A blog reader, Mary Jo, recently e-mailed me to ask what camera I thought would be good for the novice nature photographer who has not owned a camera for many years. She joins many who have asked similar questions. Well, folks, there is no single answer.
Nature photography -landscape, travel, wildlife, birds and people at play – covers a lot of territory, so as a novice, the camera you choose will need to have flexibility and also should be lightweight. There are literally hundreds of cameras in the $130 to $350 range that can fill that bill, and almost all will deliver excellent image quality. Many of them offer a wide range of focal lengths, and some have wide-angle zoom capability.
Point-and-shoot
In today’s world of cameras, there are basically three types of digital cameras available. They are digital single-lens reflex (DSLRs), point-and-shoot, and the new kid on the block, the EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens) camera. Of course, as with everything in life, you get what you pay for.
The DSLR is far and away the most used for nature photography for many reasons. They produce excellent image quality, are flexible, quick, and the many features they come equipped with make them highly versatile. They also have the advantage of an unending selection of lenses that can be used in any situation. Overall, DSLRs give you the results and performance that a point-and-shoot cannot match. However, they are costly, usually bulky and many times quite complex. Sometimes even reading their operator’s manual is somewhat like reading a book written in Greek.
The point-and-shoot cameras come in all price and quality range. You can buy them for as little as $29.96,or pay as much as $700 for them. This is where I tell most people to use the old adage “buyer beware.” I have a rule that says if it’s under $130, you most likely will not get the quality camera or results, you want. Every manufacturer in the world seems to think they can market a digital point-and-shoot camera. On Amazon, currently there are 376 different ones being offered by the many camera manufactures, plus a few from companies like Sakar, Cuddeback, Lomography or maybe even Vistaquist. Who ever heard of them? I think you should buy only from manufacturers you know. Even then you need to be careful. Even old standby Kodak will cease selling cameras as of August this year.
The EVIL cameras are very new. They sound like a perfect mix of the DSLR and the point-and-shoot. However, they are not inexpensive. The price range is from $500 to over $1,200,and includes just one interchangeable lens. This mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera is smaller, lighter and less complicated than the DSLR because it estimates the reflex components. That means the mirror, mirror-box, focusing screen and prism viewfinder are no longer necessary. These changes allow designers to make many wonderful changes inside the camera. The main purpose of the EVIL camera is to provide DSLR image quality in a compact body. Most of them do this by putting a DSLR sensor in the EVIL’s compressed body.
Which is right for you? It depends. I do not think most novice nature photography buffs should go out and spend a minimum of $1,200 for a DSLR until they are sure they really like working in the field and have the patience to work hard at getting to know what they want out of this demanding hobby. I also do not believe that a cheap $80 point-and-shoot is a good way to start. The EVIL cameras may be fine. However, they ARE new, so as a novice I might wait a couple of years before I make that big of a leap. So, most likely a novice might consider an advanced point-and-shoot model as a starting camera.
Next week I will review three or four cameras that the novice could consider. Until then, see you on Presque Isle.
This is part four of a six blogs on the history and developmnet of the Waterworks park on Presque Isle.
In the past three blogs on the Waterworks area of Presque Isle, I reviewed the how’s and why’s of the area’s development. When we left off last, we were able to show that by the early 1900s, water was brought out of the lake and allowed to settle out in the two Presque Isle basins. The Water Commission used these ponds as a first step in removing particulates from the water before pumping it across the bay to the new water filtering operation at the foot of Chestnut Street.
At about, the same time that the ponds and other improvements were made at Presque Isle portion of Waterworks, an emergency water intake was built on the bay side and incorporated into the ferryboat slip that was also provided by the project.
It should be remembered that at this time, other than a very rough bridle path and two lakeside walking paths, the only access to Presque Isle continued to be by boat. There were at least seven popular points of entry on the bay side of Presque Isle. At some points, there were piers and docks built along the water’s edge. However, the records of this are highly sketchy, and I do not consider them very reliable.
Around 1906 a short tower was built of all steel at the end of the ferry slip. It was made to
Waterworks Emergeny Water Intake
look like a small lighthouse; however, it was actually just a gear tower. This little tower, which to this day has never had a light or electric, housed a large set of gears that allowed the flow of water from the bay into the newly installed water intake from the lake. There are no records of this intake ever being used during an emergency. This is fortunate; since the bay water was still very contaminated and had it been used, it would have made the entire system unusable. Even today, this tower is thought, by some, to be a lighthouse.
