Day 151 - South Carroll St., Frederick

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Antiques in antique places

Old Glory was flapping today!

This weather we've been having in the Mid-Atlantic is crazy!  Yesterday the temps were in the upper 60's and I was watching students in Shepherdstown running along the streets in rain, wearing shorts and flipflops.  Today the wind has been whipping everything in sight, and occasionally snow flurries so fierce you'd think you were in a blizzard blow through, with the sun shining the entire time.  It was in these cold and windy conditions today that I set out for a walk along South Carroll Street.

Blowing Burlap

Water Tower

I had business at the Visitor's Center in Frederick, which is located in a beautifully restored building, full of gorgeous displays.  It was a treat to look at the display about the Jug Bridge, seeing a depiction of the bridge in the early 1900's.  If you have been following my walks, you know the Jug Bridge has been the topic of at least two recent walks.

South Carroll Street has a number of old buildings that were built in an early industrial era of Frederick.  For example, the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center is in an old mill building.  Other old buildings, some of which are converted to antiques businesses, have remnants of pulley systems and old machinery projections jutting out from the brick or stone exteriors.

Old School??

I walked along South Carroll until an old building at the foot of Urner Street caught my eye.  It looked like a small chapel or old schoolhouse.  It was on the edge of Harmon Field, a ball field and playground.  Continuing along Winchester, I arrived at the campus of the Maryland School for the Deaf. 

Crazy Conduits!

My walk was quicker than usual today, probably from being propelled along the sidewalks by the wind.  From mild temps to flooding rains to gusty winds to blowing snow to sunny blue skies, we've had it all in the last 48 hours.



 Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 150 - Antietam Battlefield, Part I

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Barn with silo

40 Acre Corn Field

To recognize that today is 150 of daily photo walks, I chose a special place to go -- Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, MD.  Unfortunately, rain and storms were predicted for today, and the battlefield was closed for a scheduled power outage, but my friend Norma and I persisted and drove around the area anyway, looking for a good place to park and take our walk.

Red Tractor

We parked at the top of a slope next to a private farm and walked down the road and then rounded the bend in the road and continued on our walk until we got to the "40 acre corn field."  At this point, it began to rain in earnest, so we returned to the car, realizing that we had walked quite a distance, and most of it was downhill.

Cannon at Antietam

There is so much more that I want to see at Antietam, and today's visit did not even begin to tap the areas I could walk and photograph.  Luckily, it is less than an hour away, so I will make many more visits there in the future.

The predicted rains and heavy downpours rolled through while we were eating lunch in Sherpherdstown, WV, which we drove through to check out for future walks.  The town is great, and I will definitely be returning there.  After all, I only have 215 more days to go in this year of photo walks, and so many great places still to explore!


Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so
7. 
   

Day 149 - A Walk with Caden

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Caden

Up a tree

When the phone rings at 7:15 a.m. on a weekday, I usually answer it with, "Who's sick?"  99% of the time, it is my daughter calling me for last minute babysitting.  Today, the answer was "Caden."  He is not sick in the sense of a fever or vomiting, but because of a worrisome rash, so I am keeping him until his Dad picks him up for a doctor appointment this afternoon.

The first words out of Caden's mouth when he arrived at my house at 7:30 were, "I want to ride my bike!"  I told him we had to wait a little while, and at 10:30, out we went. 

Leftover Egg Shell

The Ice Spider

It is positively springlike outside.  As I am writing this, the sun is shining and the temperature is 61 degrees.  We wore our sweatshirts for the walk, and both of us were quite warm by the end of it.

We rode around the streets in my neighborhood, stopping to photograph melting ice on the drainage pond.  I used some Photoshop tricks to turn the ice photo into a cool ice spider.  Caden really likes the final image, even though he wouldn't get near a spider.

Packing a tight one

When we approached the clubhouse, Caden remembered the Easter Egg hunt there last April, so we looked to see if there were any leftover eggs in the bushes.  Then he wanted to see the pool.  I told him we could go swimming if it was open, but he told me that it was closed up.  Next I taught him how to make a snowball; we lobbed a bunch of them over the pool fence and watched them splat on the concrete.

