Tag Archives: photography

Salisbury Zoo

30 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by in Hiking, nature, Photography

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Before Salisbury had a zoo, it had a lake – Lake Humphreys, which was created by the building of a dam in 1743. On May 28, 1909 the dam gave way and the lake went dry. Or actually it turned into a mud flat. And it sat like that for a while until the City Park was built, This included building a zoo.

It was a nice day out Saturday and Kathy says “Let’s go to the zoo!” So we did –

Jumped in the car, took a couple back roads and came across these guys. They were kind of far away and I didn’t have my good camera with me. After a while on the side of the road we started heading back to the highway. Me: Where we going? Kathy: To the zoo. Me: I thought that was the zoo?? Duh…

So into Salisbury we go. The City park is really nice. Nice family atmosphere with walking trails, picnic areas, horse shoes, etc. This is what you get for being the Director of Public Works for only 4 years. A bronze propeller.

Nice walking trails around the park.

The zoo. It is free and it wasn’t until we got back to Kathy’s parents house that I was told there is a donation box there. I didn’t see it.

This guy has some sort of attention disorder. He couldn’t stop looking up over the wall to see what was going on.

Not much you can say about this guy other than magnificent.

One thing I’ve never liked is seeing eagles caged up.

Acting up for the camera.

Relaxing.

Where’s John Waters??

These two guys share this spot with a bird, who keeps shitting on them…one day the bird will be in their jaws, wondering, well how did I get here?

Did a complete loop around the park and ended up at this little dam. I imagine the sluice gates are to allow water down stream if the level drops below the top of the dam. Nice walk in the park.

Updates: Batcave and Drain

20 Monday Mar 2017

Posted by in Baltimore, engineering

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When I was up Loch Raven checking on the drain pipe to the 10′ tunnel, I checked on the unknown tunnel that was busted a couple days before. The contractor took it upon himself to start digging it out before anyone could verify what it was. As said before, this thing was built prior to 1875.

Fortunately the City’s closed circuit TV guys showed up before it was totally destroyed. In the upper left shows the rocks removed, that were used to build the tunnel. From where the spool is, center of photograph, to where the front of the excavator is, is what they dug out.

Here is the remote camera. Pretty neat toy. They burnt me a dvd of the exploration.

What was unexpected was that the tunnel branched off to the right. The camera couldn’t make the turn. It went about 38′ in at both areas. This side had a built up wall at the end. The other side was collapsed, probably from them compacting the soil for the new building. Real shame that we don’t know what this was. I personally believe it was an aqueduct, to bring water from Shanghai Run or Towson Run down to the farm?

Meanwhile, back at the drain. The contractors removed the steel bars in front of the drain opening.

The flow was better but the contractor needs it opened more to drain the 10′ tunnel, so they can start repairs. I believe the above photo is at 8 turns, 20%.

And this will be at about 40%. They installed the metal plates in hopes of stopping the erosion of the shore line. I am concerned with the bed of the stream, They think it will be alright. We will find out if the steel plates start slipping downwards…

Busted Pipe

17 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in 1972, Baltimore, Dams, water history

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As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the contractor building a new maintenance facility at Loch Raven, busted a hole in the 10′ water pipe.

The site of the new complex, along the west bank of the Gunpowder River. The caution sign is the area where they broke the pipe. It is now covered with steel plates.

Here is what the conduit looked like when it was installed in 1913. It is a steel pipe, welded and riveted together.

As the conduit was installed, they encased some sections of it in concrete, to give it some strength. Loch Raven Drive is directly above this pipe in some areas.

Looking under the steel plate I ask – how the hell do you NOT know that this pipeline is there?? In the photo can be seen above the wood stake, water pouring out of the pipe. Surrounding the stake is the rebar the contractor had to break thru in the cement to strike the steel pipe. The contractor is lucky that the dam has two independent conduits coming out of it.

There was built a parallel pipeline back in 1972. I’m not sure why or even why it is called the Parallel Pipeline. It kind of zig-zags across the river.

The contractors of 1972 had their fair share of problems – like the worksite getting flooded. The lower, smaller dam is in the background.

In order for the present day contractor to fix the hole he made, the City was asked to drain the pipe.

After searching thru some old drawings, we were able to find the location of the drain pipe. This is a 12″ drain connected to a 10′ pipe.

