Some Favorite Books From 2021

    You know that I love to read. I always keep a journal of the books I’ve read during the year. In the year 2021 I read a few classics, a couple of books that were published in the early 1900’s, some that I’ve read more than once along with a lot of others!  56% of the books I read this year were fiction, 36% were non-fiction works and 8% were books of poetry. 

    I rate them by how much I enjoyed reading them, not necessarily how well they were written, though that does naturally figure into it. The books I read aren’t always best sellers; in fact, a lot of the books I read aren’t even widely known! Most of the books on this list are fairly current.

    So, these are a few of my favorites from 2021, listed in the order that I read them. I enjoyed them all and I hope you’ll see a couple that might pique your interest and make you want to give them a try. (You don’t have to buy them, go to your local library and borrow them!) The library is truly one of our unappreciated treasures. Take advantage of it! Also, don’t forget about your local bookstores, most of these books can be found there. Support your local businesses!

1)      The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. (Fiction) The story of a man who discovers a book in the library stacks that has a story about him from his early childhood. He starts uncovering clues which eventually lead him to an ancient hidden library deep under the earth. The story tells his search and what is revealed to him.

2)      The Saint Makers by Joe Drape. (Non-fiction) This book tells about a man from Kansas, Father Kapaun, who served in the Korean War. He is considered by many to be a saint. The book also tells about those who are attempting to get him beatified. The book tells his story, those of the people who believe that Father Kapaun has interceded for them after being prayed to and describes the process in which saints are declared, a process that has changed little in the past couple thousand years.

3)      The Last Stargazers by Emily Levesque. (Non-fiction) In this book, Emily tells us stories about astronomy and astronomers. She tells about the wonders of working as a professional astronomer and some of the goofs and mistakes that have been made, in both her career and others. In one chapter she tells about flying through an aurora while using the Sofia Airborne Telescope and in another watching a total solar eclipse with her family. In the way she describes them, both of these stories had me choked me up!

4)      Elsewhere by Dean Koontz. (Fiction) A man is given a device that he must NEVER use! Of course, he does almost as soon as it is given to him. It results in him and his 12-year-old daughter getting transported to a parallel universe. When they return, they have to hide the device from the evil governmental operatives who are searching for it. Dean adds a lot of literary references in this story. His storytelling kept me glued to the book!

5)      Mad at the World by William Souder. (Non-fiction) This is a biography of the great writer John Steinbeck. The author tells it all and he makes it into an interesting read. After reading this book, I reread a couple of Steinbeck’s books. (None of which made it to the 4 star list)

6)      The Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel. (Fiction) An older woman is shelving books at her library when she sees an article about books stolen during the Second World War that are being returned to their proper owners. One, an ancient religious manuscript has some sort of code in it. The woman recognizes the book because she was the one who devised the code. She is living in Florida, the book is in Germany, and she wants to go there and explain what the code is. Her son thinks she is a bit soft minded and too feeble to make the trip. He doesn’t know who she really is! The book tells us about her past and her quest to get the information in this book to the proper people.  The book tells us a little about the underground agents working during the Second World War. It is a well written story.

7)      Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery. (Non-fiction) Grandma Gatewood, Emma, was a 67-year-old woman who one day decided to take a hike on The Appalachian Trail. In 1955 the trail wasn’t as well marked and used as it is today. Her journey became well known and people followed her in newspapers and magazines. The book tells a bit about her background and her difficult life. She ended up hiking the trail, in tennis shoes, becoming the first female thru-hiker. She did it three times. She was a mother of 11 children and a victim of domestic abuse. She always enjoyed walking in the woods and she continued to hike into her 80’s.

8)      The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams (Fiction) This is a parallel story of two different people, one a lexicographer in Victorian times working on the “S” section of a dictionary. He starts to put fictitious words in the volume. The second person is a present day woman who is helping to update and digitalize the book. She has to find these fake words, “mountweazels” as they are called. She is also getting strange phone calls, threatening the company. It is a fun book filled with all sorts of wonderful words, some real and some…made up.

9)      Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. (Fiction)  A US Marshal goes to an island which houses a hospital for the criminally insane. A extremely dangerous prisoner has escaped from her cell while under constant watch and the marshal has to figure out how she escaped and if she is still on the island. Meanwhile, a hurricane is rushing towards them and he learns how possible experimentation and radical surgeries might have been performed at the hospital. This knowledge could put him in further danger. Of course it all comes together at the end, the way most good stories do!

10)   The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. (Fiction) A professor teaching an Writing class is told by a student about a book he is writing. The teacher has written before and is now experiencing a dry spell. After hearing that his student has died, he uses the plotline from his book to write his own novel. Later, after becoming a bestselling author, he receives an e-mail, the first of many, saying only, “You are a thief!” Searching into his former student’s past he learns more about who he was and where he got the idea for his novel. Who was it that stole from who?

11)   The Arbornaut by May Lowman. (Non-fiction) May always enjoyed climbing trees. Realizing that she couldn’t study the trees from the ground, May made equipment which allowed her to study them from inside their crowns, their tops. Her studies evolved from climbing to eventually making walkways in the treetops, allowing scientists and students to easily visit the tree tops, even those with physical handicaps. She is a big promoter of equal rights and she never hesitates to stoop and talk with children about her work and to answer their questions, because she never knows when she might be talking to someone who might be a future key to saving the planet. The book tells stories from her adventures in trees around the world and how she strives for equality in her field and the world.

