There are times when you travel around the battlefields and you want to know the hows and the whys of what happened there. Sometimes you are so busy taking in the sights and listening to accounts, that you loose yourself in the din and just wish for some quiet reflection. I've found some times and places that show you that you need to get away from the emotional overload and just sit and reflect what your senses are engulfing you with. A few examples are below.

If you happen to be on the field just before the sun comes up , you might see this.

I'm not one much for fanfare, but that's what it took to light up the Pennsylvania Monument, which is quite a rare sight (there are no lights on any of the monuments at Gettysburg).

You can come and stay awhile, look out over the fields, remember what happened here and take the memory with you when you leave, preserve it for future generations.

Well, here it is, Springtime again. It was a metamorphosis that didn't come without a fight from Mother Nature. I thought I would relfect on the past few months of Winter and rejoice in the coming of Spring.

I counted 3 major winter storms here in Gettysburg this year, all of them blizzard conditions and all of them crippled much of the state, the battlefield, when it finally became passable, offered up some great photo ops.

 General Longstreet weathered the storms and continues to look out over the fields along Confederate Avewnue.

This cannon stands sentinel over the fields. General Longstreet stands across the avenue from here.

Gettysburg and most of the state saw an incredible amount of snow and as it continued to pile up, everyone wondered where it would all go once the sun came out to melt it all.

The Devil's Den area saw it's share of snow run-off and the creek flowed high for a few days.

The water began to rise at the entrance to Crawford Avenue.

The  water flows fast and high at the first parking lot at Devil's Den.

It doesn't look dangerous at this point in time, or at this junction in the creek, but the Park Service was keeping an eye on it due to the danger of overflowing the banks and flooding the parking areas.

 The Winter season finally loosened it's grip on the nation and once the snow started to melt away, the outdoor activities slowly returned. The Rehabilition of the Battlefield by the Park Service still has quite a bit of work to do in all areas of the Park and one item that caused a stir was the removal of the Comfort Station in Devil's Den (part of the rehab project) and the ultimate burying of the electric lines running through the area. (watch both video's for visual effect).

Comfort Station Removal  & Gettysburg Times Article about the demolition, burying the utility lines and the rehabilition efforts.

  Here's some of my own shots of the area before and after the removal.

 And the view after the demolition.

One interesting tidbit about the lack of a restroom at Devil's Den is that the Park Service has strategically placed Port-A-Potties throughout the Park, two of them are doing double duty here; provide comfort to our visitors and stand watch over the 20th Maine position....yeah, my thoughts also..read what some are saying about the demolition .

Other activities have been taking place around the Park, including ongoing restoration projects that were on hold due to the winter blizzard conditions. Two of them ( Klingle House and the Patterson House are progressing nicely...) The transformations of these two farmhouses have been so dramatic that I am going to show individual restoration photos instead of updating the original restoration article.

Klingle House - April 16, 2010

Patterson House - April 16, 2010

Coming along nicely, although I don't like that it will be covered up with siding even though I would venture a guess that by doing that it will preserve it for quite a long time; it is a shame to cover up such a wonderful architectural design as mortar and logs..just my thought there.

Spring and the warmer temperatures bring out the people and even the Military enjoy an outing,  especially to a battlefield where they can study battle tactics.

Nothing better than hatching a rock and listening to a great battle story when in Gettysburg!

 The weather had changed to warm and sunny and the green grass and trees is evident everywhere.  There's activity at the farms too, the fields are being plowed, the animals are coming out of their hiding places and the barn swallows have returned to sing loud and buzz your head. A very quaint and picturesque farms is the Moses McLean Farm on the Mummasburg Road.The house and barn are  situated below the Peace Light Memorial being purched high enough on the ground to command a great view of the town.

There are signs of Spring everywhere, and the warm weather and the mild temperatures may even make some people do some crazy things; maybe engage in a littlemischief, maybe even a little vandalizm, if it happens to be on a national battlefield.

The RED FLAG Bandit seems to have come out of his snow mound also and tied the red flag around General Lee's sword at the Virginia Memorial. Don't it just make you scratch your head and say "hmmmmmmmmmm! How'd they do that"?

