The first photo I sold.  

More from Nature

There is beauty all around.  

Taken with a 35mm Minolta

I was trying different settings on the camera outside my apartment in FL when I captured this image.

Nature's Canvas

I enjoy taking pictures of flowers.  I get to capture their beauty at it's peak and keep them beautiful forever.


This looked so much like a heart to me, but it also shows the flower as it grows and blooms.  Much like a child, it's an amazing thing to see. 

The majestic magnolia whose fragrance is lovely even if it's a bit overbearing.

I think nature created the perfect color.  Not quite purple but not true blue.  My two favorite colors living in harmony.

Your life is not a coincidence, it is a reflection of you.

What I must do is all that concerns me, not what other people think.                                                                                                      Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Psalm 136:26

O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

“The burden of sadness is much heavier when you are alone.”

 I recently took a trip through GA, TN, and KY.  It was cold outside but we stayed in a nice place in Nashville.  I must have had a sweet tooth because I ended up wanting to take photos of candy.  

sometimes you feel like a nut...

 There was just something about the train above me.  Normally this kind of stuff freaks me out (fear of something falling on me) but we were far enough away.

going through the mountain

I don't know why

Southeastern Lighthouses

Outer Banks-North Carolina

Currituck

On December 1, 1875 the beacon of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the remaining "dark space" on the North Carolina coast .

 It stands at 162 feet with 214 steps and is open for climbing. Approximately 1 million bricks were used to build it with a base thickness of 5 feet 8 inches to the parapet thickness of 3 feet. 

 An example of Gothic Revival architecture, the Currituck Beach Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1973.  

  

The current Bodie (pronounced body) Island Lighthouse is the third that has stood in this area of Bodie Island  and was built in 1872. It stands 156 feet  tall.  It is currently not climbable by the public, but restoration work is underway to make it safe for climbing.

Bodie Island

The preceding Bodie Island lighthouses actually stood south of Oregon Inlet on Pea Island in an area now under water. The first was built in 1847 and then abandoned in 1859 because of a poor foundation. The second, built in 1859, was destroyed in 1861 by retreating Confederate troops who feared it would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War. The current lighthouse, with its original first order Fresnel lens, was completed in 1872.

Ocracoke Island

 Ocracoke Inlet was first put on the map when English explorers wrecked a sailing ship there in 1585.

The Ocracoke light is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the nation  The outside's  white coloration serves as its identifying mark by day. The original whitewash "recipe" called for blending lime, salt, spanish whiting, rice, glue and boiling water and  was applied while still hot.  

 The lighthouse stands 75 feet tall. Its diameter narrows from 25 feet at the base to 12 feet at its peak. The walls are solid brick — 12 feet thick at the bottom tapering to two feet at the top. An octagonal lantern crowns the tower and houses the light beacon. 

Ocracoke Island is where Blackbeard was captured and killed in 1718.

Cape Hattaras

 Over 1 million bricks were used in the construction of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, which was built between 1868 to 1870 at a cost (then) of $167,500.


 Due to erosion of the shore, the lighthouse was moved from its original location at the edge of the ocean to safer ground 2,870 feet  inland.


When I was there the stairs had collapsed and it was closed. It is now open for climbing and at 268 steps to reach the light is considered a very strenuous climb.  


Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which is 208 feet tall is recognized by the National Park Service as the tallest lighthouse in America.

Cape Lookout 

The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is 163-foot high and  located on the Southern Outer Banks. The Cape Lookout Light is one of the very few lighthouses that operate during the day. It became fully automated in 1950. It is the only lighthoue in the U.S. to bear the checkered daymark, which is used to show direction. The side points of the black diamonds point in a north-south direction, while the side points of the white diamonds point east-west.
It is the second lighthouse that has stood at this location. The first lighthouse was completed in 1812 at a cost of more than $20,000. It was the fourth lighthouse to be built in North Carolina and was a 96 foot high brick tower with wooden shingles painted with red and white horizontal stripes. But it proved to be too short to light the treacherous Lookout Shoals, which were nicknamed the "Horrible Headland."

