I thought I'd share a few more photos from our
visit to Westmoor Park, in West Hartford, Connecticut. I actually worked here, many moons ago, as an assistant park naturalist and environmental educator, so it's always a bit like "coming home" when I visit. Here's a photo of part of the demonstration farm. Not only does it allow patrons to revisit West Hartford's farming heritage, but it also hosts a local 4-H group, giving kids from this populated suburb the chance to raise, care for, and show livestock. Poultry, rabbits, sheep, goats, pigs, and a cow, horse, and donkey call
Westmoor their home, and many of them travel to the various fairs around Connecticut with their human 4-H partners in the fall.
The main buildings -- in the foreground is the Park Naturalist's residence (which is private), and behind that is the old homestead, which now houses the park office, a small greenhouse, a program room, and an exhibit room.
The gardens at the demonstration farm. They look to have a good variety of crops growing there. In the background, you can see a couple of the houses along
Flagg Rd. It's an
interesting location, over 162 acres smack in the middle of subdivisions, a stone's-throw from a very highly developed shopping area.
J's actually sitting on that bench in the middle of this photo, if you can pick him out. This is the view from the parking lot looking across the grounds. In the middle is an old herb garden, which used to be quite glorious, but looks mostly ignored now. There are other more newly established flower gardens, as well as an old traditional
perennial garden behind the house. Many mature trees dot the grounds, so it's a lovely, shady spot to hang out.
Zoo Boy checks out an old barn (it was used as a potting shed when I was working there, I'm assuming it still serves the same purpose) and the old orchard. Behind him is an historic polo field. I was surprised and pleased to see that the field has been allowed to grow up into a meadow -- traditionally, the town was adamant that the lawn be preserved in it's original form, but perhaps the recent environmental preservation movement finally convinced them to allow nature to reclaim the land and provide habitat for more varied creatures. I have no doubt that it's now absolutely teeming with wildlife!
I thought I'd share a few more photos from our visit to Westmoor Park, in West Hartford, Connecticut. I actually worked here, many moons ago, as an assistant park naturalist and environmental educator, so it's always a bit like "coming home" when I visit. Here's a photo of part of the demonstration farm. Not only does it allow patrons to revisit West Hartford's farming heritage, but it also hosts a local 4-H group, giving kids from this populated suburb the chance to raise, care for, and show livestock. Poultry, rabbits, sheep, goats, pigs, and a cow, horse, and donkey call Westmoor their home, and many of them travel to the various fairs around Connecticut with their human 4-H partners in the fall.
The gardens at the demonstration farm. They look to have a good variety of crops growing there. In the background, you can see a couple of the houses along Flagg Rd. It's an interesting location, over 162 acres smack in the middle of subdivisions, a stone's-throw from a very highly developed shopping area.
J's actually sitting on that bench in the middle of this photo, if you can pick him out. This is the view from the parking lot looking across the grounds. In the middle is an old herb garden, which used to be quite glorious, but looks mostly ignored now. There are other more newly established flower gardens, as well as an old traditional perennial garden behind the house. Many mature trees dot the grounds, so it's a lovely, shady spot to hang out.
Zoo Boy checks out an old barn (it was used as a potting shed when I was working there, I'm assuming it still serves the same purpose) and the old orchard. Behind him is an historic polo field. I was surprised and pleased to see that the field has been allowed to grow up into a meadow -- traditionally, the town was adamant that the lawn be preserved in it's original form, but perhaps the recent environmental preservation movement finally convinced them to allow nature to reclaim the land and provide habitat for more varied creatures. I have no doubt that it's now absolutely teeming with wildlife!
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