Land of Play

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 20:31:08 -0400

Excerpt from The Little Land
by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850–1894

When at home alone I sit
And am very tired of it,
I have just to shut my eyes
To go sailing through the skies—
To go sailing far away
To the pleasant Land of Play;
To the fairy-land afar
Where the Little People are;
Where the clover-tops are trees,
And the rain-pools are the seas,
And the leaves like little ships
Sail about on tiny trips;
    And above the daisy tree
    Through the grasses,
High o’erhead the Bumble Bee
    Hums and passes.

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Photograph: Willow Pond Farm, Fairfield, Pennsylvania

Birth of Summer

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 20:44:23 -0400

Excerpt from A Summer Day
by Henry Charles Beeching, 1859-1919

Green leaves panting for joy with the great wind rushing through;
A burst of the sun from cloud and a sparkle on valley and hill,
Gold on the corn, and red on the poppy, and on the rill
Silver, and over all white clouds afloat in the blue.

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Photograph: Willow Pond Farm, Fairfield, Pennsylvania

Into the Garden

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 09:47:29 -0400

“A garden is to be a world unto itself, it had better make room for the darker shades of feeling as well as the sunny ones.”

- William Kent, 1685-1748
Architect and Early Landscape Gardener

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Photograph: Willow Pond Farm, Fairfield, Pennsylvania

Lavender Lake

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:08:32 -0400

"Memoranda" from Smoke and Steel
by Carl Sandburg, 1878–1967

This handful of grass, brown, says little. This quarter mile field of it, waving seeds ripening in the sun, is a lake of luminous firefly lavender.

Prairie roses, two of them, climb down the sides of a road ditch. In the clear pool they find their faces along stiff knives of grass, and cat-tails who speak and keep thoughts in beaver brown.

These gardens empty; these fields only flower ghosts; these yards with faces gone; leaves speaking as feet and skirts in slow dances to slow winds; I turn my head and say good-by to no one who hears; I pronounce a useless good-by.

Many Cameras

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:37:48 -0400

York Photowalk, June 27th, 2009

http://www.flickr.com/groups/yorkphotowalk/

Cheapest way I know to get a photographer to take my picture.

York Photowalkers

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:48:05 -0400

The York Photowalk on Saturday proved to be a lot of fun, and we had a wonderful turnout of over seventy walkers. Our two mile trek allowed us to witness both typical urban views as well as numerous historical landmarks. Highlights included insight from local historian and author Scott Butcher and an inside look at the York Water Company's magnificent interior artwork, graciously offered by its Chief Operating Officer, JT Hand.

To view photographs from many of our walkers, visit the group's Flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/yorkphotowalk/

More photographs will be added over the days and weeks ahead, so remember to check back for further additions.

If you'd like to be added to an email list specifically for future photowalk announcements, email via this link.

Photowalk Day

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:56:58 -0400

General Lafayette toasts Saturday's photowalkers as they take their two mile journey through downtown York.

Perhaps he's not actually toasting current walkers, but there's also some question as to the truth behind the local story from 1778 that the Marquis de Lafayette toasted General Washington and saved Washington's position as commander-in-chief.

Scott Butcher has some interesting historical background on the myth and some probable truths, so I'll suggest you read his post by clicking here.

Final York Photowalk Details

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:38:16 -0400

If you’re within driving distance of York, Pennsylvania, and your Saturday (June 27th) is still free, join us at 10:00 AM for a two mile photowalk of the downtown area. Weather’s lookin’ a bit warm, but otherwise great. For more information, visit the event web site located at vrphotowalks.com.

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Photograph: tritone treatment of York’s Strand Theater

Hoover Wagon

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:13:38 -0400

The 1886 building shown above served as the home to the Hoover Wagon Company, a manufacturer of buggies and carriages. The company went through many changes, producing at times bodies for the Model T, carriage gears, commercial truck bodies, hearses, ambulances and more. The truck body business was sold in the 1950s, but the company survives today through its casket division known as the York Group.

The structure was one of York's earliest to use mass produced cast-iron parts, allowing taller buildings. In 1904, it was purchased for use by the area newspaper, the York Dispatch.

Resources:

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/h/hoover/hoover.htm

Scott Butcher's "York's Historic Architecture"
The History Press
©2008

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For more information on the June 27th York Photowalk, visit the event web site located at vrphotowalks.com.