Progress in Manomet, Part 4, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Over the past few months, I've chronicled the "improvement" of the main intersection in the Village of Manomet.  This is the final post in that series. 

As this twilight photo shows, beginning yesterday, automobile drivers now have to rely on a machine to tell them how to behave at this intersection. Heretofore, folks simply relied upon the rules of the road and their own good judgement when to enter the intersection. Now, they must obey the almighty lights: if the light is green they can go,  if the light is red they must stop, (if it's yellow many will go faster).  It's another incremental surrender of human decision-making in the name of safety and/or efficiency and/or modern progress.  'Tis a bittersweet improvement, methinks.

GIF, Changing Seasons, Pond View, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Here's the GIF version of the progression of fall this year. The individual photos are shown below:

This image was taken in early October.

This image in late October.

And this image in late November. Soon there should be a snowy version.........

Burial Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Burial Hill is located on the western side of downtown Plymouth and serves as the final resting place for many citizens from the 1620's until the 1950's.  Some of the original Mayflower passengers are buried here.  Plymouth Harbor is visible in the distance to the east. On this crisp fall afternoon, even at midday the sun was low in the sky and made for great shadows - and the beginning of winter is still a month away.

Smiling Squirrel, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

I would swear that this squirrel is smiling in anticipation of eating his acorn.

(By the way, this photo was taken through a double-paned glass outside door AND another double-paned sunroom window - four layers of glass.  It's a little blurry but not too bad considering. Shooting photos from inside is one of the reasons I like to keep certain windows very clean - and I probably have a bit of OCD).

Ambiguous License Plates, Massachusetts, USA

Massachusetts, like many states, allows vanity license plates (for a fee and within certain parameters). Some are easy to figure out and some are not.  The cleverest ones are double entendres that got past the approving authorities (censors).  In the situation above, does this person love the musical group U2? or, does this person have love for everyone following his/her car?   Does the fact that it is on a Toyota Prius help decide which meaning applies? It's fascinating what a clever person can do with only six letters/numbers. I think I'll be on the lookout for more in the future.......

Simes House, Tree Lighting, and Santa Claus, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Santa Claus arrived in Manomet a few days ago to light the Christmas Tree at the Simes House/Manomet Commons area just off Manomet Point Road near the center of the Village.  It was a clear night with a bright moon shining, and in addition to Santa and his elf, hundreds of kids and adults turned out for the event.

The gathered throng is shown here awaiting the tree lighting. Restoration of the Simes House is underway in the background.

And speaking of  Santa and the true spirit of giving, shown here is Randy Parker, the current President of the Simes House Foundation. Randy is a long time resident of Manomet and for decades, a tireless force and proponent in helping improve our community. In the photo above, he is talking with a supporter off-camera and showing one of the tree ornaments that commemorate the Simes House.  Randy has spent years volunteering his time and effort to participate in improving Manomet.  Please consider helping by joining the Foundation, and/or purchasing ornaments, and/or purchasing other memorabilia at this link, Simes House Foundation. It is our community - let's improve it now and for the future generations.

The Simes House was built in about 1863 and stands today in need of tender loving care and repair and restoration. The Simes House Foundation was created to restore and maintain the Simes House and Manomet Commons as self-sustaining historical landmarks in the Village of Manomet. For the public benefit, the Foundation will enhance cultural focus and identity, provide education and encourage community service.

The photo above shows the Simes House in August before the restoration work began in earnest. 

Progress has been great as of November 24th! Just from what you can easily see, the entire porch deck and the dilapidated right side porch roof have been completely rebuilt. The work is being performed by Vareika Construction Company from West Bridgewater, and their crew has been working feverishly to get the exterior mostly done and buttoned-up by the end of the calendar year.

Afternoon Light, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

A lone farmhouse stands in the fading fall afternoon light in Manomet. [For the curious technical folks,  I used the "Colorful Center" effect in Photoshop Elements to emphasize the late afternoon sun and exclude color in the periphery].

Thanksgiving

People have asked me, "since you don't eat turkey, what do you eat instead?" The answer is, "I do eat some turkey,"  as clearly illustrated in the photo below.  Ummmm, good.

Progress in Manomet, Part 3, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This is Part 3 of the ongoing story of improvements to the intersection of State Road (Route 3A) and Manomet Point Road in the center of the Village of Manomet. Previous posts on August 13 (see link here), and November 16 (see link here), showed the finishing of the curbing and road surface.  In this post,  the line painting was completed.

Normally, a line painting truck causes traffic back-ups and congestion but, for this project, the Plymouth Police detail officers and the construction contractors orchestrated the effort efficiently and with a minimum of inconvenience.

This new double yellow line is on Manomet Point Road approaching State Road.

This white edge line is on Strand Avenue heading toward Cape Cod Bay. Luke's is on the right, the library is on the left. 

The chalked outlines provide a guide for the machine operator.  Here he is maneuvering to continue the edge line on Manomet Point Road. This machine works for a long stretch of road but he'll need a manual push-cart type device for the smaller details.

The operator steers the machine along the guideline, the leaf blower gets rid of any debris, the "paint" (a thermoplastic highway marking material)  squirts out hot and thick (heated to 400 degrees), and the spray is the sand-like glass beads (highway safety spheres) that are embedded in the line and create the reflective ability.  The "paint" cools quickly and is hard and can be driven over in less than two minutes.

