NYPD Officer Attacked by Dragon

No. Don't be silly. That's not a real NYPD officer. A real NYPD officer would have moved out of the way. After balancing on the edge of the curb for over two hours we cut out and made our way to the end of the parade I think this is Grand Street at Forsythe Street near Sara Roosevelt Park and the soccer field. Our favorite Chinese bakery, Natalie's, is diagonal across the street. This was the gold and blue dragon. Yesterday's dragon was gold and red. It is the Year of the Dragon, you know.

2012 Year of the Dragon 4709

Yesterday I made my annual trip to NYC for the Lunar New Years Parade in Chinatown. This is the Year of the Dragon.

Snowy Owl in Shippensburg

On my way home from my annual trip to the Harrisburg Auto Show I got a call. "The Owl is out in the field". Two weeks ago I heard about the rare visit to the area by a Snowy Owl. I was told, "Duncan Road and Mud Level Road". That is an intersection of open fields. I saw others driving and looking so I don't think I missed him. Yesterday there were half a dozen cars parked on Mud Level Road just east of Duncan Road and I assumed that the big white dot out in the field is why. The top two pictures I cropped in a lot and a little. The last picture is the best I could do with my 300mm zoom, handheld. Many moons ago there was a snowy owl living in the hanger I worked in out in Utah, so this is my second sighting.

Willit

These willits didn't seem to be too afraid of us as we passed by on our sunrise walk along the beach on Assateague Island, Virginia last summer.

North Myrtle Beach Fire Department Station 3

This is the only other fire station I got pictures of in North Myrtle Beach, SC. This is North Myrtle Beach Fire Department's Station 3 or the Windy Hill Station. Located in the Atlantic Beach neighborhood at 803 33rd Avenue. Built in 2001, Station 3 houses Ladder 734 and QRS 737. It is also home of Hydro the dalmatian. The statue out front reads:

When you hear the sirens wail

or see the flashing lights

Stand aside and look with pride

We're going to save a life

Wish I Was Here

Sunrise over Swan Pool. That is the ocean just beyond that last dune. Taken from the Beach Access Road crossing Assateague Island last summer.

Big Rollin'

I found this huge roller skate, just one of them though, along Route 17 near Bealeton, Prince William County, Virginia. Just a little eye catcher for Rollerworks.

Oak Island Lighthouse, NC

While at the beach over Christmas vacation  we spent a day and drove up to Calabash, NC to blunder around Callahan's Gift Shop and the St. Nick Nack Christmas Shop. We left there and headed a little further north, then east to Oak Island, NC. I knew from a little research that there where 4 lighthouses up in that area. Of course, the Oak Island Lighthouse was the easiest to find and drive to. Across the water you could see the Bald Island Lighthouse but you needed to take a ferry over to Bald Island first. We opted not to do this. The Cape Fear Lighthouse and the Price Creek Lighthouse were also out of reach. Cape Fear is only a foundation and it too is on Bald Island. And the Price Creek light has no public access. The Oak Island Light (shown here) was built in 1958 to be the last time they replaced it. It is 158 feet tall and is built from 8 inch thick concrete. And for durable colors they mixed paint right into the concrete. The lighthouse now belongs to the Town of Caswell Beach, although the light itself is still operated by the US Coast Guard, located right next door.

Sollenberger Barn at Norlo Park

Barn Charm 20. You know, I look at all the barns submitted weekly to Tricia's Bluff Daily Photo blog and I try, I really do. I try and find those neglected rundown barns with character that everyone else posts. And I drive around sometimes just looking for these barns. There just isn't a lot of those around here. Most barns are being used and well cared for. Some, like this one, have been re-purposed. Some have had steel siding put on to protect them. Some have had so many additions that it's difficult to see the original barn. This barn sits has been sitting here along Route 30, the Lincoln Highway, near Fayetteville, Pa. since 1881. The farm it once served is now a community park, Norlo Park, and the barn was completely restored in 2000 by the late Wayne L. Bowerman. The spaces in the bricks are vents to allow air to flow through the barn. I think these shapes are called goblets. I think you can rent this place and have your wedding reception there.

As always, check out all the other barns this week by clicking on the barn icon above. You'll be transported to a whole bunch of different awesome places.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Came out to work on the computer this morning and found this guy outside the window and snarfing on my suet block. You can tell by the distinctive red markings that this is indeed a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

Initial Attack

Earlier this week there was an apartment fire in town. From the initial dispatch you could just tell that it was going to be one of those fires. It was a little after 1 AM. As a camera guy I try to get pictures that show some action. But I also take documentary-type pictures. I try to tell a story. And sometime I'm just in the right place at the right time. This was what the crew from Engine 152 had to tackle. I debated with myself on posting it here. While I will refrain from posting complete pictures from this fire you will see some of those story pictures I mentioned. This picture has made the rounds already anyways, from our firehouse website, to two local TV news channels and, of course, the Facebook pages of two certain firefighters. 

The above picture is what you call, SOOC, straight out of camera. No cropping, no adjustments no nothing. Below is one I worked a little Photoshop on.

The End of the Day

A bonus barn for the week. I went out to get some pictures two weeks ago and this is the best of them. Taken somewhere out along Roxbury Road north of Shippensburg.

W O Hickok

I posted a picture of the Hickok water tower a couple of months ago. Since then I was back in the area and took the single shot of the entrance. The rest of the building looks old and, in places, neglected. The entrance though was very clean and inviting. I wondered if the place was even still operating or simply renting parking spaces to state workers. Well that is easy enough to figure out... start working in the middle of the street leading up to their warehouse dock and see how many trucks need to get by you. W O Hickok sits in the city of Harrisburg on Cumberland Street at 9th Street. They have been around since 1844 making high quality machines and machine parts. Who knew?

Trapped Under Ice

Sometimes the next photo-op is right there under your feet. State Game Lands, Cumberland County, Pa.

The Star Barn

Barn Charm 19. In last weeks comment section Tricia (Ms. Barn Charm) mentioned seeing a post of a barn with a star on it and what that means. I wasn't able to find the barn she mentioned but I looked into it. And from what I see the star is simply a symbol of good luck. On some farms southeast of here in Lancaster County many of the old barns have a 6 pointed star, also called a hex sign (possibly a mispronounced variation of the German word sechs, meaning six). This is the locally famous Star Barn which sits along Route 283 between the PA Turnpike and the Harrisburg Airport (heading towards Lancaster County). It was built in 1868 by banker/farmer John Motter. I took these pictures in May of 2008. First posted here.

To see what Tricia, and everyone else is up to, click on the little barn and you can take a trip and never leave the farm.

St. John the Baptist, Lansford, Pa.

One of the few churches in Lansford that didn't get closed. St. John the baptist is a Byzantine Catholic Church of the Eparchy of Passaic and was established in 1895. Sits on Bertsch Street in Lansford. And has more of those awesome gold onion domes. Hey, you can Google and Wiki it yourself but from what I can gather this is a Slovak/Ukrainian church.

Ring Billed Gull

A Ring Billed Gull basking in the sunset light on Crescent Beach.