12)   The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. (Fiction) Eighteen-year-old Emmett is driven home from a work farm by the warden, his intentions are to pick up his younger brother and head west to start their lives anew. His father recently died and his mother left long ago. Two friends from the work farm hid in the warden’s car and this changes his plans, much to his displeasure. The story takes place over 10 days as they travel on the Lincoln Highway attempting to head west, after a few “important things" are taken care of. Amor has a wonderful way of telling peoples stories. I fell into it and didn’t want to put it down! (If you haven’t read A Gentleman in Moscow, also by Towles, try it!!!) 

13)   Rust Belt Boy by Paul Hertneky. (Non-fiction) The stories in this book can strike home with any Pittsburgher, anyone who has lived here for any length of time. He tells stories of his childhood, telling his experiences with the mills of Ambridge, how they were the major employer in the town and how he eventually ended up working there, even though he felt as if he had better places to go. He tells about how the decline of the steel industry changed the town and his life. His stories are the same stories that countless Pittsburghers lived through. Even if you didn’t work in a mill, your life was affected by them! I related to a lot in this book. Paul has a good voice and knows how to tell his stories!

14)   The Bottom of the Harbor by Joseph Mitchell. (Non-fiction) Paul was a writer in New York City in the 40’s. He often wrote about the small harbors, villages and fishing companies that were scattered along the waterfronts. He has a way of telling his stories in a slow but gripping way. When he is finished you feel as if you intimately know the people he told you about, their jobs, their histories and where they live. It was another book that I didn’t want to put down, I wanted to see where and who he would introduce me to next.

    So these are just a few of the books I came across during the last year, just a few of the best in my own mind! I hope you give one or two of them a try. It always makes my day when I hear that someone enjoyed a book I suggested, AND, I am always open to suggestions. Please share your favorites with me!

Read on!

"No two readers can or will ever read the same book, Because the reader builds the book in collaberation with the author."

Neil Gaiman

The Morning Matrix

 

The Morning Matrix

    Raindrops slide down the window, I am inside the Matrix, only vague images of the valley below filter through. The day isn’t bright yet, heavy clouds and rain hide the sunrise. The brightening is gradual, slow enough to be almost imperceptible.

    Cars on the roads are still using their headlights. Four colors make up the spectrum so far, red from brake lights and the two traffic lights below, occasional greens when the lights change, the bright white of headlights and then, the overwhelming color, or lack of color, gray. The grays overpower everything.

    Brightening, ever so slowly, smaller details start to become evident. The silhouettes of the trees become more apparent. Skylights in the roofs of the buildings below start to appear. Far away, cars on the highway appear as indistinct shapes, one following another, their direction of travel hiding their lights from view.

    Occasionally, all seems to stop. Only the drips on the windows continue. No cars are visible on any of the roads. The traffic lights are static; the Matrix has stopped, halted, a pause in the continuum, a momentary shift in the constant movement of our world.

    Then a few cars speed past on the highway and movements begin again. Thankfully, the world is coming back up to speed! I see the reflection of my coffee cup in the window, I take a sip and think. It looks like it will be a slow day, wet and cold, a good day to stay indoors.

    Whoa...Wait…What’s that? I HEAR A TRAIN WHISTLE!!!

Winter Solstice 2021

     I still hadn’t seen Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) and since the sky was looking rather good, I decided to take a trip up to Wagman Observatory to see if I could change that fact. The chances of seeing it are rapidly disappearing. 

    Since it was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, the sun would be setting at 4:56. The three day past full moon would be rising a few minutes past 7, giving me an hour or two of darkness before it rises. I arrived on the top of the hill at 4:30 with plenty of time to spare. Other than a couple deer that ignored me, I was the only one there. The sun was sitting just above the trees on the horizon but unfortunately, so was a large cloud.

    I set up the tripod and camera, got out my binoculars and scanned around a bit. I took a few pictures and worried about the big cloud.

    I saw Venus shortly after the sun dropped below the horizon. A little later I saw Jupiter. Using the binoculars, I quickly found Saturn. The three planets were in a nice straight line.

     Now if this where a perfect world, the comet would be below Saturn and off to the left of Venus. Sounds rather simple to find…

    The clouds provided a spectacular canvas for the sun to illuminate. As the sun sunk down, the sky started out with an orange tinge which slowly turned towards red. The lower the sun dropped below the horizon the deeper the color became. The tops of the clouds were dark gray, making the scene that much more dramatic!

    Turning around towards the east, the clouds were pink, looking to the south, the shades morphed into the purple range. During the next half hour or more the color show continued. I can’t remember seeing a more spectacular sky! The reds in the west were getting darker and deeper while the colors behind me started fading into grays and blacks. The edge of the western horizon stayed red long after everything went dark, silhouetting the trees. There was a bit of clearing towards the north but even with binoculars, I couldn’t see any stars yet. The clouds moved over to hide Venus and Saturn from view.

    Slowly the cloud drifted south and eventually Venus reappeared from behind it. Try as I might, I couldn’t see the comet, I felt that it had already gone below the horizon.

