Earning Another Star

Today's post is not about the picture, I'll have more on that another day. Today is another one of those little milestones you reach, ponder and charge ahead. Today is post number 400. Tomorrow I set my sights on 500. But first some TMI (Too Much Information) about how things here at the main headquarters for the Outskirts of Suburbia work. In order to keep me from losing my mind I keep subfolders in my 'My Pictures' folder. And in these subfolders I keep all the pictures I'm going to post. And in order to keep this reasonably organized, and not huge, I start a new folder every 100 posts. If you figure I post one to three pictures a day that figures to 200 pictures every 100 posts. So, enough math already, I'm going to start my fifth folder and I'll see you back here tomorrow.

Linglestown Fire Department

This time it is the Linglestown Fire Department, located in the village of Linglestown, Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, PA. and running their famous white and blue apparatus as Dauphin County Co. 35. The Fire Department in Linglestown started several times and as early as the 1850's. And in 1935 with the purchase of some motorized apparatus they were finally on their way. In 1937 they bought the old Linglestown High School building for $775 and added on to in 1955 and 1969. In 1991 they built the big blue barn just west of the old station along Route 39. The old building now serves as a rental hall, the "St. Thomas Room", and a place for their weekly bingos.

Useless trivia, the village was laid out in 1765 by Thomas Lingle who called it St. Thomas. After his death everyone refered to it as Lingle's Town. I don't need to tell you which name stuck.

No Fishing

It's too bad, 'cause there are some big old whopper trout swimming around this sign.

How High

This is the south east abutment to the Rockville Stone Arch Bridge. That would put it on the Dauphin County side towards Harrisburg, along North Front Street. It shows what the concerns of someone who lives by and nearby to a river. 1889, 1904, the ice melt of January 1996 (this is the one that took out part of the west span of the Walnut Street Bridge), 1936 and Hurricane Agnes from June of 1972. Many places, bridges buildings, etc., along any river you are likely to find these memories.

(Sorry, no Painted Gentleman this week, it's been crazy here at the asylum lately)

Columbine

This is, of course, Columbine. In white and lavender, known as Rocky Mountain Columbine, it is the state flower of Colorado. I have some in my gardens, all purple. While walking along the Big Spring on Sunday morning I saw light and dark purple and light pink and a nice dark pink.

Memorial Day 2008

Stranger in a foreign land

Fearful cries surround him.

Returning home a wounded man

To find he's been forgotten

Courage is the badge he wears

Blinded by obsession.

Wars are won by those who dare

The memory still haunts him.

Remember the heroes

Who fight for the right to choose.

Remember the heroes

We've all got a lot to lose.

Remember the Heroes

(J. Cain & S. Hagar 1982)

Sammy Hagar with Mike Reno

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Yes, seek indeed. This mornings walk was down along the Big Spring, no rain this morning, I was able to get out and walk. And among the ducks and geese floating and snoozing, among the goldfinches hiding in the cedars and among the fisherman enjoying their Sunday morning I found what I was after. Actually he found me, apparently I must have wandered too close to a nest because the red winged blackbirds came to me. They circled and squawked until I moved outside their discomfort zone. That's when he allowed some pictures. The pictures I have been looking for, him setting on the cat tail. I'm not sure it is the perfect, once in a lifetime shot but I did get some pretty good one.

The Elusive Red Winged Blackbird

This morning I continued my search for the elusive Red-Winged Blackbird. Good ole Agelaius phoeniceus. I walked along an old trail I've been down before, which was recently expanded into a new area. Here I stood along the marshy wetland and watched as two flitted down from the trees through the cat-tailed swamp and back into the trees. Not until I was leaving and already across the bridge did I look back to see one light not ten yards from where I had just been. It's a conspiracy I tell ya. I did catch a Gray Catbird hanging out in a tree nearby.

The Looney Tunes at Fire Expo '08

No, the cartoon Looney tunes. A really cool Road Runner, and a couple of Taz's.

