Yard Work

Every once in awhile I like to try to catch the robberflies on the deck when they are searching for food.  If they are in the right place, I can get some good close-ups of them. 

Ceramic cat made by my daughter in middle school.

These next two shots of the hummingbird are in black and white because they look a whole lot better than they did in color.  This is what you get when you don't check your settings before you start shooting.

Actually, I think I got pretty lucky.

Lifeguard on duty in the bird bath.

This statue provides lots of different possibilities between the lighting changes in the garden during the day and the angles on the piece itself.

The black book stand was a castoff from the University library.  A piece of coconut grass provides the base for a succulent that came from a cleanup done at the Mount Assisi Gardens on the former Schwab Estate.

Yes, campers, believe it or not it is possible to raise cactus in your garden in the mountains of Pennsylvania and have them survive our winters.

After several false starts over the last couple of years we finally have gotten around to laying out this perennial garden next to the house. 1900 square feet is now mulched, there are a few plants, statues and other "objects of art" in the garden.  We are gradually moving plants from other areas to this space. 

Last week I used a photograph of this farm that I shot during a good drizzle.  This is what it looks like most of the time when the sun is shining on the hay bales.

Johnstown Incline Plane shot on a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning.

Closer to Home

On a rainy Monday morning, I stopped to shoot this picture of a farm along 219 just South of Carrolltown on my way to the Cambria County Fairgrounds in Ebensburg to drop off my entry form for the annual county fair.

Three of my rubber ducks floating in a shallow swimming pool during a thunder storm.

Two of the rubber ducks peek over the edge of the pool during a short lull in the passing thunder storms.

American flag in a garden.

An Easter Island-type stone face made by a local artisan.

Spider Flower

Once again this year we've had a breeding pair of Broad-Winged Hawks take up residence in the woods surrounding our house. This and the next shot were taken a few minutes apart as the front was moving in, as you can tell by the sky in the background.

The Broad-winged dives off of the branch it was sitting on in the previous shot.

Shot early in the morning I got this Bumblebee as it was lethargically climbing across the Gladiola in the garden where it obviously spent the night.

A rock surrounded by moss and hens and chicks.

The power of the ant.
We watched this ant drag the wasp across the deck and down over the edge of two sets of stairs in an effort to take this food back to the nest.

Fun Stuff

It seems like the last week or so has been our monsoon season but I'm not gonna complain because we really ned the water.

I started off the week by running over to Prince Gallitzin State Park to drop off some papers at the Park Office.  After leaving the office, I drove along the lake to see what was going on.

The stormy weather kept most of the sailboats in the main marina.

The park weed harvester sits on the lake's edge waiting to get back to work.

Under the supervision of Park Ranger Tim Yeager a group of volunteers built 20 fish cribs that were to be placed in a cove on the other side of the lake from the beach area.  The volunteers were from the Patton Bass Club, The Glendale Pontoon Association and the Friends of Prince Gallitzin State Park.  

After the cribs were built, they were loaded on a boat and moved to McDesmott Cove.

The fish cribs are made of local hemlock and cinder blocks.

The Fish and Boat Commission boat moves across the lake.  Roundtrip to the drop off point and back only took about 15 minutes.

This Norfolk Southern engine pulls boxcars along the Mainline in Cresson, heading West.

These two Norfolk Southern engines sit along the tracks in Cresson awaiting their turn to head East to assist with trains going up the Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, PA.

Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, Loretto, PA.

On Sunday, we set up a photography light on the kitchen table to illuminate some gladiolas that had been growing in the gardens.  Except for the next to last photograph, the following shots were all taken with point and shoot cameras.



The glads

Another view of the glads using the point and shoot.

Black and White of the above photo with an Infrared filter.

This was shot with the Canon Rebel DSLR with a 70-200mm lens.

My wife took this shot of me focusing my Fujifilm FinePix S5700 for a close-up.   She used a Konica Minolta Dimage Z3.

Road Trip to Port Deposit, Maryland

We left Hastings on Friday morning around 7:45 for a trip down to Port Deposit, Maryland to visit our niece and her family and to enjoy Maryland hospitality for a few days.  We took two lane roads the whole way.

After picking up our mail at the Post Office before leaving Hastings on Friday morning, I got this picture of the weeds lining a fence behind the post office building.

One of the Roadway Giants along the Lincoln Highway (Route 30).

The newest edition, that I know of, to a collection of murals painted along the Lincoln Highway across Pennsylvania are these on the outside wall of the Lincoln Lanes Bowling Center, east of Chambersburg, PA.

I'm not quite sure but I think these murals are the work of Wayne Fettro.

Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum, located between Caledonia State Park and Gettysburg, PA.

This building is on corner of the traffic circle in Abbottstown, PA at the northwest corner of King Street.  We haven't been able to find a name or business attached to this structure, so we figure it's a private home. It was built in 1884.

This GP-16 belonging to the Genesee and Wyoming, Inc. stops traffic along Market Street in West York, PA.  The company took over the York Rail Company in 2002.  They operate the short lines through York, PA.  The original Genesee and Wyoming Railroad was found in 1894.  Visit http://www.gwrr.com/ for more information.

Just a sign that caught my eye while in the first block of East Market Street in York.

Port Deposit, MD  --  This next section of photographs was shot while exploring historic downtown Port Deposit over the weekend.   There are about 800 residents of the town.

Port Deposit Town Hall. This building is constructed completely from local granite, which was probably cut from the hills behind the building.

As you can see, most of the buildings in town used the local granite in their construction.

The majority of the homes are on the National Register of Historic Places.

This building reminds me of federalist architecture.

A lot of the houses are gaily painted as is befitting their origins.

The next three photographs were taken the two times we visited the Susky River Grille. We enjoyed some Natty Boh, Susky Ale, a crab sandwich and some blackened chicken.

The outside bar overlooking the Susquehanna River.

These boats are at Tomes Dock right off the deck of the outdoor bar of the Susky River Grille.

Street view of the Susky River Grille.

Bees Nest Patio Bar features live entertainment on the weekend.  We got to enjoy Muddy Water Blues Band!

Bicycles parked in front of the Bees Nest Express store.

On Saturday we headed out to Havre de Grace, Maryland.

It's been quite awhile since we've been to the bay.  I enjoyed looking at the various boats and remembering my days of crewing on the The Royal Scam.

I was lucky enough to catch this commuter train crossing a bridge across from Frank J. Hutchins Memorial Park.

The Promenade Boardwalk runs for several blocks and takes you out over the water for a unique view.  You can walk from Concord Point Lighthouse to Tydings Park.

I could have spent hours photographing the doors of Havre de Grace.

Outside fascade of a framing shop and art gallery.

The side of the building shown above.

Local Artisan Dolores Mather strings a beaded necklace inside her shop on St. John Street in Havre de Grace, MD.

The Lantern Queen, a replica of an old-time paddle wheelboat once used along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

Concord Point Lighthouse, built in 1827.  The building is 36 feet tall and has 27 granite and 8 metal steps leading from the base to the lantern room.

Sunday, as we started for home, we stopped at the Conowingo Reservoir Fishing Park which is just below the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River.

Black Vulture looking for some food.

A view of the dam from a little observation deck built along the river.

A close-up of one of a dozens of vultures that were hanging around the fishing area.

Heron looking for a fish.