    I packed up my gear, accepting the fact that once again, I missed it. Behind me, hundreds of stars had appeared. I spent awhile exploring them with my binoculars. I visited the Andromeda Galaxy, almost directly overhead, the Hyades, the Pleiades and even the Coat Hanger Cluster to name just a few. I drifted through the constellations and lost myself in the beauty of the tiny dots scattered everywhere. Eventually the cold and hunger pulled me away and I headed home for dinner. When I arrived home, the moon was hanging above the eastern horizon.

    While I was searching for the comet, trying to see it through the clouds and haze I couldn’t help but think about the old Yiddish proverb, “We plan, God laughs”. Yes, I’m sure He was laughing this evening, perhaps even thinking, “I gave you that wonderful sunset, what more do you want?”

    The sunset show was the definitely the highlight of the evening. The views of the stars through the binoculars before I left came close behind! I spent some time hanging out on the hillside with a couple deer. Only a few cars went by and it was nice and quiet. It was a great way to celebrate the Winter Solstice!

    My own thoughts about the comet…eh, there will be others!

Sometimes You're Lucky...

    I had slept in. Getting out from underneath the warmth of multiple quilts, blue skies greeted me. The sunshine was working its way down into the valley below. The first thing that ran through my sleep addled head was, “This would be a great day to chase a train!” Then the idea of visiting the bathroom overcame that. First things first I guess!

    Occasionally, the railroad below the house runs a train in the morning hours. Last week one came through around 10:30. Since it was raining, I stayed inside, nice and dry and watched it through the window. A day or two later, one passed by around noon but I was on the road and didn’t have time to turn around and chase it. “There will be others! It just wasn’t meant to be today.”

    With these two recent runs in my mind, I got dressed and put the camera gear near the door. I still had a few hours until anything would show up…if it did at all.

    The coffee cup was filled and steaming as I sat down at the desk. The shadows on the hillside had all but disappeared. I got lost for a few minutes watching the cars go by, small bunches then nothing, cars coming out of the shopping center and piling up behind each other while they waited for the light to change. Like little organisms under a microscope, all going in different directions, all with different purposes in mind. I checked my e-mails and then called a friend to see what was new in his world.

    In mid-BS, I heard it. Rather soft but still that distinctive sound that I know and love. Ending the call, I grabbed my gear and ran out to the car.

    “Drat, I left my keys in the house.” By the time they were retrieved, the sounds of the train were getting louder. Arriving at the stop sign in the neighborhood, the train was blowing its whistle at the crossing below the house. “This might be a close one!”

    The next problem encountered was road construction at a near-by intersection. Luckily, I was waved right through, only to find myself behind eight or nine cars waiting for a traffic light.

    When the light changed, most of the cars went straight and I followed two down Mt. Royal Boulevard. Thankfully they had no problem with going a few miles above the posted limits. Nearing Allison Park, the train could be seen traveling on the tracks below the road. “Yes, this would be tough!”

    The cars in front to me went straight at the stop sign leaving me with open road for the rest of the chase. I turned and stepped on the gas…only to come into another construction site. The train could be seen in the valley, three engines pulling a line of gondolas, streaming away from me.

    The flagman turned his sign and I crept passed the workers and then hit the gas, hoping that there weren’t any policemen sitting along my route. Bryant Road came up and soon I was turning into a small pull-off. 

    The train was nearly there, the sound of it was getting louder as I ran from the car to a spot between the trees. I saw the headlights coming out of the shadows around the bend as I checked the camera settings. I found my spot and quickly focused and snapped a shot as the train roared by. Repositioning myself I took a couple more as it continued on its way.

    It was a fun run, I doubted if any of the shots would be anything special but I did enjoy the chase, which is half of the fun! “Sometimes you get lucky…and then there are all the other times

    Returning home, I found out that the first shot I took came out OK. The chase wasn’t a waste after all, in fact, it was a great way to start the day, or for that matter, the week!

    I’m sometimes asked why I continue to chase trains that I have already taken pictures of…perhaps this cartoon might shed a bit of insight on it.

"I just love the feelings I get from them!"

Readjusting the Books

     With my head a bit stuffed, my sinus’s congested and a slight fever, the last thing I'd want to do is go outside into the world. The early part of the day was spent on the couch with an afghan pulled over me. I drifted back and forth between dreams and consciousness.   My hot cup of tea sat on the table and got cold, undrunk.

    Feeling as if I should be doing something other than lying around, I took a look at what I could see from my prone position. Directly in front of me was the television. No, that wasn’t anything productive. I would end up right where I was now, lying on the couch.

    On either side of the television are bookcases. There were a few piles of books on them, waiting to be put away. The shelves definitely needed a little reorganizing.

    Yes!  That is what I’ll do, put my books in order. The shelves on the left have two shelves which contain “Books on Books”. The vast majority of them are non-fiction but there are a fair number of fictional stories dealing with libraries, bookstores and “special” books. There is a copy of “84 Charing Cross Rd” by Helene Hanff, a couple of Nicholas A. Basbanes’s books, a copy of John Carter’s “ABC for Book Collectors”, “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean, “Ex Libis” by Ann Fadiman and “The Book of Flying” by Keith Miller to name just a couple. They all fit into the same description, they are about books. Unfortunately, they don’t all fit on the shelves!

