Category: The American Northeast

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New Print Releases The American Northeast

Guardian of the East Passage

Guardian of the East Passage (Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island)
“Guardian of the East Passage”
Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Bearing certain resemblance to the turret of some medieval fortress, one could be forgiven for mistakenly assuming that Newport’s Castle Hill Lighthouse lent its name to the hill rising inland from its rocky, oceanfront perch. As it happens, though, the modest knoll beside Narragansett Bay was called Castle Hill at least as early as the 1860s, decades before the first of the lighthouse’s granite blocks were laid (perhaps it was the hill’s name that inspired the lighthouses design?).

A Crimson Beacon (Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island)
“A Crimson Beacon”
Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In fact, it seemed for many years as if the idea of building a lighthouse at Castle Hill was doomed to fail. An 1875 attempt by Congress to buy land for the beacon fell through when wealthy cottagers nearby declined to sell. More than a decade passed before officials finally acquired the land from a new cottage owner, but progress stalled when he refused to allow builders to enter the site through his property. “I stand an excellent show of having my place ruined and nobody to foot the bill,” he complained, suggesting they avoid ruining his lawn by bringing their materials to the site on boats.

Pharos Ascending (Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island)
“Pharos Ascending”
Castle Hill Lighthouse beside Narragansett Bay, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Negotiations continued for over a year before access over land was granted and construction could finally begin. The Castle Hill Light was kindled for the first time on May 1, 1890 and the ruby glow of its lamp still guides vessels to this very day.

Tempestuous (Narragansett Bay beside Castle Hill, Newport, Rhode Island)
“Tempestuous”
Narragansett Bay along Castle Hill, Newport, Rhode Island
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Texas Longhorns in New England

Yankee Farmlands № 72 by J. G. Coleman (Texas Longhorns on feedlot, Watertown, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 72”
Texas Longhorns on feedlot, Watertown, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Enclosed by a mesh of chain-links, distinctive Texas Longhorns laze away the early morning on a feed lot in Connecticut’s Naugatuck Valley. Overnight rains have left droplets clinging to the gate and the humid air imparts a lingering haze to the sky and nearby grove of shade trees.

Not all of Connecticut’s livestock farms are situated on grassy, rolling hills and sprawling countryside. Feedlots such this one in Western Connecticut are able to fatten up cattle more quickly than could be achieved if they were grazing on open pastures. The faster they pack on the pounds, the faster they can be sent off to market to turn a profit. Not to mention that, for a given herd, a feedlot can be much more compact than a comparable pasture.

Indeed, the economic advantage of using feedlots over pastures is indisputable and this model has proven useful for some Connecticut farmers. All of that increased productivity translates to more affordable meat for you and I. On the opposite side of the coin, purveyors of more expensive, grass-fed beef are quick to extoll the culinary virtues of raising livestock on pastureland. Older, grass-fed cattle produce more flavorful meat, they insist.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Square Bales and Summertime

Yankee Farmlands № 71 (Square bales and windrows in hay field, Bloomfield, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 71”
Square bales and windrows in hay field, Bloomfield, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Summertime sunlight beats down on a warm field dotted with freshly-bound hay bales. Looking toward the wooded field edge in the distance, we find windrows of drying hay awaiting the baler once the tractor arrives for a new day’s work.

Despite their rectangular shape, bales of hay such as these are typically referred to as “square bales”. Weighing in at only about 50 pounds, they offer the convenience of being easily moved by hand. That’s something which certainly can’t be said for larger, round bales which can weigh up to a ton and must be moved with a tractor.

But while square bales are easy to handle, you’ll generally find them only at smaller farms. Large operations produce and use so much hay that juggling all those tiny bundles would prove overwhelming. For all of the labor involved in loading, hauling and stacking a dozen square bales, it tends to be far more practical to fire up the tractor and move just one half-ton, round bale.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Hopewell Relics

Hopewell Relics (Matson Hill Open Space, Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA)
“Hopewell Relics”
Matson Hill Open Space, Glastonbury, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

A towering smokestack rises above derelict masonry walls and empty window frames, all that’s left of the 19th-century Hopewell Woolen Mill. Morning light accentuates the angular ruins, imparting a subtle glow to the quiet meadows within where workers once busied about nearly 180 years earlier.

