Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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The Arts are Alive and Well in Connecticut!

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I’ve been to Connecticut many times in my life. It’s a beautiful state, full of thriving cities, picturesque small towns, a beautiful shoreline and lovely countryside. Now that I live in New York state, I have the opportunity to visit Connecticut more often. And this year, through my work as a Voice, Speech & Dialect coach, I have been privileged to work at two of Connecticut’s premiere regional theaters. Through working in Hartford and New Haven, I was able to see and experience the thriving arts communities in both these cities.

I just got back from spending 5 weeks in Hartford working at the Tony Award winning Hartford Stage. The Hartford Stage was founded in 1963 by Jacques Cartier (who I was privileged to work with years later at Boston University) in a former grocery store warehouse. It has grown to become one of the leading regional theaters in the country. The productions are consistently excellent, the staff is wonderful and the new Artistic Director, Darko Tresnjak, is someone I’m proud to call a friend.

One of the great things about working out of town is the chance I get to explore the city I’m in. Hartford is a wonderful mixture of modern office buildings and beautifully restored historic buildings. It has a gorgeous park – Bushnell Park – right in the middle of the city.

It’s a great walking city. I was able to get to most of my destinations quite easily. And if I couldn’t walk, I could hop on a bus – the bus system is great. If you don’t have a car, a quick bus ride will take you to the Mark Twain House, where Samuel Clemens lived from 1874 -1891 and where he wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Right next door is the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. Imagine, Stowe (the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which was a ground-breaking abolitionist novel) and Samuel Clemens were next door neighbors! She lived in this residence for the last years of her life.

I spent a lovely afternoon at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, founded in 1842, a gorgeous museum filled with art, sculpture, antiquities and decorative arts. This is the perfect-sized museum, not so big that it becomes overwhelming, but big enough to make the visit more than worthwhile. The museum has an incredible collection of Hudson River School landscapes. While I was there, there was an Andrew Wyeth exhibition going on as well as an exhibition on the Civil War.

This is a museum that I will go back to again and again. Their collection is vast. The gift shop is wonderful and there is a lovely cafe that is open for lunch Wednesday through Sunday.

Last January found me in New Haven working at the Tony Award winning Long Wharf Theatre. This amazing theater, founded in 1965 in a food terminal building by the New Haven harbor, has long been a leader in regional theater, presenting classis and contemporary theater. Over 30 of the Long Wharf’s productions have transferred to Broadway and off-Broadway. When I was just out of college, one of my first regional theater experiences as an audience member was at the Long Wharf. My husband, an actor, worked there a few years ago and loved the experience. My experience this past January was equally rewarding.

New Haven has a long history of exciting theater; for many, many years plays and musicals heading to Broadway had an out-of-town tryout in New Haven. If you go to New Haven, try to schedule a visit to the Long Wharf. You’ll see cutting edge, exciting theater. There’s also the famous Yale Repertory Theatre – another Tony Award winning theater – that is linked to the well-known Yale School of Drama. That’s two Tony Award winning theaters in one town!

Yale University’s beautiful campus is in New Haven, and a host of museums, as well. There is the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, the Yale Center for British Art, and the Connecticut Children’s Museum.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the famous Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, the home of Goodspeed Musicals. This wonderful theater’s mission is to “preserve and produce musical theatre of the highest quality.” And they do.

There’s so much more! Connecticut is a beautiful state and I know you’ll love exploring it.

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Birds Simply Need a Good Birdbath

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Those of you who have been with me for a while should remember the damage we suffered last fall from Hurricane Irene. We lost a massive limb from our Sugar Maple. As we watched in horror, the limb fell in slow motion, crashing to the ground only about 5 feet from the house. One of the casualties was my birdbath. The bowl of the birdbath was broken in two. The base somehow survived. I took the two halves and decided to use them in the garden as garden art.

That left the base standing by its lonesome throughout the fall, the winter and early spring. I found a replacement bowl at Lowe’s the other day and it fit perfectly.

I couldn’t stand the thought of my bird friends not having access to a nice bath or drink of water. It didn’t take long for them to discover it.

When the catbird appears, the robin is right behind him. They take turns. I’ve seen the robin take a bath and catbirds always take baths. They love birdbaths.

How can you not smile watching a bird take a bath? It sure must feel great on a hot day – and the last few days here have been incredibly hot and humid for this time of year. Like much of the country, we are suffering from way too much heat, way too early. Hopefully, in a day or two things will be back to normal.

I’d like my own version of a birdbath.

Happy Tuesday.

Comments

  1. You`re so right, how can you not smile at that!

    I`ve never heard of a catbird. When we lived up in the country, we had lots of chickadees. I miss their happy little song. We don`t have them here by the lake.

    S
    xo

  2. Claudia, I have 3 birdbaths. One is a bowl, that had a chip but too pretty to throw away. We have a little pond also. The birds do love to bathe, even a squirell was in one bath the other morning. Glad you found just the right bowl. Smiles, Susie

  4. I know, those catbirds love it! I haven’t yet purchased a good birdbath … just using pottery basins and fill with water … but at least they do the trick!

  6. I really miss “my birds” from my old house. Now living at the new place, more city-like, no yard front or back, I don’t get to see them like I used to. It’s not like they want to hang around some busy parking lot, right? (I’ve got to find a new place, eventually, sigh..) BUT, I DID get to see a bird splashing around in a nearby puddle, and it ABSOLUTELY made me smile! One bird was simply trying to get himself a drink, seemingly minding his own business, while the other was in there splishing and splashing away, clearly enjoying the moment, having a ball! It was so CUTE!… Hope you had a great holiday weekend! ((hugs)) ~tina

  7. Like Sue, I am not familiar with Catbirds either. They are pretty little birds though…not colorful but interesting tufts on the head it looks like. We moved our birdbath too recently and ours was found this past hot and sultry weekend! They are fun to watch getting all wet and throwing the water around. ~Hugs, Patti

  8. We have a couple of bird baths. One in the front yard near the butterfly bushes and one in the back near the bird feeder. I LOVE watching the birdies bathe! Hugs, Linda

  9. The shape of the bowl is perfect for your stand Claudia. You would never know they were not made for each other. We have birdbaths all over the farm in every homemade shape and size. The one below our back porch is larger and when a robin or crow takes a bath it sounds like kids in a pool. I get a kick out of how much they enjoy it.

  10. What a good idea. I’ve never thought about it. Now I remember that my father has had a birdbath in the garden since the eighties. I don’t even know if it is still there. But why not. I might copy your idea soon.

  11. Love the birdbath, Claudia! Like you, I love providing a water source for all the birds and critters in our yard. How great that you found one that fit your base!… Donna

  14. Been there, done that. I’ve lost my share of birdbath bowls. Finally I got smart and used some waterproof adhesive to attach the bowl to the stand; the I attached the stand to a round concrete paver so it wouldn’t tip over!

  18. Living in MN we had many wonderful birds visiting. The catbird was a favorite. He likes the orange halves along with the Oriole and the grape jelly. If people do not want to put up bird feeders – just put a bird bath where you can see it. It is quite entertaining. We even had a heated one on our deck in the winter. Chickadees and others loved it! Nature is wonderful.

  19. …….yes, many birds love to bathe, especially the robins here, but the darned squirrels are using mine to jump to the feeder, and are cleaning it out, grrrrr!

    Hugs – Mary

  20. Such happy bird bath photos! My heart oozes with joy seeing these. I have a bird bath right outside the door of my writing cottage. I love to be writing away at my computer and here the splashing of the birds. It makes my heart sing!

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