Records indicate that soon after the pumping station, ponds and Ferry slip were installed in the Waterworks area; growth and development began in full force. In late 1921, the Park and Harbor Commission was formed. This was the first step of many that would put Presque Isle and Erie into the mainstream of importance to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The initial meeting of the Commission was held on December 28, 1921, at which three officers and four members were elected. Looking back into the archives of the Commission for its first year reveals that much behind-the-scenes work had already been accomplished before the Commission was ever formed. It must have taken a huge amount of planning by many citizens at the time to get this whole process to fall into place as seamlessly as it did.
The first order of business, which was handled within three days, was to obtain the official title of Presque Isle from the Federal Government. The title excluded an area of land around the Coast Guard Station, another area that included the lighthouse and still another to be reserved for use of the Armed Forces. A transition such as this would normally take many years; this seems to have been done with just under six months work prior to the Commission’s appointment. This must have taken unprecedented co-operation between local, state and federal officials.
The next item on the Commission’s agenda was the obtaining of rights-of- way through many pieces of private land for the development of an approach road down the steep bank onto Presque Isle. This took less than one month to accomplish. Here again is a sure sign of the work that must have preceded the commission’s formation. Work on the road was begun immediately.
Bridle Path on Presque Isle 1905
The Roaring Twenties, as the era was known, witnessed the creation of just the second Pennsylvania State Park, which was Presque Isle. Although, at the time, there were 28 public campgrounds, seven state forests and thousands of acres of other state forest properties, only Valley Forge had been named an official State Park.
Presque Isle, at the time, was officially named Pennsylvania State Park. The management of the park was transferred to the State Park and Harbor Commission of Erie. Even back in the 1920s, Presque Isle, Pennsylvania’s only surf beach area, was a popular attraction. In May, 1921, the legislature authorized naming it a state park. Almost immediately, Presque Isle became the Commonwealth’s most visited attraction. The park also became a leading example of locating state parks near large cities, which began a trend that lasted until the late 1970s.
To accomplish the task of having Presque Isle named a state park; the citizens of Erie were required to raise $75,000. In today’s dollars that would be like raising $ 950,000. When this was accomplished, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania matched it with $ 50,000. A sidelight to this is that Isador Sobel led an eight-day campaign, and was successful in raising over $80,000 from June 24th to July 3rd of 1922. On July 4th, the President of the Pennsylvania Park and Harbor Commission accepted a check from Mr. Sobel at a meeting at the Lawrence Hotel as the local share of the needed state park deposit. Unlike what would happen today, pledges of funds were not accepted; only cash or checks were acceptable.
Next Friday’s blog on Waterworks history will continue with a description of how the area suddenly became THE PLACE to go in all of Erie, thanks to the State and the Parks and Harbor Commission’s forethought and hard work.
So far, the winter in Erie has been virtually a no-show. Sure, we have had a few light snowstorms, but folks; this is Erie. Most years, we have had almost three or four times the amount of snow here in Northwestern Pennsylvania by now. You should understand; I am not complaining. Nevertheless, when yesterday a southern driven wet snowstorm chased me out into the backyard to brush the heavy white stuff from our satellite TV dish, it sure did seem more normal.
This morning, large feather-like clusters of snow are cascading down so slowly they look like
Snowy day on Presque Isle
they are falling in slow motion. They stick wherever they land. The storm lasted about an hour and a half and left about two to three inches of the white stuff sticking to everything.
When I leave for Presque Isle about 9 a.m. this morning, the day is dawning clear and much colder. As I park along the road across from A-trail, a slight bit of light snow begins falling. I can feel the flakes as they touch my face. They melt as soon as they touch my skin and feel like a soft cool rain rather than snow.
As I enter A-trail, I can feel the quiet. To me, it seems that the woods are full of secrets and whispers this morning. Slowly walking down the trail, the cold gathers around me. The combination of gentle breeze and moist air is sending a chill down the back of my neck.
