Window Views - Windows needed

A house under construction is not unusual. What is unusual is that high school students are building this one. Frederick County Public Schools, through its Career and Technology Education programs, offers students hands on training, with preparation for certification in skilled trades. The students in the construction program build about one house a year, which is sold and the funds used to buy materials for the next house.

I spotted this old building a year or so ago and thought it unusual that it had a new roof and sky lights, but no windows (or siding!). I don't know the original purpose of the building or what the plans are for it. Below you can see more detail of the construction and the stepladder inside.

My World Tuesday - Wet and blooming

It has rained for several days, delaying our plans to get the rest of our new plants in pots and the ground. (And the grass is growing high.) But the azaleas and rhododendron are now blooming. And Marianne's new froggy friend loves the rain!

Historic Bridges: Keysville - Four Points

I thoroughly enjoyed RuneE's meme Bridges Between. The meme included the widest definition of the title, with posts on ways of connecting people other than the traditional structure crossing some chasm. I am going to post here a personal theme "Historic Bridges" focusing on bridges in our area that have historical significance. Frederick County has 29 such bridges with spans over 20 feet. There are also other bridges in Maryland that I want to cover. Most of the Frederick County historic bridges were built in the late 1800's or early 1900's. Three are wooden covered bridges; one is a stone arch bridge; and 25 are metal truss bridges. In 1990 the county Department of Highways and Transportation began a program to rehabilitate and preserve these bridges. Some were rehabilited by county crews and contractors were hired for others. The county is planning to keep these bridges open as long as the traffic load does not exceed bridge capacity.

These historic bridges were posted as part of Bridges Between:

Roddy Road Covered Bridge posted April 2008
Legore Stone Arch Bridge posted July 2008
Antietam Lower Bridge (aka Burnside's Bridge) posted August 2008
Utica Mills Covered Bridge posted September 2008
Stevens Road Bridge posted December 2008
Bullfrog Road Bridge posted January 2009
Sixes Road Bridge posted February 2009
Bennies Hill Road posted March 2009

In addition, Marianne posted Loy's Station Covered Bridge in September 2007. All are in Frederick County except Antietam Lower Bridge, which is in Washington County on the site of a major Civil War battle.

Approach

Today's post is the Keysville - Four Points Bridge spanning Tom's Creek in the northern part of Frederick County. This is a Pratt truss bridge. It was built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio in 1880. It was washed off its abutments by Hurricane Fran in September 1996, lifted out of the creek by a crane, rehabilitated and placed back on its abutments. It reopened to traffic in August 1997. In addition to being a county historic bridge, it is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

View from down stream

Abutment and bearing detail

Bottom chord detail

Wood deck

PhotoHunt - Marianne's walking machine

This is Marianne's walking machine, a NordicTrack treadmill that she has been using for a number of years. The mirror is so she can watch TV off to the right while she walks.

Sky Watch Friday - Reflections at dusk

The tinted widows of the van make for good mirrors. I took these shots at dusk two weeks ago and they give an almost 180 degree view from our driveway of the trees in the neighborhood. Notice how little the leaves had come out then and compare to the maple on this Tuesday. And as a bonus you get me and my camera in the last photo.

Window Views - Window effect

Enlarge this one and examine the straight lines of the pole and curb on the other side of the street The distortion is not the camera or PhotoShop, it is the window itself. The hair salon that Marianne patronizes moved to an old house a few months ago and while waiting for her Tuesday, I notice the ripples in the glass of the windows and the interesting effect they caused. So I got my camera from the car and took this shot to share with you this week.

My World Tuesday - spring has sprung

After starting to feel like spring out side then NOT, we jumped straight to June with temperatures in the 90's this weekend.

Over the past week our cherry trees went to full bloom;

the dogwood blooms opened wide;

the lilacs bloomed;

the oak trees showed some green;

and dropped pollen over everything below!