journalism – Page 25 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Newgrange III

October 11, 2023October 16, 2023 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

How the builders of Brú na Bóinne clothed themselves

Click Me for the first post of this series.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Newgrange II

Early Irish farmers introduced crops and domesticated animals, aided by milder climate.

October 10, 2023October 16, 2023 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

The people who built the passage tombs at Brú na Bóinne and elsewhere in Ireland were farmers, a way of life which by this time had become well established in Ireland. All the mainstays of early farming life — cereals such as wheat and barley, and domesticated animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats — were introduced to Ireland by early farmers. T

he climate was warmer and drier than it is today which meant that the growing season was longer and winter was shorter and milder. The main crops grown appear to have been emmer wheat and naked barley. Flint knives and blades were used for cutting meat. Simple wooden ploughs with stone tips were probably used.

The cattle were Bos taurus longifrans, large animals with forward facing horns which were kept primarily for farm work and meat. Cattle may also have been important in a ceremonial sense; cattle bones were sometimes placed in a very deliberate way in the ground. Sheep were probably like Soay sheep today, without a woolly fleece and probably used mainly for their meat. Dog and pig bones have also been found.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Newgrange I

For my 365th consecutive post: approaching an ancient passage tomb older than the Egyptian pyramids.

October 9, 2023October 16, 2023 MichaelStephenWills10 Comments

Thirty minutes headed up the M1 from Dublin Airport Pam and I arrived at Brú na Bóinne Visitor Center, gateway to Newgrange. Archaeologists classified Newgrange as a passage tomb, however Newgrange is now recognized to be much more than a passage tomb. Ancient Temple is a more fitting classification, a place of astrological, spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance, much as present day cathedrals are places of prestige and worship where dignitaries may be laid to rest.

Walking on the south bank of River Boyne we first glimpsed Newgrange on the hill above.

Bounded on the south by a bend in the River Boyne, the prehistoric site of Brú na Bóinne is dominated by the three great burial mounds of Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth. Surrounded by about forty satellite passage graves, they constitute a funerary landscape recognized as having great ritual significance, subsequently attracting later monuments of the Iron Age, early Christian and medieval periods.

Newgrange was built by Stone Age farmers, the mound is 85m (279ft) in diameter and 13m (43ft) high, an area of about 1 acre. Newgrange was constructed about 5,200 years ago (3,200 B.C.) which makes it older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza.

A overlook in Brú na Bóinne Visitor Center provides a view of River Boyne from the south bank. Here we are looking west.

Queen Ann’s Lace on the south bank of River Boyne

Oh my gosh!! A wattle fence, an ancient technique.

Wattle is made by weaving flexible branches around upright stakes to form a woven lattice. The wattle may be made into an individual panel, commonly called a hurdle, or it may be formed into a continuous fence. Wattles also form the basic structure for wattle and daub wall construction, where wattling is daubed with a plaster-like substance to make a weather-resistant wall.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

A Day At The Airport

September 19, 2023September 20, 2023 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Airport Day was hosted by the East Hill Flying Club, the pancake breakfast was in the hangar.

We learned why a hot air balloon cannot “pop.”

The propane burner announces the approach of every hot air baloon.

The operator kept careful watch over this landing helicopter, Sam was nervous anyway.

While we were aloft the New York State Police helicopter completed landing next to the U.S. Army Helicopter.

U.S. Army Helicopter — Sam was not a fan of the potential firepower, Rory was all in

Dryden Volunteer Fire Department Firetruck

The Airport Terminal was not part of the day’s events, I took Sam and Rory there once, to visit the bathroom, and ever since they insist on visiting the play area

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Solid Doubles

2023, baseball, Cass Park, double, fall, hits, Ithaca, Little League, New York State, RBI, Tompkins County

September 16, 2023September 13, 2023 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Our grandson’s work on baseball skills is paying off. Here he slugs one to right field where it bounces on the fence for a solid double. He had two doubles that game, driving in a couple of runs, scoring off one himself. Good work!!

“Carl Stotz, a resident of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, founded Little League Baseball in 1939. He began experimenting with his idea in the summer of 1938 when he gathered his nephews, Jimmy and Major Gehron, and their neighborhood friends. They tried different field dimensions over the course of the summer and played several informal games. The following summer, they felt that they were ready to establish what later became Little League Baseball. The first league in Williamsport had just three teams, each sponsored by a different business. The first teams, Jumbo Pretzel, Lycoming Dairy, and Lundy Lumber, were managed by Stotz and brothers George and Bert Bebble. The men, joined by their wives and another couple, formed the first-ever Little League board of directors.”

“The first league game took place on June 6, 1939 when Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy, 23–8. Lycoming Dairy became the champions of the first half of the season and then defeated Lundy Lumber, the second-half champions, in a best-of-three championship series. The following year, a second league was formed in Williamsport, and from there Little League Baseball grew to become an international organization of nearly 200,000 teams in every U.S. state and in more than 80 countries.”

“From 1951 through 1973, Little League was restricted to boys only. In 1974, Little League rules were revised to allow participation by girls in the baseball program following the result of a lawsuit filed by the National Organization for Women on behalf of Maria Pepe. According to the Little League Baseball and Softball participation statistics following the 2008 season, there were nearly 2.6 million boys and girls in Little League Baseball worldwide. Of these, approximately 400,000 are registered in softball leagues (including both boys and girls). Starting in 2022, For tournament purposes, Little League Baseball is divided into 20 geographic regions: ten national and ten international. Each summer, Little League operates seven World Series tournaments at various locations throughout the U.S. (Little League softball and Junior, Senior, and Big League baseball and softball).”