honor – A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens

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

Bath, Maine…

August 28, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

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.

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.

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.This 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.

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.This 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.

blessings, childhood, connections, coping, courage, faith, family, friends, healing, honor, memories, moments, perseverance, photography, road trip, strangers become friends

Lisa…

June 13, 2019June 12, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

I only met her once. She had long ago married into the family that I loved in my childhood, and had recently fallen in love with again despite the 60+ year absence. On Sunday I attended her memorial, her celebration of life. And with four generations of family present it truly was a celebration. Hearing everyone from her granddaughter to her sister speak of her love of reading and love of family, I saw that I would have enjoyed knowing her. But she was gone too soon. She was a special part of this special family, and I saw that she will be missed. And remembered. It was a privilege to have been included in this day.

This celebration was held at her brother’s house, and when I arrived I was concentrating on seeing/meeting this large group of people that I had never met. It was after I’d been there a few minutes that I began to notice the house itself. The low plaster and beamed ceiling as you walk in, and the seven (I think) fireplaces, one in every room. Turns out it was built in 1724, and as much of the original as possible is still present. When necessary improvements had to be made, such as in the kitchen with it’s loft overlook, the original wood that had been taken out was used to build any new cabinets, etc. It’s completely obvious that this house has been loved. And it may not be an exaggeration to say that George Washington slept there. His 2nd in command married the daughter of the home owner back in those old days, so it’s entirely possible. Though someone mentioned that considering all the area houses making the claim that George Washington slept there it would seem George may have slept around a bit. As we left we were talking about what a nice memorial it had been, which may be why I forgot to take the outside shots I had intended to take.

a second look, finding my way, Heros, history, honor, memories, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel, Uncategorized

More stops along the way…

May 25, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

Yesterday I stopped for photos at the Veteran’s Cemetery that I’ve been passing in my travels here in New Hampshire. The row upon row of headstones are so moving, so many lives cut short, so many sacrifices made. But when I noticed an elderly woman struggling up the curb with her walker, on her way to honor her husband, or father, or son, I felt ashamed to be thinking in terms of the nice pictures I hoped to take, so I cut that visit short…Then I decided to stop at Daniel Webster’s birthplace, having passed the turn-off several times without stopping. He is a favorite son of New Hampshire, for good reason.There was no sign announcing a turn-off for the last place I stopped yesterday. I had glimpsed this little structure soon after I arrived here but had no idea where it was that I’d seen it. I was mad at myself for not stopping that day, so of course I had to stop when I spotted it this time. I feel as if I’m intruding when I stop for pictures sometimes. But when you put a sweet little structure like this one out by the side of the road I have to assume that you intended for it to be noticed and appreciated. And I did both!

Heros, honor, photography, soldiers, weather

Honoring our heros…

May 30, 2018May 29, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

I’m so thankful that a photographer friend suggested we go to the Memorial Day ceremony at the Florida National Cemetery. It was to be held rain or shine, and we prepared for the worst, but the weather was kind to us and it was a beautiful day for a very moving ceremony.

That it was a day of flags was obvious as soon as we entered the property. The road was lined with flags, all gently moving in the breeze. But as we followed the twists and turns of the road to find the parking area as we took each turn we saw field after field of grave markers, each of which were graced with a flag. Volunteers had placed those flags the day before, and as they did they read each and every name of our deceased heros aloud. And they did this in weather that was anything but kind.

Flags of each state also lined the seating area. As the Hernando High School band played a medley of all the services theme songs the veterans in the audience were asked to stand to be acknowledged, which was the first time I teared up.The riderless horse was another emotional moment. And as the cavalry, provided by the Pasco Posse, marched we were treated to bagpipers playing Amazing Grace. Yes, emotional.Soon it was time for the 21 gun salute. Which is extremely loud when you have a front row seat, so to speak. I can see the smoke from the guns in this photo, it’s faint but it’s there. Taps was played next. A lone bugle, beautifully played…

I’m ashamed that it took me all these years to attend a Memorial Day event. As the daughter, wife, and mother of veterans there is no excuse. It was a very emotional and moving sort of day. And as I’m writing this I hear the rain pouring down.

finding my way, Florida landmarks, honor, photography, special effects, sunset

Wandering in Dunedin…

March 28, 2018March 28, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

I had taken plenty pictures of the sunset, and it was fading anyhow, so I started wandering, drawn by the lights of the various shops just up ahead. I have tail light trails in the photo above, and the ghost of a car that I ought to remove but will drive myself nuts trying. I prefer to wonder who was in that car, and where they were going. I hope they had as much fun as I did that night. It started with the Old Bay Cafe, and then Got Lobstah? Unfortunately I didn’t get to try a lobster roll, my cousin says they have the best ones he’s had outside of Massachusetts. And I continued on from there. I love that they honor our veterans in Dunedin. I know a couple of heros, something I’m sure that they would deny, but they are though…All I can say about this one is that I clearly need to consider perspective when I’m taking pictures. Blame the parked cars and close quarters. Maybe the shop itself was crooked because when I try to level one thing then something else is off…

history, honor, learning, moments, photography, soldiers, The Booksville Raid

The Brooksville Raid…

January 22, 2018 naturecoastimagesblog

The Brooksville Raid was a Civil War skirmish that is re-enacted in Brooksville every year, and is said to be the biggest Civil War re-enactment in Florida. It recounts the landing of 240 Union troops at Bayport on July 1, 1864. Those troops then marched to Brooksville, pillaging and destroying plantations in their wake. The Confederate defenders skirmished with them, and sent to Tampa for help, but there never was an actual battle. The union troops did what damage they could and returned to Bayport and from there returned to Ft. Myers.

Charley liked to call it “the war of Northern aggression”, but then he fancied himself a southern boy. We went to the Brooksville Raid in 2013, and watched the battle but didn’t venture into the Union and Confederate camps at all. I’m not sure that we knew they were available to tour. Sunday’s photo meetup at the Brooksville Raid started when they opened the gates at 9 AM. It was to our advantage to be there so early so that we could take photographs without crowds in the background. Walking the camps went a long way to helping to imagine what a soldier’s life may have been at that time. I overheard a re-enactor explaining to another photographer that his great-grandfather had left the farm at 15 years old, and fought for all four years of the Civil War. He became a re-enactor to honor his ancestor’s service.

Once I had toured both camps, and watched the artillery demonstration there were still two hours to kill before the actual battle was going to be fought. I took pity on the dogs who would be needing to go out, so I didn’t stay for the battle itself. But I had it on good authority that the South was going to win this time. They do two re-enactments, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. I looked up the information on the raid because I was told that since the Union had won the skirmish on Saturday, the Confederacy would win on Sunday. That seemed like rewriting history until I read that I wasn’t a battle as much as a series of skirmishes. Charley was on my mind the whole time I was there. He would have been pleased to see the South prevail.

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