Molly Pitcher

OK, to further explain who exactly Molly Pitcher was, remember yesterday's Carlisle post? or the Walls have Eyes post from May 14th of last year? And in the interest of laziness and to avoid all the typing I did yesterday I offer you the following...

Carlisle, PA (PGLX)

The Painted Gentleman for this week is a focus on Carlisle, PA. This mural, painted on the side of Blondie's Inn, at the intersection of West High Street and North Pitt Street shows the images that make Carlisle a place where history was made. Let's have a look. Starting upper right is the old Courthouse. It's been sitting on the square since it was rebuilt in 1846 and still shows where Confederate shelling damaged the front pillars on July 1, 1863. The second image, the gentleman, is for education, Carlisle had the first public high school in PA in 1837. It currently is home to Dickinson College and the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. And onetime home to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Next is Molly Pitcher. Mary Ludwig Hayes McCauley who is believed to have carried water to the troops during the Battle of Monmouth in the Revolutionary War. Next is Jim Thorpe, the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th Century and student at the aforementioned Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Bottom row left side. The Letort Stream was vital as a water source for Carlisle and today is world renowned for it's brown trout. Next is the Two Mile House, listed on the Nation Register of Historic Places and named for it's distance from the Square. Right side is Flat Rock, near Doubling Gap, at 2,000 feet above sea level it gives you a great view of the Cumberland Valley. And finally the trolley symbolizes Carlisle as a transportation hub. The PA Turnpike, when it opened in 1940, ended in Carlisle. The mural and this information was made possible by the Downtown Carlisle Association as part of Carlisle's 250th anniversary in 2001. HAMD

Web Blog

A foggy morning at Dykeman's Pond a.k.a. Indian Head Spring. The dew hanging onto the spider web caught my eye. A perfect morning.

11:37

After almost 13 months I've got to admit that finding a picture to post and finding some thing to write about are at times very difficult. I try not to become redundant, but sometimes a series is necessary to tell the story. Today's picture comes from a train station visit back in April, yes, the one in New Jersey. I think I made my point back then. Anyways I spent a couple hours at the station talking with the people who built it, the people who run it and the people who keep it running. I learned alot about what they need to work and also got to watch the efficiency of the railroad. If they were running a bit late the androgynous monotone voice announced the delay. And the engineers operating the trains would fly right in and you would think they're just passing by and suddenly they would stop, open the doors and wait for embarking and debarking. At mid day the passenger service slows down a bit though, I'm sure if we'd have been there much earlier the traffic towards the city would have explained the full parking lot.

Rockville Stone Arch Bridge

The Rockville stone arch bridge was built between 1900 and 1901 and is located over the Susquehanna River and North Front Street north of Harrisburg, PA. It was registered with the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. When it was built it was the longest "stone masonry arch railroad viaduct" in the world. With 48 seventy foot arches it spanned a total length of 3,820 feet. Originally built in 1849 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it was, also, later used by the Northern Central Railway (their original bridge was up river a short distance). The new bridge was built by two contractors, one building from the east and one building from the west. This bridge carries Norfolk Southern and Amtrak trains now.

While walking around it from the east side along North Front Street you can see that the bridge has been here so long that it is turning into a man-made cave. Many stalactites hang from the ceiling and the river side of the road overpass has an area of 'cave bacon' a form of stalagmite caused by water dripping through the rock and depositing minerals over a long period of time.

Fire Expo 2008...Who Was There...

The big city boys were there to be sure. FDNY from NYC was there, too. And me. I spent 2 and a half hours walking around seeing what was new, taking some pictures seeing what was new in t-shirts. There were many different manufacturers there some I had never heard of and some that have been around forever. And wackers. Wackers are the hyper-stereotypical fire guys, kind of like nerds with helmets and pagers. There will always be wackers.

