Monthly Archives: January 2018

Ice Harvest – You’re Not Just a Spectator

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As I said yesterday, a machine is used cut about a foot into the ice and then the rest of the cutting is done with hand saws; big hand saws. Once the “professionals” have everything set up, they let the spectators have at it. We all took turns using saws as long as I am tall to cut the last five or six inches along the bottom of the block. I freed three blocks of ice and have to say it was a workout. The saw only cuts on the down-stroke, which is good because it’s heavy and takes a lot of muscle just to get it back into position. It’s great exercise for the thighs.

Ice Harvest

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Last weekend, Muster Field Farm in Sutton, NH had their annual ice harvest. This working farm also has trails and serves as a museum. They have an old-fashioned ice house and use the ice in the summer to make ice cream. Due to cold and other weather conditions, the ice was extra thick this year. They use the machine to cut down about a foot to score the ice and then the rest of the cutting is done with hand saws; big hand saws. More on that tomorrow. Then the ice is moved with poles to a hoist which lifts the blocks onto a truck.

Transformation: City Jail to Luxury Hotel

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The Charles Street Jail in Boston closed in 1990. For almost 140 years it had housed those arrested in Boston, including such notables as Malcolm X, former Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, and Sacco and Vanzetti. After the jail closed due to overcrowding, it was renovated and is now a 300 room luxury hotel with a tavern called “The Clink” and a ground level bar called Alibi. As you can see, the hotel has kept many of the former jail’s architectural features.

Faneuil Hall

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I’m always looking for new vantage points from which to shoot well-known areas. Across the street from Faneuil Hall is City Hall with a little overlook. I noticed the ledge around the overlook was about four feet high and almost 18 inches wide. “I can do that”, I thought. I carefully maneuvered my gear and self atop the ledge to make this image ever mindful of the thirty-foot drop on the other side. It made for a unique perspective of an old friend.

Skyline View and Custom House Tower

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This is a view of the business district from Boston’s North End. The Custom House Tower figures prominently in this perspective.