The soft wet flakes falling on my sleeve seem to collapse on contact. However, looking closely, I can see a few of the perfect six-pointed stars of the individual snowflakes. Almost without thinking, I realize that these frozen ice crystals, shining little diamonds, are opening the day to a new adventure.
The overarching silence on the trail has a strange indefinable quality. Suddenly, a high-pitch noise escapes from a bird I have startled on high and drifts down. It is at that point that I realize the layers of snow on the ground, a coating of fall leaves, the pine trees and bare shrubs are all acting as sound insulators. Sounds are just there. They have no echo quality. This is the unexpected difference I notice as I walk down the trail. Normally, sound would be echoing through the woodlands.
Winterberry on Presque Isle
Some of my friends say they do not walk in the winter because they believe that Presque Isle will just be too cold and dull at that time of year. They are somewhat right, except if you keep your eyes and ears open as you visit the park, life, color and beauty are constantly all around you. Is there anything more stunningly beautiful than a stroll through parts of Presque Isle’s pine forest after a snow similar to todays? I think not.
Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons and other animals are out and moving around all over the park. There are tracks all over the park. The moderating of weather and temperature has made this an easy winter for many of the animals that live on the park. I saw a pair of weasels sliding on the thin ice of Horseshoe Pond last week. They seemed to be just out enjoying a romp in the light snow and ice. These elusive little devils always enjoy playing in the snow. During the rest of the year, you are not likely to see them. This is due to their evasive habits and normal deep woods habitat.
As February tumbles toward March, the winter season is drawing to its inevitable close. Each day now has a bit more daylight. As more sun arrives, temperatures will start to warm even more. A certain sign of the approach of an early spring is the sighting over Presque Isle and the bay shore of at least five bald eagles. Over the last four or five weeks, a set of three eagles has been regularly flying over the park and Misery Bay. On the other side of the bay near Ferncliff, a pair has been flying and hunting the south shore of that area.
Weasel
I am confident there is a bit more of winter in Mother Nature’s cupboard for this season, nonetheless; spring is just around the corner. Spring is the season of renewal. In due course, everything in nature will begin to be awake. The migrating birds will begin to return, plants will begin to grow and blossom and I will need to stow the snow blower and clean up the lawn mower. I will miss the diverse beauty and mystic qualities of winter. However, spring for me is my active season. Boat, garden, yard and exploring Presque Isle’s wonderland of fresh adventures always makes this a busy time of year for me. See you on the park!
This is part three of six blogs on the history and development of Waterworks Park on Presque Isle.
While the extension of the intake line reaching 5,000 feet into Lake Erie was somewhat successful, it did not fully solve the typhoid fever problem. Records show that in 1911, over 1,050 cases of typhoid were reported, and 135 deaths recorded from the fever. By 1912, the Water Commission began treating the water using a hypo-chlorination process that included adding hypochlorite of lime to the water supply. While this did clean and purify the water somewhat, it did not remove its murky appearance. They also began a discussion about installing some form of water treatment plant at their Chestnut Street location.
In 1902, the Water Commission, to keep on the good side of the Erie citizenship, built a
First Week at New Pool
large community pool at their Chestnut Street location. The area also had a boathouse which included bathing lockers for the convenience of the citizens using the pool. This pool was very popular, and was improved in 1908 and again in 1912. As a young boy in the 1940’s, I visited the pool many times.
Back on the peninsula, work was being done on the two settling basins. The ponds were originally designed to each hold 24 million gallons of water. Water pumped into the holding ponds was to be allowed to just sit for a short time, which allowed sediment to settle out. The water would then be drawn out of the ponds by the pumps at the Chestnut Street plant as needed.
Water Lab
The land that was cleared and filled in when the pipeline was installed was becoming a problem for the Water Commission. Sand, dirt and debris were constantly blowing into the two basins. This was becoming an annoying source of expense and extra work for the Water Commission. Two things were begun to help the situation. The first was the planting of trees and bushes all over the area. The second was to invite the State Fish Commission to install a hatchery on the north end of the area. In spite of this, there seems to be no record of any hatchery ever being built there.
