Out and about

Sunset over Haystack

Thursday evening I set out to take some photos of October's full harvest moon, which usually rises larger than at most other times of the year. As the harvest moon rises early in the evening, it looks larger than usual because it is magnified by the atmosphere.

Oddly enough, though, the moon rose in fog and clouds - big, but not clear enough for photographs. On the other side of the valley, however, there was this nice post-sunset view. Interestingly, not all of the color was visible to the naked eye. The camera was able to make better light adjustment than the human eye, and captured more color, both in the sky and in the cloud. I think it looks like there might be a volcano just over the horizon.

Route 7 Gorilla

I snapped the next two photos on a trip to Burlington via Route 7. The gorilla is located at a used car lot north of Rutland. A beautiful example of roadside marketing kitsch.

On fire

The foliage along Route 7 was phenomenal last week.

Other side of the fence

By request: more cows.

Hey Bullwinkle!

Deerfield Valley News reader Jay Wood spotted this bull moose on Route 100 in Dover, close to the Stratton town line. Moose shed their antlers annually, in the fall, after mating season. After a healing period, new antler buds sprout. If you look closely (click on the photo to enlarge) you can see his antler buds, already about 6 inches long.

Guest Photographer

This series of images were taken by local photographer Tiido Tennelo. Tennelo's photography is well known around the valley, and appears on a number of local websites.

Abbot Road & Ames Hill

I like the contrast between the colorful barn, sided with pieces of scrap metal, and the dull winter countryside. This was taken on a gray, overcast day, so when I processed the photo on my computer I boosted the saturation to enhance the colors on the building.
It's difficult to see clearly, but the end of the barn seems to have collapsed, leaving the little cupola to appear almost suspended out over nothingness.

This photo appeared in the print edition of The Deerfield Valley News, but I thought it was too good not to include here on iSquangle, too.

Somewhere in Marlboro

Snow

The entrance of the Old Red Mill in Wilmington, after a recent snowfall

Snowmobile Rescue

These photos are from a recent snowmobile rescue in Somerset. As snowmobiling continues to gain popularity, local rescue units are called to more off-road winter accidents every year. Crowded trails, inexperienced riders, sudden changes in weather and trail conditions, and a lack of familiarity with the area, may be contributing factors to the increase in snowmobiling accidents. The snowmobile club in the tiny town of Woodford, just to the south and west of Somerset, is the largest such club in the country.

This accident occured on the Glastonbury road, a remote area of an already remote part of the Green Mountain National Forest.

The Wilmington Fire Rescue Sled Team was called in to remove the patient from the scene of the accident to the ambulance waiting on the main Somerset road. Fire rescue EMTs provide patient evaluation and care at the scene.

The sled team gets ready to head out on the trail, with rescue litter in tow.

The rescue litter is covered to protect the patient from snow and cold wind.

Returing from the scene of the accident, patient in tow.

Fire rescue personnel prepare to move the patient to the ambulance for tranpsort to the local hospital.

Searsburg Dam and Power Station

Many visitors to the valley, at least those who venture west of the light in Wilmington, have seen this pipeline snaking along the side of the mountains and wondered what it is and what runs through it. There may even be a few locals who aren't quite sure what the mysterious pipleline carries. Speculation on the contents of the pipeline runs from the town's drinking water to a fuel supply line.

The pipeline, or penstock, carries water used to operate a small hydroelectric station on the Wilmington/Searsburg town line. This type of system, in which the dam and generation facility are separately located, is known as a "divided fall facility."

The water is concentrated at small reservoir in Searsburg, located on the road to Somerset Reservoir.

Searsburg Reservoir and Dam

Adjacent to the dam is a small pump house that directs water into the penstock when the hydroelectric station is running.

Pump house

The system was originally built in the 1920s. The penstock is constructed of wood staves bound by metal hoops. The assembly is supported in a wooden cradle that rests on a bed of gravel. The penstock is 8-feet in diameter, and stretches 3.5 miles from the reservoir to its terminus above the power plant.

View showing staves, hoops, and cradle.

A bridge allows access to both sides of the penstock for maintenance

The penstock ends at a surge tank above the generation facility - visible from Route 9, near the Wilmington town line. The surge tank was new technology at the time the station was built. The tank acts like a shock absorber - equalizing the force of the incoming water and protecting the system from potential damage when the turbine gates were closed rapidly. A much larger surge tank is located at nearby Hariman Station.

The Searsburg Station is at the bottom of the photo. Above the station is the "surge tank."

Searsburg station is a 5 mega-watt facility, completed in 1922. When it was built, the facility was the largest fully-automated plant in the United States. It could be operated without an attendant thanks to a time clock that opened the turbine at a certain time, and shut itself down at a predetermined limit. It also was designed to operate based on water height at the reservoir, using an electric float switch.

Jacksonville Pond Dam

Jacksonville Pond Dam and Reed Hill Bridge.

The dam's stonework is visible behind the water.

Ice behind the water breaks the flow and creates interesting patterns.

A study in contrast

A stone wall meanders over a hill in Wilmington

Stone wall in Wilmington

I like the way snow looks on stone walls. My eye is drawn to the contrast between the snow and the stone. In the top picture, the snow looks almost like it was drizzled over the stones like confectioner's glaze. In the bottom photograph, the snow highlights the shapes of the rocks.
For the contemplative viewer, these scenes offer a chance to muse about other contrasts, beyond light and dark.

Pssst! That guy over there is taking our picture!

Dix Road, Wilmington