Category: history

a second look, adventure, Heros, history, learning, live and learn, moments, perseverance, photography

The battle…

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In truth the northern troops seemed to be in overwhelming numbers on the battle field,  while confederate troops took the field in smaller contingents.01-18-20brooksvilleraidboy201-19-20confederatesoldiers

It was confusing to watch and try to decide which side had the upper hand.01-19-20grayfires01-18-20brooksvilleraidboy01-19-2020confederatetroops01-19-20unionshoot.jpg

The calvary took the field while canons fired on both sides.01-19-20cavalry01-19-20canonclose01-19-20calvaryshoot.jpg01-19-20horseback.jpg01-19-20twohorses.jpg01-19-20northovercomes.jpg

The dead and wounded were left laying in the field.01-18-20brooksvilleraidwounded

This old confederate soldier watched two of his fellow soldiers fall in the fighting.01-19-20oldman

He took up the charge by himself, which proved to be a futile attempt in the heat of the moment.01-19-20charge01-19-20nursing

In the end it appeared that the north had taken the day.  But at the end of the battle the dead and wounded arose, and both sides participated in a salute to past and present soldiers who have fought and died for our country.  If only all wars could end this way.01-19-2020finalsalute.jpg

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, Heros, history, learning, live and learn, moments, on closer examination, perseverance, photography

The Brooksville Raid…

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The Brooksville Raid was not a civil war battle but a skirmish, which had no clear winner.  Perhaps that’s why the reenactment weekends are structured by coin toss as to which side wins.  And the other side wins the next day.  A very civilized way to do things I suppose.  The gates open at 9 AM and the battle doesn’t happen until 2:30, so there is a lot of time to wander in the encampments where the reenactors spend the weekend, not just reenacting the battle but reliving life in the camps also.  They wander through the crowds in their costumes, the troops practice their drills, and it does help you to imagine what life would have been like for those poor soldiers.  Maybe not so poor on a gorgeous, sunny Florida day, but that wasn’t always the case now was it?

01-18-20brooksvilleraidflags01-18-20brooksvilleraidmedicinewagon01-18-20brooksvilleraiddrumsandpipes01-18-20brooksvilleraidcoffeewagon01-18-20brooksvilleraidcanoncrew01-18-20brooksvilleraidpraying01-19-20brooksvilleraid4horses01-19-20brooksvilleraidcamp;ife01-19-20brooksvilleraidcarryingtheflag01-19-20brooksvilleraidexchange01-19-20brooksvilleraidgirls01-19-20brooksvilleraidhoopskirts01-19-20brooksvilleraidmermaid01-19-20brooksvilleraidredhead01-19-20brooksvilleraidsupplies01-19-20brooksvilleraidthreeladies01-19-20brooksvilleraidtwocamp01-19-20brooksvilleraidwares01-19-20brooksvilleraidsasparilla

Sarsaparilla, I hadn’t had it before.  Choose your bottle and fill it for $5, and refills are $2!

'scene' along the way, a second look, adventure, birds, boats, Camping, history, honor, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel, Uncategorized

Bath, Maine…

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Ships and ship building dominate the history of Bath, ME.  Over 200 ship builders once made their living here.  During WW2 over 16,000 workers produced 80 ships for the Navy, roughly turning out one every 2 weeks.  Bath Iron Works has three Navy ships currently being outfitted, and contracts for 11 more, so this tradition continues.  The years of ship building along the Kennebec River, along with the related industries, resulted in the river being essentially dead.  No fish and no birds.  The captain of our tour boat was a font of information, and he seemed most proud to say that the river has recovered and the fish and birds are back.

batheagle
Juvenile eagle

This wasn’t the tour I had hoped to take when I drove to the Maine Maritime Museum.  I hoped to take a lighthouse cruise, but the only lighthouse on this cruise was the little one here.  Little because a lighthouse along a river only needs to be seen for 3 miles.  But in foggy weather ships couldn’t see the lights and still ran aground, so they built a bell tower as an added safety factor.  The lighthouse keeper was required to trudge through the woods every four hours in bad weather to wind up the bell. bathlighthosebathbell

This proved to be quite an interesting tour and talk, and even though it wasn’t the tour I had hoped for I was happy to have had the experience.  I was a Navy wife in the summer of ’71 when I lived here while my husband’s ship was readied for it’s trip to it’s eventual port in San Diego.  For a short while the plan was for the ship to cruise south around South America, stopping at all the famous (infamous) ports along the way, but clearer heads eventually prevailed and that plan was nixed, and his ship went through the Panama Canal instead.  That must have been an experience in itself, though not the one whomever made the first plan probably had in mind.bathscenebathscene2BathshipsBathwyoming2This represents the Wyoming, which was built in Bath.  It’s true to the size except for the masts.  They were an additional 70 feet high, but the FAA wouldn’t let them build those to scale.Bathzumwaltclass

The other two Navy ships being built are very different from this one.  This is a Zumwalt class ship, built to be stealth.  On radar this ship appears to be a 40 foot fishing boat.BathmaryEThis little ship is the Mary E.  She was built in Bath in 1906 and was in service carrying many different cargos over the years.  She was eventually sunk, but was brought back to Bath and restored to her original and now carries passengers instead.

In the feature photo you see the size of the dry dock itself.  It was built in China and had a long journey to Bath since it was too big to go through the Panama Canal.  This isn’t a town that grew up to serve the tourist trade, and it shows.  But it’s worth a trip to see.