    The piles sitting in front of these books were new acquisitions that hadn’t had a spot found for them yet, there wasn’t any room for them.  I started my chore, pulling out books on the shelves below. There were some classics, a group of Edward Abbey books, and a few that was once important to me but are no longer. Soon there were piles scattered across the floor. One pile was for discards, a small pile I’m happy to say and the others which could be put in different areas.

    My Neil Gaiman books moved down a shelf along with some other fiction. The Abbey books ended up on their sides, stacked against the Books on Books, acting as a bookend.

    I came across two old copies of Christopher Marley’s books, “Parnassus on Wheels” and “The Haunted Bookshop”, both of which were moved up the shelves to the book section. I also found in amongst the classics, a book I had been searching for, “The Bottom of the Harbor” by Joseph Mitchell. I knew I had it but wasn’t sure where it was. I had even considered ordering it but managed to resist the temptation. Really, I guess it's good that I didn't!

    After organizing the shelves in the one case, I moved over to the opposite side of the television. I opened the doors and wondered, “Where do I begin?” The books in this case are all “special” volumes. The top two shelves are signed books. There is a shelf of older books in the bookcase, some books my parents owned and a couple religious tomes. There are ten or eleven old Baedeker’s travel books and also an antique blue vase. I can see that the vase will soon be occupying a different spot.

    I did a little rearranging and cleared up the piles that were stacked on the front of the shelves. There was still more that could be done but the Joseph Mitchell book kept calling to me. I could keep working on the organizing or I could retire back to the couch.

    I was ready to revisit the waterfront in New York City. I love the way Joseph describes the scenery, the people, their jobs and their history. Yes, I’m off to the Fulton Fish Market of New York once again. The shelves can wait, the story is more important!

Crossing the State for Thanksgiving

     Ann Marie and I headed across Pennsylvania to join Chelsey, Jamie and Mateo for Thanksgiving. Both of us had been looking forward to the visit! We were going to share the holiday dinner with them and some of Jamie’s family. 

On our way, we came across lots of interesting views and sites. You can’t help but find these things as you explore Pennsylvania. The state is full of them. Here are a couple of the ones we came across, some for the first time.

A fork in the middle of the road in Centerport.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it”  (Yogi Berra)

We did!

An old paddle wheeler sitting in an empty ditch, nowhere near ANY water.

The Midtown Scholar, a fantastic bookstore that is comprised of a group of interconnecting buildings, one of which used to be a theater in the 1920’s. Owned by the current mayor of Harrisburg and his wife, the bookstore sells both new and used books. There are hundreds of thousands of old books and it seems as if it has nearly as many rooms. You can easily get lost in here!

An old factory foundation where the town of Frankstown used to be located,

 not far from Hollidaysburg.

One of a few decaying and abandoned homesteads we passed.

The Rockville Railroad Bridge, the longest masonry arch railroad bridge in the world!

    Since railroads have been brought up, we also saw a derailed train in the mountains above Altoona.  We passed the Statue of Liberty…sitting on a bridge pier in the middle of the Susquehanna. I always watch for it when we head out to visit, there is a geocache hidden on the piling!  Someday I’ll get it! We grabbed a couple geocaches on our trip, but skipped this one. We stopped in Harrisburg, both coming and going. Neither of us had ever seen the Capital so we did a drive by while we were there. We also found a memorial for the people of Lily, a town that forced the KKK out of their community in the 1920’s.

    Pennsylvania has so many things to offer, you never know what you might find! These were all fun to see but the best part of the journey was spending time with the family!

    On the first day, we went with Chelsey and surprised Mateo at his school. Afterwards, we went home and played with his train set and read books together. It‘s such a nice feeling to forget your age and let your inner child out!  We drove his trucks and trains around on the table for what seemed like hours.

    The next day, on Thanksgiving, we played some more and after Mateo went down for a nap, Ann Marie and I went to search for a couple more geocaches. After we came home, some of Jamie’s family came over. We sat and talked, we snacked and then sat down together and ate dinner. We shared stories and laughed. The meal was lovely but the camaraderie was even better. To see how a family is growing gives us strength for the future. We listened, we learned and we loved!

    Seeing family we hadn’t seen in a while, hearing about both the victories and the disappointments in our lives, these are all part of the gathering. We took our forks, (from the table, not the road) and ate a wonderful dinner. We listened to each other as we shared our views and experiences. I can’t help but feel that everyone was thankful for all the wonderful things we have!

    I thought about those we lost and also about those who are on their way. I am thankful for those who have gone, thankful that I had the chance to know and love them, thankful for all the beauty and love they brought to my life! Reveling in the present, I played with my grandson and imagined how he will progress as he grows up, how he will accept and help his new brother. These are some of the things I couldn’t help but think about and give thanks for!

    On Friday we played with Mateo and then more of the Pittsburgh family arrived. The 7 of us did another round of the Pizza Bracket Contest. Jamie got pizza from 3 different shops and we voted on which one was best. (A shop called Anthony’s won this time) This contest has been in the works for years now. Someday, we will find out what the best pizza in the Harleysville area is!

