Some Sports, Some Art, Some Sawing

Well, we've had our first snow of the year, over the weekend. Not much, just enough to cover the ground and make things look all winter like. Even as we get ready to publish this week's blog it snows here in the northern part of Cambria County.

Friday night is football night and the games still go on. These pictures are from the second week of play offs and are from the Portage vs. Penns Manor game held in Portage, PA. Portage won the game 27-13 and will play at home again on Friday, 16 November 2007.

Boy in Hat.

Girl in Pink.

Mike Sinonsky of Portage gets hit at the line of scrimmage but manages to fall forward for a three yard gain.

Jarod Pisarshik of Portage is hit by Carson Rhea of Penns Manor.

Kevin Stager and the front line of the Portage Mustangs create a hole for Mike Sinonsky.

Jake Adams of Portage joins in the sacking of Penns Manor quarterback Chris Gahagan.

Mike Sinonsky gets tackled by Joe Gillo and David Thachik of Penns Manor.

White-breasted Nuthatch about to take off from a mixed seed feeder.

A Tufted Titmouse at a sunflower feeder.

Snow Frog.

Frozen in Time.
These leaves are frozen in the bird bath that we leave out for the birds all year round.

The snow laying on top of the branches is what first caught my eye for this photograph.

Moss growing where our swimming pool once stood, provide the background for this shot.

Painter.

I'm not sure if this Canadian Goose is just passing through or is going to make this farm near Chest Springs it's winter home.

Portrait of a Horse in a Barn Stall.

Rain, looking out into the world.

We close this week's blog with pictures of a saw mill that belongs to Ed Holtz, Susquehanna Township, Cambria County. Ed is a wood carver and we attend many of the same arts and crafts shows in the area. The logs that he is cutting into boards belong to another wood working craftsman that lives just up the road from us.

Ed Holtz's Saw Mill.

Starting up the Detroit Allison diesel engine that powers the saw.

Using a short handle cant, Ed moves a log onto the saw cradle. This Frick O saw assembly was manufactured in the late 1890s or early 1900s.

Keeping one hand on the brake, Ed uses his right hand to move the log forward on the cradle until it is in line with the saw blade for the first cut. This is called squaring.

Once a log has a flat side, it is turned over and each side is cut off until the log is squared. Then Ed can begin making boards.

The saw mill can use saw blades of different sizes. This blade is 48" and can spin at 500 to 550 rpms. The boards are rough cut at approximately 1" which allows for later planing down to 3/4".

Francis (Ed's cousin), Ed's wife Shirley, and Gary Talerico, the log's owner, help in the sawing process.