I will be taking a break this week to celebrate the holiday and regroup from a colder than average winter that largely kept me cooped up inside.
In the meantime, enjoy some shots from Springtimes past.
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Happy Easter
A view of the flower garden at Chenoa Farm Sanctuary. Blooming in Mercer County. Nay Aug Park in Scranton. -
It’s Time for More Astrophotography
Although the weather has continued to be worse than normal, I was able to get out in March and image the night sky objects for the Hubble Anniversary Challenge for the month. More about the challenge can be found here.
This month’s objects contained a few star clusters. The first of which is Messier 67, a lovely open cluster in Cancer. It is also known as M67 or NGC 2682 and is sometimes called the King Cobra Cluster or the Golden Eye Cluster. It was discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in 1779. Estimates of its age range between 3.2 and 5 billion years. Distance estimates are likewise varied, but typically are 800–900 parsecs . It is well populated, almost appearing like a globular cluster, and is a paradigm study object in stellar evolution. I find it to be the most interesting looking object of this group.
M67 Next up is the well-known Beehive Cluster, also an open cluster in Cancer. It is known as Praesepe (Latin for “manger”, “cot” or “crib”), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189. One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars than other nearby bright open clusters, holding around 1,000 stars. Under dark skies, the Beehive Cluster looks like a small nebulous object to the naked eye, and has been known since ancient times. Classical astronomer Ptolemy described it as a “nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer”. It was among the first objects that Galileo studied with his telescope. The distance to M44 is often cited to be between 160 and 187 parsecs (520–610 light years).
Age and proper motion coincide with those of the Hyades, suggesting they may share similar origins. Both clusters also contain red giants and white dwarfs, which represent later stages of stellar evolution, along with many main sequence stars.
M44 Continuing the theme of open clusters, we continue to Messier 48, also known as NGC 2548. It is in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. It sits near Hydra’s westernmost limit with Monoceros, to the east and slightly south of Hydra’s brightest star, Alphard. This grouping was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771, but there is no cluster precisely where Messier indicated; he made an error, as he did with M47. Credit for discovery is sometimes given instead to Caroline Herschel in 1783.
M48 is visible to the naked eye under good atmospheric conditions. The cluster is located some 2,500 light-years from the Sun. The age estimated from isochrones is 400±100 million years, while gyrochronology age estimate is 450±50 million yearsr – in good agreement.
M48 Finally, we come to Caldwell 48, also known as NGC 2775,. It is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Cancer. It is 67 million light-years away from the Milky Way. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1783. C48 belongs to the Antlia-Hydra Cluster of galaxies and is the most prominent member of the NGC 2775 Group, a small galaxy group in the Virgo Super-cluster, along with the Local Group. Other members of the NGC 2775 Group include NGC 2777 and UGC 4781. This object reminds us that Spring is known as “galaxy season” due to the prevalence of these distant objects in the night sky.
Due to the distance, this objects appears small in Seestar S50. It is the fuzzy object in the center of the photo.
C48 -
An Unusually Warm Day in March
I took advantage of some nearly 80 degree weather to go to the Brandywine Museum of Art before my annual pass ran out. While I was having some mushroom soup in the cafe, I noticed a few fisherman in Brandywine Creek. I’m not sure what they were fishing for in March, maybe panfish.
I made a few stops on the way home to get some RAW files to test new photo editing software that I am using (goodbye Adobe). These shots, as well as the forsythia from last week, are the result.
First a some exterior shots of the Goshenville historic site on Route 352.
I am never sure that this is the front of this cute, but unassuming, building. 
This is the blacksmith shop. It was open when I visited another time. 
The next stop was the Thornbury CSA even though it is a bit early for local produce.
You have to love the sense of humor here. 
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A Closer Look at the State Flower
The mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is the state flower of Pennsylvania. It is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is native to the eastern United States. Its range stretches from southern Maine south to northern Florida, and west to Indiana and Louisiana. Mountain laurel is also the state flower of Connecticut. It inspired the name of the Laurel Highlands in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Mountain laurel is an evergreen shrub growing 3–9 m (9.8–29.5 ft) tall. The leaves are 3–12 cm long and 1–4 cm wide. The flowers are hexagonal, sometimes appearing to be pentagonal, ranging from light pink to white, and occur in clusters. It blooms in May and June. All parts of the plant are poisonous, and the roots are fibrous and matted.
Jenkins Arboretum in Chester County has several nice examples of the plant. Locally I have also seen some on Mt. Misery in Valley Forge National Historic Park. I spent some time at Jenkins recently taking film photos using shallow depth of field.
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An Inspirational Farm
The Kuerner Farm, also known as Ring Farm, is located in Chadds Ford. It is notable for its association with artist Andrew Wyeth, who created about one-third of his work, more than 1,000 paintings and drawings, on subjects he found there during a span of seventy-seven years.
In 1926, Karl Kuerner and his wife Anna rented the farm, which they bought in 1940. Karl had been a sheepherder near the Black Forest in his native Germany, and had been a machine gunner in the German Army during World War I. Andrew Wyeth’s first painting of the farm was completed in 1932, when Wyeth was just fifteen years old. The farm was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2011.The property abuts the Brandywine Battlefield, another National Historic Landmark. The farm is open to public tours, operated by the Brandywine River Museum.
