Loleta Rec Area etc

  Took a hike at Loleta Natl. Rec. Area again, where some of the great stone work of the CCC is evident. Just zoom in on the dam to see that they don't build them like that anymore. I am a fan of some kind of national service to help unify this country, and doing infrastructure work such as much needed maintenance on our state and national parks would be a way to employ people after this pandemic ends.

 As for the car...It is now 3 years old with 40,000 miles and I have had absolutely no problems other than a loose heat shield that was easily tightened. The warranty still has 2 years remaining on the bumper to bumper and 7 years/100,000 miles on the engine and drive train-not bad for a purchased new price of $9,995. Mitsubishi Mirages get terrible reviews by the 'experts' yet many owners- including me- love them,  It is great everyday transportation and averages 47mpg... What's not to like? I  think the 'experts' are fools on this one, and totally missing the point of this car for people who simply want good, basic, reliable transportation.

Chapman Dam

   Circled the pond at Chapman today-a state park about ten miles from the house. A cross country skier had proceeded me in the new snow, but it is always a tranquil, beautiful  park just a short drive from Warren. The pond is popular for fishing, swimming and kayaking in summer, as well as ice fishing and sledding on a groomed hill in winter. Most years there is a festival in January, with dog sled races etc, but Co-vid has canceled that for this season. Winter is Beth's favorite season, and despite my preference for warm weather, I am not blind to the beauty of a winter woods. In fact, hemlocks draped in a fresh snow offer me a humbling contrast to the muttering under my breath I do when I have to scrape the windshield almost every day.

One of many nationwide

   " ANF-13 (Bull Hill) was operational from July 2, 1935 until 1946, but it was converted to a German POW camp from 1942 through 1946. It was also used as a YCC, Youth Conservation Camp, in the 1970s, with the addition of mobile trailers on the site. There was a Univ. of Iowa forestry field school here in the 1980s and it was an 82d Airborne exercise area. The CCC men from here built the Farnsworth Fish Hatchery, and also Forest Roads 116, 119 and 154, as well as many other projects. Besides Bull Hill, it was also called the Austin Hill and the Cherry Grove Camp. See the "Valley Voice" (Sheffield newspaper) for Friday, Oct. 1999 for interviews, photos and maps. A 1994 edition of this paper has many more photos. An article in the Sheffield "Observer" for Aug. 13. 1935 lists the eleven buildings, which included five 110' barracks. It is west of Sheffield,PA on Route 2002, between Forest Roads 416 and 481. There is a road side historic marker, erected by the ANF. Isabelle Champlin, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Bradford, PA., has site maps, as does the ANF."

        Walked past this marker a few weeks ago-in the middle of nowhere essentially- but I never saw any of the buildings which were torn down years ago. A lot of stonework the men did in the forest-dams and buildings and walls- has aged well. Quality stonework is a lost art and usually replaced by concrete in the modern age, although even modern concrete seems to break down much faster than that mixed in the last century. There are concrete bridges from the 1930's which are only now crumbling and ten year old concrete bridges down the road that already show signs of deterioration. It is a sad fact that workmanship is not what it used to be in many places, or at least, too expensive for the majority of us to experience.

Post Election Corruption

This latest commentary/article in the local paper reveals an extremely disturbing thought process that is all too common among people; their cult worship and demonizing and total disregard for facts, with no clear methodical way to ascertain reality- which has been Trumps and now his followers life. My reply no doubt falls on deaf ears but I have to keep speaking out...There are millions of people who can be led-or lead themselves- down dangerous paths and who then drag the rest of us down, and so wars and civil wars begin and no one wins.  I do not know how history will record this era of Trump, but as I said before...Reality is Natures way of cutting through human hubris... So denials and shortsighted policies will affect all of us, regardless of our politics.  ( click on the pics to enlarger them )

 

Autumn

     The leaves are about 50% changed, with vibrant yellow, red and orange maples being the predominant color so far. The dry summer and a couple light frosts have made for an excellent leaf season, as contrasted with last years rain which had the leaves turning brown and falling early. Depending on storms and winds things can change overnight, so waiting for a 'peak' is sometimes risky if one is planning a vacation.The pond in the picture is one of a dozen at Buzzard Swamp, dug decades ago and now being filled with silk. Beavers have assumed residence and built their 'dam' across the spillway over which the gravel access road was constructed. The beavers lodge can

be seen in the distance by zooming in past that path through the algae. Beavers are mostly nocturnal although I have seen them swim past me while fishing in daylight. 