I Don't Take People Pictures

One of my cousins, a new reader, called me at home last week and complemented me on this blog, she said she liked the pictures but that she preferred people pictures and that I should post some. I thanked her for stopping by and explained that, "I don't take people pictures." Why? "Because I don't like people. People blink and move and have opinions and inanimate objects don't."

Then, several weeks ago, I was asked if I could take some senior pictures. "No, I don't take people pictures." Besides the stress of recording someones 'moment in time' wasn't a responsibility I was interested in. And after two more "No's" I got together with this lovely young lady Wednesday evening to take her picture. Her mother had said that she has seen my work and thought I would do great. Funny thing is my work involve sitting in front of a computer all day trying to look busy and not get caught surfing the net (not at all what I was hired to do).

We started slow and soon warmed up to each other and the pictures took on a more relaxed if not at times goofy vibe. Thank God she brought along a friend, I don't notice things like 6 strands of hair out of place or price tags stuck on shirts. At one location we had the purple and white flowers by the gate or the pink flowers by the porch or the big locust tree out back or I told her she could be out standing in her field. The light bulbs lit up at this suggestion and after several posed shots and while we were thinking of where to go next, the spontaneous happened. Of the 151, yes that's one hundred and fifty one, pictures taken at at least 10 different mini locations this one picture still is stuck in my head.

Good luck to her and her patient mother on figuring out what pictures they want.

Keeping the Haints Away

The haints, as everyone already knows, are spirits, ghosts if you will. And in many places, especially the southern U.S. people painted the underside of the porch roofs blue (some people call the underside of a roof a ceiling). And in some places you can actually walk into a paint store and ask for Haint Blue and they will ask, "Light or dark?" The theory here is if you paint your porch "ceiling" haint blue the evil spirits will pass through thinking it is the sky and thus protecting the house and all those who stay there. The nay-sayers claim it keeps the bugs away (a theory started when the paint was mixed on site and they used lime in the paint, so technically the lime kept the bugs away. I don't know if haints like lime or not) or they claim it helps give the illusion of extending daylight at the end of the day. To the nay-sayers I say "phooey!"

MAMCO (PG LIX)

Middle Atlantic Millwork Company was once located here on East High Street in Carlisle, PA is now a part of Anderson Windows and calls home west of Carlisle along Route 11 with the rest of the warehouses that sprung up like an oversized prairie dog town. Gone are the days of hand-craftsmanship and here to stay are big machines stamping out vinyl windows and steel doors. Say hello to progress. At least the building is being preserved as a multi-function mini-mall type of establishment. It is now home to Line's Office Supply, The Party Outlet and there was a Fishing Outfitter in here. Now that really is progress.

U.S. Property, No Trespassing

Yeah, that's right, just don't go there.

Big Spring Egret

I took this egret picture Saturday while slowing driving along the Big Spring near Newville, PA. As you saw posted on Saturday there were mallards and Canada geese along with other song birds. I saw some goldfinches flitting in from of the truck at one point but they disappeared into the brush. What I was disappointed about though was not finding just what I was looking for. The classic red-winged blackbird on the cat tails. With one keen eye to the weeds and one checking the rear view mirrors I arrived in Newville without so much as even seeing a red-winged blackbird. Bummer, eh? (click on this one to really appreciate)

Flowers for Mom

I read today that this is the 100th anniversary of Mother's Day. And this year in observance of this centennial I give to the Moms of the Blog-o-sphere...flowers. Posies. And in this case azaleas and hydrangeas. Ands as an added bonus and by special request...a butterfly. All together now... AHHHHHH!

Pardon the weed there, I'll have the hired help take care of that.

A Good Day for Ducks

A good day for ducks. And geese. At least this morning started out that way. I took these along the Big Spring, north of Newville, PA. Some of the pictures were actually taken from inside the truck to stay dry. Besides I would have scared the ducks if I parked to get out. The afternoon turned decent, which allowed the festivities to go off without a hitch. Not to say it hasn't been alot like a duck, calm to the eye but paddling like heck beneath the surface.

