Horse Farm, Washington Depot, Connecticut, USA

All the beautiful rolling hills of this area make wonderful locations for keeping horses.  When I pulled off the road by this farm, this fellow perked up and started directly towards the fence line.

I think he was expecting a treat. Or a soft human touch on his muzzle. The mask on his face protects his eyes from the annoying flies buzzing around.

In the adjacent paddock, word spread fast (neighs spread fast?) that humans were at the fence so others wandered over perhaps hoping for a treat or at least a scratch.

 No treats were offered but, a nice rub on the muzzle seemed to be appreciated.

Conferring about their respective human interactions?

And as we left, this one stared longingly after our friendly touch and gentle voices. Who says animals don't have complex feelings?

Rolling Green Hills, Washington Depot, Connecticut, USA

The rolling countryside around the Washington Depot area is impossibly beautiful.

It is no wonder that many of these properties have been bought up by folks from the New York City area wanting a quiet country home and an escape from the busy city about two hours south of here. 

 A working farm in the valley.

Did you know that Connecticut is home to the first hamburger (1895), Polaroid camera (1934), helicopter (1939), and color television (1948). And, in colonial New Haven, cut pumpkins were used as guides for haircuts to ensure a round uniform style. Because of this fashion, these New Englanders were nicknamed "pumpkin-heads." Now you know.  (Source: 50states.com).

Averill Farm Apple Orchard, Washington Depot, Connecticut, USA

The 250-acre Averill Farm in Washington Depot is a family farm that has been operated by the Averill family for nine generations since acquiring the land in 1746 from Chief Waramaug. I visited for some good old fashioned apple pickin'. The image above, for some strange reason, makes the apples look like they are defying gravity and floating upwards in mid-air - must have been one of those low-gravity days.

The reality is the opposite - the boughs are bending to touch the ground with their heavy loads of fresh ripe apples, still damp with morning dew.

Big clumps ready to be picked, weighed, sold, and eaten.

I don't know what variety these are - they look more like tomatoes than apples.

Here's the size comparison to a "regular" sized apple.

I didn't see any bird residents in this house.  Seems like a busy area to attract a bird family.

These two lovely young women apple pickers were happy to be out wandering the rows and enjoying a beautiful fall day in New England.

Time to head home and make apple pies! Can anything in life be more wholesome than picking and eating apples on a beautiful fall day?

A Red Barn, Washington Depot, Connecticut, USA

Storm clouds roll by a red barn complex in Washington Depot, a small rural town in western Connecticut in New England.

No rain fell and the clouds helped me by adding a dramatic element.

Sometimes an unusual camera angle makes a more interesting image. For example, in the image above, balancing the camera on top of my shoe is fairly unusual.

Stone walls, white fences, and red barns - hallmarks of the Washington Depot area.

I think it must be difficult to exactly match the color of decades-old weathered paint. This new barn door missed the mark. On the other hand, maybe they're getting ready to repaint the whole barn the new color.

It is so scenic that photographs practically make themselves...... except

........I did add this zoom-burst effect in post processing.

"Alice in Wonderland, Jr.," Priscilla Beach Theatre, Priscilla Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Priscilla Beach Theatre (PBT) is now in rehearsal for the fall production of its youth Workshop, "Alice in Wonderland, Jr."  There will be two performances in late October.

Join Alice as she chases the White Rabbit, races the Dodo Bird, gets tied up with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, raps with a bubble-blowing Caterpillar, and beats the Queen of Hearts at her own game!

Contact PBT at 508-224-4888 or online for tickets and/or information.

Produced by Bob and Sandy Malone, directed by Theresa Chiasson (in image above at upper left).

Support our local youth by attending the show at Priscilla Beach Theatre!

Downtown Crossing, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Continuing my visit in downtown Boston, I walked from the Quincy Market area to the Downtown Crossing area where old and new coexist - the Old South Meeting House at left, and the new Millennium Tower still under construction at right. The Old South Meeting House, built in 1729, was the organizing site for the Boston Tea Party in 1773.

Millennium Tower under construction. (A one bedroom condo sells for $750,000 USD and up).

Imagine being this crane operator - I assume that his/her workday begins by climbing the stairs inside the shaft at left all the way to the top. And at the end of the day he/she has to walk back down. Whew.

Much of the Downtown Crossing is an automobile-free zone.

Boston's Theatre District and Chinatown are adjacent to the Downtown Crossing area.

I applied some special post-processing to create this harsh black and white high contrast look.

And like everywhere in Boston, folks enjoy the fleeting opportunity to eat outside - soon enough it will be too cold - already, long pants are beginning to replace shorts.

Boston is a world-class city that still manages to be intimate, walkable, and friendly.

Haymarket and Quincy Market, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Continuing my visit to Boston, I decided to ride the subway rather than walk from the Boston Common to the Haymarket area. The Green Line trip was quick and efficient.

Haymarket features both an open air fruit and produce market and an indoor market. As recently as 2007, the Ghost Pepper shown above was the hottest in the world but, it has been eclipsed in recent years by other varieties.

The Boston Public Market is an indoor year-around facility that features locally sourced products.

Product exchanged for currency - the essence of interpersonal commerce among humans.

Because these stalls are set up on the street, the fickle Boston weather means that most vendors erect tents to protect their products and customers - and keep the flow of cash and goods moving.

The Boston Red Sox baseball team may not be doing very well this year but, that never dampens the devotion of die-hard fans.

  

A short walk away from Haymarket, the Quincy Market which is next door to Faneuil Hall offers hungry visitors and tourists a wide range of eating choices.

Diners can enjoy eating in the rotunda of this 1825 building.

And during decent weather, buskers of many talents entertain outside - like this pre-teen Jerry Lee Lewis style rocker.

Boston is a world-class city and always a pleasure to wander about.