Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Cape Cod Canal History - Massachusetts - Railroad Bridge - DIY Bird Feeder

I can not believe it is Wednesday already, wow. We have a super busy day. I need to care for my granddaughter for a few days while her father has heart surgery and Kaiya, who will be one next month, is going to teach their one year old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog some manners. While there I have to plug up the propane line on the camper that went to the heater, which is now fixed and ready for install but the tech wishes to install, ho-hum, as he also wishes to re-plumb the broken water lines, grrrr. So for the next two days I can check out some other things. Does the air conditioner work with propane? Does anything work with household currant? I need to wire in a kitchen light. I need to follow the wires and see if one broke for the running lights since they are not working and I saw wires wrapped around an axle. And I have to look at my rotted doorway where the step fell off last week and see if I can give that a quick fix until I reach destination. 

Yesterday Kaiya and I went for a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood. The weather was lovely, sunny and warm'ish. We zipped at 2-3 miles per hour, great pace. I was able to wear a tank top with a light weight jacket zipped up part way. I noticed her back nails are worn down too much. I'm going to have to break into my wallet and spend the $80 for Ruff Boots until she grows some length back, almost to the skin. She walked 15 miles in 3 days and that is just our travels. Then I took her home and went to a near by restaurant and had a veggie lasagna, it was oh so good, a new item on their menu. It had onion, green pepper and broccoli and they do top it off with pizza cheese, which I love especially their cheese.

On Sunday early noon we went to Cape Cod Canal and brought a friend with us. He was tuckered after a mile so we had to turn around. It was sunny, very breezy, warm'ish when we got there but when we hit the one mile mark it was very dark and the sky was going to break at any time and I didn't have the waterproof bag for my camera so just as well I guess. The rain did start within minutes of getting into the van.
 This may be a Bufflehead Duck, still looking into it. See how rapid the canal is flowing today? Not only was it windy but it just reached high tide. I see the moon is just reaching into it's seventh day to become a full moon so the very strong currant wasn't due to the moon. No one could fish on this day.
Here is the Severn Tugboat from Baltimore, Maryland, it pulling a barge through the canal. Notice the pretty blue sky? And you can still see the very strong currant.
Here we are with the Double Skin 59 Fuel Barge from Baltimore, Maryland. It just unloaded it's product and now heading out.
Here is the Sabine Tugboat from Texas that is following the barge and tugboat through the canal. They always need another tugboat just in case they run into trouble.
 
These were the only boats we saw today. Sunday's are usually slow. I don't know why since when you work on the water there are no weekends and seldom are there holidays. The pleasure crafts must have stayed close to where they dock due to the strong currant. The boats use the canal because the seas are a lot more dangerous if they went around Cape Cod and it also saves them a lot of time, hours, by cutting through the base of the Cape. So Cape Cod is now a man-made island but on Codders, people who live on the Cape, consider it an island.
This abutment is all that now remains of the original Bourne Bridge. Construction started in 1910 and was completed the following year. The canal was built by August Belmont's private company who began construction in 1909 and completed it in 1914. Monument and Scusset Rivers were connected to form the canal. The bridge also had rail tracks for trolly trains to bring passengers to New Bedford and Monument Beach in Bourne. The mural was painted in 2009 by Joshua Harrington, Scott Packard, Jr. and some other volunteers to show how the bride use to look, which was a drawbridge, also called a lift bridge, meaning each side of the road lifted upwards so the boats could pass through. The bridge was torn down in 1935 when two newer, longer and wider brides were completed while the canal was deepened and widened for large boats which began in 1930 and completed in 1935. Many Tall Ships can pass through although most do have to take down some of their tallest masts.
This is what the bridge use to look like. There is the trolly train on the lower left.
This is the 4 lane Bourne Bridge today, one of two bridges to bring you to the Cape. Traffic can be backed up for an hour to pass over either bridge during tourist season which is from June to September with weekends and holidays being the worst.
The belly of the bridge. Look at that sky! Yep, it got mean looking.
These are Cormorants, also called Shags in other parts of the world but these do not have a crest on their chest. They love fish and it is amazing how long they can stay under water. They will have the currant take them along until they find food and they will pop back up to eat. If the currant is too strong, like on this day, they will fly instead of swim to where they want to go next. They will nest in the rocks that line the canal or in trees.
We are finally starting to see color. Mother Nature is amazing.
Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge. Commuter rail from Boston now goes over this bridge to drop off passengers here and on the Cape in Hyannis. It is also used to carry the Cape's garbage off the island.

Well my friend is exhausted. Kaiya and I had another 4-6 miles left in us but we was content with 2 after doing 10 the day before. I didn't need a wet camera and Kaiya met so many wonderful people and dogs. She really had a great day.

We sure hoped you enjoyed today's blog. We had fun sharing but we must start packing now. So much to do and Kaiya loves to be underfoot.
 
Cape Cod Canal Train Bridge Customize Serving Tray
http://www.zazzle.com/cape_cod_canal_train_bridge_customize_serving_tray-256587082933675912

Here is a Do It Yourself Bird Feeder
Glue a plate onto the bottom. Google on how to drill a hole into the glass. And if you are trying to attach a certain type of bird make sure the hole is big enough for the large seed to fall out or tiny hole for the smaller seed. You can find a charm at any craft shop.






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