Posts Tagged ‘Whiskey Boys Trail’
Running Dry
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our Lady of the Pentacle was busy, with a class she’s taking in Pittsburgh’s Bridgeville section, and your humble narrator had an hour or so to kill before having to pick her up and drive her back to Moe the Dog.
An hour isn’t really all that long a time, as far as ‘getting into it’ photography wise, so my plan was to find some flowing water and use those new lens filters and ‘superclamp’ setup recently acquired.
I headed over to the nearby ‘Whiskey Boys trail’ where there’s meant to be a wooden bridge spanning a stream.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I had to walk ‘in’ a bit to get there.
I’ve been here before but on a different pathway, with Moe the Dog.
This is a prepared crushed limestone trail for most of the way, with a nice firmament for hiking. It’s kind of buggy in there, but Pennsylvania is uniformly kind of buggy in the summer. Functioning ecosystem, huh?
The whole state is pretty much upstate New York, but with more woods, and a whole lot more in the way of mountains and streams.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When I got there, it was discovered that this is now a ‘former’ stream.
Here I am standing in the stream bed, and shooting pics of a bridge that spans no water, troubled or otherwise.
Cannot win.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One is looking forward to some sort of autumn this year. I lost two autumns in a row to the broken ankle, and there’s a tiny voice in my head that keeps saying ‘you’re missing out.’
Have to come up with a plan…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The time warp is still deeply in effect here at Newtown Pentacle.
These shots are from the 25th of July, and this post is being written during an early morning in mid August, whereas the publish date for this post is set for late September.
At this rate, you’ll be seeing Halloween stuff for Christmas.
Saying that, I’m still able to offer a daily post, which arrives in your e-mailbox in the manner of a metronome. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This blog will eventually cease publication, as a note.
I do have a date in mind for when that’ll happen, but that’s still years away. It would be unlike me not to make a big deal of something major as it’s approaching, so don’t worry. Nothing is ending anytime soon, and I’ve still got a LOT of stuff I want to see, do, and explore in these postings.
Alternatively, I could have a stroke or get hit by a car tomorrow, so…
Back next week 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.
Whiskey Boys Trail
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I find myself having to head over to Home Depot about once a month for some needed gizmo or material or tool or ‘something random.’ The drive to the nearest outpost of the retail giant takes me from the Pittsburgh suburb of Dormont through another town, dubbed Scott Township, on my way to a third community called Bridgeville (which counterintuitively doesn’t have all that much going on in the way of bridges). About midway through the 20 minute drive from Dormont, where HQ is located, I’ve been noticing signage indicating the presence of the “Whiskey Boys Trail” and “Kane Woods.”
Normally this sort of thing ain’t exactly my bag, but Moe the Dog prospers in natural areas. I still can’t let him off the leash, as he’s a puppy and thereby a total idiot, but part of his training and development requires trees and dirt. I don’t like taking him places that I haven’t checked out first, so… Hence.
A good dog is a tired dog, that’s the mantra.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are basically three or four paths set into a fairly steep hill here. Every now and then, you’ll find a visual break in the ‘sylvania’ thing and see a road, or as in the case of the shot above, a bunch of utility poles. An hour’s drive from Pittsburgh will land you in actual, real woods, the kind people go hunting in and which are known for Sasquatch sightings. This ain’t that, but after shlepping around this trail for about an hour or so I realized that the little bastard would love this spot.
I’ve since returned with Moe, who proceeded to pull me up a hill at running puppy speeds. He ate about 25 pounds of spotted lantern flies, composted a few cubits worth of sticks and branches with his snapping puppy jaws, and was generally exhausted after we returned back home. He slept for an hour, puked lantern fly parts, and was a bit calmer than normal for about 24 hours. Then he bit me in the crotch again.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Moe has the advantage on this sort of substrate, I would mention, with his quadruped stance and pointy toes. I was wearing a pair of Merrel hiking boots with nearly bald soles, and he more or less was able to drag my fat butt anywhere he wanted to. If I had a sled with me, we could have delivered presents to orphans.
Back next week.
“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.
