DARIN HAYTON

Tag: Brynford

  • Notes on a Bench

    Notes on a Bench

    Previously a tree stood on either side of this bench. Modest trees. Occasionally somebody would sit on the bench and look out over the park. I don’t recall when, but one day I noticed that one of the trees was gone. Just a small stump remained. Sometime later, the second tree was cut down. Nobody sits on the bench these days.

    Urban #25031418. A color photograph of a bench, a tree stump, and a memorial plaque sitting in a field of brown grass.
    Urban #25031418.

    Now flanked by two stumps, the bench slowly decays. Weather takes its toll on the wood and metal. It seems tired. Before long it will fall into ruin, another victim of neglect. Perhaps somebody will remove the broken slats and rusted metal. Then only the small, easily missed plaque will remain, stuck in the ground marking a small stump: “In memory of William B. …”

  • notes from a bench…

    notes from a bench…

    Urban #250125 is a color photo of a bench on a knoll looking out over a snow covered field. A row of houses, twins, border the far side of the field.
    Urban #250125.

    Date: 25 January 2025
    Time: 4:34 pm
    Location: Metal Bench on Preston Field Knoll

    • suv rolls stop sign, doesn’t speed off but continues casually to next stop sign. seems to be in no hurry. brake lights flash, then it rolls that next sign too.
    • crows, three, land in a tree.
    • nobody in park. crows make a racket. squirrel digs in the snow.
    • woman with curly-haired dog enters far side of park, passes merry-go-round, continues clockwise around path past tennis court, walks between playground equipment and swings, crosses basketball court, leaves park.
    • nobody to be seen.
    • sound of bus in distance.
    • nondescript suburban noise.
    • school bus stops at stop sign. chains gangle as it slows and again as it speeds away. only a few kids still on bus.
    • car door slams shut.
    • sound of bells (fake) at haverford school. it is 4:45 pm.
    • jeep parks by stop sign. young woman gets out, carries bag to house on corner, enters.
    • nondescript suburban noise.
    • wm. henderson heating van turns at stop sign, drives up street.
    • three cars in a row slow at stop sign.
    • crow flies overhead.
    • gray car pulls into drive. person gets out, goes to passenger side, carries bags of groceries (?) into house.
    • woman jogs along sidewalk.
    • postal truck stops as stop sign, turns right.
    • squirrel hops through snow, stops, digs, continues hopping.
    • woman with large black dog crosses street, walks along path to corner of park, crosses street again, walks away from park.
    • two boys cut across field.
    • group of runners (from haverford college?) talk loudly as they run down street.
    • wm. henderson heating van (same one?) drives down street, turns at stop sign.
    • black car hardly slows at stop sign. hardly slows at next one.
    • blue subaru stops in front of house. man gets out. carrying nothing, he goes into house.
    • more crows land in a tree. caw loudly.
    • school bus driving other direction, stops at stop sign. but for the driver, it is empty.
    • fake bells at haverford school chime.
    • it is 5:00 pm.

  • Looking at Brynford

    Looking at Brynford

    I was asked to take photographs of the local area for a soon-to-be revamped community website (brynfordcivic.org). I wanted to do something different, something that captures the experiences of walking and living in the area, or at least how I see and experience living in the community. Here is some of what I see as I wander the streets and parks:

    • Color photo of a wooden bench in a park one afternoon.
      #191124
    • Color photo of a basketball hoop and net.
      #191124
    • Photo of an aluminum bench on a snow covered field.
      #210221
    • Color photo of a fence and pathway on morning.
      #210403
    • Color photo of a swings in the afternoon.
      #201106
    • Color photograph of the sun reflecting off the asphalt late afternoon winter.
      #210102