The Great Disappointment 

As a young geology student, I had an assignment to map the slate beds of west-central Vermont and adjacent New York State. 

This area is known for its high-quality slate, and the manufacturing of roofing slate became an important part of that area's economy in the mid-1800s.

In my explorations of the area, I stumbled on an old church building, which appeared to be abandoned and boarded up. A sign indicated that it had been known as "William Miller Chapel".

I wondered about it. It seemed like a sturdy old building, typical of many structures one would encounter in rural Vermont and upstate New York. The roof, I noted, was sheathed in slate shingles, like many old buildings in that area. 

It was only later, when looking through a classmate's psychology textbook, that I learned that it happened to be the site of the Great Disappointment of 1844. The textbook used the story of the Great Disappointment as an example in the chapter on Cognitive Dissonance. 

William Miller 

The author of this great disappointment was William J. Miller (DOB February 15, 1782). Miller was a farmer, a military officer (War of 1812), a clergyman, an author, and eventually the leader of the Millerite movement.

Another Wake Audubon Meetup

This one was on August 29, 2015

Plenty of photographic and telescopic equipment.

This may have been a record number of attendees.

At about 7:15 (PM) the birds started to arrive.

A pair of bald eagles put on an early show.

Erla Beetle (trip organizer), Karen, & I.

They are coming again tonight (9/5/15). We have had light rain this afternoon, and someone has been firing off large-caliber rounds all day. We're hoping that the birds will come anyway.

In the Spring of the Year -- 2015-- Part II: Things Spring Forth from the Earth

Pandion haliaetus

 An osprey; we were watching it eat what we thought was a fish, but in the blown-up

version, it looks more like another bird. But according to Wikipedia, their diet is 99% fish....

The Tipple Tree

 Now that the dock is in reasonably good repair, we have been going down there in the evening

to hear the frog serenade and watch the wildlife.

More Grapes

 We have four varieties, but only two did well last year.

Wildflower Surprise

 With that wildflower mix down in the circle, you never know what will come up at any given time.

Mudcats Game

 We enjoy an outing to a Carolina Mudcats game (at Mudcat Stadium).

Chrysemys scripta

 The Pond Slider or Red-eared Turtle. This one is probably looking for a place to lay its eggs.

Unfortunately the eggs often make a breakfast for various other critters.

Terrapene carolina

 An endangered Eastern Box Turtle. This one was crossing our dirt road, so we

expedited its trip to the other side.

Baling Crew

 We go to a farm to pick up some hay right out of the field. (This way they don't have to put it up.)

We had to wait while they fixed a problem with the baler.

Four dozen and seven.....

 48 bales in the trailer and 7 in the bed of the truck.

Elaphe obsoleta

 A Black Rat Snake taking possession of the road.

Part of the Herd

 Deer in the distance, looking forward to the soybeans that will be growing here this summer.

Evening on the Pond

We usually take a camera with us, when we go down to the dock in the evening, 

hoping for some good shots. (1/400 at f 7.1, ISO 400, "vivid" feature on low)

In the Spring of the Year -- 2015--Part I: Surviving the Winter

Der Kaukasische Kreidekreis

 Seven (can you believe it?) years ago I made a circular garden out here.

The soil layer there is gravely, and virtually nothing would grow well there.

Last year we threw down some wild flower seeds we got from the NC Dept. of Transportation.

This is an early survivor.

Grape vines pruned, mulched, and ready to go.

Tiny Grapes-to-be, we hope.

Looks like it might be a good year, if nothing goes wrong.

Blackberry blossoms

 The blackberries had a rough year, but are coming back.

Hops

Bought a hops plant last year on impulse, and it survived the winter!

Wish we had saved the label, because unsure of the variety. Hops is hard to grow from seed, 

because the seeds have to be "layered" for a few months, or they won't germinate.

Blueberries

The blueberries also had a rough year, prey to some kind of virus, 

and they don't like too high a pH in the soil.

Rhubarb

This rhubarb was started from seed 6 years ago, and is still going strong.

It's kind of an oddity here in the South, because it prefers cooler weather.

Adjoining field

Yellow flowers (weeds) in a nearby field.

Green Pastures

Got a nice rainy day after we put nitrate fertilizer down on the pastures.

Sylvilagus floridanus

The Eastern Cottontail planning his attack on the gardens.

Le Cerf Agile

 Another critter visits to eye the greenery (tomato plants).

"Volunteer" Posies

Threw some wildflower seeds at the edge of the woods a couple of years ago,

and was surprised to see that some of them did well. (Phlox, possibly.)

Bold visitor

Telephoto shot of a visiting deer. There is a herd of nine moving around this and adjacent properties.

Nerodia erythrogaster

A Red-bellied water snake raiding the little "frog pond" right outside our front door.

Back to the Islands

Midwinter Break

Saba Island, seen in the distance from St. Maarten. Saba is 28 miles away.

The volcano, Mount Scenery, is potentially active, but the last eruption was in 1640.

The pod extending out from the cruise ship appears to be a control room used in docking.

The bathrooms in St. Maarten aren't fancy, but they don't want you to wash your feet in their sinks.

Snack bar near the port. We didn't stop there, but it had an air of authenticity about it.

Interior hallway on the ship. These were interior rooms, stacked back to back.

A British cruise ship in St. Thomas. Everyone appeared to be on this upper deck, watching a football match. As near as we could figure out, it was the "FA Cup third round replay between Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers" on January 15th. Manchester won 5-0, and the crowd went crazy, waving British flags for the next hour or so.

Karen & her brother Chip's girlfriend Brenda at the Viking Lounge on Deck 14.

The bar at Morningstar Resort on St. Thomas, where we went to swim.

Two drinks, $30 (gratuity included).

We had to reboard the ship at 2:30 for a 3:00 departure. This is what happens when you don't get back to the ship early--the joys of mass tourism.

The presidential suite aboard the Freedom of the Seas. Relatively narrow, but with a wide outside balcony facing the stern. There were two staterooms on either side, two of which also opened on to the balcony.

The interior promenade, six decks high, with specialty shops.

Facing the bow there were several theaters.

High tech: touch screen locators were available around the ship.

The family that plays bingo together, stays together. They sold four cards for eight games for $32.

Judging from the estimated handle and the prizes awarded, the house does fairly well with these games.

One of the lounges where the cruise company sells future cruises, etc.

Welcoming signs in various languages. On this trip it seemed the majority of passengers were English speakers. Other times there have been more people from other countries.

Karen worships at the shrine of the one-armed bandit.

It gladly accepted her offerings.

The "flow rider" on the rear upper deck. Powerful pumps simulated a surfing experience.

On board "rock climbing." There was a guy in Key West a number of years ago who claimed he invented this diversion. He had one mounted on a trailer.

And they definitely don't want you washing your feet in the bathrooms in St. Maarten.