    Saturday morning, we left and headed back. We were missing Mateo (and the family of course!) by the time we came to the stop sign at the end of the block! The warm glow of the holiday and the visit stuck with us. We headed home happy and content and thankful for all the things we hold dear!

The Mid-November Lunar Eclipse

    While most of my neighbors were sound asleep, my alarm went off. It didn’t startle me, in fact I was  dreaming about waiting for it to wake me! I jumped up and went to the front door and took a look outside. Clouds, just as I had expected! This is Pittsburgh and the gods of the weather don’t really like us astronomers.

    It was 2AM on Friday morning. (11.19.21) The entire country would be able to see most of the eclipse which was happening right now! Everyone except those who live around me it seems. The darkest portion of the earth’s shadow would be hitting the edge of the moon’s disc at 2:18. A few clouds didn’t matter; I was going out to see what was visible.

    I got dressed, pulling on some heavy socks and my winter coat and went outside to see what my chances were of seeing anything. Luck was with me, there were breaks in the clouds. The moon could be seen, a bit fuzzy but still seeable. Every so often a clear patch would drift past and the brightness of the moon increased dramatically.

    My camera and tripod were inside the door so I pulled them out and set up in the front yard. I had some difficulty in focusing on the moon since it was most often covered in haze. The camera lens was set at manual focus because of the clouds. I played around with the exposures as the conditions changed. Both the clouds and the shadow which was now starting across the moons disc altered the brightness. A couple of neighbors had their porch lights on but this morning, it didn’t bother me. I was watching an eclipse, not searching for faint fuzzies in deep space!

    The clouds moved across in front of the moon rather quickly while the shadow of the earth crept  across the face of the moon much, much slower. At times, when the moon was covered there would be a reddish colored ring which surrounded it. 

    My hands were getting cold from re-adjusting the tripod every five or ten minutes. It is made of metal and retains the cold quite well! I went inside to get my gloves. This is a benefit of observing from the front yard, I can quickly get the things I forgot!

    A short while before 3 the moon entered a clear patch between the clouds. The patch spread out and soon I started noticing stars. There were stars that couldn’t normally be seen during a full moon. Orion and Gemini could be seen along with Auriga and the Pleiades. I sat on my porch chair and just enjoyed the view for awhile, forgetting about photography and the eclipse.

    The clearing lasted about a half hour or so and then the clouds started moving back in front of the moon. I took a walk around the neighborhood to warm up a bit. The temperature was down in the low 30’s. I enjoyed the walk in the quiet; it reminded me of going out for walks with Red, my dog. We did lots of early morning walks together, he smelling everything and me with my head pulled back, gazing at the stars.

    Back at home I took a few more shots. The eclipse still had a ways to go but the moon was dropping down into the trees on the hill to the west of my house. To continue watching the eclipse, I’d have to move out of my yard.

    In some ways, luck was with me. The clouds covered the moon and I lost sight of it completely. Thick clouds continued to drift overhead, so I went inside to the warmth of the house.

    At 4:02, I went outside to see if anything was visible. This was when the eclipse was covering 97% of the moon, it's maximum. I couldn’t see anything. There wasn’t even a glow in the trees where it would’ve been. The eclipse was over for me.

    Inside again, I wrote a few notes. Looking at the pictures could wait until the morning. Then I crawled back under my covers and fell quickly back into my dreams.

Weeding with my Father

 

        I’ve gotten tired of wiping my nose. Drips form on it and drop down into the leaves and dead plants I’m clearing from the garden. Small snowflakes melt into the brown earth that has been uncovered. Yellow and orange leaves sit in a pile along with the lifeless stalks of flowers, remnants of the beauty of the summer gone by.

        Memories of my father and me cleaning these very same beds filter through my mind. The numbness of my fingers recall the pains of years gone by.

        “Why do we have to do this, they will all just rot away during the winter!” I tended to look at things the easy way. Perhaps I still do. I never gave any thought to the beauty of a cleared garden, the potential or the future of this small plot of dirt sitting in my front yard. These were thoughts that I can only imagine were running through my father’s mind.

         He knew how plants grew. He knew about their cycles, when they would bloom and what was necessary for them to grow strong and produce the beauty they held inside. He knew what needed to be done to produce a splendid crop of flowers the next year. He also knew the importance of making our yard look nice, even when the flowers weren’t in bloom.

        I was in my teens with so many things I could be doing. I thought of these days toiling in the yard as work that would never produce anything I could benefit from. It was work and work alone! I had no cares about the yard or gardens. This was something my father did and he did it well. I never gave any thought to learning while I was pulling weeds or raking the yard along with him.

        He was older and a bit infirm after various health problems. Our ideas rarely matched, clashing against each other rather than meshing. I was busy reaching out to the future and I had no need to embrace the past. My horizons were right in front of me. I was a fool!

        Some things he told me stuck with me, such as even weeds can be beautiful but a lot of what he said went in one ear and out the other. He knew the Latin names of the flowers and shrubs that he had planted. When he explained these things to me, I just didn’t understand. His wisdom overwhelmed my young inexperienced mind without my even realizing what I was missing.

