The Newtown Pentacle

Wednesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

As described yesterday, a quick walk around a roughly square 38 acre public property called the Thornburg Conservation Area, nearby Pittsburgh’s Borough of Crafton, was recently undertaken.

After following the sound of flowing water across the verge, one encountered a drainage system for a set of rail tracks that are set into the hillside, about fifteen to twenty feet above the level of the earthen berm that I was scuttling on.

It’s been a fairly long time since I thought ‘hey, I should set up the tripod and put a filter on the lens for a low and slow shot’ so I did so.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

What with all my troubles, an effort has been made to minimize the amount of crap I carry with me in the camera bag. Normally, I’m ready for most anything that might pass in front of me, but for obvious reasons I’ve been trying to travel a bit lighter of late. On this walk, and since I’d driven here, I had the ‘whole magilla’ with me.

The tripod was all set up and the lens cloaked with an ND filter, so I decided to get a few more shots. ‘Up, down, all around.’ The light was crappy, with an overcast sky, but that’s it’s part of the challenge.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

On my way back to the parking lot, I noticed this set of stairs set into the hillside leading to where those rail tracks are. Hmmm.

Have you ever read that amazingly cool Reddit thread about avoiding interacting with stairs you might find in the woods? Check it out here.

Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.

“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle

Buy a book!

“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.

Tuesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

You just have to take notice of signage warning passerby in a park about possible injury or death due to Goat. You really do.

Saying that, there were zero goats to worry about on the day which I visited the Thornburg Conservation Park. This is a roughly 38 square acre patch of green with stands of trees that a waterbody called Chartiers Creek flows past. This is more or less in the community of Crafton, which isn’t far at all from HQ, in neighboring Dormont, and both are Boroughs of the Pittsburgh milieu.

A nine hole golf course was established here in 1898, and the property changed hands privately in 2001, whereupon a combination of wealthy residents and the municipality of Thornburg then acquired the land in 2005, in order to establish a public green space and nature preserve for the community on the grounds of the former golf course.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Two big friendly dogs that came bursting out of the verge soon introduced me to their friend Richie, who also happened to be recovering from an orthopedic dealie and stretching his legs, so we started chatting. He told me that a big part of the reason behind establishing this space involved a massive flood that occurred ‘about twenty years ago’ and that when the Borough was working on this project, part of the project’s aim was the creation of a spongy green barrier between the settled community and businesses in the area and the flowing waters. He mentioned ‘EPA’ and I asked ‘the Feds?’ It wasn’t clear, his answer.

Me?

This was my ‘walk on natural soils’ day, providing a series of challenges for the recovering ankle that you just can’t find on pavement. All of the rather subtle angles your foot finds itself in while walking on a natural surface, that’s what I was after. Also, I wanted to take a few shots of something that wasn’t a train or a city street.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Turns out that there are, in fact, rail tracks at the edge of the property.

Conversation with a different fellow, whose dog also handled the introductions, revealed a schedule for a reportedly once a day journey of trains along these tracks, and that has been noted for future excursions.

I was following the sound of flowing water down a trail that followed the shore line of Chartiers Creek.

There were a few interesting compositions which I had to deny myself from capturing, I should mention. Doing so would have involved negotiating down an eight to fifteen foot muddy slope on the berm I was walking on down to the level of the water. Given the ankle situation, this wasn’t worth the risk, and I’m also not 100% sure I would be able to climb back up to the anti flooding berm which I was walking on without help.

Back tomorrow with more.

“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle

Buy a book!

“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.