1/22/2010 : According to the York Daily Record/Sunday News, the Civil War Preservation Trust launched a campaign to raise funds to purchase a 2-acre piece of land on Emmittsburg Road, which runs through the Gettysburg Battlefield. The land and the houses that now occupy it were once part of the Philip Snyder Farm. This acreage, adjacent to Little Round Top and the Peach Orchard, played a major role in the Battle of Gettysburg and has been on the minds of the Park Service to acquire it someday. This property has now become available and the CWPT will try to purchase it and then sell it back to the National Park Service. Log onto their website and read how the Trust plans to buy this land.

Follow this journey of a sculpture, Robert H. Smith, who set out to show an incredible likeness of Abraham Lincoln for all the world to see and appreciate. One difference between this sculpture and all the others is that this Lincoln is life-size and you can sit on the bench next to him and have a chat about all things or of war. Mr Lincoln now resides in the Museum and Visitor Center and if you get the chance to visit Gettysburg, stop by and set a spell with Mr. President.

The Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg Foundation will offer a free, national broadcast on February 12, 2010. Schools and broadcast stations are invited to register for this event, which is called "Big Deal At Gettysburg: The Value of Historical Places". Follow this one hour broadcast and learn how one woman's quest for adding more prestige for her firm, using Gettysburg as the means to that end, learned a powerful lesson along the way. For more information about this broadcast, click on the Foundation link above, read about it on http://gettysblog.blogspot.com/  or contact Heidi Myers at 1-717-338-1243 or e-mail at programs@gettysburgfoundation.org.

It was quite a year, and now we begin anew. The first New Year Event for 2010 is the appointment of James Robert (Bob) Kirby who is the new Superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park and the Eisenhower National Historic Site. The announcement came as the new year began on January 8, 2010.

I thought I would end the year by remembering all the happenings on and around the battlefield. Be sure to view the updated photographs of the Klingle Farm (Below). The Sarah Patterson House (pg.3) also has seen some renovation activities during the last few months. Click their title line article Updated in the journal pages to view the newest photos. Tree cutting did not stop entirely yet, see the photos below of the newest activity. It's been busy here in town, events from Halloween until Christmas were happening and I'll enter them here and then say goodbye to the old and prepare to ring in the New Year.

The tree cutting will go on until the deadline, which is scheduled in the new year. Active cutting is still going on in areas of the battlefield.

The trees come down all over the battlefield due to lightning strikes or age, this one (on East Confederate Avenue) laid in this same spot for weeks even though the trees were being cut down across the road.

These trees were felled during the early fall months.This road leads you through a beautiful, heavily wooded area towards Spangler Spring.

These Georgia boys showed up for a photo op at their state monument.

The members of the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves visit their monument.

The 9th Pennsylvania Reserves. Their story is one of my favorites, read on

November was celebrated in Gettysburg with parades and ceremonies and speeches that honored all those who served in this battle. This is Remembrance Day in Gettysburg and it's worth a chilly trip here to witness these re-enactments and remember well what "they" did here.

Enjoying Gettysburg after the Blizzard of 2009. Even with all the snow, it is still the place to be at Christmas.

A view of Historic Chambersburg Street and the James Gettys Hotel south of the square.

The Gettysburg Christmas Tree, a town tradition.

One of the great preserved farms on the Gettysburg Battlefield with it's many outbuildings, is the John Slyder Farm. Situated about a quarter of a mile down the western slope of Big Round Top, panaoramic views of not only the Round Tops but an un-obstructed view of Devil's Den were just one of the great advantages of living here.

   Walk along Slyder Lane and you can stand in the fields of the neighboring Bushman Farm.

 There are many great outbuildings at the Slyder Farm, including a Blacksmith Shop and a carpentry shop.

 One of the great old traditions on  farms is the bell, which was used to call hands to dinner or gatherings, and even emergencies to summon or alert  the other farmers in the area.

There are two pumps on this farm, one is here beside the house. 

This is a great old pump, looks like it was used this morning for the cooking, washing and drinking. 

The barn is quite large, with massive double doors; one quite beautiful example of a Pennsylvania Barn.

As I said there are two pumps here on the Slyder Farm, this is the second one, just a short way from the main house.

A close up shows off this great old pump.

 If you are standing in the front yard of the house you can see Devil's Den, which I'm sure the occupants of this home stared at with disbelief when the guns from both armies started firing among the rocks and in the valley below.