        When spring finally arrives after a long white winter and the small bits of fresh greenery start popping up in the woods and gardens, I can’t help but enjoy them. I look forward to the views of these little slips of green hiding in the dark brown of the winter. Every year, I search for the first signs of these bright green sprouts, with that beautiful shade of green which we won’t see until the next spring, they give me a sense that spring is approaching, the cycle is continuing, summer will soon be here!

        Our gardens and yard always looked nice. They were weeded and trimmed and when the flowers appeared, their colors blended with those surrounding them. This wasn’t just through chance, it was from planning. Planning by someone whose knowledge was never truly appreciated until after he was gone.

        There are so many things I don’t know about my father. Most I have learnt after he was gone. There are so many things I wish I had asked him, but the chance has long since passed. The things I know, I treasure, so often they pop up when I least expect them.

        Clipping away at the flower stalks, my fingers numb from the cold, I return to the years gone by and wish that they had been different. Those were beautiful days, the gardens were bright and colorful but now they have passed and I have only the stalks, the dried leaves and sticks, the mulch for what will make the gardens beautiful in my years to come.

Memories of a Wild State

         It was the end of October, Halloween weekend, and Ann Marie and I decided to take a run to the hills, the hills of West Virginia! Figuring that the changing leaves wouldn’t be around much longer we made some plans and hit the road once again!

        On-line we purchased the last available set of tickets for a ride on the Cass Railroad and found a room to be our home away from home in Elkins. Seneca Rocks was our first planned stop, there were no tickets needed for this! We planned a slow trip, back roads if possible with plenty of time for photo breaks or side trips.

        The drive started with a stop at a local bakery for some donuts and a couple large cups of coffee. The car was fueled up and so were we. The weather didn’t look very promising; we never saw the sun on our first day. The windshield wipers were used most of the day.

        Nearing Seneca Rocks, it had tapered off to a very light mist. The road here is spectacular, there are places where you can look into the deep valley and see the roadway far beneath you. The valleys are steep and close, making the view that much more exciting. 

        In the parking area beneath the rocks we pulled out our hiking staffs, crossed river and started our climb. The trail is only a little more than a mile long but it goes up 839 feet! (Not that anyone is counting) The path is rather wide and well maintained and it is rarely very steep. We took our time and made it to the observation platform without any problems. We met lots of others making the climb including some with dogs. It was a nice wet Saturday, a perfect day to be outside!

        We have both made this climb before and I had climbed on the rocks also. Summiting the top of Seneca Rocks after a multi-pitched climb in my early fifties was one of those “mid-life” things. I was happy I did it, but once was enough. I’ll stick to the trails from now on. It was a good feeling to be able to still make this climb!

        The views from the top were mostly hidden by the cloud banks. Fog drifted past us, occasionally teasing us with quick looks at the valley below. While the views weren't as good as past visits, we still had that satisfaction of making it to the top! It seemed to take us less time to go down as compared to going up.

        While driving to Elkins we pointed out places we had eaten and explored in the past. We stopped a few times to photograph the mountains and to just absorb the beauty all around us. Most of these photos didn’t do justice to the scenery; the best photographs are the ones we hold in our memories!

        The next day we got in the car and headed south towards Cass. On our way, we were searching for a diner to get some breakfast. Fast food just didn’t cut it but that was all we saw. Chain restaurants and fast food, where are those old fashioned diners that used to be scattered alongside the highways?

        We stopped in the small town of Durbin across the street from an old railroad station. A poor excuse for a restaurant, (which was up for sale) provided our lunch. A couple tourists ate at flat tables by the window as locals sat drinking coffee and pop at the counter in the back of the large, unadorned room. The best part of this experience was that just as we finished with our food, a steam engine pulled into the station. While the passengers disembarked, I took pictures. 

        The train was pulled by a Heisler steam engine built in 1929 in Erie Pennsylvania. It was originally owned by the Hog Hollow Tile Company.

        Continuing on our way south, we drove through the community of Greenbank where the Greenbank Observatory is located. The huge 330 foot dish of the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope could be seen from the road.

        A short while further, we pulled onto the road that leads into the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. Less than a half mile into this road, we saw a Bald Eagle. It flew to a tree about 20 yards away from where we stopped the car. We were close enough to see how huge this bird was and how magnificent it looked. I can understand how it came to represent our country! By the time I got the camera out, he had flown away. Once again, the best shots are in our memories!

        In the town of Cass, we visited the stores and took some pictures before boarding our train. It was pulled by a “Pacific Coast” Shay engine. It was built in 1928 in Lima, Ohio for the Mayo Lumber Company of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It was last used commercially in 1970 for switching cars on the Vancouver docks.

        We sat right in front of the engine. Personally, I think the sound of the steam whistle was one of the best things about the ride! When we first arrived, we could hear the whistle of a train leaving the station. It echoed through the valley bringing back memories of the other steam engines I’ve seen. It is a sound of the past! The sounds of the engine are loud but when the whistle sounds, the screech of the steam covers everything. It is a sound that resonates through your body! When looking at the whistle from where we were sitting, it can actually cause pain, but still, I looked. There are only a couple road crossings on the ride and I was looking forward to each one of them!

        The views of the mountains, whenever we left the cover of the trees were breathtaking! Watching the smoke swirling out of the smoke stack was mesmerizing. It wasn’t a “peaceful” ride, it was rough and loud and I found it tremendously exciting!