The present lighthouse was completed and lit on November 1, 1859 at a cost of $45,000. It is now open for climbing and has 207 stairs. 

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South Carolina 

Huntington Island

The  Hunting Island lighthouse was originally constructed in 1859 and is the only lighthouse in South Carolina open to the public. Those adventurous enough to climb the 167 step spiral staircase will get a birds eye view of the Atlantic Ocean, the park and surrounding marshes from about 132 feet above the ground.


The first lighthouse was destroyed by the confederates during the beginning of the Civil War to prevent the Union from using it as a means of navigation. It was rebuilt and placed back into service in 1875. The purpose of this lighthouse was to warn ships to stay far away, because there many hazards like sandbars, wrecks, surf and treacherous currents. It was deactivated in June of 1933.

A unique feature of this lighthouse is that it was constructed using cast iron plates and designed to be dismantled in case it ever needed to be relocated. As fate would have it, due to erosion of the beach in 1889, the lighthouse was moved inland 1 1/4 miles from its original site to where it presently stands.

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Georgia

Tybee at Sunset

The original Tybee Light was completed in 1736. It was made of brick and wood and stood 90 feet tall, making it the highest structure in colonial America at that time. Five years later the lighthouse was destroyed by a horrible storm.

In 1742 a second lighthouse was finished; this version reached 94 feet tall- 4 feet taller than the first lighthouse. 

In 1773 a third lighthouse was built to replace the second which fell due to erosion.  It was destroyed in 1862 by Confederate troops from nearby Fort Pulaski. Of the 100 feet of the third lighthouse only 60 feet remained which served as a rebuilding point for a fourth lighthouse.

In 1869 it was decided that the lighthouse must be protected from ever increasing tides and gale force winds so it was moved 164 feet back from the shoreline. In the years from 1871 and 1886 the walls of the lighthouse became cracked by storm forces and later the light lens was broken by the Charleston earthquake of 1886.

The Tybee Island lighthouse stands at 154 feet and in 1933 became an electrically driven lighthouse. Because modern marine navigation techniques outgrew the need for such a lighthouse, the Tybee Island lighthouse became obsolete. Just three weeks after it became electrical, it was donated to the Tybee Island Historical Society by the U.S. government.

The Tybee Lighthouse has all of its support buildings on the 5-acre site historically preserved. It is open for climbing and has 178 stairs.

St. Simons 

The original St. Simons Island lighthouse was built in 1810,  was a 75-foot-tall octagonal lighthouse topped by a 10-foot oil-burning lamp. During the Civil War, an invasion by Union troops forced Confederate soldiers to abandon the area. The retreating troops destroyed the lighthouse to prevent it from being used by Union troops.

In 1872 a new lighthouse was constructed to the west of the original's location to replace the original. It is a 104-foot brick structure with a 129 step, cast iron spiral stairway.

•  In 1876 the lighthouse was overhauled. In 1934 the kerosene-burning lamp was replaced by a 1000-watt electrical light.
•  In 1939 the lighthouse was placed under the jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard.
• In1953 the lighthouse was fully automated. 
• The tower underwent restoration in 1989-91 and again in 1997-98. 
• In 2004, ownership of the lighthouse was transferred to the Coastal Georgia Historical Society under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.

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Florida

St. Augustine

 The St. Augustine Lighthouse is the site of the oldest aid to navigation in North America. The original Spanish watchtower, built in the late 1500's, became Florida's first lighthouse in 1824.  By 1870, erosion threatened the shoreline and construction began on the current lighthouse. The new tower was completed in 1874 and the old tower succumbed to the sea during a storm in 1880.

Made from Alabama brick and Philadelphia iron, the lighthouse is St. Augustine's oldest surviving brick structure. The lighthouse rises 165 feet above sea level with 219 steps and is open for climbing.

In July 2002, the U.S. Coast Guard, through the General Services Administration, transferred the deed for the tower to the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, Inc. 