Here is the freshly "painted" line, glittering in the late afternoon sun.

Here the workmen are preparing the smaller machine.  It's about the size of a barbecue grill and even has a 20 lb propane tank to keep the "paint" hot during application.

The reservoir is filled and ready for use.

Applying the pedestrian crosswalk lines.

A worker manually sprinkles the reflective "sand" beads at the end of the line.

A pedestrian crosswalk takes shape across State Road.

The crew starts work on the turn lane arrows.

They mask the angles to create the arrowhead....

....and then remove the masking.

Have you ever wondered why they make the letters so tall and narrow?

The reason is that when viewed from the distant angular perspective of an approaching driver, they appear normal.

Next week, they expect to turn on the traffic and pedestrian signals and have a fully-functioning intersection!

As with this entire project, I've seen first hand how labor-intensive and time-consuming it is to create just a small portion of roadway.  I, like many, take it for granted daily as we drive around not really appreciating the complexity of design, engineering, procurement, equipment, and human muscle power that every piece of roadway requires.

  

Next time you see a construction project, slow down and help keep the workers safe as they improve our roads. There is a reason they wear those brightly colored vests - so you can see them easily and stay out of their way! And SLOW DOWN!

Vegan Pizza

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States.  President Obama pardoned two particular turkeys, Cobbler and Gobbler, at the White House (no, I don't know if  they were Republicans). I'd like to pardon ALL the turkeys of the world - and any other sentient creatures that we routinely call "food."

Although we didn't have pizza today, I wanted to get this blog posted before dinner so.........here's another idea in my occasional series of "what do vegans eat since they don't eat animals or animal parts?"

Combine whole wheat dough, fresh tomatoes in marinara sauce, fresh sliced sugar snap peas, fresh chopped broccoli florets, fresh chopped onion, Italian pizza/pasta spices, and vegan cheese (prepackaged made from tapioca and vegetable oils among other things).  I'm not much of a cook but even I can put these things together, put it in the oven, and make a healthful meal.

Albert Einstein was generally considered a pretty bright guy.  In addition to his scientific Theory of Relativity, he said that "nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." Food for thought.

We did have the following pair of wild turkeys feeding at the base of our bird feeders yesterday. Maybe they know they're safe at the home of vegans? (Note: this was another of my photos taken through four layers of glass in early morning faint light - wild turkeys are skittish critters and spook easily so I had to stay hidden inside).

Happy Thanksgiving to all! And to all a good night! (Whoops, wrong holiday).

Railroad Tracks, Sandwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Many folks have photographed this same view over the years.  It's on the main road one must travel to get to the boardwalk. I like the view best in fall.

Random Sights, Bourne, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

The windmill at Aptuxet Trading Post. (For the technical folks, I used the "Twirl" feature in Photoshop Elements to create this effect.)

The marina at Monumet Beach, all packed up for the winter.

In Monumet Beach, a train track of yesteryear. (I used the "Lighting Effects" feature in Photoshop Elements to modify this image).

In Pocasset, a great blue heron with no people nearby to bother him/her.

Thanksgiving Parade in America's Hometown, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

With Plymouth Harbor and the Plymouth Rock Memorial as a background, Plymouth's Thanksgiving Parade featured the usual cast of characters beginning with a military Honor Guard.

The parade wound through downtown and ended at the reviewing stand along Water Street in Pilgrim Memorial State Park.

The parade featured floats with themes relevant to Plymouth and it's history in the development of today's America......

.......there were many bands with big, bright, and shiny instruments.......

...and horses and riders.....

...and more bands in bright colors. [For you folks familiar with Photoshop Elements, I used the "Liquefy" feature on the top and bottom areas of this image to create the wavy distortions.]

More big and shiny horns, Flugelhorns I think.

And of course, wherever large numbers of hungry Americans congregate, it seems you can always find that questionable contribution to international gastronomy - Fried Dough.

And if Fried Dough isn't enough, you can also have Fried Potatoes in what looks like a plastic dog food bowl - go figure.  

Maybe I don't get out enough but, this is the first time I've ever seen a portable ATM with a basic trailer hitch.  Seems like anyone could just drive it away like it was a boat or a camper. Maybe that's what is meant by the saying "a boatload of cash."

And always there is too much trash that doesn't get sorted and recycled.

This was the photo opportunity that got away.  I was not in the right position when they fired the graffiti canons. The graffiti completely obscured the sky there was so much blown upward.  Oh well, maybe next year......

But the real human interest story was about the people - both the observers and the participants. What a collection of normal, abnormal, odd, and colorful.......

Here's a woman dressed as a hamburger with her two kids dressed as ketchup and mustard containers. Looks like "ketchup" got tired of wearing his hat.

This man had the most incredibly expressive face of the whole day. He looks like a famous British actor or a combination of all British actors.

I wonder how much these things weigh and do they ever fall off in a strong wind?

Way cool, hip sunglasses that somehow seem out of place with the uniform.

And every parade needs a pirate - arrghh.....

.....and a pilgrim.....

......and a black, grey, and silver dude.

One of many bagpipers passes by a woman secret agent lurking in the background.

I'm speechless at this one.

Three expressive faces - each telling a different story.

Even Uncle Sam showed up at the end of the event. Another successful and well attended parade for America's Hometown - Plymouth, Massachusetts.