A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

delaware county

Oil and gravel … is it worth it?

Let me start by saying I realize there has to be a cost factor in what I am going to write about – and I get that. I truly do.

But there also has to be a true though process in doing what is done.

I work in two places, for the most part. They are basically in opposite directions of one another. So two times a week, I head in one direction. The other three days, I go to the other. There’s a site or two other I sometimes have to add in, but those are the main two.

Nobody goes 25mph, which of course means all this loose stone goes pinging off my car.

Nobody goes 25mph, which of course means all this loose stone goes pinging off my car.

Heading to one of the sites one day, I got caught on one of the roads with an oil/stone process going on. I never realized how fast that happens, though. Basically, they asked me to pull into a driveway as they passed. First, the oil truck passes, dousing the road with hot oil. Then a spreader comes, distributing the stone. Just like that, it’s done. And it’s fast.

As noted, I realize there has to be reasons for this and I’m sure cost is one of the top ones. Think about how fast this surface can be laid down, compared to, say, traditional asphalt. And on back roads, I can see the benefit of this.

Something happened on the way to my other job site …

A stretch of road – a county road that is heavily traveled – of about 15 or so miles was also done this way. So a road that is generally 55 mph is now suggested at 25 and, reality is, until the stone truly becomes part of the road, 40-45 mph is about your safe bet. On top of that, stones ding the undercarriage of your car, speeding cars coming the other way flip up stones that ping your car and window and people drive dangerously slow, at times jamming on their brakes.

How can this be looked at as a positive?

Pretty sure it's not fresh oil anymore.

Pretty sure it’s not fresh oil anymore.

I got my car in December and I am not enjoying the feeling that, some seven months later, I am facing a barrage of flying BBs coming at me as I drive.

It’s just not fun.

While there are other ways to head to this job site, they add time, traffic and the possibility of roads that, at times, can be worse. Go figure.

The reality is roads need to be fixed. They need to be effective with cost and time the best they can, but there also needs to be a middle ground here. People pay a lot of money for cars and to have stones flying all over and dinging vehicles, it isn’t good.

And, at times, I imagine it’s quite dangerous.

Anybody else have these issues in their area? What are your thoughts?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Holga Challenge – Your Town: Delhi, NY

This gazebo, located on Delhi’s Courthouse Square, is a somewhat iconic place for our village. The square is where many area happenings go on, including the annual Fair on the Square, which runs each Friday in Julys.

Note: This is the sixth and final in a series of stories that are being done by participants of the HooHaa Holga Challenge. The series ran Sunday through today. See links for the rest at the bottom of this post.

This has been quite a challenge – especially in a photography way.

The others in this challenge, it seemed, had bigger areas to explore, discover and shoot. That’s one of the reasons I made this challenge within a 15-mile radius of your home area.

When this first started, I went back and forth with Mike about his “town,” which is Waco, Texas. His “town,” you see, is a city. With the space and population he has (including a major college), there were many possibilities for him.

See Jeff, who brought us to Seattle.

We also had close-ups of places like Geneva, Switzerland and what life was like in Kuwait and England.

And then there’s me, with Delhi (pronounced Del-hy, not Del-ee, like the city in India), a small town in upstate New York.

Though the business that owns this car wash has changed over the years, I remember it best when it was owned by a local car dealership. I had a lot of work done on cars there and bought a few cars there as well. Back in the day, there used to be three dealerships in town. Now there’s one. It’s much like everything else in this area when it comes to business – it’s hard to stay above water.

Nestled in the Catskill Mountains, Delhi is a wonderful little town. It’s an outdoorsman’s paradise in some places. We have a lot of history here and during the summer, it’s quite the peaceful place.

During the other months, our population swells up with an additional 2,000 or so people when the students of the local two-year state school come back for the year.

Despite all of these outdoorsy things, it’s still sometimes hard to get creative with photography. For someone who is a city dweller, I’m sure this would be a great place. The chances to shoot nature and see something different other than a concrete jungle would likely be welcomed.

For me, the city is where I’d like to be. Maybe not a place the size of a New York City, but somewhere slightly smaller, such as Albany, our state capital.

A lot of people say their places are small – as Mike. He thought Waco was small. But when I say Delhi is small, I mean small.

As with many rural areas, Delhi – and our county in general – has quite a few old cemeteries. Many of them aren’t active anymore, but they are a source for history, local and afar. I’ve come across many cemeteries with graves of people who have fought in the Revolutionary War. There is a lot to be learned in these old cemeteries and it’s nice that most of these places are still kept up decently well.

In the 2010 Census, the village of Delhi had a population of 3,087. If you go a little bigger and make it the town of Delhi, we’re now up to a whopping 5,117.