  The first lighthouse for what is now the Ponce de León Inlet was erected on the south side of Mosquito Inlet in 1835. The oil for the lamp was never delivered, and soon after the tower was completed a strong storm washed much of the sand from around the base of the tower, weakening it.

Ponce Inlet

 In December 1835 Seminole Indians attacked the lighthouse, smashing the glass in the lantern room and setting fire to its wooden stairs. The area was abandoned and it collapsed.


In 1927 the name of Mosquito Inlet was changed to Ponce de Leon Inlet. The lighthouse was transferred from the abolished Lighthouse Service to the Coast Guard in 1939.


In 1970, the Coast Guard abandoned the old light station and established a new beacon at New Smyrna Beach. The abandoned property was then deeded to the Town of Ponce Inlet in 1972 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 


At 175 feet in height, it is the tallest lighthouse in the state and one of the tallest in the United States. There are 194 steps to the watch room with nine semi-circular landings (21 steps between landings, except the upper landing which has 17 steps.

Shaw Air Expo 2012

Shaw Air Force Base, previously Shaw Field was built in 1941 and has served as a training field, a reconnaissance site and a fighter wing.  Currently the 9th Air Force serves at Shaw for the U.S. Central Command Air Forces (USCENTAF) and conducts U.S. air operations throughout Southeast Asia.  The host of Shaw AFB is the 20th Fighter Wing and it is home to the Third Army which relocated last year from Fort McPherson, GA.

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We met the pilot of this aircraft...Gary Ward.

The MX-2 

Shaw AFB really knows how to put on a show.  The weather was overcast which was perfect for viewing, and there was just enough breeze to keep us cool.  

PT-17 Stearman/ Mohr Barnstorming

It was fascinating to see how close this plane would get to the ground.  It is the type of plane commonly used for crop-dusting

 The USA Golden Knights

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U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron "Thunderbirds" performing the Echelon Pass In Review.

USAF Thunderbirds

Mirror Image Maneuver
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 This was an amazing sight to see the two planes heading right for each other and at the last second turn and fly by.  As I watched this I was reminded of the movie "Top Gun".  I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that they were playing " Highway to the Danger Zone". They did all the twists and rolls showcased in the movie, including a high speed fly by several times that took the crowd by surprise.

 I think I did a good job on the photos, however they don't compare to being there.  What an exciting day.

The "Fan Manuever'

                                                                          +++++++++++++

The Skybolt 300 was built in the livingroom of a Condominium.It's wing span is 24 feet with a 300 horsepower engine. Designed with eye-catching features to allow the air show fan to easily follow each maneuver.

*****

Pitts S-12,  built in 1944 by Curtis Pitts, were named "Stinkers" because of the skunk picture on the side of the plane. After Betty Skelton bought the second prototype, she named it "Lil' Stinker" it was followed by the S-2 "Big Stinker",  Model 11 (S1-11B) "Super Stinker" and the Model 12 "Macho Stinker".  

P-51 Mustang was used during  WWII, the Korean War and several other conflicts.  It was remained in service with some Air Forces until the early 1980's when many of the Mustangs were converted for civilian use, especially for air racing.  It was replaced by the F-86 Jet Fighter.

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The Lockheed T-33 "Shooting Star" made it's first flight in 1948, and despite it's vintage remains in service worldwide.

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The only civilian squadron currently appearing at airshows and flying WWII aircraft is the Geico Sky Typers. They fly SNJ-2 aircrafts– with only 11 remaining planes still in existence, the team uses six of them. 

About Skytyping

• Five planes flying in an abreast formation less than 250 feet apart typing dot matrix style messages in the sky
• The lead aircraft utilizes a custom programmed computer with specialized radio commands to signal the other aircraft to release puffs of non-polluting, EPA approved smoke at various intervals
• 17 times faster than skywriting producing a letter every four seconds
• Produces messages as tall as the Empire State Building and up to eight miles long
• Visible for up to 15 miles in any direction or nearly 400 square miles
• On high visibility days, the messages remain readable for up to 15 minutes

Racing the Rocket Car <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Special Thanks to our troops who risk their lives daily to ensure our freedom.