My favorite valve guys came out to try and open it by hand but were unable to. It has been a very long time since this was open. They ended up having the contractor core drill a hole in the vault roof above the valve. They then used their valve truck to turn it.

This is at 8 turns, 20% open. This will take quite a while to drain. The contractor is impatient.

But. as you can see, opening it up too far will erode the stream bank right under this bridge. Today the contractor was given the ok to place steel plates in the stream to divert the flow away from the bank.

Meanwhile, I roamed around some and took some pics – of other than work related stuff. A stone snowman walking his stone snow duck.

Root system.

View across the reservoir. Days like this, I like my job…

 

Research, Photos and Copyrights part 2

03 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in Baltimore, Photography, water history

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Over the past two weeks I have been asked to research information for a couple of projects going on in the water department. Not really my job but I love doing it. Mostly it is looking up contract drawings and old photos, such as this one:

This was sent to me by an architect that is going to rebuild this old pumping station and she wanted some background information. The building no longer looks like this – the roof is missing. By the caption on it, this photo belongs to the Maryland Historical Society, but how is it that I have the original photograph?

Below is an example of a photo that is in another collection, copyrighted to them, but I have the original Glass Plate Negative

I found this one in the Hughes Collection at the University of Baltimore. Interesting about this is the original writing is missing, as will be seen later.

Another Hughes Collection

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And then there are the photographs that people have in their private collection/scrapbooks. The writing on these match the handwriting of the photographer who took the photo and marked it. It is different than those in the Hughes collection.

All this is to say that history is history and should be shared. I just get pissed when people try to charge for these photos. I recently talked with someone who mentioned he has Baltimore Sun photos. I also have quite a few, but was curious about their continued sales on both Ebay and various websites. The Sun sold their collection to the Tribune who sold it to another company who apparently sold to a place called Digital Fortress. I went on their site and saw that they had photos of ones that I had, that the Tribune told me, mine were originals and would never be reproduced again?? I wrote them and asked and this new company says they sure enough sell reproductions that I could even buy on canvas all the way up to 20″ x 30″ !!! WTF – I might as well just take mine and go to Walmart!

Who really owns these pics??!!

Hiking and History

21 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by in Baltimore, Hiking, HISTORY

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Kathy just loves it when we go on hikes and I fill her head with a bunch of useless information! Went to Loch Raven Saturday since it was so nice out – looking for eagles.

Before the eagles, we saw this guy trying to hide from us.

I guess we saw about 4-5 different eagles. This one was trying to hide too.

Kathy has known that I always wanted to go to the other side of the dams (in all my years hiking, I’ve never been there), so she grabs up Molly and starts heading across the rocks.

Looking for more eagles.

Top of the east side of the old dam. Across the way are the gate house valves.

Next we headed towards the newer dam, which actually underneath is a 100 year old dam.

Look! An Eagle! Damn – too slow on the shutter!

Here is the same dam in the 1970s – it was falling apart really bad. Looking close you can see a circular cap on the lower face.

When they refinished the face of the dam, the round hole became square. It was locked.

Besides the face lift the dam gets, they also built a Zebra Mussel station – tall white building in background. They never used it and now more construction is going on behind it – an admin building of some sort.

How Loch Raven dam looked in 1922. Notice on the lower portion across the water. The land is at the same elevation as this side, but…

Now it is elevated by the placement of this pipe. This pipe is covered in dirt. I’m still not sure why they installed this pipe into the face of the dam??? I have the drawings and project photos, but nothing to say why?

So all this is to say that the original dam, under this one was built in 1914. It was at an elevation of 188′. The newer dam was placed on top of it in 1922 – elevation 240′. Then in the 70s and again in 2005 it received various face lifts and this is why it will never get a historic designation..

Holy Bat Cave Batman

16 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by in Baltimore, Dams, engineering, water history

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The other day I received an email with the following photograph. It asked if I knew what this ‘tunnel’ was for? It was holding up progress on the construction of some new buildings. In the email there was an attached drawing of the building site with the location of the tunnel circled in red. Holy crap! The drawing, to scale, would mean that this tunnel was about 30′ wide! After researching drawings from 1873 onwards, not finding it in any, I went up to look.

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What I found was an opening of about 18″ x 24″. Talk about a let down! Below is the contractor’s foot, for size reference.

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So, since I was there I stuck my camera into the hole to get some pics – glad I didn’t climb in there. Do you see what I see on the left, dangling from a crevice in the rocks??