     These are the first pictures I have taken with a new Fujifilm Finepix XP130 camera I bought for $130 to replace a Canon SX720 camera that stopped working when perspiration entered the camera as I was carrying it while climbing a mountain. An earlier Panasonic point and shoot camera also stopped working from what I thought was  a minimal amount of water, so this time I've opted for a 'waterproof/shockproof' model. We'll see if that makes a difference. I have a larger SLR camera that takes excellent pictures but is too bulky for hiking, so I need a portable camera. So far this Fuji seems to take better pictures than the more expensive and more highly rated Canon, so listening to the 'experts' is not always helpful. The sole advantage of the Canon was a better zoom lens, but the pictures always seemed a bit blurry and the camera had a hard time focusing.

 

One more time responding to the 'flat earthers'...

    In my last post I iterated the pointlessness of words when discussing politics and Mr. Trump in particular, but the below article was later posted in the local newspaper ( people are Republican by a 2 to 1 ratio in Warren County) and I had to respond rather than be complicit in my silence. I am encouraged by the fact that Science magazine-the premier American journal for science and the scientific search for Truth-and Scientific American-another science magazine catering more to the layperson-have both resolved to become more political in their defense of reality.  After Mr. Trumps deliberate lies about co-vid ( ... the latest among many) were revealed in Bob Woodwards book 'Rage', both institutions decided they had to become more vocal about defending facts against the distorted Facebook and Trump worldview. So here are scans of both the original article and my response, printed a week later: ...you may have to click on the images to read them properly...

POSTSCRIPT:  This is another local letter to editor which exemplifies the distorted moral arguments of some religious people-as if this guy would defend Trump if he murdered people because "God"s plan would support an arrogant, low character leader through some sort of dysfunctional association with Christianity. Whatever happened to the 10 commandments and simple human decency and compassion? This is the kind of simplistic, inconsistent thinking that really concerns me... ( ...my copying software corrupted the punctuation and capital letters etc, but the words are exactly as printed )

Dear Editor: 

Donald Trump is a fighter! He fights"tooth and nail," sometimes not even waiting for his opponent to finish speaking. That is what I like about him! Our nation is being lured by the left toward socialism and we are in a desperate battle to continue with Christian principles and freedom of religion.We do not need a "Mr. Nice Guyl" We need a fighter! I admire Mr. Trump for his savvy, strength and courage to stand up against our enemies, at home and abroad.: Mr. Trump is not perfect; not able to judge what will happen in the future.Will you who are perfect step forward and "cast the first stone ..." "With the media against him and their constant broadcasting of mostly the negative and omitting much of the good, I arn amazed at his strength and will-power to continue. In both the Old and New Testament, we're told about many strong leaders who were very imperfect people. Moses committed murder, King David committed adultery and murder, Saul,, before he became Paul,was like a "religious gangster," Peter and the other disciples lived beside Jesus,heard his teaching and saw Him perform miracles, and yet when He needed their support and prayers, they failed Him. But look how God later used these as leaders.God seems to delight in using very imperfect people to do His work. Many church-goers in England at first did not look with favor at Winston Churchill, perhaps because of his bull-dog look and fondness for certain liquid refreshment. Some preachers today have come under the shadow of political correctness, that they are afraid to talk from the pulpit about anything political for fear it may offend someone and they will no longer attend their church to put their money into the offering plates ..."doesn't sound like Nathan the prophet who risked his head when he stood before king David and courageously said, "Thou art the man l" God can use even imperfect rnen like Mr. Trump. May we Americans be wise enough to look beyond his faults and give him the support he needs to lead us away from socialism. I have lived in a socialistic country for 14 years! I have seen it first hand. Socialism does notwork well at all, except for those of the government who are in control. It sounds good, but it does not encourage people to work. Why work when the government will do everything for you?" is a temptation too many cannot resist, But, someone said, "Hunger is a good motivator. " On the Internet, I watched a political advertisement in favor of Joe Biden. I heard the man talk about looking at his face and knowing he was a "good dude." Heaven help us if we judge people by their face, soft manner and smooth talk, Most politicians are attractive people and able to talk perfectly and look you right in the eye while they lie to You. May we be wise enough to judge our leaders by what they have done and not the smooth clever way they talk and promise. We need someone who has opposed the murder of precious unborn babies, who has greatly helped our economy and has supported Israel better than any American leader in a very long while.We need a fighter who can stand toe to toe against China's Xu Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's KimJong-un and not be deceived by lran's false promises. At the present it appears that the only candidate who can begin to do this is Mr. Trump. For the sake of my children and grand-children, I beg You, America, wake up! One last note. What a precious privilege to have the freedom and opportunity to write our feelings and opinions and have them published in a newspaper. This newspaper contributes greatly to our political and religious freedom. I express my sincere thanks and admiration.Stephen Rieder,Warren, PA