Lighthouse Trivia Of The First Order

 

On our recent visit to Pigeon Point Lighthouse we learned a couple of interesting facts about the large* Fresnel lens on display in the museum:

1. The lens, consisting of 1,008 separate prisms, was manufactured in France in 1854 and originally installed in the Cape Hatteras light station. When the Hatteras tower was rebuilt in 1868, the lens was taken down and put into storage in New York. It was shipped to the west coast and put into service at Pigeon Point in 1871. 
2. The prisms are cleaned once a month using a solution of 2 parts distilled water to 1 part isopropyl alcohol and one drop of Woolite per quart.  

 

*Fresnel lenses are classified in size/focal length as "orders", The modern designation 6th order being the smallest and ranging up to the huge 12' tall hyper-radial lens. 

 

Baby Manti (Mantises?) In The 'Hood

All signs point to a recent Praying Mantis hatch in our vicinity. Cute little buggers...although not so cute if you're a littler bug than they are. 

Message In A Bottle

One of the online forums that TSG frequents has a postcard exchange a couple of times a year. People sign up, names are picked out of a virtual hat, addresses are distributed and the fun begins. Some folks send your basic souvenir-shop cards (which are perfectly fine), but others get a little more creative. We were quite pleased yesterday to receive this one (shown here in a dramatic re-enactment) from a member in Finnentrop, Germany.