The New Pipe

So this is the pipe that is being used to replace the steel gas line that has been in the ground carrying gas to Sea Cliff homes since the 1950's.  This bright yellow pipe is called "Medium-Density Polyethelene." it is widely used for natural gas and propane distribution, because it is flexible and corrision resistant.  I wasn't able to see it being "welded" together for this project, but I saw a similar type of pipe being welded together for a sewer line on Shore Road 3 or 4 years ago.  They carefully trim the ends of two pieces of pipe and then put both pieces in a "jig" and the two pieces are brought together and then surrounded by a device that I think uses ultrasonic waves to heat both pieces and when it is done the pipe joint is as strong as the original pipe

Here is an entire trailer full of long sections of the pipe.  They are welded together above ground tha then the long sections are buried in the trenches in the street.

If you enlarge this, you can see that this kind of pipe is much thicker than a steel pipe would be.  Aren't you so glad to learn all of this information about gas lines in the street?

 

Digging Up The Streets

There has been a lot of street construction going on in Sea Cliff.  There is excavating equipment that digs a trench in the street then men are working in the trench, then the excavation is filled in and asphalt fills it all in.  Turns out they are replacing natural gas lines that one of the workers told me, were installed in the 1950's and are getting old. I was driving down the street and saw these old cut up gas lines covered with dirt and had to stop and see them close up.  You can see the filled up trench in the road, to the right.

Here is a closeup of a group of the old gas pipes.  If you look at most of these, they are cut off clean with a saw and you can see that the steel looks pretty solid. But the pipe at the very top has a ragged end to it that doesn't look good.

I don't know what this pipe was connected to, but how could this pipe not be leaking gas with the ragged end showing?  I will show you a couple of photographs of what this pipe is being replaced with tomorrow.

 

The Old Tree at Dusk

I parked my car at the Vanderbilt Museum and as I was taking my computer and other things out of the trunk for the meeting, I happened to look over to my right and saw this tree off to the right.  My sense is that the tree is really old, based on its shape and the condition of its branches.  I have no idea what kind of tree this is  - maybe in daylight when it is leafed out I might hazard a guess.  What made the photograph as well are the high overcast clouds that silhouette the tree. Against a plain sky I am thinking that the photograph would not be as strong. Please click on this to see more detail.

 

As Far As The Eye Can See

I was riding back up Laurel avenue at the end of my bike ride today and I passed this patch of flowers.  I turned around and put my bike down and got my iPhone out.  When I got down close to the ground I put my iPhone just above the closest flowers and shot this view.  Flowers as far as the eye can see.  I had to do a Google Image search and this is what I found out about these flowers:  "Scilla siberica, the Siberian squill or wood squill, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southwestern Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkey. Despite its name, it is not native to Siberia.Many parts of the plant such as the flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, sap, seeds, and stem are poisonous to eat for some animals."  Wow!

 

The Branches are so Delicate!

It was such a nice day today that we went up to the top of the back yard where we have two white Adirondack chairs, thanks to my sister Joan.  The two chairs are lovely to see up there, seen from the street.  And when we sit in them we can oversee our house, garage and side yard.  Well today it was nice and warm and we sat.  And then I looked up and saw all these delicate branches overhead, from the other Japanese maple tree.  That tree is in our neighbor's yard, just over the fence from our yard.  It is impossible to describe the delicacy of these branches which are so very thin, and which will soon be filled with leaves.  I am posting a larger photo so if you click on it you may be able to see some of the finer branches.

 

Tools of the Trade

Dude, wow, that is one ugly looking coffee cup!  You need to either wash that or toss it. Wait, is that a Sandra Boynton cup?  It looks like her drawings.  Yes, it is a Sandra Boynton cup.  I photographed her at her home and farm many years ago up in Massachusetts, and she gave the writer and I some cups to take home.  But this is not a coffee cup.  It is used for something else, and has been for years.

Look at this!  It is immaculate inside.  There is not a speck of dust inside.  It is my varnish cup.  When I am varnishing a table top that I am refinishing or a telescope I have built or a wood telescope mount, I use this cup to hold varnish. I keep it clean as a whistle inside but don't worry about the outside.  But it is so interesting with all the layers of dripped varnish on the outside that it has collected over the years.  Just one of my tools of the trade.

 

Happy Birthday, Karen!

We drove to Connecticut today to have lunch with my three sisters.  The celebration was for my older sister Karen, because it was her 80th birthday!  It was nice to get together and spend time with all my sisters.  Because we are hours away from each other, we don't get to see each other that often.  We were lucky that traffic was light and our trip both ways to Milford was relatively easy.  A wonderful way to spend a Saturday, with family!