Bird Lover

Here's a good example of why I like living in Waterbury:

This morning I decided to walk to downtown. I needed to pick up one of my paintings from Goldsmith's, and I wanted to get a few things from the Farmer's Market on the Green. From where I live, it's about a twenty minute walk, and I really need to get at least twenty minutes of exercise every day, so it's a good thing to do. I also wanted to get a few photos for some upcoming blog posts, so my walk meandered a bit.

I stopped on Ashley Street to take a photograph and started talking to a guy who was washing his truck in his driveway. He wanted to know if I was taking photos of birds. Then he told me that about his mom, Carmen Narvaez. She plays music (Puerto Rican, I assumed, from what I heard and from knowing that they're Puerto Rican) to attract birds to their house. From what her son told me, this works really well. They get every type of bird in Waterbury, including a mystery bird that's yellow with brown wings (maybe a goldfinch???). Mrs. Narvaez is even taking care of a bird that was attacked and injured by a squirrel.

This is my Waterbury. I can go for a walk, stroll down a side street I've never been on before, meet people from different countries and cultures, learn something new, and have interesting conversations with total strangers. It's the sort of thing that would never happen in the suburbs.