        After we returned to the station, we took a short hike to visit the ruins of the burnt down Cass Lumber mill. Originally built in 1902, it caught on fire twenty years later. After being rebuilt it was worked until 1960 when it was abandoned. In the 80’s, arsonists set fire to it again.

        On the way back to Elkins, we thought we had hit pay dirt when we came across a gas station with gasoline for only $1 a gallon! Just our luck, it was closed!

        The next morning we left for home. We passed more spots we recognized and stopped at a few of them to take pictures. Blue skies and sunshine accompanied us on our ride back home along with the memories of trips made in the past.

        During our trip the leaves were mainly brown and yellow but with the sheen of the rain on them, they looked great. In the mountains, the trees looked like carpets covering the valleys and folds of the slopes. The occasional red trees grabbed our attention, standing out from all the others! We saw so many familiar spots that brought back memories, it became almost a quest. What would we see next? In the process, we formed more memories for our future trips.

        The little bit of bad weather we experienced wasn’t going to stop us from having a great trip; it actually enhanced our visit to Wild West Virginia!

Is There Really a Car in There?

         Monday morning; Frank and I were going out in search of history. It wasn’t going to be a difficult search; we knew right where we were going. I had been there before and I was curious to see how it had changed. It was still dark as we loaded our camera gear into the car. The roads were shiny from the headlights reflecting off the wet roads and traffic was heavy in places with people rushing to get to their jobs. We were teased with the possibility of a nice sunrise, but it never materialized.

        Shortly after the sun rose we arrived in Bakerstown, ready to start our journey back into time. We were going to visit the site where a tunnel had been cut in a hillside by the railroad company. It had been abandoned over a hundred years ago!

A P&W narrow gauge steam engine passing through Glenshaw

        The railroad line was first laid here in the 1870. A station was built sometime after. The line, a narrow gauge, was owned by the P&W Railroad. The station was placed at the peak of the long slope that the tracks climb out of Etna.

A  B & O locomotive sits at the Bakerstown Station as the switch is set to allow the helper engines onto a siding. Taken in the 1970’s

        The station is long gone. It was abandoned and then removed, with hope of erecting it in another spot as a historical site. The plans fell through due to assorted haggling and whenever a final decision had been made, the building had rotted beyond saving. (I’ve seen this happen before and I’m sure it will happen again!) Only a few concrete bits of the foundation remain here.

Shot taken shortly after the cut was made in the hillside

        A tunnel was dug through the hillside when the tracks were first laid. After the tracks were widened to the Standard gauge in 1911 and another track was laid down, the company, now B&O,  probably thought it would be cheaper to cut through the hill rather than dig a new tunnel. The tunnel was closed around 1913. 

        The tunnel had collapsed at least once in its history, possibly more. I found a newspaper clipping from the New York Times dated April 6, 1892 which tells the story of a local woman who stopped an approaching train by waving her skirt, saving the train from crashing into the collapsed tunnel.

        I have also heard stories that the tunnel collapsed while a train was in it and that there might be a RR car still inside. There is also the story that the tunnel may be haunted…well, you know how stories spread. You can choose which ones you want to believe.

        The spot we were searching for was heavily overgrown. The last time I had been here, I didn’t have much trouble finding the cut. Now, we couldn’t even see the rocks because of all the brush and weeds.

        A small stream ran alongside the tracks and we found a spot where logs and sticks had been placed to make a bridge. High grass grew around the wobbly span and it covered the RR ties which crossed further on. Putting my tripod into the grass beside the logs, it sank down 5 or 6 inches into a thick black muck. We didn’t want to slip as we crossed!

        We made it across without any major problems. Jagger bushes and lots of what looked like hedges that had grown wild filled the narrow slot that was cut into the hillside. We zigged and zagged as we made our way in, searching for the easiest route. We had to crouch to avoid the branches which tangled together over our heads. My tripod kept getting caught in the branches and vines as we pushed them aside.

First view of the opening

        Crossing over a couple old fallen trees, one of which scrapped my head, we came to the end of the cut. ( A small amount of blood always adds to the excitement of an expedition!) Pushing aside the last couple bushes we could see a slender opening in the rock face. Extending about 10-15 feet sideways, it was only about three or four foot high.

Frank approaching the opening

        Outside the soil was wet and slippery but under the overhang, it dried as we went into the tunnel. We could only go in about 20 feet.  A few rocks and dried dirt made a shelf we could stand on. We could barely stand upright without hitting our heads. The roof was rough and uneven. The small amount of light filtering through the opening didn’t go very far into the deep darkness of the tunnel; we could barely see the water. The far end was invisible in the darkness. The water was lower than I remembered it. When we talked there was a slight echo, that and the sound of water continuously dripping from the ceiling created a spooky background.

        Setting up our tripods we played around with our cameras, attempting to focus on something we couldn’t even see. Our ISO’s were pushed to the max as were the exposure times. Flashlights helped illuminate the tunnel more, waving the lights back and forth to even out the illumination. Of all my shots, only a couple turned out well. It was a matter of trial and error.

        I went down a little closer to the water, below where the water level was the last time I was here. There was no smell to the water, I knew it wasn’t stagnant since I could see and hear water dripping off the roof.

