Unsightly Signage

I was walking near the beach recently and came upon this sign. I don't like that our culture has devolved to a state where putting up signs like this is expected and commonplace.  Must we continue to trash the visual beauty of our world with silliness like this?  I guess so. Between the increasingly litigious nature of our society and the eagerness of lawyers to represent us, it's like a perfect storm of circumstances.

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

Here's a GIF series from late summer through mid-fall. I need to improve on consistent camera placement.  The individual images are below:

This photo on 9/17.

Photo on 10/15.

Photo on 10/30.

Photo on 11/15.

Highway Progress in the Village of Manomet, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

The highway people have been at work on and off for a few months so the road improvement project in "downtown" Manomet is about to end.  After a brief delay for Hurricane Sandy and the following week's strong Nor'easter, the paving crew applies the final asphalt surface. 

It is quite an operation with lots of big machines, dump trucks, orange cones, temporary detours, and police details.

But in the final analysis, men with shovels and rakes are always necessary for the finishing touches.

Imagine coming home from work every day with those shoes.  I bet only once did he wear them in the house.

 

This is the junction of Manomet Point Road and State Road, Luke's is behind the orange roller machine.

Hot asphalt on a cool day makes wispy vapor trails.

And when the asphalt is all down and rolled, the temporary stick-on markings are applied.  The final painted lines will be applied soon, the traffic lights will be activated, and "downtown" Manomet will have a signal at the main intersection. 

Plymouth Coast, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

We are running out of fall season views around here. These are waterfront homes along Plymouth Harbor.

High tide on Long Beach.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to park on the rocks but, that's the choice one gets.

The Pine Hill's northern terminus into Cape Cod Bay.

From atop Manomet Bluff at sunset.

Milo the Very Spoiled Cat

So while I was flying around the area (see last five blog posts), this was apparently happening at home. I should maybe be embarrassed to show this picture but....I'm not. When it's chilly inside or outside, Milo the Cat prefers to be bundled in a polarfleece blankie when he takes his naps.  You may scoff, but really, when you think about it, who among us doesn't prefer the very same?  Just sayin'..........

Bird's Eye View - Part 5, Return to Plymouth Airport, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

As you can see, Massachusetts isn't just for growing cranberries.  Shown here are farm fields ready for the winter. The final leg of the flight takes us over the towns of Acushnet, Wareham, Carver, and Wenham back to the Plymouth airport. 

Corn fields are sometimes put to use as mazes for fun, profit, or in tribute.

This maze tribute celebrates the Girl Scouts.

But again - the ubiquitous cranberry bogs, every shape imaginable to conform to the curves of land and the existing roads. Usually there is a pond adjacent to provide the controllable water source to flood the fields for "wet" harvesting.

This photo is a "three-fer": middle left is a bog before flooding, lower left is a flooded bog, and upper right are the cranberries after they have been floated into a circular corral for suctioning up and loading on a truck for marketing.

But all good times must end.  The steely eye of Captain Buddy Mac is focused and alert as we approach the airport and prepare to land in just a few moments.  Notice his light touch on the control yoke.  Flying is an act of grace, not brute force.

Descending through 500 feet, Buddy aligns the airplane for landing.

A moment before touchdown is shown above. 

Whenever I fly in small aircraft, I am often reminded of the sentiment attributed to Leonardo daVinci: "for once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return."

I'm not sure how he knew that since human flight was a few hundred years after his time but I won't split hairs.........

Bird's Eye View - Part 4, Onset, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

Part 4 of my flight travelogue continues immediately west of the canal over the picturesque town and bay of Onset.

Continuing southwest from the Canal area, the southern coast of Massachusetts is a series of jagged bays and peninsulas.  This area shown above is southeast of the town of Mattapoisett. Mattapoisett - I always like the sound of that name. It is said to have been a Native American term meaning "a place of rest."

And reaching the town of New Bedford, we turned north over the city and harbor for the final leg towards Plymouth Airport. Late afternoon sun made for interesting shadows over this neighborhood.



Bird's Eye View - Part 3, Cape Cod Canal, Sandwich, Bourne, Massachusetts, USA

 

Continuing the flight south from Manomet, Sagamore Beach is just to the north of the Cape Cod Canal.

 

Turning west along the canal, the Sagamore Bridge, built in 1933-35, is one of two automobile bridges across the canal. These two bridges connect Cape Cod to the mainland and are the source of much hate and discontent beginning about Memorial Day and continuing through the summer to Labor Day due to traffic congestion.  (There are hushed whispers of a secret tunnel but I have never found the entrance). 

 

The Cape Cod Railroad Bridge is one of the few vertical lift bridges in the country that stays raised except when needed for a train.  By remaining in the raised position, the boats can traverse the canal without waiting.

 

Massachusetts Maritime Academy is at the center of this photo and also, this is the west entrance to the Canal. The little crescent of beach is Gray Gables Beach in Bourne.

 

Looking back toward the east, the canal snakes along under the three bridges before emptying into Cape Cod Bay.

 

 

Bird's Eye View - Part 2, White Horse Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

My hands have thawed so it's time to stick them out the window again as we approach White Horse Beach.

 

 

Next time, we fly by the coast at Sagamore and the Cape Cod Canal area.

 



Bird's Eye View - Part 1, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

 

There is nothing like the intense beauty and exhilarating thrill of flying.  Whether a hang glider, an ultralight, a glider, or a 4-seat single engine airplane, I always enjoy my child-like wonder at flying through the air in one of these small intimate flying machines. It's a much different and richer experience than traveling in a big commercial airplane.

 

So on this very crisp fall afternoon between the passing of Hurricane Sandy and the arrival of a strong Nor'easter, I joined Captain "Buddy Mac" for a scenic flight over beautiful Plymouth and other areas in southeast Massachusetts.  In the photo above, Buddy is visually checking the fuel during the pre-flight inspection.

After taxiing out, we turned onto the runway at Plymouth Municipal Airport for takeoff. I don't have any pictures during takeoff since Buddy let me pilot during it - the first time in many years I felt the pleasure of gently pulling back on the controls, felt the nose of the aircraft slowly rise, and then saw the earth fall away. It's a magical moment everytime. And yes, it is like riding a bicycle - although you may be rusty, you never forget how to do it once you've learned.

 

If there is any view that captures Plymouth County, this is it: ponds, trees, and cranberry bogs.

We turned east, crossed the coastline in Kingston at Rocky Nook Point, and turned south toward downtown Plymouth.

We flew over the harbor and past the downtown area before heading to White Horse Beach.  Then it was time to close the window and let my hands thaw from the cold wind. That's where Part 2 will start tomorrow.