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Shaking it up…

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Canterbury Shaker Village was the destination yesterday.  I was so distracted by the dramatic sky that I didn’t spend a lot of time wishing for a prettier day.  Well, when it was raining on us and we were taking shelter under a crab apple tree I may have wished for a better day.  But the porcupine in the tree was kind of fun, but he just plain wouldn’t say cheese so I don’t have his picture.  And we munched on huckleberries that were growing on the apple tree like a trellis, so it wasn’t all bad.  A sprinkle here and there was as bad as it got.

We took the guided tour of the village and that was well worth it.  The volunteer guide was terrific, and it was quite amazing to hear of the accomplishments and work ethic of the Shakers.  I was lamenting that I had been so distracted by the dramatic sky, which doesn’t always translate into great pictures, that I didn’t think I had taken any interior pictures.  Thankfully there were a few.

Shakerorgan
The organ was purchsed for use during their raucous prayer meetings, but it was too tall and they debated whether to raise the roof or drop the floor.  As you see they dropped the floor, because raising the roof would have cost them dormitory space above the meeting home. 
Shakerouthouse
This is a three hole outhouse.  Using an outhouse seems bad enough, but using it three at a time really boggles the mind.

The rest of these are just the grounds of the village.  The members lived in dormitories.  They were issued 120 garments each upon their arrival in the village.  These were their only possessions.  Their laundry facility was amazing.  The Shakers invented the first washing machines and sold them to hotels and hospitals around the world.  The garments were washed, dried, folded, and returned to the proper person by a system of baskets.  They were delivered by the children of the village, to the proper building, identified by letter, room number, closet or drawer number, and the initials of the owner.  Very efficient.

And if you are paying attention you may be wondering how a religious community that practiced celibacy managed to have children on the premises.  Shakers took in orphans and educated them as well as trained them in trades.  They were not automatically considered Shakers, because the belief was that you couldn’t make a decision as important as that one until the age of reason, age 17 – 21.  The more I learned about this group the more I admired their practices.  Each person worked at a job to benefit the whole, in 30 day shifts, and everyone rotated through every job required.  In that way no one was stuck in the less pleasant jobs and these rules applied to everyone, including the elders of the village.  The guide didn’t elaborate on the perceived benefits of celibacy, we’ll all have to ponder that one…Shakerouthouse2Shakerouthouse3ShakerredbuildingShakerredbuilding2shakersculptureShakersistersshopShakerskyShakersky2ShakerfeatureShakerdoorShaker1

'scene' along the way, boats, Heros, history, learning, perseverance, photography, road trip, technology, travel

Harborwalk…

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I saw Boston’s Harborwalk while on the bus tour the other day, and I knew I was going to have to make that my first ‘hop-on-hop-off’ stop on the tour.  I did a lot of walking that day, a lot.  But it was pretty, and the weather was great.  And I had a fun conversation with an insurance man who was also enjoying the view.  He had a camara like mine, he said.  “Do you shoot RAW?” he wanted to know.  “Do you know Lightroom?” was his next question.  Thanks to my awesome camera group, the FCCP from Clearwater, FL, I was able to say yes to both questions.  But he got me with his next question, “Do you use back button focus?”  Funny thing is I had just attempted to read an article about exactly that.  Attempted is the operative word here.  I found it a bit abstract, but now I’m determined to figure it out.  Because once he caught me up in a question he was happy to rush back to work.  LOL.  No, not laughing.  Gonna have to make sure that doesn’t happen again.Harborwalk1Harborwalk3Harborwalk4Harborwalk5Harborwalk6Harborwalk7HarborwalkHoodHarborwalkteapartyboatHarborwalkteapartyboat2The bus tour driver had pointed out the Hood milk bottle as we cruised to the next stop.  And the yellow boat where they reenact the Boston Tea Party, throwing plastic bins of tea over the side and then hoisting them back in again.  He had lots of interesting things to point out that proved too difficult to photograph.  Like the glimpse down an alleyway where Boston Latin used to be.  Boston Latin is the oldest public school in the country and several founding fathers graduated from there.  We passed a spot of green among the buildings and it turned out to be a very old cemetery where three of the signers of the declaration of independence are buried.  He even pointed out a bar where Sam Adams used to hang out, directly across the street from the cemetery where he was buried.  He said you can have a cold Sam Adams while you pay your respects to an even colder Sam Adams.  Lots of history in not a lot of square footage in Boston.

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Boston Public Gardens…

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The swan boats and the ducklings were my biggest priority in heading to Boston in the first place.  Okay, maybe not in place of the historic significance of Boston itself, but c’mon, who could resist those ducklings?  One very nice mom rousted more than a few kids off of the ducklings to allow me to snap a picture or two.  I thank her.

When I realized that there were actual swans in the water with the swan boats I couldn’t get there fast enough.  Or take enough pictures.  One of the two swans was swimming in circles, but the other one seemed to be very much interested in the swan boats themselves.  I couldn’t tell if he was looking for handouts from the passengers, or trying to chase the boats away.  I hadn’t realized that the boats are pedal-powered.

Adding to the charm was a group of ladies painting on the shore, and children playing in a fountain.  Not that it needed extra charm.Beantown2swanboats7Beantown2swanboats1Beantown2swanboats2Beantown2swanboats3Beantown2swanboats4Beantown2swanboats8Beantown2swanboats6Beantown2paintersBeantown2redflowers