Three Classic Cars

We see quite a few classic cars sometimes in our area, and occasionally I get a chance to take a shot or two.... Joining Tom's Tuesday's Treasures with three recent finds:

Treasures

I hesitated to do a Treasures post today for Tom's Tuesday Treasures....I figured there would be some awesome eclipse photos, and mine aren't that great.  But, I changed my mind....so here's the eclipse from yesterday AND for good measure, a really neat treadle sewing machine I have been saving for a share (a woman owns it where we bought a table off craigslist)

The best shot, taken at 95% by our friend....

This is how we did it!  He had a great telescope, but it didn't have photography capability, so we used a white board to project the image on and then take the picture....

The image of the shadow of the moon didn't come out in this shot from my Nikon Kool-Pix

A tiny shadow is visible with the aurora almost obscuring it, during totality!

 

The crescent shapes on the side of the house

Two "funnies" that go along with it...

And a charming little treasure:

Land of the Giants

For Tom's Tuesday Treasures, one of America's greatest natural treasures...the Redwoods. A two hour drive south of Brookings led us into Northern California, and the home of these giants.  Also joining in with Susan's Outdoor Wednesday.

When I got my first glimpse of these giants outside the car window, I gasped.  They are so HUGE!

Interestingly, in some of the peripheral areas, some people have the trees (or stumps of them) in their yards!

This was such a treat.  I got out of the car to take the photos as Russell and his sister Barbara drove through.  It isn't the original drive-through sequoia from Yosemite National Park that one sees photos of Model T's going under, as that tree was destroyed in 1969 but this tree was opened to the public in Klamath as a drive-through in 1979.  There are apparently three different Redwoods that one can drive through, located in different areas of the California coast, and the sequoia is a different giant.
 

A little info on the drive-through trees from Wikipedia:

Giant sequoias[edit]

The other giant sequoia drive-through tree has also fallen:

• Pioneer Cabin Tree fell in 2017 in Calaveras Big Trees State Park^[12]

But two walk-through tunnel trees still stand:

• California Tunnel Tree in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park. The California Tunnel Tree's passageway was dug in 1895 to allow horse-drawn stagecoaches to pass through the tree.^[15] Today, people can walk or bike through it.
• A dead tunnel tree in Tuolumne Grove, Yosemite National Park.^[12] The dead tunnel tree in Tuolumne Grove was the first standing sequoia to be tunneled.^[13]

Coast redwoods[edit]

• Chandelier Tree – another tunnel tree, but a coast redwood, not a giant sequoia
• Two other drive-through coast redwood trees (taller and more slender than giant sequoias) still stand. These are along US 101 in northern California, in Klamath and Myers Flat.^[16]

After they drove through, I got in the car and got to go through myself. It of course is very damaging to the trees to have these cuts made, and that's why the original ones have been lost.

A view of the Klamath Tree, looking up.

In line to go through.  It's a tight squeeze so you have to go slow.

Inside the living tree.

Stopping for a photo op.

In Jedediah National Forest.  I would love to camp among the giants some time!

Directing Traffic

One day when I was headed out of my neighborhood I noticed this Harris Hawk perched on top of a Ham radio tower across the street.  By the time I turned the camera on and got the lens protector off and aimed, he was fluttering his wings.  But by the time the shutter compressed (there is a delay with my camera) he had placed one wing back against his side, and the other was still outstretched.  Interesting, I thought...I never knew that they put one wing away and then the other.  I would have assumed they replaced them both to their sides simultaneously.  So in spite of my disappointment at not catching him with both wings outstretched, I learned something.  And, it also made for an amusing photo...the Harris Hawk appeared to be telling me to turn right!  :-)  Joining in with Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday, and later with Anni's Bird d'Pot!

Suffolk Seaboard Station

For Roan's Rubbish Tuesday, I wish to share something special from my past....

In early 2000's I worked for less than two years as the Coordinator of the Suffolk Seaboard Station Museum in Suffolk, Virginia.  It was my last job, and ended because we moved out to Tucson to be close to the kids.  As Coordinator I was basically the manger of the museum, and also ran the gift shop and was acting Curator, under a Board of Directors through the Suffolk Nansemond Historical Society.  I loved this job (though it paid little...that has been the story of my life! :-)!  There is so much I could tell you, but I will limit this post to the Station itself....

The stairway into the tower.

 The station was built in 1885 as a passenger depot for the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad.  Later the Seaboard Air Line Railroad ran on its south side and the Virginian line on its north side. Passenger service ended in 1968, but the station served as a freight station until the late 1980s. It suffered a fire in the ‘90s that nearly destroyed the building. Efforts at restoration brought the station back to it's beautiful original state and it was then opened as a museum to the public.  CSX trains fly by mere feet from the station itself on the south railway line which is still used, but no trains stop at the station today.

 In the museum is an award-winning, two-room, operational HO scale model of Suffolk in 1907.

Some of the HO Scale Suffolk Railroad model

The Station itself represented in the model

Fantastic detail work of some of the historic Suffolk buildings represented in the model.

For the Station's 125th Anniversary we put together a huge Open House with special displays, food, a motorized train ride for the kids and live music.  One of the Historic Society members was so kind to make us wooden people which I then painted.....(This photo was taken by Tracy Agnew and appeared in the Suffolk News-Herald)

My husband, Russell and our good friend Fred Weber try out the cut-outs! :-)

Treasures from the Past!

Recently my Mom moved from the house she lived in for quite a few years into a retirement community apartment.  This meant she had to do some culling.  Many things went to a yard sale or were sold on craig's list and many things were given away.  She of course saved her most important, needed and precious objects...all that would fit in the new place.  For me, some other treasures came my way.  I was thrilled to get two boxes recently of special things from past family members:

The tablecloth belonged to my great-grandmother (I also received a tablecloth from my great-grandparents's 50th wedding anniversary, not shown)  At the top of the grouping of other treasures is the beeswax my great-grandmother used in her sewing; my grandmother's butter paddle; three knitting needles made of metal that were crafted for my great-grandmother by my great-granfather (Ma and Pa) so she could make socks for him; two hat pins that were also Ma's; a pair of sewing scissors; and my grandmother's  eye glasses.

A closeup of the butter paddle, showing that it is wider on one end. 

Butter paddles were used to press the water out of the butter that had just been made.  I also own my grandmother's butter churn! And I actually used it to make butter once!

My grandmother's sunbonnet!

Some of my grandmother's handkerchiefs.

More of her handkerchiefs.

This is one of two quilts that arrived.  The other one (which was for my daughter) will be shown on my quilting blog at a later time along with this one.  But I had to share this one now.  It was made by my great uncle's sisters and cousins to give to him on his return from World War I.  They embroidered their names in some of the blocks.  My great-uncle (my grandmother's brother) was Davis Butler.  We also have copies of many of his letters and post cards home during that time.  This quilt is almost 100 years old, and is absolutely priceless to me!  Look at the vibrant colors!

All these wonderful treasures are priceless indeed, and I am so grateful to have them!  Linking up with Roan's Rubbish Tuesday where treasures and junk alike can be shown, as long as they are old.