Let’s put this into a bit more perspective.

Delaware County, which is where Delhi is located, had a total of 47,890 people, according to the 2010 Census. The county isn’t small, either, as it’s a total area of 1,468 square miles. Of that land mass, only 22 square miles are water!

We’re surrounded by rolling hills and mountains. Trees are abundant. If the Census counted cows, our population would drastically rise.

It’s a great place to be and a nice area to raise kids. The crime rate isn’t high (crimes do happen, though) and, for the most part, one can feel safe being outside at most hours of the day.

In Delhi, there isn’t much to do.

I had to leave this photo in for two reasons. First, it is one of the photos that got hurt when the back popped off my Holga. Second, it shows something this area is really known for – it’s fishing spots. Whether it is small ponds or our branch of the Delaware River, there are some great spots to fish. And with there being a lot of DEC land, there are more opportunities for other outdoors adventures.

If you’re under the age of 21, you can scratch off the local bars for hangouts, too, so it becomes even less exciting. Despite being the county seat, Delhi doesn’t have any movie theaters, malls or shopping areas.

There’s an outdoors basketball court and a few parks. There are also some softball and baseball fields; soccer fields and some nature trails.

Heck, we don’t even have a village pool anymore, though they are trying to raise funds to put one in again.

Oneonta, which is in Otsego County, is the nearest “city.” It’s not even that big with a population just shy of 14,000. There are movie theaters there and some other activities people can get involved in, but it’s a 20- to 25-minute ride.

As I said, that makes challenges like this quite difficult as you need to open up and see things slightly different.

The village became incorporated in 1821 and has been featured in some pop culture places.

One thing about this area and the mountains is that it produces a lot of excellent spring water. In some places, hoses run off the mountain and people can stop and get cold, crisp water from the source. It’s a wonderful treasure and one I try and take advantage of any chance I get.

The Courthouse Square gazebo was even featured in the Saturday Evening Post on July 7, 1951. It was the cover for that magazine for that edition.

Delhi was also the setting for the award-winning children’s book, My Side of the Mountain.

The village has a size of 3.2 square miles, none covered by water, outside of the West Branch of the Delaware River, which runs through and opens up the chance to canoe, kayak or tube down the river.

Delhi isn’t perfect by any means. Many people who graduate high school here leave for better opportunities. Much of the village is off the tax rolls, be it for government buildings, non-profit places or whatever else. It’s also a village with an older population.

Being the county seat means Delhi is home to the county office buildings, courthouse and jail. The DMV is also located in town.

Just outside the village of Delhi and in the town, there is this rock wall. It’s the Greek Wall of sorts as the walls are painted by the fraternities and sororities from the local college.

Recent years have shown a gradual push toward some better things, such as a few restaurants, a better nightlife and local events that draw the village residents together. Still, there’s not much to keep the younger generation here as jobs aren’t as plentiful and getting decent-paying employment isn’t easy to do.

That leads to houses sometimes being sold to people who turn them into student housing and now college students sometimes mix in with everyday residents and that doesn’t always end well. Town-gown relations are up-and-down, depending on the day.

Some kids are respectful and quiet after a night of partying, while others are loud and destructive. I witnessed one year (and called police right away) a couple of kids walking up the street and kicking cars, breaking mirrors and whatever else – seemingly just to be destructive.

Politics are not the greatest here, either, as can be expected in a small place such as this. The good ole boys network is still prevalent with some things and not with others. But many times it is definitely who you know. I imagine many small towns and villages are like this, but when you live in an area, you notice it much more.

Ahhh, a picnic with nature. This is something that you can do around here as there are many picnic tables in local parks. On a summer evening, you can grab some food and go sit in a park, watch the world go by and have your dinner. Delhi’s small park system has grown in recent years and there are several where one can go explore, walk and enjoy being outdoors.

Delhi is a massive part of my life and has been, even when I was away. And, with the latest happenings in my world, I’m realizing it will likely be part of my past soon enough. This area is tough to keep people, as I’ve noted. And I’ve tried and tried to stay here, but things aren’t working out and reality is, I’ll be heading elsewhere sometime.

No matter what, though, Delhi is always a part of me. I’m actually writing this on my laptop in one of the local parks – the Courthouse Square. It’s peaceful and a nice place to go and write and people watch. It’s times like this that I’ll miss when I move on. I have a feeling it would be hard for me to go to a park in a place like NYC and do what I am doing here, without being a bit worried anyway.

The photos I chose for this story aren’t necessarily the biggest or best things about Delhi or the area, but it’s some of the things I always relate with my home area. And it’s the things I’ll take with me when I move on.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your trip through Delhi!