As a side, the historical and other records about Waterworks and Presque Isle in general are more than somewhat incomplete. As I researched Waterworks, I found it amazing that detailed records from 1880 to 1960 seemed to be so rare. From what I have been able to uncover, many of these records were destroyed about ten or fifteen years ago. If this is true, it would be a shame, as I believe that history plays an important part of our lives. If any readers know about other sources of historical information about Presque Isle and its development and history please let me know. I am attempting to put together a reliable database on Presque Isle history.
The Water Commission realized by 1910 that both ponds were collecting large amounts of sediment in the form of mud and dirt, which indeed settled out of the lake water and then dropped to the bottom of the ponds. This was encouraging the growth of weeds on the pond bottoms and sides. Both ponds were designed to be a uniform depth of 12 feet, except that now, they were rapidly filling with this sediment. In 1911, the east pond was emptied and cleaned, and a liner of 12 inches thick concrete was then poured on the bottom, with 6-inch concrete poured on the newly slopping sides. The west pond was cleaned, but was left with a muddy bottom and has remained that way to this day. For unknown reasons, the west pond never developed a serious weed problem. When the cleaning process was complete, the sand, shells and mud settlings that were removed from the bottom of the two ponds were used to fill in the marshy areas west of the peninsula ponds.
During the period from 1912 to 1916, the Water Commission made a decision that it was necessary to install a complete water treatment plant at its Chestnut Street location. As part of
Filter Plant
this expansion, a laboratory was built on the second floor of the plant to do quality and safety testing. This lab still exists today. The treatment plant, located north of the pumping station, was erected on reclaimed land from Presque Isle Bay. Today, it still operates on the northern side of the Bayfront Highway. The fill used for construction of the treatment plant was the ash left from steam boilers, which had collected over the previous 46 years. The filter plant consisted of twelve filter units, each with the capacity to filter 2 million gallons of water per day. The plant had its own railway siding, coal and ash handling equipment, plus two large storage areas for supplies.
At about the same time, next door at the Commission’s pumping station, Big Bertha, a
Big Bertha
20 million gallon a day triple expansion high duty pumping engine manufactured by Bethlehem Steel, was added to increase the pumping capacity to the new filter plant. This pump, over three stories high, was installed by the Henry Shenk Company. It was during these expansions that the standpipe was taken down and replaced with a new one located near the Water Commission’s new Sigsbee Street Reservoir.
Meanwhile back on Presque Isle, the Water Commission was also busy with the construction of a pump house beside the east settling basin. Still in use today, the pump house was built by the Kirschner Brothers in 1917. The reason for its construction was to house the pump used to lower the water level in east pond so it could be cleaned of sediment. It was equipped with a 100 horsepower coal fired pump which could lower the water of the east pond to a near empty level.
Waterworks Pump House
Old records show that this cleaning was done only once. In 1919, the east basin was cleaned and over 2 ¾ feet of muddy soil removed from the bottom. About one year later, the west basin was cleaned and three feet of sediment removed, but the pump could not control the water level on this pond so the cleaning was a much more difficult task. Even after these cleanings, muddiness and turbidity continued to be a problem. In spite of this fact, it was found that the use of the basins did remove 50 to 60% of the murkiness from the water and their use continued until 1954 when the water was moved directly into the Chestnut Street treatment plant.
The pump was also used to control water distribution between the ponds and from the lake. Today, as you walk the concrete path between the two ponds, the original large blue steel valves that controlled this flow are still visible.
The next blog post on Waterworks will cover the period from 1920 t0 1945. It will center on the development of this area of Presque Isle. This was a period of significant change on the park.
What do birds, insects and ice fishermen have in common? “Ball Gall.” You are most likely thinking at this point, “What the heck is a Ball Gall?”
A ball gall on Presque Isle
If you visit Presque Isle or any other natural area in northwestern Pennsylvania, maybe even your own backyard, that has goldenrod growing, chances are very good you have seen an almost perfectly round growth in the middle of a goldenrod stem. It looks like a plant tumor or some kind of strange bulge or swelling in the stem of the plant. These small globes can be found on other plants, not just goldenrod; however, they seem to be most common on goldenrod in the Great Lakes area.
