I am grateful for all of the people in Manchester who coordinate and publish calendars of upcoming events at the various venues around town. Many are town employees.
This is a screenshot of the weekly view of the calendar for the first week of September. To find the interactive calendar, scroll to Calendar in the menu at the top and click on a view: Monthly, Weekly, or Upcoming Events. More information is available when you scroll over each event.
Due to COVID-19 there are fewer events happening in Manchester. Many institutions have either partially re-opened or have not re-opened at all.
Located an easy 1 hour and 20-minute drive from Manchester is the Norman Rockwell Musuem.
Last Friday, we took a short drive up 91N to 90W to exit 1. Then, followed the signs to the Norman Rockwell Museun in Stockbridge, MA. Earlier in the week, I checked out the website and made reservations for 11:30 a.m.
We arrived a few minutes early and I took some pictures of the grounds.
Norman Rockwell MuseumAdministration Building Norman Rockwell’s Studio and Garden
We had 90 minutes to tour the museum. Everyone had a mask on. Each room was limited to a certain number of people depending on the size of the room. All of the Saturday Evening Post covers are on the wall in the basement room. It’s incredible how one person could produce so many graphically detailed illustrations and paintings. His life’s work is inspirational and well worth the trip.
After touring the museum, the terrace dining area is a cool place to get sandwiches and salads for lunch. The tables are more than 6 feet apart.
Terrace Dining
Next, we drove a short distance down the road to Chesterwood. We also made a reservation ahead of time to visit. Only the grounds are open.
This museum was the summer home of sculptor and artist Daniel Chester French. He was most famous for creating The Minute Man statue in Concord, MA, and the Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.
The formal gardens around the home are beautifully landscaped.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Near the barn, there are walking trails with surprise sculptures along the way created from fallen trees by Rick and Laura Brown.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Another exciting feature of the home is the railroad tracks that lead up to a large door.
Apparently, Daniel used the tracks to wheel a sculpture out of his studio into the sunlight. Since his sculptures would be located outdoors, he wanted to see how they looked in outdoor light.
The attractions in the Berkshires, like all other tourist destinations, during this COVID summer, are scaled-down. It’s disheartening to lose so much live music, theater, and dance productions. Tanglewood performances are online-only this summer but, you can make an appointment to tour the Tanglewood grounds to learn its history and experience the beautiful views. The galleries at Willams College Art Museum are temporarily closed. Still, The Clark and Mass MOCA are open with timed ticketing. Mass MOCA has outdoor live performances with appropriately distanced audience space and a bring-your-own chair policy.
I’m grateful for all of the creative ways people have found to open their doors to visitors this summer. (Thanks to Beller’s, we were still able to hear live outdoor music in Manchester.) Above is just a small sampling of activities in the Berkshires. Some of the other enjoyable places to visit in-person or virtually include Jacob’s Pillow, Williamstown Theater Festival, and The Mount. If you have the time, go up and explore. Follow the links below to reserve you time and order tickets. You won’t be disappointed.
I am grateful for all of the people in Manchester who coordinate and publish calendars of upcoming events at the various venues around town. Many are town employees.
This is just a screenshot of the monthly view of the July Calendar. To find the interactive calendar, scroll to Calendar in the menu at the top and click on a view: Monthly, Weekly, or Upcoming Events. More information is available when you scroll over each event.
Due to COVID-19 there are fewer events happening in Manchester. Many institutions have either partially re-opened or have not re-opened at all.
Not much has been happening in the Manchester area since the COVID Quarantine started in mid-March. Absent are the MCC Band Shell Concerts, Yard Goats Baseball Games, Senior Center classes, recreational opportunities, and TheaterWorks and LTM productions.
Even with a partial reopening in the state, we have felt the need to continue being cautious about social distancing and wearing a mask. We haven’t visited any indoor dining establishments or attended summer social gatherings. When we were out for our nightly walk around the block with Esther earlier this week, we were surprised by a sign advertising a concert at Center Memorial Park.
A quick look at the Beller’s Music website revealed this flyer.
We decided to check it out. Most people arrived wearing masks and kept them on until they were seated safely. There was a big sign letting us know how far apart to sit.
