Around Town

Keith Barker to be Commemorated After Trees Planted at Tilley Pond Park

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A Tree Conservancy of Darien announcement:
Please join us to commemorate our new tree planting at Tilley Pond in honor of Keith Barker: Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 10 a.m.
When Keith Barker, who had owned The Gardener’s Center and Florist for 35 years, passed away suddenly this summer, his family and friends designated the Tree Conservancy of Darien as a benefactor of memorial gifts and requested Tilley Pond as the planting site. Keith was a long-time supporter of our town, sponsor of the Darien Beautification gardens, and a well-respected garden mentor in our community. Keith’s former home overlooks Tilley Pond, where he and his dog, Anna were frequent park visitors. Five trees have been planted there as a memorial in Keith’s honor. The memorial request was the inspiration and impetus for the Tree Conservancy to select Tilley Pond as the site of our 2015 planting. Tilley is a beautiful park in the center of town and utilized daily by dog walkers, commuters, exercise groups, and as a site for town events.

Art Exhibits
Nanci Natale Dairy Barn

What Nanci Natale’s Eye Perceives: Photographs at Darien Rowayton Bank

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The beauty Nanci Natale sees in a tree, a barn or another outdoor scene is something you, too can see at her photo exhibit showing through the end of the month (11 more days) at the Darien Rowayton Bank. Sometimes it’s an old barn, sometimes a spare, new one; early on, she concentrated more on trees; another picture, from a walk on a beach in Darien, is one of her award winners. “I like to have one central object, but minimalist backgrounds,” said Natale, who’s also had a creative outlet with her column, “Darien Unexpected,” in the Darien Times. Last March, she wrote about the atmosphere of a cold winter day: “Then I look into the woods and everything has a blush from the white ground cover, deep snow pockmarked with delicate bird footprints creating an unusual pattern to the landscape, and it’s truly peaceful and beautiful.  There is something about the light in the frigid late afternoon, the days slowly getting longer, the sun a watery silver-gold casting a glow to everything, almost infusing us with an energizing dose of extra light missing for the past few months!” She’s been taking photographs in earnest for 35 years, mostly for fun, although she sells her pictures as well.