(no subject)

[documentary filmmaker voice] Once again, the rains have come, and once again the Long Branch of the Anacostia River has turned from a gentle stream to a mighty torrent, threatening the forests and village huts that cluster along its shore with the danger of its rolling brown waters.

(In other words, my housemate knocked me up to say that everyone had moved their cars already, and I might want to move mine, as our stream is a couple of inches from flooding again. Three years I've lived here, and this has never happened before; now it's happened twice in a month. Apparently it used to happen every year, once or twice, so the county cut the banks of the stream, made a better channel for it, built a strong bridge where the main cross street is...

ETA: The National Weather Service has issued a FLOOD WARNING for Montgomery County until 10:15pm. At 7:39am Doppler radar indicated a line of storms over Southern Montgomery County that will be capable of producing flooding rains.

Residents should expect extremely heavy rain that may flood low lying areas, and streets with slow drainage. Do not try to cross flooded roads. Flooded areas may be harder to identify at night. Use caution while driving.

No kidding! But in fact the rain has slacked off (for now) and the stream is back a couple of feet below its banks.

one thing leads to another

I was following one trail, and it led me to find these links to Rev War reenacting units that recreate four of the regiments my NY forebears served in

the 1st New York
the 3rd New York
another 3rd New York
the 4th New York
the 5th New York

Spoors also served in the 8th and 11th NY Regiments. Several served in Massachusetts regiments from Sheffield, Egremont, Great Barrington, and Mt Washington, but at the moment I don't know which regiments. Probably the 1st, 13th, and/or 15th, or Brewer's, Fellow's, Porter's, or Woodbridge's Regiments, as these seem to have been the regiments raised in Berkshire County.

(no subject)

Fascinating (IMO) colour photos from 1940s America. Thanks to my friend Justin for the link.

It's interesting how the landscape, especially the commercial landscape, of America has changed in 60-70 years. Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, I would see places that didn't look much different to some of these places when we would go out in the country or go to what passed for downtown in our small city. But I imagine that to younger people, this look likes something out of a movie, not reality.

The other thing that strikes me is the slenderness of the people, especially the poor people. For all that we talk today about how unhealthy choices of diet forced on people by their economic circumstances can cause obesity, there wasn't much of that in the 1930s. To get fat, you have to consume calories in some form, and if you were poor, that just didn't happen. :-\

summer in Vermont, day one

photos from my hike up and down Mt Philo ( Read more... )