Here are the rest of the photos from my challenge:

Delaware Academy. The local high school and home to the 2001 Class C state champion football team. I have to be honest – I hated my time at this school, for many reasons. But it doesn’t take away that it’s a major part of our town. It’s on a hill and it’s quite scenic from many different parts of the town. The clock tower is something many from this area – whether they stayed or left – will always remember. This shot is also a double-exposure as it has the image of a “welcome to Delhi” sign I had taken, too.

Fitch’s Covered Bridge (black and white) and Hamden Covered Bridge (color) are two historical structures in our area. The two are separated by about 10 miles. There’s another – the Downsville Covered Bridge – that’s about 22 miles from Delhi or so. These bridges are two of about 25 remaining historical covered bridges in New York State. As a big fan of covered bridges, I love being close to a couple as they are constantly a source of photographic inspiration.

Hamden Covered Bridge.

I’m not sure how it is in places where you live, but we have quite a few seasonal roads. Basically, they are roads that aren’t taken care of, say, from November to April. In reality, they aren’t kept up that well in the other months, either. They are rough dirt roads and places where you usually want to only go if you have a vehicle that is higher up off the ground and/or has four-wheel drive.

These blue and yellow signs dot the land all over our state, but there are many of them in Delaware County and in Delhi. These signs identify historical places, houses and lands or historical happenings. They are sources to help us connect to events or places that came before our time.

HooHaa Holga Challenge:

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

A picture is worth…

Snow. Already.

1,000 groans.

It would appear winter is closing in. I went over the hill today to watch my niece in here JV soccer championship (they won and she had a goal and, should be, an assist).

Snow.

Probably an inch or two in some spots. Will be gone probably tomorrow as the sun is supposed to be back. But I have a feeling Mother Nature is knocking on the door.

***

FINAL CALL!!

Contest going on! I am holding a contest this week for an autographed copy of Bill Walker’s book “Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail”. It runs from October16- to 12:01 a.m. Oct. 28 (so, basically about 2 1/2 hours from when this post is going up). You can see all the details on the contest page. Enter for your chance to win!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Irene in upstate: Some get lucky, some are devastated

Fields along Route 10 as you leave Delhi.

Hurricane Irene came and went and left quite a path of destruction. Though I believe it was actually a “Tropical Storm” when it came through upstate New York, it wreaked some major damage.

My town, which has often been part of several towns who can feel the wrath of these things decently hard, wasn’t too bad from what I’ve seen and heard. Some basements flooded and probably a few other things, but in the big scheme of things, it wasn’t bad. Same with Oneonta and most areas east. I haven’t heard much about Walton, which is usually a town that gets hit very hard. As of late Sunday night, it seemed much calmer than normal.

We got lucky, it seems

The Legion fields apparently got worse as the day went on.

But as we go further into the Catskills, the same can’t be said.

Margaretville, which is often the victim of these storms was hammered. As was Fleischmanns. Reading stories and such, places such as Windham, Tannersville, Prattsville etc., have experienced an amazing amount of destruction. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to look through Twitter feeds and Facebook posts and see what devastation this is causing.

For those of you who have been to Margaretville, you’ll be able to see how bad the village is. Many of these videos have been all over Twitter, Facebook and blogs, so you may have already seen them.

To see more, go check out YouTube as there are many videos from the storm and aftermath.

Since the last major flood to hit the area in 2006, there have been a lot of pushes in technology. Though the digital age was in full effect back then, this storm really seemed to utilize the digital age. When the 2006 floods hit, I was in Montreal under sunny skies, so it was odd knowing what was going on. I used the website of the local daily to try and keep pace, as well as phone calls and such.

This storm showed how media has changed in that amount of time.

Many props has to be given to The Watershed Post, an online area news source.

The Post has done a wonderful job of coverage, using its own team as well as reader comments, posts, photos and videos. The people at the Post seem to scour the Internet for reports and images, make numerous calls and have a live blog set up for immediate updates. Other news sources in the area couldn’t compete or compare as occasional updates on roads being closed or a state of emergency being declared can’t compete with real-time stories, images and updates.

The Post has continued its excellent coverage into today, so go there to check out the latest reports from area towns and municipalities about what is going on.

I haven’t seen the destruction first hand as county roads are closed. I’ve heard from a few people over that way, however, and it sounds awful. Be safe over there, people.

The one good thing is that the weather for the next week is supposed to be decent. So hopefully that will allow needed people to get to these towns, assess damage and get the repair part underway. These areas are going to need time and help to rebuild and hopefully things will go smoothly.

