Murphy's Restaurant

Halifax, NS, Canada

We tried to eat dinner at this restaurant, but the evening we were in Halifax, the restaurant had a private affair going on, and was closed to the public.  This restaurant has its own "party boat", moored right outside. 

Container Ship

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

I recently spent some time in Halifax, NS.  The city has a rich history, playing vital roles in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War and both World Wars.  The city also is the final resting place for a number of the victims from the Titanic.  Today one of the main industries using the harbor and it's facilities is the container shipping industry.  This container ship was seen entering the harbor to be off-loaded of its containers, which are placed directly onto trucks for shipment overland to their final destination. 

Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758)

Osewegatchie Hills, Niantic, CT

I almost walked by this little fellow who appeared to sunning himself along the trail.  I was able to get off one quick  picture, before he flew away.  After doing a little research, I identified this butterfly as a Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa, a butterfly common to most of North America.  You can read more about it here.

Glacial Plucking

Oswegatchcie Hills, Niantic, CT

Walking along the yellow trail I came across this glacier boulder.  I think this is an example of a process known as glacial plucking.  During the last glacier period here, about 24,000 years ago, the glaciers that covered Connecticut were constantly flowing to the south.  As temperatures warmed, water would flow into crevices within the rocks where it would freeze during the night and expand, thus causing the rock to split.  The constant movement of the glacier would "pluck" the split rock and move it a short distance from the the original outcrop. This process went on for about 5,000 years.  In this case it looks like a couple of rocks were plucked from the main outcrop, and fortunately formed a natural marker for the trail.  The rock itself is pretty typical of this area, a granite gneiss which I think is known as Potter Hill Granite Gneiss, which dates back to the Proterozoic.

Rocky Trail

Osewegatchie Hills, Niantic, CT

Yellow Trail

Osewegatchie Hill, Niantic, CT

The terrain along the yellow trail is pretty rocky in parts.  It it weren't for this tree, I might have lost the trail.  

Osewegatchie Hills Nature Preserve

Osewegatchie Hills, Niantic, CT

This nature preserve is within walking distance of where I live and is a great place to take a hike.  The trails are well marked and I find the geology and rock formations fascinating.  I don't usually do a lot of post processing, but recently I've been playing around with some presets for Aperture 3 which are supposed to emulate various films.  Having not a lot of background in film based photography, I find it interesting that in today's digital world, a lot of effort is placed in trying to make our digital captures more like film.  

Florence

Mystic Seaport

Joseph Conrad

Morgan Restoration

Charles W Morgan, Mystic Seaport

This is a view of the bow of the Charles W Morgan, and one can see which planks have been replaced.  It's a slow process to cut the timbers used, steam them and bend them into shape.  

Charles W Morgan

Mystic Seaport

This structure was built to house the Charles W Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in existence, and a major attraction at the seaport.  She is currently undergoing a complete restoration and will be ready to sail in 2014.  

Amistad

Mystic Seaport

The Amistad is a replica of the original slave ship of the same name built at the shipyard at Mystic Seaport, and made famous by the Stephen Spielberg movie.  Here she has been lifted from the water and is undergoing some repairs and maintenance.  The structure off the starboard bow of The Amistad houses the biggest restoration project currently underway at the seaport, and the subject of a future post. 

Lift Dock

Mystic Seaport

To restore and maintain the historic ships at Mystic Seaport, they are often taken out of the water.  This is a state of the art lift dock that is used to raise the ships out of the water.  From here they can moved along tracks to various parts of the shipyard for restoration and maintenance.  

Cangarda

The Cangarda, Mystic, Seaport

This is one of the most beautiful boats I've seen.  It's a steam powered, 126 foot, luxury yacht, named Cangarda, built in 1901.  The original boat was almost lost and fell into so much disrepair, that the original hull was damaged beyond repair.  Careful laser guided measurements were made of the original hull and it was reversed engineered and totally reconstructed.  Today it serves as a museum and private yacht.  It also spent the winter at Mystic Seaport.  You can read more about its history here.

Seaport Gazebo

Mystic Seaport

Even the town green at Mystic Seaport has a gazebo.