No Swimming Today

  We had a great walk today.  Sometimes, being sick at Grandma's house is a lot of fun!



















Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so
7. 
   

Day 148 - North Market Street, Frederick

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

I made a coaster tile delivery to The Muse this afternoon, and on my way out of the city, I headed north on Market Street.  As I approached 8th Street, I saw free parking, and decided to park and walk north on Market. 

Frederick does not have a "Main Street," unlike many of the other historic towns I have visited.  Its main street is Market Street, which is also known as Rt. 355, which was the primary north/south route from Washington, DC, to Pennsylvania.  Its origins date back to colonial times.  Through downtown Frederick, it is known as Market Street.

Good use of a stump!

1910 style duplexes

Closer to historic downtown, the houses are primarily brick duplexes, very close to the street.  These dwellings were built in the late 1800's.  As you go farther out of town, you notice the change in styles and size of the homes.  They are still brick duplexes, for the most part, but they now have deeper front porches and a front yard.  Most of these homes were built in the early 1900's to around 1920.  Whole blocks have similar styles, changing with the eras in which they were built.  It was like walking along a timeline from 1880 to 1930.

Old Single Family Home

The white mansion

A few blocks more, and the homes change to a mixture of larger duplexes and some single family homes from the 1940's.  Occasionally there is a large Victorian style home mixed in.  It was probably a "singleton" many years ago, on a large lot far outside of town, which has now been subdivided and sold for multiple family lots.  Most of these larger anomolies are taken over by insurance agencies or health providers.  However there was one huge white brick home, at the corner of 12th and Market, that looked like it should be a wedding center.  It occupied half of an entire city block.  There were no identifying signs that I could see, so it must still be privately owned.  There was a 6 car garage in the rear.  It would easily fit my two cars and bikes, with plenty of room left for the recycling bin and trash can!
 
I walked from 7th Street to 15th Street, turning around at Governor Thomas Johnson High School.  The side streets that opened onto Market Street provide so many more walking opportunities for me through old neighborhoods.  I'm sure I'll be returning soon.

 Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so
7. 
   

Day 147 - Who's got the best nest?

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Geese

Who's got the best nest?  That was my question as I spied nest after nest on my walk today along the Spring Ridge walking paths located near the entrance to the subdivision on Rt. 144.

I have a jam packed afternoon and evening planned, in addition to needing a few groceries, so I parked at the Weis at Spring Ridge and took off down their walking paths.  The black topped path goes through wooded areas, passes by some apartment complexes, goes by a school and some professional offices, and then cycles back around to the grocery store.

Snow Patterns

Housing Choices

On my walk, I kept seeing nests, in both bushes and in trees.  Some were messy, some were neat, some were trailing plastic.  It reminded me of the children's book by P.D. Eastman called The Best Nest.  I doubt any of the ones I saw today would be chosen by the finicky Mrs. Bird.

The sun is shining today and the 35 degree temperature felt positively balmy after the weather we have had the past week.  By the end of the walk, I had unzipped my coat and taken off my scarf and gloves.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so
7. 
   

Day 146 - The Archibald Bird Sanctuary

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Onlooker

Fluffy stuff

The Fred Archibald Audubon Sanctuary on Boyers Mill Road in New Market was perfect for my walk today.  There was an even layer of snow, and I would much rather walk on that than on snowy sidewalks in town.

I have been to this sanctuary before, back on November 3, when fall color was just ending.  This time, I knew what to expect, so I walked the perimeter of the sanctuary, following the paths. 

Rt. 270 of deer travel

To the right of the sanctuary is a horse farm, and one horse near the fence turned to take a look at me.  I was the only human who had set foot in the sanctuary since it snowed, so I suppose the horse was curious.

Seeds on grainy wood

Ahead of me, past the fence, I saw at least 20 deer, mostly single file, trotting across the path about a hundred yards away.  They disappeared into the tall grasses as I approached.  The paths where I was walking were heavily marked by deer tracks, but one of the paths in particular was particularly marked up.  If deer name their highways, this would have been the Rt. 270 of deer traffic.

The only other wildlife I saw was a turkey.  Birds were very scarce today in this bird sanctuary. 

Birdhouse

I was tired by the end of my walk, but it was nice being out in such a quiet natural area on a winter afternoon.