The damage isn’t just through New York though. Videos and images I’ve seen from Vermont are incredible and heartbreaking. One video I saw on Weather.com showed one of the many historical and beautiful covered bridges in the state being washed away.

Old Blenheim Bridge in 2008.

I’ve also heard reports that the Old Blenheim Bridge, a covered bridge near all the havoc not far from me, has been washed away. That’s sad as it’s a remarkable bridge (though only able to be used by foot now) and there aren’t many historic covered bridges remaining in the state.

UPDATE: I’ve tracked down the video on YouTube of the Vermont covered bridge going into the river. For those of you who are fans of covered bridges, this is quite sad and the reactions of those videoing the situation shows that as well. This is the Bartonsville Covered Bridge.

These are times that prove how destructive Mother Nature can be. The images and videos are incredible, but take a moment to realize how many people’s lives have been thrown upside down because of this storm. Mother Nature’s fury can be seen and felt by many and it’s a shame when things like this happen. Many people got out of this story somewhat lucky, but the same can’t be said for a lot of others. I implore everyone to keep that in mind when storms like this luckily miss or make landfall in other parts of the country. Keep in mind that no matter what, the results can impact someone in very bad ways and hopefully we don’t see another one like this for a very long time — in any part of the country.

Let this also be a reminder of how powerful water can be. It really is amazing to see how fast and hard weather can create damage.

Flickr member AustinHorse has a series of images that show the destruction in Windham. It’s worth taking a peek. Crazy what it looks like after the water has gone away.

Here are a couple of more shots I took around Delhi, but again, they aren’t anywhere near as bad as the ones I’ve seen through the Internet in other towns.

Fitch's Bridge with the river getting close to the bottom.

Back River Road.

Water runs across the road near Sherwoods Road Bridge.

Though it looks calm because of the long exposure, the river going under the Kingston Street bridges was raging.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

 

 

Learning star trails

Star trails above Fitch's Bridge in Delhi.

I’ve wanted to learn star trails for a long time.

Some of the ones I’ve seen on Flickr are simply amazing. With this week’s theme in The HooHaa 52 being stars, I thought it was the perfect time to challenge myself and go for it.

Earlier this week when coming home from a softball game, the skies were clear, dark and amazing. So I stopped at the top of Meridale Mountain and set up the tripod, hoping to see if I could figure something out. I stayed for a while, took a few shots and realized I vastly underrated how hard star trails are.

So, back to the drawing board.

Knowing the weather going into the weekend wasn’t being looked at as perfect for star trails, I aimed for Wednesday or Thursday, which would follow another softball game.

Wednesday got washed out.

Alas, despite clouds throughout the day Thursday, things cleared up to allow me a second go at these things Thursday.

I was more prepared this time as I went and researched star trails a bit more online and had an idea of what I did wrong the first time (exposure, lens setting, exposure time etc.)

Earlier in the week, my attempt was awful. With not setting my camera to “infinity,” I got nothing but a blur. And with only going for a short amount of tiI didn’t even get any blurred star trails!

Awful!

Back to figuring things out, I guess!

After looking at many star trails photos on Flickr and reading about techniques in other places, I realized a few things:

  • I needed something in the foreground to attempt to focus on.
  • I needed to set the camera at infinity.
  • For a single exposure, I was looking at a 20- to 30-minute exposure, at least.

Enter Fitch’s Bridge.

I’m a nut when it comes to photographing covered bridges. But I’ve wanted to come up with other ways of shooting them, so this was the perfect example. Fitch’s Bridge is outside the village of Delhi, so it would be dark, for the most part. I just needed to hope against cars and houses with flood lights (which killed my final of three shots of the bridge).

This was my first attempt:

First attempt

I like this, but I wanted to get more of the bridge. My second attempt is the one at the top of this post.I like that one because of the streaking car lights coming through the bridge.

I still need to get better focus on the foreground object, I think. And I need to find a place where I think I can get a good foreground object and a solid, dark backdrop for the stars. I have a few ideas that I plan on trying out.

Too, I need to be better prepared to light up the foreground object so I can focus. A large flashlight or floodlight so my camera can see the object would be best. Maybe even setting my car up to point at the object, get everything set, turn all the lights out and then let the image go.

I’ve seen some things about taking 100 or so images of 30-second exposures and stacking them. It sounds like a cool way to do this, but I wonder how it works considering if I tried a 30-second exposure, I get nothing but darkness. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would appreciate it.

Star trails are wild, that’s for sure. It’s actually one of my Day Zero goals. But until I get an image that really wows me, I won’t check it off yet.

It’s a challenging image, that’s for sure. But I think, when done right, it’s totally worth the wait.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com.