The Sign of the Ship

171 East King Street, Lancaster, PA

Built in 1761, a colonial tavern which served- I'm told- as a meeting place for important political discussion during the American Revolution... Currently an unremarkable-looking on-the-market commercial property restored following a fire...

I located this building while taking the Historic East King Street self-guided walking tour,

http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lancastercity/lib/lancastercity/east_king_walking_tour.pdf

There's something appealing about it...  (Maybe just the catchy name?)

Wineberries

My friend Lisa showed me a wild Wineberry bush on the edge of her (southwestern Lancaster County) property the day of my Freethought society's summer party. The berries were raspberry-like, but more orange in color- a bit sour... Lisa pondered moving the bush from it's location near the property of a, "slash and burn"/Kentucky Bluegrass neighbor,, (in order to allow it to better-propagate).

My friends Janet and Larry invited me to their home near Mount Joy where I picked gallons of Wineberries from wild plants on their property.

NeverSeconds: Double pasta!

NeverSeconds: Double pasta!: Since my blog became well read we have had a special visitor at school who wears a white coat and hair net. She looks at my food when I am w...

Ex-barn - Manor Twp., PA

The remains of a barn being torn-down on the property near my workplace, supposedly for rebuilding elsewhere, (although it's been in a semi-deconstructed state for some time). I took some pre and mid-demolition photos, (including one showing a plastered wall where, "Isaac" and another man had written their names and a mid-1700s date).

Hans Graf Cemetery - Marietta, PA

Located just-around the corner from my home lies an old graveyard. Etched in the side, "In the God's Acre Lie the Descendants of Hans Graf". It's unique in that it's elevated- the graves may be above ground level.

Local superstition regards this area as a hazard... While I don't usually side with the non-critical thinker, I'll concede that circling the stone perimeter backward five times is likely to result in head injury. And as for the spirit of a barking dog, the live ones in the neighborhood are louder.

It's on private property, and growth of vegetation is leading to degradation of the stones, (I can see a change in the 1.5 years I've lived in the area). So I thought it wouldn't hurt to lean-over the perimeter and get a few photos...

Further down the lane, a dilapidated barn bears the name of it's builders- are they in the cemetery?

He Done What He Could

I noticed a familiar phrase in Marietta Cemetery... (There's a stone in the Edgar, Nebraska cemetery where many of my relatives are buried- the dead ones... "She done what she could.")

I googled it- it's Mark 14:1-8.

Low Water on the Susquehanna

The level of the Susquehanna River's been very low recently in the Mount Wolf/northern Marietta vicinity. A week ago last Friday I walked to the boat dock and noticed people climbing on the rocks in the center of the river. I assume they'd taken a boat, but found a way to access the area a short distance to the south.

Much ground we exposed- I could walk at least 20 yards downriver. I found coal, weathered glass, driftwood, a (horse?) tooth...