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Tag: Chester County
Like many folks, I want to do my part in trying to save the planet by recycling the various things that I use, and over the years, I have collected a few things…
Recycling 2011
Recycling 2005
Sometimes it is not easy to know what to do with a collection, and things like eBay, are not the best or easiest solution, so…
So I have put together a Post on where to Recycle eWaste in the Downingtown, Chester County PA area, for those that might be experiencing a similar situation.
If know of any other ways to locally recycle eWaste, please let me know!
Borough of Downingtown
The Borough of Downingtown also maintains a website for Recycling, which include such things as:
- Trash & Recycling on Tuesdays
- Bulk Trash on the LAST Tuesday of the Month
- Tree Limb Chipping on the 2nd Monday of the Month (Appointment Only)
For more information, please check the website, or their Facebook page.
Chester County Solid Waste Authority
Bet you have never heard of these folks, but they help run many of the local recycling efforts, and should be first on your list of places to check.
The map below show what is going on currently in the Chester County area:
View 2013 Regional Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Collection Program in a larger map
Additional Links can be found at their main website, chestercountyswa.org.
There is also a Facebook page, where you can also “Like” them!
RecyclingCenters.org
Doing a quick search on recyclingcenters.org, can also be helpful if you have something more unique.
Best Buy
This was another national company that I found that has an eWaste program, and has a local drop-off policy.
I called the store in Downingtown, and spoke with someone in the Geek Squad about what to do when you bring in your 3 items per day limit.
You do not need to call ahead, but you are asked to bring items to the Customer Service people at Geek Squad desk, at the right when you walk in.
If you have more than one item or need help, it is requested that you contact the Security for further assistance.
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Hopefully, this information will help someone else in the area!
I do plan to up-date the page as needed, so please, if you find something, please let me know!
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I parked in nearly in the same spot as I did some ten days ago, when I was exploring the northern side of the boating launch on that foggy morning.
Today, there is more activity and the temperature is finally starting to reflect that it is late December…
While gathering my gear, I saw several people walking, some dogs running, and once I was ready, I headed toward south-east, along the shoreline.
As I walk in the sand, I know, just to my right, there is a very well-worn path that I have walked countless times before, but today, it is difficult to even recognize the “beach” where I have been many times before.
It was one of my easier walks to the end of the blunted point, that almost points due south, where I was once again greeted with more wood pilings (Woodhenge) sticking out of the lake’s bed.
From there, I started into the cove, and I knew from previous walks along the dirt path, off to might right, that I was entering a heavy vegetation area, but once again, walking the shoreline made it look so different, and I did not expect it to drop off so quickly.
Finally, I reached the end of the cove, or at least as I was far as I was willing to go.
I was not having to have another mud adventure!
Walking back, I took this final capture, knowing I had to get back to the real world, and do some holiday shopping.
Tech Notes
- Canon XTi ISO100 f16-f22 with a ND 3.0 filter
- HDR Capture with 3-4 captures between 15-120 seconds (raw)
- HDR Processing – Lightroom 4.3 > Photoshop CS5 > HDR Efex Pro 2 > Viveza 2
- B&W Processing – Photoshop CS5 > Lightroom 4.3
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We woke up to a very foggy morning that had engulfed our area during the night.
With nothing pressing on my agenda, I got my kids off to school, packed my car with my photo gear, and headed off to try to capture some of this elusive weather.
Not knowing how long the fog would last, time was of the essence, but I also knew that I had to be careful on a day like today.
In the back of my head, I heard my inner voice, my wife and a recent conversation with Joe all going off, so I drove down to the mega-sporting goods store in Downingtown, looking for orange apparel, only to find a very limited inventory, and in only youth sizes.
Do I drive over to Exton? Or just head on out, being extremely careful?
Personally, I think I looked more like a bear, carrying a tripod, but that is another conversation…
I left the store, I jumped into my car, and headed north on Creek Rd, towards the boat launch area of Marsh Creek State Park.
As I drove along road, I could see areas of fog along the Brandywine that were beginning to thin out, and I begun to wonder if this day was going to be a bust of a trip, but I continued on.
When I turned on to N. Reeds Rd., and was looking over the horse pasture, and on to the lake, there was nothing but grey-white fog, and I knew I was going to have some fun!
I parked at the main lot at the bottom of the hill, where normally, the bumper of your car to the water is may be 40 feet, but now because of the drawdown and gradual slope to the ‘underwater’ terrain, the nearest lake water is easily over 100 feet away!
As I get out of the car, and I am packing my photography vest, getting ready for my walk, I can easily overhear three guys yelling between themselves about what to do about a boat.
I could not make it all out, but what I could, sounded was rather comical, and they where definitely making the best of it.
It is hard not to be amazed at this new landscape the 8 foot drawdown has revealed, and with the shallow slope of the southern launch area, the water seemed miles away.
The fog had receded a little bit, and condensed a little into a light mist, which would accumulate into water droplets when it hits such things as your lens.
It was not until I rounded the corner of the barbecuing point, did I realized why those three gentlemen had been so excited in their earlier conversations.
The launch ramp where normally one would back their boat down into the water, was now a mixture of sand, mud and rocks, and the water was well over 100 feet away.
No easy task, and the risk of getting your vehicle stuck was rather high.
The three gentlemen had used their truck to move their boat to the grassy area next to the launch.
From there, they dragged their boat over firmer sand and mud, and finally into the water!
Talk about dedicated fishers!
I continued north of the launch area, and rounded another small little point, where I saw a series of beautiful old tree stumps that had weathered over many years of being underwater, and now the roots look more like the tentacles of an squid.
As I continued to walk along the shoreline, I was greeted with forrest present-day fossils of shapes that were once living trees.
After some time of collecting more images, I finally reached the Chalfant Rd entrance to the park and proceeded along the coastline a little bit more, until I reached a very peculiar outcropping of rocks, that just made me stop.
It was very apparent that there was a layer structure to the rocks, but there also seems to be indication that the rock has bent. How?
This does not make sense, but it will be a good conversation with my wife later on tonight.
I turned around, and started back to the car, knowing that I had allot of image processing that I needed to start on…
Update
2012-Dec-17 – In doing my normal daily reading, I ran across these following links of interest at they relate to the Marsh Creek Lake/State Park water drawdown:
- Fishing Fever #40 … Marsh Creek Lake Draw Down
- Fish Habitat Improvement Plan Map – Marsh Creek Lake, Chester County
This Gordon’s Supply Company page, that shows the 2010 drawdown, as well as some historic images from the 1970s!
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Some images taken during the 2012 Downingtown Good Neighbor Christmas Parade in Chester County PA.
The weather was overcast, but the temperatures were in the 50s and the start of the parade, not nearly as cold as last year.
Did not seem as there were as many people as there had been in the past, but that could have been because of the potential bad weather.
More images of this years parade can be found on my Flickr photostream.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
– Andrew
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