I had a previous opportunity to photograph a wide shot of the farm , but I was recently able to get on one of the public tours. The first stop on the tour was the farmhouse,
A springhouse, perhaps, near the front door. 
Apparently, Mrs. Kuerner loved wallpaper. 
An example of the progression of Wyeth’s work. The left was painted at the farmhouse while Karl Kuerner was ill. 
This sink has appeared in Wyeth’s work. 
These cuties were a big hit, 
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A Special Urban Park
Nay Aug Park sits in 73 wooded acres in Scranton. The name Nay Aug traces its origin to the Munsee Indians, a sub group of the larger Lenape tribe. In their language Nay Aug means “noisy water or roaring brook.” The Munsee settled along the banks of the Roaring Brook and were a peaceful group mostly committed to fishing and farming.
Nay Aug Park was established in 1893. Scranton’s 9th Mayor, W.L. Connell directed the purchase of 2 acres of land in the city’s east side from the Beckett Estate. The early years were a boom for the citizens of Scranton and the park. The population was growing and leaders had the foresight to realize the need for a place to gather. The city purchased five more acres of land from the Beckett Estate. Scranton received donations of land from the Watres Estate and Lackawanna Iron and Coal which owned the majority of land the park now occupies.
There was an amusement park located on the eastern side which was called Luna Park. It opened in 1906 and met with a disastrous fire in 1916. It never recovered and subsequently closed for good. The land was incorporated into what is now Nay Aug Park. The park today contains a variety of attractions and hosts a wide array of activities throughout the year,
The Everhart Museum, the largest in the northeast, houses artifacts related to natural history, science and art. 
A portion of the park was once a zoo. 
The David Wenzel Treehouse is a really impressive and unique structure built in 2007. 
A great view down into Nay Aug Gorge. 
I love the way this house seems perched on the hillside. 
A little excitement in the air from the treehouse. 
Some of the old zoo buildings have been converted to Street Cats, an adoption and spay and neuter charity for feral cats. 
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An Electrifying Trolley Museum
The Electric City Trolley Museum sits across the parking lot from the Steamtown National Historic Site. Due to time constraints, I didn’t have the chance to look inside the day I was there. It is a premier electric railway museum . In 1887, Scranton was Pennsylvania was the first city with a successful pioneer trolley line and became known as “The Electric City.” The museum collection provides a highly representative picture of the electric railway history of eastern Pennsylvania, from the Philadelphia region to Northeast Pennsylvania. Trolley rides are offered seasonally,
The museum was created by the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority. Lackawanna County manages the museum day-to-day. The facility itself, located on the Steamtown National Historic Site, is on long-term lease from the National Park Service. The trolleys operate over tracks owned by both Steamtown and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, including a portion of the historic Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley’s Laurel Line third-rail interurban right-of-way.
All the way to Scranton to see a Septa trolley. -
A Steamy Day in Scranton
I ended my visit to northeastern Pennsylvania in Scranton. The Steamtown National Historic Site is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). Not all parts of the site were open to the public due to maintenance activities during my visit.
The museum is built around a working turntable and a roundhouse that are largely replications of the original DL&W facilities; the roundhouse, for example, was reconstructed from remnants of a 1932 structure. The site also features several original outbuildings dated between 1899 and 1902. All the buildings on the site are listed with the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Yard-Dickson Manufacturing Co. Site.
One of the steam locomotive around the parking area. 
…, and some more. 
Display locomotives around the turntable. 
A lot of looks at the turntable.
Locomotives on display inside the Roundhouse. 
A look inside the museum at some of the exhibits.
This is a working rail yard and train rides are available. 
A steam locomotive in action. -
Getting Away from It All in Tunkhanock
Tunkhannock is the county seat of Wyoming County, 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Wilkes-Barre. In the past, lumbering was carried on extensively in the area and served as the economic base. Today, many residents are employed by the Procter & Gamble plant in nearby Washington Township. As of the 2020 census, the borough population was 1,766.
The name Tunkhannock is derived from the Minsi-Len’api term Ptuk’hanna’unk, which means “Bend-in-river-place”, which is to the town’s west, upstream at the radical bend called “The Neck” on the Susquehanna River. The historic district was added the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The town has some lovely Victorian style houses. 
The rhododendron were in full bloom. 
The Wyoming County Courthouse. 
I love these small town movie theaters. 
Some store fronts along Route 6. 
Nearby Miller Mountain was recently reacquired by the state after being in the hands of a ski area developer for quite a few years. It is one of the more recognizable peaks in the Endless Mountains region. It is a “stand alone” peak, which is separated from the remainder of the Allegheny Plateau. In 2023, Miller Mountain was purchased by the state, and added to the Pinchot State Forest.
The Susquehanna River flows past the mountain where the slopes rise to over 1,600 feet (490 m) above the riverbanks and the town of Tunkhannock. It is believed to be the last undeveloped mountain of its size in the Commonwealth that had been privately owned.
A nearby boat launch along the Susquehanna.
