Sky Watch Friday - Weather vanes

David of authorblog asked if we still see weather vanes. I expected to see some on the barns in Frederick's rural areas, but spotted few in my travels since his post. I actually found more in town. Here are three. The one above is on a small, rural church near our house. The one below is on an older house in the City of Frederick. The oval has "1895" on it which I would guess is the year the house was built. (Another view of this one was posted June 21, 2008. The last vane is on the garage of a relatively new home. That image was taken the same day as my wet images posted for My World Tuesday.

Window Views - Around Frederick

Window in roof

Window in stone

Windows in white

My World Tuesday - Wet

The first three months of this year were drier than normal, but April and May have been wet. These shots were taken last Friday as I made a trip to the orchard to buy some strawberries. The clouds were coming over Cotoctin Mountain as I stopped at the orchard. And as I left the rain was coming down.

Near home, the rain was approaching and here is the scene from our porch a short time later.

Historic Bridges: Bennies Hill Road revisited

Attaching cables and straps

On May 28, the Bennie's Hill Road Bridge was reset on its abutments. The bridge structure has been resting in the road while the abutments were rebuilt. Some parts of the metal structure were replaced and the bridge repainted. This 94-foot bridge was originally built in 1879 and is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. A large crane was used to lift the bridge, swing it over the creek and lower it onto the abutments. For another view of the bridge in air, see my Thursday post. There is still work to be done before traffic can cross the creek. Floor beams and decking must be replaced and work around the approach completed. I will do another update after the bridge is open to traffic. For more info on this bridge (and other historic bridges) see Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere.

Lift off!

Over the creek

View of the other side

Almost there

In place!

PhotoHunt -Matchbooks

1789 is an elegant restaurant with excellent food in Washington, DC. We have not been there in a long time.

Back in the day when smoking was an acceptable habit, hotels and restaurants gave away matchbooks. We collected them in our travels and Marianne found some frames for displaying them. With a change in decor, they were relegated to storage long ago. I pulled them out for this PhotoHunt.

The Bavarian Inn serves excellent German cuisine and is just across the Potomac river in West Virginia; about an hour drive for us.

Phillips is the quintessential seafood restaurant for crabs in Maryland, with restaurants in Washington, Baltimore and several other east coast cities. This one is the 1956 original.

We had a delightful roast duck dinner at the Village Inn many years ago.

We attended a wedding reception at Emily Shaw's Inn in Pound Ridge, NY years ago.

Old South Mountain Inn in Boonsboro, MD is a historic inn, founded in 1732, on the westward trail to Ohio. It was the site of several incidences during civil war. And this is where I proposed to Marianne 24 years ago this month! It serves excellent food in a colonial setting.

Ahwahnee is a luxury hotel and restaurant in Yosemite National Park, one of the beauty spots on this Earth. Our accommodations were a platform tent, but we did eat here and enjoy the scenery.

Sky Watch Friday - Blue, gray & white

Southeast, afternoon clouds, May 23

West, clouds and contrails at dusk, May 23

Clouds at dusk, May 24

Patch of blue to the south, May 28

Storm to the north, May 28

Window Views - Many windows

These windows are part of a complex run by the Odd Fellows, a global fraternal organization. This facility has served as a retirement home for members, with part of the five-building complex leased to the Banner School. Recently the school has agreed to purchase the three builds it now leases.