Gulls in Flight

Friday morning on the way back to the cottage after our beach walk we noticed a couple hundred gulls slowly flying along the shoreline of Swan Cove Pool. The slowly flying part made it real easy to get some bird-in-flight pictures. I think most of these are Laughing Gulls of different ages.

Crop Circles

The oddest thing. These mushrooms popped up out at my parents house this summer. There is a circle out in front of the house, too. Dad was born here and doesn't every remember a tree growing at or near either circle. In the past a few scattered 'shrooms have made appearances out front but never that we can remember have these circles formed. I think it may be some Secret Smurf Society. I'm gonna keep my eye out.

Training Day - Rural Water Supply

Training Day for the Shippensburg Fire Department last week covered rural water supply. Rural water supply is necessary when there are no fire hydrants available to get water from in case of an emergency. In that case a pumper would set up at the water supply. It could be a farm pond, a stream or even a fire hydrant that is far from the scene of the fire. At the same time a fire engine is at the fire using it's limited supply of on-board water. A portable pond is set up (basically a collapsible pool) The tanker dumps its load of water into the portable pond and returns to the fill site to reload. Most fire tankers hold between 1000 gallons of water up to and exceeding 3000 gallons. And this scenario is played out as long as needed. In a real fire situation there would be multiple ponds, one siphoning into another, and multiple tankers, staggered out in order to allow a consistent flow of water to the fire.

Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company

Something different this week. Limited time and limited entries for Name that Station so instead we continue with the beach pictures. This is the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company Accomack County, Virginia, Company 3. This is the home of the original Saltwater Cowboys. This is the fire department that owns the herd of ponies that reside on Assateague Island. Every year, last week of July, they have a roundup and swim the ponies across to Chincoteague Island and auction off the foals. I have never been down to the pony penning or auction but we have been down during July and enjoyed their annual fair. And ate an oyster sandwich or two. Organized in 1924 the original part of the building (on the left) was built in 1930 and the addition (to the right) was built in 1957. The firehouse is located along South Main Street between the old drawbridge and the festival grounds.

Main Street, Chincoteague, Va.

Main Street, Chincoteague, looking west. Behind these buildings is the town doock along the Chincoteague Bay. The brick building on the left is the Seaside Gift and Art shop. On the right is the town Library. We like to walk downtown and visit the local shops whenever we can. And when the skies are as picture perfect as this, and it's not too hot and no mosquitoes are there to bother you it really lets you relax on vacation.

Red Man in Billtown (PG 151)

Earlier this month I had an opportunity to make a run up north. Northern Pennsylvania. While coming east into Williamsport on Route 220, about two and a half mile out of Jersey Shore, this barn here was sitting right out along the road. As with most of these I ran up the road and turned around, back down the road and turned around then pulled along side the road opposite it. Snapped a dozen or so pictures and got out of there before the man had a chance to interrogate me. This is only the second Red Man ad I've found, the other was near Tyrone and I wouldn't guarantee that it was original. This one is.

Jolly Roger's Giant Ferris Wheel in OC

I wish I could be cool and tell you how big this ferris wheel is and how long it has been spinning just off the Boardwalk in Ocean City, Md. You know, like, this is the "Such and Such" ferris wheel, built by the "Whatever Ferris Wheel Company" and it has been spinning all however many feet in diameter wheel on OC's boardwalk since way back when. And how I first rode it a hundred years ago when I was but a wee lad and how we would walk knee deep in sand uphill, both ways, just looking for old soda bottles so we could cash them in for a quarter that we'd split between three of us and that would give us just enough for some cotton candy and a ride. But I've never actually ridden this ride. My head can no longer handle any unnecessary spinning around in circles. Guess I'm just getting old.

The Sea Shell Tree

While some people study the Internet so they know when the high tides and low tides are so they know the optimum time to go shelling. And there are others who wake up before the crack of dawn while on vacation so they can beat all the other sea shell picking hacks. Little did I know that the best places to find sea shells was growing on a sea shell tree. That's right, we saw a sea shell tree down by the sea shore.

A Storm on the Horizon

Last Monday a few storm cells passed by my way. Before I could get to my camera and a spot to shoot from there was better lightning. But until I got set up most of the lightning was in-cloud with only rare cloud-to-cloud action. Right at dusk, though, this would have made some awesomely cool video. I was too far away to get the point and shoot to capture any.

Demolition Day Plus 10

Wednesday, a week ago, the demolition of the old University Lodge began. Since then they have been busy pulling out the steel and other recyclables. Soon they should be hauling away the block, bricks and drywall that remain. There is already fill soil on site to backfill the basement and to plant grass on until next spring's groundbreaking. Followed by the building of the new Shippensburg Emergency Services Building and the Vigilant Hose Company and the Shippensburg Area EMS can march down King Street to their new home.

14. Cumberland County Fire Stations

The last one was a toss up, the others we're kind of easy. I had featured Washies and the LAFD before. They're on here again so they get into the NtS database. Answers are...

First station... Good Will Fire Co. No. 1, 400 Third Street, West Fairview, Pa. Part of the East Pennsboro Fire Department, Company 16. Organized in 1908 they built this station in 1967.

Second station... Washington Fire Co. No. 1, 53 East Main Street, Mechanicsburg, Pa. Organized in 1857 on the birthday of their namesake George Washington.

Third station... Lower Allen Township Fire Department, Station 1, 2233 Gettysburg Road, Camp Hill, Pa. This is their new station that also houses the Township offices as well as the Lower Allen Police Department, yes, that is the LAPD.

Fourth station... Correct me if I'm wrong, but, this is the North Middleton Township building. I think this was the original home to the North Middleton Township Volunteer Fire Company. Company 39. I took these pictures the same day that I took the others for Company 39 and when I posted the current station 1 Wally mentioned this building and that help me confirm that this was where they were housed from their organization in 1959 until the new station was built in 1963. Feel free to correct any inaccuracies here.

Name That Station 14

We're back for episode 14. Sit back and play along. This weeks we feature Cumberland County. Some old, Some new. Answers at 1 PM.

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