They are not tumors. They are, in fact, hibernation dens. Goldenrod and many other plants act as hosts to insect larva. In the late spring or early summer an insect, usually some form of fly, lays its eggs on the stem of the plant. The hatching larva digs itself into the interior of the stem. The swelling of the stem is the plant’s response to the insect living inside. As autumn fades into winter, the galls become more visible because in summer and fall they have been hiding among the plant’s foliage. When you are walking on Presque Isle or in your neighborhood, be on the lookout for them.
You would think this should kill the plant, but no, the plant slowly balloons itself around the new small nub the larva has become. This fly larva takes a long time to develop, so it will spend the summer inside the stem. The goldenrod, to defend itself, stimulates the area and creates the Ball Gall, which provides more space and a lot more succulent goldenrod cells on which the grub can now dine all summer. The grub will usually winter over inside the stem. In most cases, the new fly does not emerge until early the next spring.
Safely sheltered within the gall when Erie’s winter arrives, the grub slows its metabolism and begins to replace its internal water with glycerol. This substance acts as natural antifreeze in the grub.
Then again, the above is true unless someone invades the gall. Over the years, I have seen ice fishermen, who ran out of bait, cut worms out of the galls. One old gent actually collected six or seven galls before he started out on the ice. Of Course, with the No Ice conditions of this year, this is not happening. Although some fishermen and gettin nice numbers of perch on the bay docks and in one case a small fishing boat just off the Erie Yacht Club. A father and his two kids caught 12 perch off the rocks of the club yesterday before Super Bowl.
Other invaders of the galls are birds and other insects. Downy Woodpeckers, for one, love to peck open galls to get the grubs within. The woodpeckers are often selective and choose only the larger galls, which they know, have the largest grubs. In the case of the insects, some actually move right into the warm and comfortable den. Nature provides for all. Insects, birds and ice fishermen all share in God’s grand design.
This is Part two of 6 blogs on the history and development of Waterworks Park on Presque Isle.
As mentioned in the last post, the standpipe at the Chestnut Street pumping station was
First Standpipe 265 Feet Tall
over 265 feet in height after it was expanded. An additional two features were added to this structure once it was up. First was a brick tower with a circular staircase which provided additional support for the standpipe, but it also offered people a way to climb to the top via the 364 steps. While the climb was difficult, it did provide a beautiful view of the bay, Presque Isle and the city. The second was that in 1908, the first amateur wireless telegraph station in Erie was built by Kenneth Richardson. The aerial for this station was placed on the top of the standpipe.
In the late 1880’s, the numbers of typhoid fever cases found in Erie were dangerously high. Typhoid fever was a water borne disease that killed many city dwelling people at this time. It was immediately recognized by almost all Erie citizens that the comparatively short intake pipes in Presque Isle Bay were pumping contaminated water into the system. The outflow pipes from the town pumped raw sewage into the bay just 100 yards from the intake pipes.
The city fathers continued to ignore the problem and refused to construct adequate sewer lines that would bypass the bay, so the health problem continued. At that time, though the efforts of many citizens, worked with the State and a Board of Water Commissioners was
The Commissioners
formed to oversee the water problems of the city. Members of this commission were William L. Scott, Henry Rawle and William W. Reed. Each was an influential member of the city’s establishment. While the members of the commission continued to change periodically, all remained, by necessity, important and forceful citizens of Erie. It may be coincidental, however all members of the water commission drew their water from wells or the Brown Hotel springs.
By the 1890’s, the Water Commission recognized the continuing serious problem with the water supply. At this point, the Commission made a decision to extend the intake pipe further into the bay. This extension would bring the pipeline very close to Presque Isle. The plan was to install a new 1.6 mile 60-inch cast iron intake pipe in a trench on the floor of Presque Isle Bay. In fact, they planned to bring the new intake pipe to within 2,500 feet of the existing ferry boat slip on Presque Isle. This would become the first section of the present-day intake pipe for the city’s water. The installation took place in 1896 and 1897. At the northern end of the intake, a 40’ x 40’ brick and wooden timber crib was constructed below the surface in about 14 feet of water. Portions of this crib still exist today in the waters directly off the Waterworks area.
Pump and log pipes in use with water system 1800s
Regrettably, by 1902, it was obvious to the Water Commission that there was still a continued high level of typhoid in the community, with over 180 deaths annually. The Commission recognized that some of form further action would be required. Its first effort was to demand again that the city stop dumping raw sewage into the bay. Many citizens rallied and had town hall meetings about the topic at the time. Yet again, the city fathers ignored this request. Sure does sound like politics never do really change.