        I wondered how high the tunnel was. I am only guessing that the top of the tunnel was 9-10 feet above the water.  I had read that most clearances on tunnels are about 8 foot above the cars, I don’t know if that was the same in the days when tunnels were dug by “hand”. I would imagine that the water is fairly deep if a train was able to pass through the tunnel. I didn’t want to find out so I stayed away from the edge!

        The tunnel is listed on-line as being 623 feet long. The blockade at the end looked closer than that. I don’t think we were looking at a man-made barricade; it appeared as if it had collapsed.  After 10 minutes we had seen all there was to be seen. (There isn’t much to be seen in tunnels.) We didn’t see any ghost, that’s for sure. We also didn’t see any railroad car in the cave, BUT, who knows how deep the water is. Maybe it is hiding under the water or under the rocks at the far end! 

        We worked our way back out to the tracks, it took a lot less time getting out as compared to getting in! We both crossed the water hazard without slipping! It was another successful trip, this one back into time. Next on the list was a couple caches and then coffee!

The Importance of Certificates

        I recently came across an observing certificate I had earned in December of 1994. It was awarded to me at the Annual AAAP Christmas Party. (I don’t believe it had been changed yet to the more politically correct, Holiday Party) Looking at it got me thinking…

        I hadn’t heard anything about these certificates in awhile. I know other organizations such as The Astronomical League offer them but I haven’t heard any mention of it in our club lately, the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh.

        Before I bought my first “real” telescope, I joined the AAAP. I hoped to gain some information about how to buy a telescope. Where I could get one? Were there any available near-by that were being sold second hand? What type should I purchase and how big should it should be for a beginner?  There were lots of questions running through my mind.

        Listening to the members, I realized that I only knew a little bit, I had a lot to learn! Thankfully, the members of the club were very open to helping the "newbies". During these early years of my club membership I met many new friends, many of whom are friends to this day!

        In those days the meetings were held in the basement of the Buhl Planetarium and in the lecture room of Allegheny Observatory. Just walking into these buildings gave me a sense of excitement. During the meetings we would often have a guest speaker, one of the club members talking about one of their specialties or a visitor telling us about their job or favorite types of astronomy. It was like going to an astronomy class!

        The meeting would then drift into club business and then another fun part, member’s observations. Fireballs we might have seen, occultations or eclipses or conjunctions. Then…they’d show slides. I really looked forward to this part of the meetings.

        We have some very talented members and their photos showed their expertise. They gave me something to strive for! I started attempting to take star pictures and while they might not have been spectacular, the members appreciated seeing them. This is one of the great things about the club; they never fail to let you know that your pictures were “nice” and if asked, were happy to share hints about how they could be made better.

        Certificates were another way that the club helped its members.  There was the Messier Certificate given to people who observed all 110 Messier objects. Another was the James Mullaney Certificate which involved observing 105 of the finest deep sky objects selected by the author of the list.  He wrote a book describing these objects. The Scanlon Certificate was named after one of the founders of the club and could be achieved without any optical aid. Its list included 62 constellations, five bright planets and 16 bright stars. The purpose of this list was to familiarize you with the night sky. It was a wonderful learning tool!

        You would receive a list of objects along with their positions in the night sky and as you would view them, you would note the time and date along with any other notes you might have. Some lists required more details such as what size scope or binoculars you used and what power eyepiece was needed to see it best. The need for these details helped me to figure out how to keep an astronomical logbook.

        Since the internet was in its beginning stages, I couldn’t do a Google search to find out any details about the objects I was observing so I had to do my homework and look them up in books and magazines. This research helped a lot also!

        Looking back at my old log books they tend to be a bit disorganized. They didn’t follow a set pattern, sometimes they were filled out the day after I did my observing but they are still good reference tools. I recently looked back in one to determine what day I had looked through a certain telescope and what I had seen through it. My memory had led me astray; my logbook brought me back to reality.

        The Observing Certificates give a person a list of objects which need to be found and observed. Once the list was completed you would turn it in to someone who would check your notes. If all was in order you would receive your certificate. In the “old days” it would be given to you during a meeting, a decorative piece of paper that could be framed and hung on the wall. It often included a mention in the club newsletter. The recognition of your fellow club members was important, the certificate, showed me that I had gained more knowledge and that was something to be proud of!

        I have always enjoyed searching for things. (My phone, keys and wallet excluded) I enjoy searching for geocaches hidden in the woods and in guardrails.  It is always fun to participate in scavenger hunts! I have spent countless hours searching for faint radio waves on my Ham radio and also faint bits of light in the dark sky with my telescope. Maybe it is part of my desire to collect things…

        I guess it is a part of life, human nature requires it of us, the need to search and the need for gratification. And when we find things, if we are lucky, we will get a certificate to show for it!

Note:  I went out on Monday night, the 18th, with my telescope to watch as Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s brighter moons, finished its transit across the planets disc. I watched as the small moon first showed up as a tiny bump on the planets edge and then during the next couple minutes slowly pulled away from the planet. It took about 6-7 minutes for the moon to get twice its diameter away from the planet’s surface. Some might think it was like watching paint dry but I thought it was really cool to watch movement in the night skies. Motion is always cool to see in our “fixed” sky. And of course, it was all duly recorded in my log!