Old Lyme

Where he wanted to be

The Connecticut River depositing silt as it enters Long Island Sound at Old Lyme

“I have seen rather more of the world’s surface than most men ever do, and I have chosen the valley of this river for my home.’’

—Roger Tory Peterson (1908-1996), in The Connecticut River, by Evan Hill (1972).


Peterson was a famed ornithologist and naturalist and author of best-selling wildlife guides. He lived in Old Lyme, Conn.

#Connecticut River

‘As far I can manage’

Roger Tory Peterson at work

“Why do I live in Connecticut? As an artist and a writer I need New York for the American Museum of Natural History and Boston for Houghton Mifflin, my publisher. But as a naturalist I prefer to live as far from either as I can manage.’’

— Roger Tory Peterson (1908-1996), writer, naturalist and environmentalist, in All Things Reconsidered. He became famous for his field guides to nature and especially for his bird guides, which he wrote and illustrated. He spent the last 42 years of his life living in Old Lyme, Conn., where the Connecticut River flows into Long Island Sound.

Railroad Bridge connecting Old Lyme and East Lyme

— Photo by Morrowlong 

‘Fresh Fields’ in Old Lyme

“Dogwood Blossoms” (oil on canvas, 1906), by Willard Metcalf, in the show “Fresh Fields: American Impressionist Landscapes from the Florence Griswold Museum,’’ at the museum, in Old Lyme, Conn., through Nov. 1.  The museum says the show “celebrates …

Dogwood Blossoms” (oil on canvas, 1906), by Willard Metcalf, in the show “Fresh Fields: American Impressionist Landscapes from the Florence Griswold Museum,’’ at the museum, in Old Lyme, Conn., through Nov. 1.

The museum says the show “celebrates landscapes, specifically landscapes created by artists who visited the town of Old Lyme. Paintings, drawings, archival materials and photographs come together to reveal the history and ecology of Old Lyme, as well as draw attention to the continuing research on the area's landscape that informed the development of the museum’s Artists' Trail.’’

See:

https://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/

The Florence Griswold House, part of the museum

The Florence Griswold House, part of the museum

Relaxing behind the Florence Griswold Museum—Photo by GK tramrunner229

Relaxing behind the Florence Griswold Museum

—Photo by GK tramrunner229