Winter Shed

Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so
7. 
   

Day 145 - The Jug Bridge, Revisited

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Side view of the toll house.

As I got out of the car today on the closed section of old Rt. 144, part of the historic National Road, I was practicing in my head what to tell anyone who might question my walking in the area.  Although Jersey barriers block access to the arched concrete bridge that crossed the Monocacy before it was replaced with the steel span, there are not any "No Trespassing" signs, so I had no worries there.  What I was more concerned about was the third road that leads to the river, the one that I have now figured out led to the old Jug Bridge.

Just me and the deer.

My thought was to say that I am an historian.  I actually said it out loud to myself, and then I realized with a big surprise, that the first words out of my mouth were not "I am a photographer."  And that's when I realized that there is not really a clear separation of what I am doing on these walks.  Much of the time, I am an historian who photographs.  It's becoming a whole new way of thinking about myself.

An unexpected find on the road.

Anyway, I walked down the third road, which parallels the modern day road across the river.  I have actually walked it before, but I had no idea at the time that it would lead to the earliest bridge of all, the Jug Bridge.  After my walk the other day, when I discovered through my research that there was still a remaining toll house for the Jug Bridge, I knew that I would have to find it.  It has been a private residence since 1911.

Western Abutment

As I approached the end of the road, there were numerous "no trespassing" signs and "beware of dog" signs.  I took a long shot, as well as I could, and I almost asked the postman, who was zipping down the road toward the toll house, if I could hitch a ride. 

However, I walked back up the original road, and then started my way down the second road, leading to the closed concrete arch bridge.  It was pretty well snow covered, but the walking was not slippery.  Because the leaves are off the trees, I could see the toll house from that road, and when I got to the bridge, I could see the old stone abutments on either side of the river.

The link below documents the history of the toll house.

Front View

http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se5/010000/010500/010571/pdf/msa_se5_10571.pdf

This link is really cool.  You can see various pictures of the bridge, the toll house, the road, and the jug in place.

http://www.whatwasthere.com/browse.aspx#!/ll/39.397897,-77.365978/id/17030/info/details/zoom/14/


Now my goal is to find the road that leads from the eastern approach.  That's for another day!




Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so
7. 
   

Day 144 - Downtown on Business

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Talley Rec Center

Today I had two appointments in downtown Frederick, so while I was there, I decided to do my walk, as well.  After my morning appointments and a nice lunch at Sumittra with a friend, I returned to the car to suit up.  I changed my shoes, added my hat and scarves, put away my notebooks, put the camera around my neck, put the hood up, and took off.

Snow Family

My goal was to check out the Talley Recreation Center near Baker Park.  I am the chairperson of a committee that will be holding a big art reception for a June event called Easels in Frederick, and I had not yet seen the space.  It is inside an old armory building, with the upper floor consisting of a huge gym with high ceilings and lots of windows.   On the lower floor, there is state of the art exercise equipment, and quite a lot of it. The outside of the building is on the edge of Baker Park, and it looks like a brick castle, complete with ramparts.

Magnolia Drip

Fanciful Espalier

After I checked out the building, I walked for several blocks, carefully picking my way along the sidewalks.  It had snowed about an inch last night, and some residents had cleared their walks, and others had not.  Some had thrown out bagfuls of ice melt.  The shady areas were icy, so I tried to stick to the sunny side of the street wherever I could, which is always good advice, right?

I did not find much inspiration today.  The wind picked up again, so I had my hood up.  It shrouds my face, and that significantly cuts down on both my peripheral vision and my hearing.  I also needed to watch my step constantly, so walking in town was not very satisfactory.  I could not see or hear traffic or other pedestrians very well. 

I did get a few shots on this cold and sunny day, but I'll stick to the rural/natural settings like yesterday for future walks on "bundle up well" days.  Hopefully, we'll be getting a break soon!



Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so
7. 
   

Day 143 - Gambrill Mill at Monocacy

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Caught in the ice

Frozen in time

I am finally figuring out this cold weather photo walking thing.  What better way to take advantage of the freezing weather than to go and see what has frozen?  After all, I would not be able to do that in warmer weather.  So, today I headed for the park at Gambrill Mill, which not only has streams and a pond, but it borders the Monocacy River.