The Wall Street Bulls, FDNY Ladder 15

Found this picture I took in the Summer of 2006 near Ground Zero of Ladder 15 and started to see what I could do with it. I played with some of the editors and effects, some were no good and some may have gone too far to still say that I took this picture. I'm not really sure what I was looking for so I'm not really sure I found it. Anyways...

Ladder 15 is housed with Engine 4 in Manhattan at 42 South Street. Unfortunately they don't have a website yet, so I can't sent you there.

Spring Lot Gazebo

First the bench from Sunday, then the pieces from Tuesday, now today the whole thing. What is it? It is the Spring Lot Gazebo on West King Street near Spring Street in Shippensburg, PA. The following is from a booklet called Olde Shippensburg by Matt Miller and Bill Burkhart (1980).

"The lot, which once contained a constantly flowing spring, was deeded to the Borough of Shippensburg on September 24, 1825 by Joseph Burd, the second proprietor of Shippensburg."

"The gazebo which still stands on the lot today was erected sometime in the late 1800's and a drinking fountain was installed there by the Borough in 1919. For many years the people of the town stopped by the spring for a cooling drink until a rumor that the water might be coming from under the Spring Hill Cemetery got started in the 1920's."

The spring also supplied water to the Smith Hotel (now Market Cross Pub) through water lines made of 10 inch yellow pine logs with a 3 inch bored hole through the center. This lasted into the 1950's.

Nice place for a family picture.

Duncannon Community Mural (PG LVIII)

This week is the Duncannon Community Mural. Duncannon, PA is located along the Susquehanna River's west side where Routes 11/15 and State Route 274 intersect. The mural is on the side of a house near the intersection of Cumberland Street and Market Street. The sign on the mural explains that it was painted by 620 community members between September 2003 and December 2004 and show images that uniquely represent Duncannon and Eastern Perry County. Sort of a Where's Waldo , there is the Skatelite skate park, covered bridges, fire departments, the Clark's Ferry and Rockville Bridges and the Statue of Liberty on the old bridge pier in the Susquehanna. Also you can see the infamous Duncannon Subway (if it rains hard the Subway is closed), Susquenita Schools and their sports, deer, turkey and hundreds of hand prints. And much, much more.

If any of you early (Late) birds are wondering, Blogger has a new service where I enter the date and time as I've always done and they don't post until that time. So if indeed you were one of those who checked in late to get an early look, set your alarms 'cause it will not post 'till midnight oh one.

Everything Old...

Just some parts and pieces from inside the suburbia of Shippensburg. The weather was beautiful this past Sunday. Some would call it a Bluebird Day. Just an awesome day to take some pictures. Stay tuned for more.

Wetland

This was taken on the outskirts of Shippensburg, PA, in an area once known as Funck's dam. It was taken a week ago after all the rain.

Relax

Ever find yourself waiting. I'm I early? Are they late? How long 'till they get here? What time is it? Is this where we were to meet? Was it this weekend or next? I'm sure it's today. I'm just early. I'll just hang out here and wait. What time is it? Maybe I'll wander around a little. What time is it now? I'll sit over here 'till they get here. Maybe I'll go look up the street and watch traffic. What time is it?

They're here. They're gone. Now what? That went easy. What time is it?

Late Night Take Out

First attempt at neon at night. It seems to compare to the Stained Glass windows or taking moon pictures with the extremes in lighting. To get a good picture of the neon light everything around is pitch black. To show the surroundings the light is over exposed. Also the fact that I'm taking these pictures in the dark in a public place I need to employ my hit and run tactic to taking pictures. Get what you need and get out. I actually took a picture the shows the neon better but the guy sitting and waiting on his General Tso's was giving me a look like he was under surveillance, a sure sign it's time to move on.