The weather was perfect. A socially distanced audience, relaxing music, and plenty of shady spots to sit created a joyful, soul-nourishing and much appreciated night out. The five-piece band, Autumn Mode, played selections made famous by Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Marvin Gaye, and Steely Dan, to name a few.
We eagerly anticipate attending more Beller’s Music Thursday Night Concerts during this pandemic summer!
In early February, before we were under CQ, we took a ride out to the Shepaug Dam in Southbury one Saturday morning. The gate is opened by a volunteer at 9:00 a.m. and cars are directed down a short road to the parking lot for the Eagle Observation Area. Visitors can view and photograph eagles and other winter birds. A wooden shack, divided into two small rooms, serves as an indoor observation station with large openings facing the river. One side of the cabin was open space, and the other had telescopes set up. There were also wooden benches pushed under some counters along the walls and a small heater.
Shepaug Dam
The shelter is about 100 yards from the Housatonic River, where the eagles like hanging out. A more powerful camera lens is needed to get a close-up shot. This picture was taken with my camera.
A couple of eagles hanging out in a tree
One of the volunteers helped me take this picture using my phone held up to a telescope.
Same eagles taken with iphone and telescope.
Around 10:00 a.m., the volunteers asked all visitors to leave one of the rooms so they could set up for a program. The telescopes were removed, and the benches were pulled out from underneath the counters. Rows of seats were set up like in an old-time one-room schoolhouse. A speaker from the Audobon Society of Fairfield proceeded to share information about some of the previously injured birds she brought along. Volunteers at the Fairfield Audobon Society nurse the birds back to health. The birds continue to live out their lives at the refuge because they would not survive in the wild.
During the talk about the birds, each was identified. If memory serves, the identities of the birds in the captions are correct.
The Shepaug Dam is only about an hour from Manchester. Eagles like to fish there in the winter because the water doesn’t freeze. This year with the warm winter in Connecticut, very few lakes froze over. Eagles had many bodies of water to find fish in northwestern Connecticut. So, fewer eagles were hanging out at the Shepaug Dam.
I am grateful to the people who volunteer to care for birds and animals and build structures for viewing and donate time and expertise. I long for the post-CQ era to once again meet in groups and learn from knowledgeable people about the incredible variety and beauty on this magnificent planet.
On Mother’s Day morning, with snow still coating some surfaces in Manchester, Esther and I took a walk on the White Trail at the Bush Hill Preserve. It was a cold, bright, crisp morning for a walk. The trails are well-marked and well cared for. I learned about something known as perambulating.
Snow on the Roof
Yes, that is snow, and yes, it is May 10 in Connecticut.
Esther Checking the Bounds
Explanation of Perambulating the Bounds
I have never heard this expression, and I was born well before 1979.
Glastonbury Side of the BoundsSome of the Botti Farm Neighbors
I am grateful to the volunteers at the Manchester Land Trust for all of the work put in to purchasing, preserving, and caring for open space.
I am grateful for all of the people in Manchester who coordinate and publish calendars of upcoming events at the various venues around town. Many are town employees.
This is a screenshot of the weekly view of the calendar. To find the Calendar, scroll to Calendar in the menu at the top and click on a view: Monthly, Weekly, or Upcoming Events. More information is available for each event in the calendar section.
With COVID 19 canceling events statewide, there is not much happening in Manchester in May. I am not sure how this calendar format will work when we are back up and running with a full calendar of events in Manchester.
I am grateful for all of the people in Manchester who coordinate and publish calendars of upcoming events at the various venues around town. Many are town employees.
I haven’t posted a calendar update in a few weeks. Since the last update, I’ve made some changes to the blog and calendar formats.
To find the Calendar, scroll to Calendar in the menu at the top and click on a view: Monthly, Weekly, or Upcoming Events.
With COVID 19 canceling events statewide, there is not much happening in Manchester to close out April. The biggest news is that the Board of Directors has voted to cancel summer camps.
The Nike Site, off of Keeney St at the end of Garden Grove Rd., is a fascinating place to explore. From 1957-1961 the land was a U. S. Army anti-aircraft defense site. There were twelve of these Nike Sites in CT. The installation in Manchester protected this area (Hartford? Pratt & Whitney?) from military planes that entered our airspace. The army used radar and missiles to detect incoming enemy planes and was considered a last line of defense to protect the U.S. during the Cold War. The military decommissioned the site in 1961 as advances in technology made the missiles obsolete. I don’t think the deployment of any missiles ever happened from the Manchester Nike Site (or any of the sites for that matter).
