Who is buried where?

Markers within a grid point to graves
Photo: Bob Whittaker via Bangor Daily News

  Bob Whittaker, recently retired, wanted to know where relatives were buried in Maine where his family originally came from.  What he found in Trenton is part mystery and part sad ending.  The remains of a number of relatives and others are in a cemetery long forgotten, or neglected.
  He and some family members found where the burial ground was, and to their surprise still is.  Many hours of work have turned up some graves and markers, but not an explanation.
Read: http://bangordailynews.com/slideshow/unraveling-the-secrets-in-trentons-abandoned-ancient-cemetery-of-unknowns/

William Norris, War of 1812 Veteran. Found.
Photo: Bob Whittaker via Bangor Daily News

Elmer Whittaker, World War One Veteran
is he here too?
Photo: Courtesy of Bob Whittaker

Turkeys can swim?

It's swimming! - click to enlarge
Photo: Gary Farley via Bangor Daily News

  A man who is a caretaker at an estate in Trenton, Maine looked out over the water and say this.  What he saw was a turkey swimming from a small island, some distance offshore, to the mainland.  He couldn't believe his eyes.
  A biologist with the Maine Department of Wildlife and Fisheries confirms the fact that the birds can swim.  What is needed now is the reason the bird flies out to the island and swims back.  Nobody can figure that out!
  Take time to read here: http://outthere.bangordailynews.com/2014/05/15/outdoor-recreation/do-wild-turkeys-swim-in-the-ocean-you-bet/

Now the bird is on shore. - click to enlarge
Photo: Gary Farley via Bangor Daily News

Kind of a long day

Finally!
Photo: Linda Grant (Mrs. geezer)

  It's nice to see the cows out!  Things are greening up nicely, that photo is from last summer, the leaves are coming in too.
  We had kind of a long day yesterday Mrs. geezer had some work done on her wrist so I kind of went along - well there wasn't any choice.  There were no problems with the exception of the doctor running late.  Do doctors usually run late anyway?  I think the answer is yes.
  She was finally let "go" at 5:45PM; it was scheduled to be about 3:00PM, and we got home about 6:15 and that's almost my bedtime.  I had a late supper, three hours later than usual, and I lived through that!  It was okay, the world didn't end or anything.
  She has had a good night and some sleep too, and I'm going out for coffee with the crew.

Locomotive in the snow and a dumb word list

A Durango and Silverton passenger train in recent snow - click to enlarge
Photo: Mark Esper Silverton (CO) Standard

  Snow earlier this week in the Rocky Mountains provides an excellent backdrop for this photo, the Durango and Silverton RR is a narrow gauge road, the rails are 3 feet apart.  The trains operate on a 45.5 mile run in southern Colorado.

The most used word in Wikipedia for each state - click to enlarge
Illustration: www.slate.com

  If you notice the word "Dancers" in the State of North Dakota as the most used word, it's mis-leading.  In one small paragraph in a long article the word does appear more than three times while describing Native American Pow Wows.  What the reader should know is that the word "German(s)" is used many more times, as it relates to the origin of settlers.  Oh well.  And I just can't believe the word "peas" is the most used word in describing Washington State, but I didn't bother to check.

Missing spoon collection, and more

President James A. Garfield
Photo: www.wikipedia.org

  Thieves have broken in to the Monument of President James A. Garfield in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.  The monument is 180 feet tall and contains the remains of the former President and his wife.  The caskets are on display and the spoon collection, a special collection of commemorative spoons, was taken from a glass case in that room.  Those collections were popular at the time of his death in 1881.  Most spoons were made of sterling silver.
  Mr. Garfield was President in 1881, he served for 200 days before he was assassinated.
  The thieves left behind cigarette butts and a whiskey bottle and could soon be identified.  If you deal with collectable spoons be on the lookout.

The James A. Garfield Monument
Photo: AP
 

Power for Monhegan Island

On Monhegan Island
Photo: Aislinn Sarnacki, Bangor Daily News

  Monhegan Island a Town offshore in Maine has 269 year round residents, and the population will double in the summer and tourists will be added to that.  The problem is electricity.  Unlike North Haven the only power on Monhegan is generated by four large diesel generators.  On the mainland in Maine electricity costs about 14.6 cents per kilowatt hour (above the national average of 11.0 cents) but on the Island it costs 70.0 cents.
  A promising offshore wind farm would bring the cost of power down dramatically but it won't happen anytime soon.  A European company that wanted to help build the wind farm was re-buffed by Maine's Governor and the University of Maine which would have built it only received a fraction of the federal money the other company would have received.  The Governor was born in the dark, even if it wasn't last night.

The Town Landing
Photo: Aislinn Sarnacki Bangor Daily News

No wind farm in sight
Photo: Aislinn Sarnacki Bangor Daily News

China's Air Force monkeys around

Air Force trainer with monkeys
Photo: Zoe Li via www.cnn.com

  At one Air Force base in China there is a problem with flocks of birds.  The Air Force has found a way to reduce the flocks that endanger the aircraft and flight crews.  They use monkeys.  The monkeys have been trained to destroy the nests of birds causing the birds to nest elsewhere.  The animal leaves a scent so the birds will not return.  Clever these Chinese.

A monkey destroys the nest
Photo: Zoe Li via www.cnn.com