next to NewMil Bank, next to the grocery store. 

West Main Street

Standing in the middle of the intersection of Upper Main Street and West Main Street, looking down towards the fire house... on the right is the florist, the liquor shop, an insurance agency, and across the street, a car repair shop and a restaurant. It's our bustling business district! Just down the hill, past where you can see in this shot, is Doctor's Row and the hospital, and then comes Sharon Valley... subjects of many more pictures to come! 

Hotchkiss Library

The Hotchkiss Memorial Library was erected in 1892-93 thanks to the generous gift of Maria Bissell Hotchkiss in memory of her husband Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss of Sharon, Connecticut.The Building's style is Romanesque Revival. Its outer walls are limestone quarried in Sharon. The interior walls and floors are solid oak with 10 panels of stained glass windows depicting world renowned authors. The sculpture out front is by a local Kent, CT artist, Denis Curtiss.

For the next few days I'll offer a tour of the Town Green and some of the notable buildings and houses on Upper Main Street and West Main Street.

Encore performance

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of my daughter's dance recital. The group was invited to perform at a local nursing home and rehabilitation center. The pictures aren't wonderful because there wasn't much light and my camera doesn't have a powerful flash - but this gives you an idea - the girls danced their hearts out and the residents really enjoyed it.

Boys on the Dock

It seemed like such a timeless image - boys shoving each other off a dock - that it called for the black-and-white treatment. Lots more pictures of A June Evening at Mudge Pond here.

Just before the storm at Mudge Pond

We spend just about every evening and most weekends at our little town beach. Tonight, the kids were racing around, and I was snapping pictures as fast as I could, before a giant thunderstorm struck. We made it to the car in time, but I stopped to shop on the way home and got drenched bringing in the groceries. (It's Angelina Jolie's fault - if I hadn't stopped to look at her baby pictures I'd have gotten home in time!)

I got at least a dozen good photos tonight - it's always a challenge to pick the ONE that represents the rest! Usually I just post the rest on my other blog, but I won't have much time to shoot in the next few days so I'll probably just draw from tonight's batch for a while. 

Boats

When I saw these boats, I thought of this recent post of Bob from Barcelona. The spots of red are my little homage to his talent. I don't think anyone does battle with polluters, whalers or nuclear subs from this little vessel, though. 

Reflected tree

My friend Liz and I took an evening walk and this is what we saw.

School's Out!

Yesterday was the last day for most schools around here, and they got out at 1pm. So everyone ended up at the beach. We moms sat around talking about teachers, home improvements, summer plans, and the like, while the kids made sand castles, splashed arounds, and found something very interesting, evidently, swimming near the dock! (Maybe it was Jaws, the famous snapping turtle, or a water snake! I didn't go see.) 

Tree work

Someone once said there are two seasons in Connecticut - winter and road work. This year's been pretty good so far - no major project going on that cause a lot of delays. But several storms recently caused a lot of broken limbs, so the tree guys have been working hard. 

Our neighbors

The odd thing about this sign is that this spot, about a mile from the border of Sharon, is in Lakeville, and in Salisbury. Around here, there are towns, and there are villages within towns. Salisbury is the town next to the town of Sharon, and within the town of Salisbury are the villages of Lakeville and Salisbury (which are 2 and 3 miles from this spot, on the grounds of Hotchkiss School.) As I took this photo, I was standing in the town of Salisbury, but it was the part of Salisbury called Lakeville but not in the village of Lakeville... If you're confused, be glad you don't live in Falls Village, in the town of Canaan, which is completely separate from the village of Canaan, which is in the town of North Canaan! Sharon, on the other hand, is just a town, not a village. OK, Everybody got that straight? There will be at test tomorrow!

One red rose

I figured I better photograph it before the beetles get it! 

The Volunteer Ambulance Breakfast

A great tradition in most towns around here - it's another way we can support those dedicated volunteers who will race to our aid when needed. A few more pictures of the Sunday morning event here.

And as to the winner of yesterday's contest to caption the turtle picture - wow, I never expected to get so many entries - it's a tough call! I think it's a tie between:

"To get a manicure - look at those claws!' from Buzzgirl,

and "Because his wife MURTLE was on the other side!" from Mark. Email me your address and I'll send a RL postcard.

Hey, this is so much fun, let's make it a DP tradition! (To the forum to discuss!) 

Why did the turtle cross the road?

I'll take a leaf from Mark and invite people to submit answers to the joke. Winner gets a postcard from Sharon. Snapping turtles are laying eggs this time of year, and for some reason often feel compelled to cross busy roads to find a nice spot. We're told we can just pick them up, move them to the other side (in the direction they were traveling - don't put them back where they started or they'll just go again.) I tried to pick this guy up but he started wiggling and thrashing so much I didn't have the courage to take him all the way, even though I knew he couldn't hurt me.

Swamped fields

It's been so wet here (two solid weeks of rain, thought it feels like two months!) the fields are swamped. I don't know if that has delayed planting, but it's hard to imagine getting out there in that mess! I think the sun is supposed to come out tomorrow, at last. 

This Old House

This house is from the 1780's, not quite as old as the oldest houses from the 1750's - I"ll be posting pictures of those soon. It's just a few houses down from mine (which was built in 1950 - definitely not historical!) and I've always wanted to peek inside. It was recently listed on the Nationa Register of Historical Places. 

Another Connecticut farm

I stood by the side of the road and hoped the cars whizzing around the curve at 60 mph would see - and avoid - me while I took a few pictures of this farm. Happily, I lived to post it! 

Behind the scenes - tools of the trade

Living here, I could post lovely landscape and flower shots every day of the year. But when I ducked into the restroom of a nursery the other day, I noticed these hanging on the door - the gear the nurseryman wears to protect himself from insecticides and other chemicals. The not-so-pretty side of the prettiness around here, I guess! Organic farming is on the rise around here, but not everyone has jumped on that bandwagon. 

There's a bear up there!

Last night at dinner time we heard knocking at the door. It was our neighbor, come to tell us they had a bear in their tree. We all rushed over, and there he was! There are many in the area, but we live right on main street so it seems a little more unusual. I'm not sure if they called us just so our girls could get a look (they weren't that interested) or because my husband writes the nature column for the local newspaper and they wanted to get mentioned! 

Fishing on Mudge Pond

I spent my Monday at work, on the phone and on the computer. I think these guys have a much better job! 

Shopping at the garden center

I wasn't shopping today - just photographing. But the gentleman in the picture, I happen to know, has a spectacular garden and a menagerie of animals too - llamas, peacocks, ponies and more - and a 30-foot-tall swing that feels magical to ride. I was glad to run into him since he invited me to his garden party in a few weeks! (His house is not in Sharon but maybe I'll post a picture or two anyway as it is truly spectacular.)