As you might predict, I was the only person there, except for the park employees who were snug in their office quarters located on the premises.  I began my walk on the trail/boardwalk that runs by the streams, finding little icy islands and great shelves of ice along the edges.  I could get right down to the water's edge, which is normally muddy and soft, but today, it was firm and crunchy.

Blooming Lichen?

Monocacy Railroad Bridge

I continued on the boardwalk to the river.  The Monocacy had some flowing sheets of ice in the center, and shelves of ice at the edges.  Continuing along the trail next to the river, I could see the damage from Hurricane Sandy, when the river reached maximum flood stage.  There were still lots of log jams in the river, and the high water level could be seen in the trees, where clumps of leaves had caught in the branches.

Pondside Visitor

I walked farther to the grassy area between the split rail fences, where there was tons of great lichen on the wood.  I even found some that looked like it was in bloom.

Gumball on ice

I came to the frozen pond, and in it were frosty ice patterns and leaves that were suspended in the ice.  I was able to lay my camera on the ice to take water level shots of leaves caught in the ice and gum balls that had fallen from the tree above onto the ice.  While I was sitting in the grass at the pond's edge, which again is normally too mushy to walk on, a great blue heron paid a visit to the other side of the pond.

What a great walk!  I was out for 50 minutes, using my bundling techniques learned yesterday, and time flew by.  I could have stayed all day.

If you are considering a freezing weather walk, seek out something frozen!

Icy Island

Flood Level Evidence in the Trees

Ice folds like fabric

Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so

Day 142 - The Jug Bridge in Frederick

Jug Bridge Demi-john

OK, I will admit that today was cold.  And the rest of the week is going to be cold.  Not as cold as in Minnesota or in Northern Maine, but highs in the lower 20's with wind chills in the single digits is cold for the Mid-Atlantic.  I was pretty sure I was prepared for a walk today, but I was wrong.

In addition to long johns under my jearns, I had on my hooded heavy coat, a hat, my gloves, my flip-top mittens, and two scarves.  I bundled up and drove to a memorial I had seen near the airport, at the intersection of Bowman's Farm Road and Rt. 144.

Road construction on Rt. 70

I walked in my bundled gear up to the monument and read the historical markers.  The odd shaped monument, which is shaped like a jug, was previously located two miles away at the Monocacy River.  It marked the beginning of a five arch stone bridge across the Monocacy, built in 1808 by Leopold Harbaugh (maybe a Superbowl coach's ancestor?).  Although the bridge was officially known as the Monocacy Bridge, it was commonly called the Jug Bridge.  I always  wondered why a restaurant on the eastern side of the present day bridge was named the Jug Bridge Restaurant, and now I know why!

Monument to Lafayette

The bridge lasted until 1942, when a section of it collapsed.  It was replaced by a concrete bridge, which I photographed back in October on Day 51, and that bridge in turn was replaced by the steel bridge that spans the river today.

Me in my gear

The jug-like marker is known as a demijohn.  It, and a monument to Lafayette, were moved to their present location across from the airport for preservation as part of the Historic National Road.


Anyway, back to my cold weather tale.  I realized 10 minutes into my walk that I was freezing, mostly around my face and ears, despite the hat.  I returned to the car, and put up the hood, pulling on the adjustment elastic around the hood.  I also zipped the coat up completely, until it covered my mouth  I felt like little Randy in the Christmas Story, waddling in his snowsuit.  I got back out of the car and walked the route again, feeling much warmer.

Tomorrow and the rest of the week promise the same freezing temps, so if you see a grey hooded creature walking in your area with a camera around its neck, it will be me.


Hurricane Sandy Relief: Donate to the Red Cross, and I will mail you a 5 x 7 print from any of the photos I have posted on my blog OR any photo on my website.

Forward to me via email a receipt for donating to the Red Cross. Tell me whether the photo is from the blog or the website, and Include its title along with a mailing address. The name on the receipt to the Red Cross must match the name of the mailing recipient. Send the receipt and the photo request to camscamerashots@gmail.com.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

*************************************************

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
Follow me on Twitter: @camscamerashots

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so