When the army returned the land at the Nike Site installation to the town of Manchester, the recreation department found another purpose for the area. Today there is a pre-school, indoor shooting range, baseball field, the CT Concert Ballet, pickleball courts, hiking trails, and some buildings that look empty but (peeking in the windows) are obviously used for storage.
Baseball FieldPickleball Courts
The trails are not well marked at Nike. The Recreation Department has this little booklet of town trails with maps, but the Nike Site did not make the final cut. Here is the link to the town’s little hiking booklet:
On the CTMQ website, I found this map of the trails (which I have altered slightly) . The CTMQ blog is one of my favorites, and when the CQ is over and you are looking for something to do in CT, you need to go to the website and check it out. You won’t be disappointed. Here is the link: http://www.ctmq.org
Hiking on the Nike Site trails and abandoned roads is an opportunity to look back at the land-use history of this area since 1957. There is an abandoned, (serious) double yellow line road that connected what is now Hercules Dr. to Faith Circle. Army officers and their families lived on Faith Circle.
A radar tripod was at one time attached to the three metal plates of this cement pad.
Old Radar Pad
There is a cairn where you take another trail out to Manchester Country Club.
Other features at Nike include a well-built lean-to, cement pads, assorted buildings, metal objects, telephone poles, and water towers.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
I found an abandoned ski slope and an abandoned baseball field, to be the most intriguing elements. Internet research reveals that the ski area was called Northview Ski Slope. It was open from 1969-1979. Vandalism, including cutting the ropes on the rope tow and driving a four-wheel vehicle into the rope tow building caused the town to shut it down.
Pulley from the Old Rope Tow
Most of the poles from the rope tow are still standing with the pulleys attached. Only this one has fallen over.
Broken Rope Tow Pole
Trees and brush now cover most of the ski slope, making it hard to visualize people skiing on that hill. But, there are a couple of clearings on the old trails where you can still picture people coming down on their skis.
One of the trails looks like it had a good view of Hartford.
Last but far from least, is the abandoned baseball field. The field is down in a valley closer to Hackmatack St.
I couldn’t find any mention of the field on any sites related to the U.S. Army use of the Nike Site or the Manchester Recreation Department. I think the soldiers working at the installation used the field. The only evidence of access to the grounds is a path from Faith Circle. It doesn’t look like there was ever a road or parking area down there.
Was the field used only for pick-up games between those stationed in Manchester? Maybe teams from some of the other Nike Sites in the region came up to play.
Here are some pictures of the old backstop and old cedar posts that held the player’s benches.
View of Weed-covered Backstop from HomeplateBehind the Backstop Looking Out at the Field Toward First BaseAway Team’s Bench?
More photos of the area include home plate and the pitcher’s rubber.
This trail off of Faith Circle takes you down to the field.
Every time I walk around the Nike Site, I discover something new. I haven’t hiked the trail out to the golf course yet. I am grateful for the creative people who have used this land and the buildings for recreation rather than just abandoning it like some of the other Nike Sites.
I am grateful for all of the people in Manchester who coordinate and publish calendars of upcoming events at the various venues around town. Many are town employees.
Norman Rockwell’s Studio and Garden
Apparently, Daniel used the tracks to wheel a sculpture out of his studio into the sunlight. Since his sculptures would be located outdoors, he wanted to see how they looked in outdoor light.
I am grateful for all of the people in Manchester who coordinate and publish calendars of upcoming events at the various venues around town. Many are town employees.
On Mother’s Day morning, with snow still coating some surfaces in Manchester, Esther and I took a walk on the White Trail at the Bush Hill Preserve. It was a cold, bright, crisp morning for a walk. The trails are well-marked and well cared for. I learned about something known as perambulating.
I am grateful for all of the people in Manchester who coordinate and publish calendars of upcoming events at the various venues around town. Many are town employees.
I am grateful for all of the people in Manchester who coordinate and publish calendars of upcoming events at the various venues around town. Many are town employees.