Because of this, the Water Commission’s engineer suggested that an altered intake pipe following the depth curve of the bay down to 34 feet rather than just 14 feet be installed. Before this could be done, a second alternative was offered that would extend the existing 60-foot intake pipe 10,000 feet and pass it under Presque Isle. This would take the line 5,000 feet into Lake Erie.
The process of this extension became more realistic when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania transferred 175 acres of Presque Isle to the Water Commission. The Commission budgeted $104,000 to do the extension work on the pipeline in the fall of 1902. In July of 1904, T.A. Gillespie of Pittsburgh was hired to extend the pipe from where it ended in the Presque Isle Bay to the lake. The work was to be done in three stages or sections, with the first being from the bay to the shores of Presque Isle. This part was scheduled for late 1904 and 1905. This was to be followed by the work on the lake side, which was to be done in 1906 and 1907. Regrettably, in early 1907, strong storms on the lake disrupted the lake work, and the pipe barge was heavily damaged, delaying the work until 1908.
On December 4, 1907, the work on the third stage was begun. It was to be on the twin settling ponds on Presque Isle itself. Today, they are the only real visible reminder of this 1904 to 1908 extension project. On a 1900 map of the area was covered with many small ponds and numerous swamps. It showed two of these small ponds existed where the settling ponds were to be built. Ponds such as this were called “Chimney Ponds.”
A large floating dredge, called the “Centrif,” was used to do the work of moving the massive amounts of sand and water necessary to create a channel nearly 25 to 40 feet wide from the bay to the lake. Of course, along the way it would also create the two settling ponds.
Records seem to indicate that the dredge actually enlarged the ferry boat slip and before proceeding on its inland path to the area where the ponds were to be dredged. Its first job was to create the east pond. When the dredge had completed the east pond, it moved to the west and modified an existing pond to form the new west pond. Finally, once the peninsula was bisected, the dredge moved directly through into the lake.
Next the pipeline was lowered into place, and the channel was covered with sand. This pipeline runs directly below what is now the Waterworks sidewalk path. The excess sand that was dredged to make the ponds was then used to fill low and marshy areas nearby. On September 16, 1908, the new intake line to Lake Erie was completed and turned on.
In the part three, I will cover the period from 1908 to 1920.
If you and your family are looking for something to do, here is a list of programs and activities happening at TREC and Presque Isle this February. Call the numbers listed below with ay question.
Woodchuck
February 2 11:00 am to Noon Woodchucks: Happy Groundhog Day
Celebrate Groundhog Day by learning the truth about this furry critter. Open to all ages. Fee $3.00
Call 814 838-2454 for registration
February 2 6:00pm to 7; 30pm New Year’s Resolution Walk Series
Take a 3-mile walk with the naturalist and enjoy walking outdoors. Meet at Ranger Station – No fee or registration
Call 814 217-9638
Ice Fishing on Presque Isle
February 3 10:30am to Noon Outside the window: Ice Fishing
Kids ages 3-5 with accompanying adult can discover ice fishing indoors in our TREC Aquaponics Lab using kid-sized equipment. Registration required Fee $3.00.
Call 833-7424
February 9 6:00pm to 7; 30pm New Year’s Resolution Walk Series
Take a 3-mile walk with the naturalist and enjoy walking outdoors. Meet at Ranger Station – – - No fee or registration
Call 814 217-9639
February 11 10:00am to 2:00pm Family Ice Fishing
Meet at the Rotary Pavilion and enjoy ice fishing. All equipment provided and open to all ages. No fee or Registration required.
Call 814 833 7424
February 16 6:00m to 7:30pm Presque Ile after Dark: Pine Tree Trail
Meet the naturalist at the Sunset Point parking lot for a two-mile hike. No fee or registration required.
Call 814 833-0793
February 18 1:00pm to 3: pm Cross-country Skiing—101
Learn how to ski on Presque Isle Trails. Bring your own equipment or rent from our ski center located in Waterworks area. Meet at Rotary Pavilion. No registration, ski rental fees only
Call 814 833-7424.
Fun on skis
