Beauty and the Beasts

Yellow Shafted Flicker - Colaptes auratus
sits on a tree in our yard.

Daffodils and birdhouse in our yard. Spring is here!

Silk sunflower in the stump of an old tree.

As part of the Loretto beautification project 47 trees were planted along St. Mary's Street by members of the Loretto community and students and staff from Saint Francis University on Saturday, 19 April 2008.

The following ten photographs and accompanying video were shot during the open of the 2008 season at Rock Run Recreation Area. The facility has over 50 miles of trails within it's 6,000 acres border and is one of the premier ATV parks on the east coast. The park is located near Patton, PA.

The overflow parking area and the trail head.

These ATV riders trailered their rides in from New Jersey.

The ATV park provides exciting trails for all levels of enthusiasts, young and old, women and men alike.

Now in it's tenth year the Outstanding Young Women competition was held in Richland on Friday for Cambria County and Saturday for Somerset County High School juniors Women. http://cambriasomersetoyw.org/

Christina Rombouts, Bishop Carroll, Loretto, PA, practices her harp recital prior to the competition.

Chelsey Laurito, Trina Perrone, and Anne Rematt represented Northern Cambria High School at the event.

Anne Rematt was third runner-up, winning $2,000, plus a $200 bond.

Devon Ingold (Ebensburg), works on Christina Rombouts' (Loretto) hair while Brittany Tusing (Ebensburg) applies her make-up before Friday's competition.

Adrianne Lazer (Richland) reads a card that came with the flowers she received before Friday's competition. She was the Cambria County winner and receives a $6,000 cash scholarship and numerous other awards, including a $200 savings bond.


Sunset over a pond at Buzzards' Crossroads, near the site of the former Sunset Ballroom.

This was taken about 1/2 mile from the first sunset photograph. I stopped to get the shot because the clouds formed a ring around the sun that reminded me of Saturn.

This is one of the last few remaining barns in Richland Township, Pennsylvania. I'm glad to see that the owners are returning the barn to it's former glory.

Sports and Entertainment

With the exception of the Buddha statue, this week we deal with fun things to do out in the hinderlands.

For the past several years, I've been shooting the final dress rehearsal for the plays by STAR Productions at Saint Francis University. This Spring the play was The Patient, a one act play by Agatha Christie. For this issue of the blog I'm using just one scene from the play at the end of the ten photo set. The cast is shown close-up in the order of their appearance.

Technician Brnsen - Brady Saksa

Nurse Beyond - Lisa Richardson

Doctor Ginsberg - Anita Fusco-Baumann

Police Superintendent Battle - Scotty Boshinsky

Vivian Ross - Bronwyn Stevens

William Ross - Alan Zajdel

Bruce Warfield - Brian Davis

Brenda Jackson - Monical Petroski

Genevra Ross Warfield, the Patient - Tatyanna Fox

Sainte Agathe du Christes: A Private In-Hospital Re-habilitation and Re-covery Nursing Facility

High School Baseball -- Central Cambria vs. Forest Hills

Kody Reigh

Keeping his head down and his eye on the ball, Shawn McGregor draws the walk as the low thrown ball drops below his knees.

George Roberts is safe at first.

Central Cambria's Adam Petrosky turns to keep his eye on the action out in the field as he crosses home plate to score the Red Devil's first run in the contest against Forest Hills.

I am not sure how many towns have trout streams flowing through them, but the nearest one to us is the Chest Creek in Patton, Pennsylvania. http://www.pattonboro.com
The next three shots were taken on the opening day of Pennsylvania's trout season 2008.

Three Fishermen

Aaron and Lance have a laid back style.

John Finui of Patton is a catch and release fisherman.

Young Jason Serafin gets a little time in the batting cage during practice in the Hastings Borough Memorial Building.




Al Craigie, Indiana, PA
Late Saturday afternoon my wife and I went down to Northern Cambria to the grand opening of the new City Hotel Bar and Grill.
http://www.cityhotel-pa.com
Being a jazz man, you can't imagine my surprise to see and hear someone playing jazz in a local bar.

Track meet at Northern Cambria High School.

Start of the 100 yard dash.

Blacklick Valley Long Jumper.

Northern Cambria Hurdler.

Northern Cambria Pole Vaulter.




This Buddha statue sits on top of our television set. The photograph was taken at 07:20 this morning 17 March 2008.