They Work Not In a Big Cathedral but do Cathedral Work

Most of the time, people do not stop to read the signs that the city is required to post for various reasons on projects underway. Generally, I read the projects post. A couple of days ago I was taken aback a bit when I came across one the size of the smallest yard sign at election time. It was a most interesting read. The posting was the formal post by the city. The work being done on the new trail improvements on the east side of the lake, as the lake follows Mockingbird and then Buckner Boulevard is also part of the work. The dog park revamp also got new stone work from these guys.The signs said: Small Business Contract.  I guess small businesses do not rank enough to have the big SWOPP sign postings, In fact, I almost missed the sign completely.

Then, as if the sky parted, there was this white sedan on the trail hidden by the tall prairie grasses. With camera in hand, my  route meandered around the water system put out to water the new sod that was being laid down. Then, as I got closer, I could see a human head level with my feet on the trail, only off the trail by four or five feet. Then, as I got even closer, there was another head. EERIE, I thought. Then the one head moved. In short, the two men were down in a drainage ditch with stone, chisels, hammers and mortar board. They were, hand crafting stone around the culvert below the trail were the hillside had natural drainage.  As it turned out, each man was on one side of the trail about 20 yards apart, but Martin, had come over to get a tool. The work on both sides of the trail was magnificent.

Here is part of their work

A master at his work!!

The car was the only clue but if you look closely, you can see the tops of their heads.

Martin waves

12Sept2015: Edit to correct the word train to trail. It had been corrected prior and shows corrected in master but not on the public side of the last two sentences of the article.

Maggie 2 Arch Complete

Early this morning, in the cover of darkness, the contractor raised and fitted the final center piece of the arch on the Margaret McDermott Bridge that crosses the Trinity River on the eastbound IH30 side. Now, work can begin at the transition bases on the other side of the bridge. There, the second arch will transition out of the bedrock skyward into the air along the westbound lanes of traffic.

Unlike Maggie 1, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, also designed by Santiago Calatrava, famed Spanish Architect, the arch was placed by crane. Although it was a much shorter arch, but taller, the Maggie 2 center piece was raised much like an elevator to the top were it was bolted and welded into place.

 It was a bit after one o'clock this afternoon when I finished up my texture shoot and made my way down to the bridge, When I got out of the car, a local news anchor, was walking back to his car. I ask him when the arch was in place-- yesterday or this morning? He said that the work was done during the night beginning after midnight.  At 5 o'clock this evening, the news media had time-lapse of the raising. It seems that the local mainstream media all got heads-up on the event and the freelancers got nothing. And what we did get was after-the-fact.

 It is an insult to the freelancers who promote  the city as much and often-times more than the mainstream media, especially on events like this and  others likened to the move of  the Big Boy Union Pacific engine and all the cars and engines that were at Fair Park before the move to Frisco. But, that is the way the world works and Karma eventually will balance out those slaps in the face.

Former Mayor Tom Leppert,  knew how to promote the city using freelancers and he was a CEO of a major construction company.  Having said that, here are a couple of shots from this afternoons trip.

The eastbound arch is completed this morning.

A view of the east bound arch from the west side, where work will now begin on that arch.

The westside transition bases have been poured and cured for months, even before the floods in May.

Salute to Visitors Captured

The Fire Department at Dallas/Ft.Worth International Airport, on their way back to the station on the west side of the airport, passed by the outdoor observatory and viewing area at Founder's Plaza. As they did, they saluted  visitors with a blast from the water canon.

Thank! for protecting lives and property at DFW.

And before someone is quick to judge them as playing around......the dense smoke is at the training facility just beyond the fire station and they were out working to keep their training up to scale. 

A Beautiful Way To Start Any Day

Here is a great start to a great morning! Just over a month to go before the beginning of fall.

The outline of the low cloud deck to the east

The power of the sun burns through the deck

The reward of the morning

Spotted Shipment

This is a massive D9R Cat. It is a massive piece of equipment when you need to do some heavy work. It was spotted along with two others today as it passed through Dallas today.  If you would like to see the military version of this monster you can see it on Wikipedia . Yes, the military has an armored version.  Since I was a kid, I have always liked Heavy Industry Equipment. The bigger, the better! Trains, Planes, big CATs and the heavy Mining dump trucks with tires as big as a house.

CATs D9R

There were three on three flatbeds with the big blades and rakes loaded in front and in back.

 

Google Notification on European Union Requirements

Trying to get the scoop on what is required to post on blog and website to comply with the European Unions new rules. 

Hope. There is always hope!

This cartoon is from the creator, Kathryn W. who will begin teaching where she learned to draw as a cartoonist. Congratulations to Kathryn on the new job,