But while the Hopewell mill was built in the 1830s, these portions of its architecture weren’t visible quite like this until just a few years ago. The site was further developed by the mid-1800s just in time to begin turning out Civil War uniforms. Garments seem to have been the chief product for over a century until the old mill changed direction once again in 1956 in favor of manufacturing precision tools and jet engine components.

Despite storied, industrial successes at this old mill site on Roaring Brook, the property went vacant and was purchased by the town of Glastonbury in 2007. When it was slated to become a park, most all of the more recent factory additions were razed. Only the modest masonry and smokestack from the 1830s was left in place, skillfully carved out as if the site had been abandoned generations ago.

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New Print Releases The American Northeast

Coburn Hideaway

Coburn Hideaway (Unnamed waterfall in Westfield, Vermont)
“Coburn Hideaway”
Unnamed waterfall, Westfield, Vermont
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In my new release, “Coburn Hideaway”, dense forest underbrush embraces a vigorous brook which tosses about in a frenzy as it cascades through a gully of glistening boulders. Mosses spread in vibrant blankets amidst the waterfalls, undeterred by the swift current and furious plunges.

When a few friends and I came upon this brook snaking beneath a small bridge in the wilds of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, the tell-tale sound of cascading water could be heard echoing up from the forest understory downstream. I couldn’t resist making a descent into the gorge to investigate the waterfall, lugging everything from my camera bag and tripod to my fishing rod and waders.

Without even the faintest trail to follow, the bushwhack down to the base of the falls was grueling. But the absence of a footpath, as well as the overall remoteness of the place, makes it likely that I’ve been the only person in many decades to peer up from the foot of these cascades. That’s worth every scraped elbow and labored breath!

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

Yankee Farmlands № 69 (Windrows in hayfield, Bloomfield, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 69”
Windrows in hayfield, Bloomfield, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Windrows of freshly-cut hay snake through the corner of a quiet field bounded by woodlands as hazy morning clouds drift over the humid landscape.

Although hay may seem like a rather simple farm product, there’s a fairly involved series of steps and machinery that go into producing those tidy bales. Hay must first be cut and raked, usually with a tractor, into long piles known as “windrows” which are left to sun-dry in the field. Fair weather is a necessity, as excessive rains at this stage could drench the hay crop, causing it to spoil before it’s even gathered.

Once the windrows have sufficiently dried, a tractor equipped with a baler scoops up the hay, compressing it into round or rectangular forms before firmly tying the bundle. Finished bales are dropped upon the field so the next bale can be started. Thus, the final step in the process involves gathering the bales from the field for storage.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Empty Barns & Fields of Daisies

Yankee Farmlands № 68 (Tobacco sheds & wildflowers, Windsor, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 68”
Tobacco sheds & wildflowers, Windsor, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Beside creaky, derelict tobacco sheds besieged by prying vines, a brilliant mosaic of ox-eye daises, cow vetch, wheat and field grasses blankets an overgrown field in Central Connecticut’s waning Tobacco Valley.

By the mid-1800s, Connecticut had reached its peak level of deforestation in human history. As much as 70% to 80% of the state had been clear-cut, with a good deal of that acreage ultimately finding use as pastures, hayfields and croplands. But agriculture began a steady a decline from that point forward. Enormous swaths of farmland were abandoned as folks sought work in flourishing industrial cities or headed out west in search of new opportunities. Many towns throughout Connecticut had lost half of their population before 1900.

It’s no surprise that scenes such as this one, with fields and pastures growing wild and barns left to decay, would have been a familiar sight to folks living in Southern New England during the latter half of the 1800s. Most all of Connecticut’s modern forests, which now cover more than half the state, grew upon the deserted soil of those long-vanished farms.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Nightfall at Hogback Mountain

A Hundred Miles of Nightfall (Old cabin atop Hogback Mountain, Marlboro, Vermont)
“A Hundred Miles of Nightfall”
Old cabin atop Hogback Mountain, Marlboro, Vermont
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

A breath-taking vista, wrought in endless peaks and valleys and lined with wild forests, unfolds before the humble front porch of a rustic, old cabin nestled amidst Vermont’s Green Mountains.