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Well so much for finding part of the Underground Railroad or an Indian Burial Ground or a secret cache of moonshine (yes, that was suggested). After about 2 hours of meetings and investigations, I took a walk.

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Looking across the construction site to the upper dam.

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The lower, older dam is my favorite. The inspector told me that since it is marble, someone should pressure spray it clean. Ok, I’ll get right on that!

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First, get someone to remove that log, which has been on there since the storm of 2010!

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This dam has held up pretty good since 1880

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The valves which were inside the old gate house.

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Sorry Batman – the only bat cave I could find…

Time To Retire Yet?

06 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by in Hiking, kayaking, Recovery

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Every time I go to the Eastern Shore with Kathy, I get this gnawing feeling in my gut, telling me it’s time to retire and move down here. It is just so peaceful.

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Daydreaming with the moon and the windmill.

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Little streams every where. Not big enough for a kayak, but a reminder that there are larger ones around…

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Even just watching the nails back out of the boards they hold up, gives a sense of peacefulness, not found where I am today.

I know that peace comes from the work we do with our spiritual selves. That Peace can come no matter where you are. But for me, I can get too distracted with the busyness of my work and everything around me in the city. It’s bad enough I have never learned through meditation how to quiet my mind and listen to that ‘Still Small Voice’ within. Rock and Roll oldies still play in my head, like them or not! That is why I started to hike years ago and in the last year or so, taken up kayaking; to help quiet my mind. No matter where I go, there I am…but when I’m down the shore, it feels good – physically, mentally and spiritually.

You Decide

03 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by in Baltimore, HISTORY, POLITICS

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Hands up, don’t shoot or a public shower?

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Early entrepreneur, ready to run for office or just some kid in a box on a flooded street?

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Good old days ice skating or the beginning of a race riot?

The negative comments I received after posting this last photo on Face Book was one of the many reasons I stopped using FB to post the museum archives. How in the world do you go from ‘The good old days’ ice skating at Druid Hill Park in the 1920s to ‘There’s a lot of racial tension here, look they’re carrying sticks’ to ‘it’s all Obama’s fault’!!??

The top two photos, although found in the DPW Museum Archives, I believe, are part of another collection, that the museum bought rights to use for one of its displays.

Road Trip, Museum and Hike

30 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by in art, Photography

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Headed up to the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pa. where part of the Wyeth Collection is displayed. Kathy suggested we go to check out the Wyeth Family art work before we go see Andrew Wyeth’s granddaughter’s work at the Harford Artist Association next month.

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Art gallery connected to a mill. http://www.brandywine.org/museum

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A boy and his hawk (and I guess 2 pigeons to feed to his hawk?)

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View from the second story window, actually thru the window. Meditation pyramid.

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Not allowed to photograph the artwork, which was fine. Gave me more time to look at and enjoy the work (sometimes I photograph objects and their accompanying plaques, thinking I will read later…) Big Brass Bunny to start off our hike on the Riverwalk.

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Nice little trail along the Brandywine River.

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“That’ll do pig, that’ll do.” Farmer Hoggett – Babe.

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Water connection for my water blog – Stream monitoring station (USGS)

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View from the train tracks, looking up-stream.

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One of two inscribed benches along the trail. “Live For The Day”

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Large sycamore leaning towards the water. Wonder how much longer it will stand?

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A lone hawk wondering if he will ever get to pose for a bronze statue…

Hiking at CVP

13 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by in Hiking, Photography

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The guys I use to volunteer with up at Cromwell Valley Park asked me to join them for a hike the other day. They wanted to show me something. That something was the house I wrote about a few weeks ago up at Loch Raven. It is now gone. Making way for a new maintenance facility. They also wanted to show me the tree grinder and another surprise…

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This is the site of the old house and barn. The house was where the yellow excavator is to the left, the barn was the hole in the foreground. Loch Raven is a little frozen between the dams.

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The tree grinder. What a machine that is! Unlike a regular wood chipper, this thing you drop the trees in the bowl (tub) on top.

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After watching that for a while, we hiked the old fire road. It was a nice day out and the path was muddy from the warmer weather we were having, but some things take longer to thaw.

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The surprise…

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Wow, this took some time to build! Two rooms and an outdoor fire pit!

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The next day I took Kathy to see it.

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A nice two afternoons, walking in the park!