I produced my latest release atop the 2,400-foot Hogback Mountain, a majestic overlook in Southern Vermont fittingly dubbed the “100-Mile View” which peers deeply into the neighboring mountainscapes of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

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New Print Releases The American Northeast

Wild Charleston

Wild Charleston (Outlet Brook, Charleston, Vermont)
“Wild Charleston”
Outlet Brook, Charleston, Vermont
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Riffles on a woodland trout stream purr softly beneath the forest canopy in the wilds of Northern Vermont amidst a luxurious mingling of leaves and mosses.

Vermont’s “Northeast Kingdom” is comprised of the three northeasterly counties in the state, encompassing over two-dozen towns in one of the most spectacularly scenic regions in all of New England. A celebrated patchwork of wild forests and picturesque farmlands nestles into 2,000 square miles of countryside where stirring mountain vistas loom ever-present on the horizon.

Over the coming weeks, I’m excited to be releasing a range of new work from this region of Northern New England which I recently produced in earlier this month.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Beyond the Old Ways

Yankee Farmlands № 66 (Bloomfield, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 66”
Field with plastic mulch, Bloomfield, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In a small field in northern Connecticut, rows of freshly-planted sprouts dance in the breeze amidst cloud-marbled skies and nearby woodlands.

Modern farming represents a fascinating blend of old and new. After all, there’s something refreshingly timeless about a quiet pasture dotted with grazing cattle or a sprawling orchard of wizened apple trees. But advances in technology and technique have also enabled farmers to be more efficient and productive than ever before.

Case in point: the use of plastic sheeting, known as “plastic mulch”, seen in this field. Covering crop rows with plastic prevents the growth of weeds and better retains moisture, meaning less field maintenance and less water usage throughout the growing season.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Turning the Soil

Yankee Farmlands № 65 (Cromwell, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 65”
Soybean field being turned with a cultivator, Cromwell, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Morning sunlight filters down through a hazy mesh of clouds, falling upon the warm springtime landscape below where trees at the periphery of the farm are freshly-clothed in leaves. With planting time fast approaching, a farmer guides his tractor in broad loops around the field, churning the soil in preparation for a crop of soybeans.

Although most folks tend to refer to any disturbance of field soil as “plowing”, farmers can tell you that’s not entirely accurate. The tractor seen here, for example, is pulling an attachment called a “cultivator” which turns a much thinner layer of surface soil in a process known as “cultivation”.

Why not just plow the field instead? Plows aerate and distribute nutrients very deeply in the soil, a crucial step for growing crops that produce deep roots. But the soy beans that will be planted in this field produce shallow roots which can’t access nutrients that are buried too deeply. In this case, cultivating rather plowing keeps all of the good stuff close to the surface where it can offer the most benefit to the bean crop.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

The Decline of the Silo

Yankee Farmlands № 67 (Farm in Bethany, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 67”
Bethany, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Virginia creeper and poison ivy climb in tangles, competing over a weathered fence post at the corner of a quiet barnyard in the south of Connecticut. Barns in the distance flank a towering concrete stave silo, likely retired from use years ago but still faithfully standing sentinel over the farm.

Silos are undoubtedly among the visual staples of farm country, but they are quickly approaching the end of their era. These unmistakable towers rose to popularity in the late 1800s as a means of preserving nutritious livestock feed for use during colder months. By the 1920s, nearly a half-million silos dotted the dairy regions of the United States.

But the purpose of the silo was to keep feed in an air-tight environment, a task accomplished far more easily these days by simply covering bunkers or feed piles in long lengths of plastic sheeting. Indeed, modern plastics have made farm life quite a bit easier, all the while tolling the death knell for the classic silo. Most of the silos that you see these days aren’t used any longer; they’ve been empty for years, in fact. Even those increasingly rare farmers who still use their silos admit that they can’t imagine ever building any new ones once the old ones are worn out and retired. It’s quite probable that within a century, the once ubiquitous silo may all but vanish from the countryside.

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